Canon EOS 6D Mark II Review

Dustin Abbott

September 28th, 2017

One of my most popular articles that I’ve ever written was entitled, “Why I chose a Canon 6D over a 5D Mark III”. The original Canon 6D was a bit of a unicorn: on paper it wasn’t very impressive, with a weak AF system and some obvious limitations imposed by Canon to create separation from the 5D series. But the 6D was a far more capable camera in practice than it was on paper, and most of that came from its exceptional sensor, which I remain convinced was Canon’s best of the last generation. In essentially every metric save resolution it outclassed the 5D Mark III, meaning that Canon’s best full frame image quality actually came from its “entry-level” model. It also added a few (for the time) cutting edge features that the 5D Mark III lacked, including GPS and WiFi connectivity along with a center point with greater sensitivity than any previous Canon body, allowing the 6D to have exceptional accuracy with that center point along with the ability to focus in lower light than competing bodies. Beyond this the focus system was a fairly limited 11 AF point setup, and many people used the 6D more as a center point only “focus and recompose” camera. But all of these facts muddied the water for those looking to upgrade to a full frame model, and the 6D proved to be an exceptionally popular camera for Canon. Fast forward to 2017 and Canon’s announcement of a second generation in the 6D series – the Canon EOS 6D Mark II (6D2).

The popularity of the 6D line was illustrated to me by the many, many viewers and readers of mine who sat out the initial release of the 5D Mark IV to see what the new 6D2 might offer. I too had high expectations, particularly when it was rumored that the 6D2 would receive one of my favorite Canon features – their exceptional Vari-Angle Touch LCD screen. Canon’s articulating screens are excellent, with a great deal of flexibility and usefulness in both landscape AND portrait modes, which simply isn’t true of screens that just tilt. When the spec list was released, I was very pleased (for the most part), as it addressed a lot of areas of improvement that the 6D series needed, including AF system (45 points), higher resolution (26MP vs 20MP), burst rate (6.5 vs 4.5FPS), DPAF, and more. I took it for granted that the 6D2 would continue the 6D’s exceptional sensor performance, as both Canon’s 24MP APS-C sensor that debuted on the Canon EOS 80D and the 30MP sensor on the 5D Mark IV were excellent, with nice advances in dynamic range and high ISO performance.

But while the 6D left me feeling that it was a far more capable camera than its specifications suggested, I am left with a more ambiguous feeling after 6 weeks with the 6D Mark II. Read on to discover why…

Prefer to watch your reviews? I’ve got you covered! Check out my thorough, real world video review below:

6D2 Design and Ergonomics

I would recommend that you watch the following video where I give you an visual tour of the new 6D2 and compare it to both the original 6D and Canon EOS 80D bodies.

One of Canon’s great strengths is their ergonomic design on their cameras. Their grips conform to the hand, the buttons are in logical positions, and the menus are (relatively) easy to navigate. I’ve used a Canon 6D for 5 years and found it generally a delight to use. The one thing that it lacks is something that Canon uses to delineate the mid tier cameras (6D series plus xxD APS-C cameras) from the upper tier (1D series, 5D series, and 70D APS-C), and that is the thumbstick above the circular dial on the back. Other than that, however, the functionality of the 6D is excellent. Canon’s 80D body was very similar, save it added the excellent articulating touchscreen LCD with a lot of redundant touch controls.

The 6D Mark II still lacks the thumbstick, but it is the first of Canon’s full frame cameras to receive their “Vari-Angle” (articulating) LCD screen. This is, to me, a huge upgrade, as it allows a lot more flexibility for getting into different shooting positions (high and low are just two advantages), but also works fine in portrait (vertical) mode. Screens that just tilt aren’t any help when shooting in a vertical orientation, and I vastly prefer the fully articulating screen. It will also easily rotate towards the front for vlogging or monitoring from the front. This makes the 6DII an appealing option for vloggers that are uninterested in 4K (something the 6DII lacks).

The addition of touch to the LCD screen is also a major upgrade for the 6D series, as it makes so many things easier, from Q menu quick selections to menu navigation to selecting focus points in Live View mode. You have the option between “touch to focus” and “touch to capture”. The latter will not only focus but go ahead the take the picture, and I often use this while shooting on a tripod. Canon’s touch screens are excellent; highly responsive, accurate, and quick.

The button placement is near identical to the original 6D. There are two minor differences. The main dial/wheel on the back is slightly smaller to accommodate the touch screen, though most will not pick up on this unless comparing the cameras side by side. The second is a slight but welcome touch. There are three small buttons along the top right of the camera back, with two that are closer together (AE Lock and Focus Point activator). On the 6D1 these two buttons were often hard to distinguish between by touch when your eye was against the viewfinder. The 6D2 has a redesigned ridge that not only helps enhance the thumb rest but also allows each of these three buttons to occupy a slightly different elevation. It’s subtle, but I very quickly noticed it and appreciated how it helps with distinguishing between them by touch.

I also noted that there is a slightly different pattern on the mode selection dial and rear wheel – a bit more of a diamond pattern that provides a bit more grip and is visually stylish.

There is a new button up near the shutter (see photo up a bit) that is borrowed from the design of the 80D, and that small button allows you to cycle through the focus zone options, from single point to zones and groups. It’s conveniently placed, and if you have used either the 80D or 5D series (from the 5DIII onward), it will be both intuitive and familiar.

There is a minor shuffling of compartments on the left side of the camera to make the placement of the microphone input more intuitive. The “tap” point for NFC (Near Field Communications) is on that side as well. Canon adopted the redesign of the remote shutter release port to the front of the camera like the 5D Mark IV. The 6D2 retains a USB 2.0 rather than a 3.0 standard like the 5D Mark IV. I suspect the distinguishing reason is that the 6D2 won’t have the huge 4K files to transfer like the 5DIV.

Here’s a few more “visual tour” photos of the camera:

Memory Card

Many people were/are disappointed by Canon’s decision to give the 6D2 the bare minimum in memory card support. There continues to be a single SD card with similar functionality to the 6D. Both the 5D and the 6D lines basically only upheld the status quo in their newest versions. No new card compatibility, no new card types, and no additional card slots. Truth be told, however, I didn’t personally expect anything new on this front with the 6D. This has been an easy area for Canon to distinguish between its low to mid range cameras and its higher end models. For example, the 80D has one card slot, but the 7DII has two. The 6D2 has one slot; the 5D Mark IV two. Unfortunately, like the 5D Mark IV, the 6D2’s SD card slot only supports UHS-1, not the faster UHS-2 standard.

I’ve heard some make the statement that they refuse to own a camera with a single slot for professional work. I understand the risk of not having redundancy to a secondary card, and everyone has a different risk tolerance. That being said, I have shot dozens (if not hundreds) of events, portrait shoots, weddings, etc… with single card slot cameras. I’ve never had a card failure that resulted in the loss of images from a shoot. Not once. Your mileage may vary, of course, but investing in quality memory cards helps eliminate a lot of that risk. I personally prefer the Sandisk Extreme Pro UHS-1 cards for their durability and high transfer rates.

No amount of complaining at this stage is going to add a secondary slot. If this is a deal breaker for you, then it is best to look elsewhere.

Burst Rate/Buffer

Canon has not improved the card slot situation, but they have managed to deliver both more resolution (20 vs 26MP) and a significantly improved burst rate (6.5FPS vs 4.5FPS). The reality is that this is no longer an area of practical differentiation between the 5D and 6D series, as the 5D Mark IV has a 7FPS burst rate. The 6D2 limits the buffer to 150 JPEG images (at the faster burst rate) and 21 RAW images, while the 5D Mark IV allows unlimited JPEGs and 21 RAW images. If your shooting style is anything like mine, this means that there really is no practical difference in burst rate between these two models. The RAW buffer is a little deeper than in the original 6D, which was rated at 17 RAW images and 1250 JPEGs.

Battery Life

Like other recent Canon camera releases, the 6D2 utilizes the LP-E6N battery, though it is “backwards-compatible” with the older LP-E6 batteries used by many of Canon’s last generation DSLRs. You might get marginally better focus speed or battery life with the newer batteries, but in many situations you won’t notice the difference. What’s interesting is that the 6D2 has many of the same “pieces” as the 5D Mark IV (GPS, touchscreen, processor, etc…), but the 5D Mark IV flies through batteries by comparison. The rating differs by 300 shots (900 for the 5D Mark IV, 1200 for the 6DII). Real world shooting seems even greater, however, with the battery life indicator scarcely budging on the 6DII. After several weeks of review, I’ve not yet had to recharge the battery, which simply wasn’t the case with the 5D Mark IV. Battery life is a definite plus with the 6D Mark II. In real world use it seems to me that the battery life is near twice that of the 5D Mark IV, which can be guilty of underperforming its specifications while the 6D2 seems to outperform them. This is definitely a solid plus for the 6D2.

Weather Sealing and Handling

The 6D2 has enhanced weather sealing in its construction, though I never had an issue with 2 6D bodies that I used professionally for 5 years in all kinds of weather conditions (I continue to have 1 6D body in my kit). The feel of the 6D2 is familiar, though it does have a slightly more “plasticky” feel for some reason than the previous generation camera. This is obviously more perception than reality, as the build quality is, if anything, supposed to be upgraded.

The 6D2 will feel and function in a way that is instantly familiar to Canon shooters. The old saying says, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, and Canon has employed that philosophy by making very subtle improvements without disrupting the already excellent ergonomic design. The 6D2 feels great in the hands, and I feel that the handling and ergonomics are a definite strength of the camera. And yes, having the Vari-Angle LCD touchscreen is just as welcome as I thought it would be.

Autofocus System

When I and other photographers were theorizing over the 6DII, we would often propose that a full frame 80D would be about right (and in many ways that’s what we got!). The original 6D came with a focus system that was extremely limited (on paper) with only 11 focus points, no focus zones, and few cross type focus points. The one redeeming quality was a super sensitive, super effective center point, which led many people to use just that focus point and employ the “focus and recompose” method. Moving to the outer focus points resulted in less accurate focus most of the time. Here’s a diagram showing the 11 points and their spread in the viewfinder.

I’ve personally made the statement that the 45 point autofocus (AF) system from the 80D would be about appropriate for the 6D Mark II, which is what we got, but something was lost in translation.

A full frame sensor is considerably larger than an APS-C sensor, with about 2.5x times the surface area. We got the 80D focus system, but because of the much larger full frame sensor, the 45 points cover a much smaller area than they did on the smaller-sensored 80D. What was a very nice coverage of a good part of the viewfinder (62% of the width, 48% of the height) shrinks to 39% of the width and 30% of the height. Here’s a look at the difference:

So while there are still 45 points, they are clustered together in an area about the size of the original 6D’s 11 points. This isn’t exactly what we meant when we asked for the 80D’s focus system!

Overlaying the two focus point spreads reveals that the outer two points of the original 6D are actually bit wider than the 6D2, though the 6D2 puts a blocks of points out on the edge rather than one point, allowing one to compose a bit higher and hit the “rule of thirds” zones more effectively.

Still, it is a bit disconcerting to look into the viewfinder and see all of those points clustered together.

That aside, there are some definite improvements to the AF system. All of these points have cross-type sensitivity (compared to just one on the 6D), and the 27 central points across the frame also allow autofocus with combinations that have a maximum aperture of f/8 (like the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II + a 1.4x III extender).

This combination simply would not autofocus at all on the 6D (and on only one point with the 5D Mark III). Here’s a few shots taken with the f/8 combination (100-400L II + 1.4x III):

There is also much more room for tracking with either all points active or with certain groups selected, though the concentration of points does mean that you need to keep your subject relatively near the center of the frame. That tight grouping does mean that it is easy for one point to “hand off” focus to the next point when tracking without a gap between them like on the original 6D.

The greater accuracy of the outer points means that you can now use them in composition, which gives you more versatility for how you compose. You can choose different focus point options (5 different modes), from either single point to single point supported by nearby points to groups and then with all points enabled. I was able to use both first and third party lenses effectively using a variety of focus points:

I ran a controlled test to check autofocus accuracy using the excellent Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II lens at f/1.4. I tested with the center point, the extreme right and left points, and then the extreme top right and left points. Here’s a look at those results, with 5 shots from each position. I defocused the lenses in between each shot, so that it would have to run the full range of focus acquisition each time. I’ve heavily cropped them so that you can easily see focus misses.

I essentially saw excellent results save in the extreme top corner results. The AF system seemed to get a little more confused there and went between grabbing the contrast line of the ruler and the test chart. All in all, however, I’ve had no issue with working with my prime lenses and AF points other than center.

Canon has further improved the low light sensitivity of the center point, so the 6DII focuses with excellence in low light situations.

The final huge advantage to the new focus system is the inclusion of Canon’s DPAF (Dual Pixel AutoFocus), which gives you very snappy autofocus in Live View mode and incredibly tracking abilities. This technology is the best in the business, and means you can autofocus in Live View almost as a fast as through the viewfinder. Switching back to the 6D in Live View mode feels painfully slow by comparison.

The ability to just touch the screen where you want to focus means that you can select autofocus on just about anywhere on the screen and get quick, accurate results. In most situations I certainly prefer using the viewfinder, but this is a huge improvement for tripod work. You can choose whether or not the camera actually takes the picture when you touch the screen or just focuses. If you go back and forth between the 6DII and the 6D you will be shocked at how long it takes the original 6D to acquire focus in Live View mode. The 6DII feels instantaneous with most lenses by comparison. The DPAF in the 6D2 is, of course, outstanding for tracking in video, and has excellent face detection, while the 6D had no video AF of any kind. That’s a huge improvement on a lot of fronts, and, while I’m disappointed by the tight grouping of the AF points, it would be a disservice to the otherwise excellent performance of the 6D2 to dwell only on that.

Sensor Quality

Canon’s original 6D was a bit of an anomaly. It was, in theory, the entry-level full frame camera, and yet when it came to sensor performance it was (in my opinion) Canon’s best of that generation (with perhaps only the 1Dx’s sensor to rival). The 5D Mark III had slightly higher resolution (22MP vs 20MP), but in almost every other detail the 6D’s sensor was superior. Shadow recovery, noise, high ISO performance, color science, and dynamic range were all better than the 5D Mark III, leaving me to write that article on why I chose the 6D over the 5D Mark III. I personally felt that this was a misstep by Canon, as it created ambiguity over which model was superior.

Canon seems to have made a course correction with the current generation, as my head to head tests suggest that the 5D Mark IV sports a sensor that is superior to the 6D Mark II in every way (and is probably Canon’s best sensor at the moment). Part of this advantage is due to Canon simply giving the 5D Mark IV a fantastic sensor, but what also becomes apparent is that while the 6D2 has some give and take with the original 6D, it certainly has no clear advantage other than resolution (26MP vs 20MP). This isn’t to say that that it isn’t an excellent camera, but the 6D set the bar high for the series when it comes to sensor performance, and the 6D2 does little to raise it. Case in point…

Dynamic Range

The early buzz on the 6D Mark II centered around these two words. Sure, the camera didn’t have two card slots, but those in the know would have been surprised if it did. Nor did it have 4K, but Canon has yet to demonstrate that they can successfully implement 4K for the masses (though in their own rights both the 1DxII and 5D Mark IV are solid 4K cameras for certain users). I will confess that I was hoping for 4K inclusion myself, and I would be more tempted by the 6D Mark II personally if it did. But it wasn’t this particular issue that generated the most drama; it was the camera’s dynamic range.

Dynamic range is the amount of light information that a camera sensor can capture. How much light information (like in a sky) can it capture before information is lost and “hot spots” appear? How much information is left in the shadows before the blacks are crushed? Dynamic range can be a key asset for photographers (particularly landscape and natural light portrait photographers), but it can also be a double-edged sword in that without care photographers can produce images that are a bit flat and cartoonish (somewhat like HDR photography used incorrectly). Some of the very best photos use very little dynamic range, preferring instead to allow deep shadows or bright highlights be part of the storytelling technique.

Before the Canon 80D, Canon was taking a bit of a beating in this department. Outside of the pretty decent 6D, many of its cameras lagged behind competitors from Nikon or Sony in this metric. The 80D was heralded as a huge step forward for Canon’s APS-C cameras, and the 5D Mark IV was better yet, bring similar gains to Canon’s full frame lineup. Many photographers (myself included), let out a sight of relief and relaxed. This issue was finally laid to rest, and the drama could just go away.

Guess what? It’s back.

Some of the very first coverage of the 6D2 centered around its supposedly poor dynamic range. Some said that it wasn’t even as good as Canon’s recent APS-C cameras. This took me by surprise, as in my mind I expected the 6D series to continue its standard for excellent image quality. I fully expected Canon to limit the camera in some ways to help maintain separation from the 5D series, but assumed that the sensor would be excellent.

But when I tested the camera for myself (and compared it to 5D Mark IV and 80D), I made some interesting discoveries. I would recommend that you watch this video to get the full picture.

What I found is that when recovering highlights, the 6D2 isn’t bad. It is roughly the same as the 80D, and a little behind the 5D Mark IV. Here’s a few visual comparisons between the 6D2, 80D, and 5D Mark IV when the image has been overexposed by 3 stops and “recovered” in post. In the final series I overexpose by 1 stop, 2 stops, and 3 stops, and then show the image after trying to recover the sky:

As you can see, none of the cameras are exceptional at recovering highly overexposed skies. Hot spots and lost information are everywhere. The 5D Mark IV is considerably better than the other two, however. There isn’t enough difference between the 80D and 6D2 to be worth mentioning.

But where the 6D2 lags behind some of Canon’s other recent releases is in shadow recovery. You can recover a fair amount of information, but it comes at a cost. There is more noise created through shadow recovery, and when you push images heavily (3 or more stops of underexpose), shadows start to take on an unpleasant magenta cast. There is a pretty huge difference between the 6D2 and the 5D Mark IV in the quality of recovered shadows. Here are some similar comparison images and “recoveries” after underexposing by 1-3 stops.

The 6D2 does fine with smaller extremes. A stop or two in either direction can be recovered successfully, but even then I felt that the quality of the contrast and color of recovered areas wasn’t as rich and nuanced as identical images taken with the 5D Mark IV, and more pronounced recoveries introduce a lot of noise and “blockiness” into shadow areas.

My tests don’t suggest that the performance is poorer than APS-C, as results were roughly similar and at higher ISO settings I definitely prefer the full frame 6D2 to the crop sensor 80D in terms of the size and appearance of the noise.

Still, I will freely confess that my expectations were not met in this regard. It’s not as severe as some would suggest, but one is left with the distinct impression that Canon could have (should have) done better.

High ISO Performance

I fully expected the 6D2 to be a high ISO monster. When I reviewed the 5D Mark IV and compared it to the original 6D I found that the improvement was marginal despite the 5D4’s higher native ISO range (ISO 32,000 vs ISO 25,600). The 6D held up very well in the comparison, and years of using it has left me confident in using most all of the ISO range in some applications (event shooting, for example). When I saw that Canon had extended the native ISO range of the of 6D Mark II to 40,000, and elected to constrain the megapixel count to 26, I felt confident that this camera would do very well at high ISO settings. But in this area I am more than a little disappointed.

It’s that magenta cast, which rears its ugly head at ISO settings of around 12,800 and beyond. ISO 6400 looks pretty clean, but higher settings have a magenta cast that only intensifies as you move to ISO 40,000. I don’t feel that the extended range is justified, as the end result at ISO 40,000 has limited applications (I felt there was big drop-off from ISO 25,600 to ISO 32,000 on the 5D Mark IV, too). Watch how the magenta cast to the noise creeps in as we move from ISO 6400 to ISO 25,600 to ISO 40,000.

Detail is still pretty decent at higher ISO settings, and the size of the grain/noise isn’t a deal breaker for me, but the magenta cast is the fly in the ointment.

Color Fidelity

At this stage you might be feeling somewhat depressed, but fortunately I have hit the low points for the 6D Mark II. Truth be told it is an excellent camera in a lot of ways, and it takes great pictures with great color rendition. For day to day shooting (not living in the extremes), I found the images to be excellent and wouldn’t hesitate to use the camera for general purpose shooting. Those excellent ergonomics and optimal button placement make the camera easy to use. If you’ve used either the 6D or the 70/80D series, you can be familiar with the ergonomics almost instantly.

Canon’s color science continues to be excellent, and I find that images are easy to process without the results becoming “cartoonish”. Canon has added the Fine Detail color picture profile (my favorite), and you have 3 custom picture profile modes you can select.

There are also a lot of the new features that have made their way into recent Canon cameras that are supported in the 6D Mark II, making it a more fully rounded camera than the original 6D. I’ll detail a few of those in the section below called “What about a 5D Mark III instead?”

I would recommend that you take a look at the Image Galleries here to see more images along with a dedicated gallery for the kit lens (Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II):

For many shooters the Canon 5D Mark IV is more camera than they need, and they may find the 6D Mark II just right for their needs.

Video Performance

I was initially encouraged when I read the rumored specs of the 6D2. It was assumed (correctly) that the camera would feature DPAF (essentially a given these days) and that it would have an articulating (Vari-Angle) LCD touchscreen. It was also initially assumed that it would have 4K video support. This turned out to be incorrect, which is a shame, as the previous two features could have made for an excellent video DSLR and an exceptional one for Vloggers. What we got instead was a few video advancements like the 1080P 60FPS support and manual audio monitoring during recording (previously one could only alter audio levels manually before video capture) but also some definite regression in that now the codec choices are limited to the IPB in regular (30bps) and “lite” (11bps) versions, but both are MP4, which is pretty heavily compressed. No ALL-i (.MOV) options at all, which means that, frankly, footage looks fairly weak to me, particularly compared to the 4K footage that comes off, say, my Sony a6500. The footage seems somewhat blocky and lacks detail; wholly unsatisfying for 2017. It will be fine for those looking to augment their stills with some periodic video footage, but will not interest any serious videographers. See my video review for some footage from the 6D2 about midway through the video:

On a positive note, the 6D2 does come with Canon’s new in body image stabilization (IBIS), which works in conjunction with lens stabilization (where available), to help provide smooth footage. I own an excellent motorized gimbal unit, and there is no substitute for something like that, but this certainly makes for a significant improvement in smoothing out video footage. Unlike Sony’s IBIS systems, Canon’s only works while shooting video, not stills.

I personally find the video footage from the 6D Mark II very disappointing, as I regularly employ 4K video footage from my 5D Mark IV (upgraded to C-LOG), my Sony a6500, and even my iPhone 6s in my video reviews. For me, personally, this is a significant factor in whether or not I would consider adding the 6D2 to my own personal kit. People complained about the massive file size of the footage from the 5D Mark IV’s MotionJPEG codec, but the footage itself is exceptional (particularly with the C-LOG update). I’m just not impressed by the footage from the 6D2.

What About a 5D Mark III Instead?

I’ve heard the argument where some have concluded that because the dynamic range isn’t superior to the 5D Mark III, then one might as well get the 5D Mark III. And yes, the 5D Mark III still has the more robust build and (in some ways) more complex focus system (at least in terms of total autofocus points and the spread of those points), but this viewpoint overlooks the dozens of smaller features updates that Canon has developed since the 5D Mark III that make everyday shooting so much simpler…features that the 6D Mark II has. Here’s a quick roundup of just some of the new features the 6D Mark II has that the 5D Mark III does not.

DPAF. This is still the best Live View focus technology out there, enabling you to focus nearly as quickly with the LCD screen as you can using the viewfinder, plus adding great video autofocus.
Touchscreen LCD. Canon’s touchscreens are the best I’ve seen in cameras, with quick responsiveness and logical implementation. It makes menu navigation and quick setting changes much easier!
Connectivity: the 6D2 has WiFi, NFC, and Bluetooth, allowing you options for remote shooting, image transfers, and the ability to control your camera with great apps like Cascable.
GPS. The inclusion of GPS (a feature I find very useful) was one of the things that delineated the 6D from the 5DIII to begin with, and the 6DII has the improved GPS system that was implemented with 5D Mark IV.
Center point sensitivity. The original 6D had one autofocus advantage over the 5DIII, and that was the extremely sensitive center point that allowed focus down to -3 EV (in very, very dim lighting). And it worked. The 6D could focus in most all lighting conditions with minimal hunting in a way that the 5D Mark III could not. Canon has further expanded that ability in both viewfinder and Live View focus.
Anti-Flicker technology. I do a lot of event shooting, and under certain lights that continually cycle (the sodium lights often used in large buildings are the biggest offenders!) you get extremely uneven results, particularly when shooting a burst. Canon’s Anti-Flicker technology senses the flicker in lighting and will time the shutter release to avoid it.
Articulating LCD screen. Canon’s fully articulating “Vari-Angle” screens are fantastic. Unlike tilting screens they can be used effectively in portrait mode, can be turned to face the front for Vlogging mode or monitoring, and also help to keep the screen from being obscured if you use something like a motorized gimbal (I use the Zhiyun Crane). One final nice feature is that the screen can be turned inward to protect it while traveling. I was very excited to see this feature come to Canon’s full frame cameras.
Built in intervalometer. Those of you who like to shoot timelapses had to resort to third party accessories or tethered shooting to get timelapses, but that is fortunately no longer the case. You have options right in camera for setting intervals and automatically shooting for time lapse, including an 4K video mode.
5 Axis Digital IS for video recording. Canon’s technology on this front is not up to Sony’s standard, but the inclusion of some image stabilization (that will work in conjunction with the lens IS if a lens has it) does definitely make a difference in getting smoother video footage while moving.

These are just the features that come to mind at the moment, but all of these make everyday living and shooting with the 6DII more convenient. I personally would choose it over the 5D Mark III (though not over the 5D Mark IV).

Conclusion

The Canon EOS 6D Mark II is a bit of a conundrum for me. I have no doubt that if I owned the camera and used it to its strengths I would be very happy with it. I’m also aware, however, that there are a number of important things that rival cameras are doing as well if not better, and that, frankly, people’s expectations have changed. When the original 6D was released Canon’s Rebel series was still relatively primitive. Now the Rebel series (T7i/800D) has many of these same features, including the 45 AF points, similar burst rate, and equally good dynamic range. I do think that the full frame sensor in the 6D2 has better high ISO performance, but there’s also little progress in that department. There’s also a whole new range of options in mirrorless cameras, and there are a lot of people seriously weighing those options. There’s a lot that I like about the Canon 6D2, but my final analysis is that it is a good camera…that should have been better.

Pros:

Vari-Angle LCD Touchscreen is a treat
Improved frame rate makes the camera more versatile
Solid lineup of useful tools like GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, Intervalometer, etc…
45 point AF system is a significant improvement over 6D
27 point f/8 compatibility vs none on 6D
DPAF is excellent as always
5 axis IBIS for video is welcome
Outstanding battery life
Excellent handling and ergonomics

Cons:

Magenta cast to noise at higher ISO settings or when shadows are pushed
Unimpressive dynamic range
Video specs and footage disappointing
AF point spread coverage is underwhelming
Single SD card slot with only UHS-1 support

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Canon EOS 6D Mark II Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

August 12th, 2017

Canon’s second generation camera in the “affordable full frame” 6D line is here – the EOS 6D Mark II. As is now typical, there has been a fair bit of controversy over this camera ahead of its release as reviewers and forums have dissected the specification list and gotten dramatic over what is missing. Lost in the shuffle is the fact that Canon has upgraded basically every aspect of the camera, though there are a few key expected inclusions that are missing – like dual card slots and any kind of 4K video options. A few of the major upgrades include Canon’s “Vari-Angle” or articulating touch LCD screen – and I can tell you already that it is fantastic to have – along with the upgraded AF system from the 80D with 45 AF points (though they are more densely packed in the middle here). Though it no longer gets the headlines, Canon’s DPAF focus system for Live View and Video autofocus is the best in the business, and I’m personally excited for it to come to the 6D line. I’ll be sharing ongoing coverage both through new images added here, my upcoming review, and a number of videos covering the lens over at my YouTube channel. You can catch my detailed breakdown of the design here:

Images of the Canon EOS 6D Mark II

Images Taken With the Kit Lens (Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II)

Images Taken With Other Lenses

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 6D Mark II: B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II: B&H Photo | Amazon | Amazon Canada
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

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Tamron 150-600mm G2 Second Look | APS-C, TCs, and More

Dustin Abbott

April 7th, 2017

I’ve already done a full review of the new Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 VC USD G2 lens in the late fall of 2016, but at that time the lens was just coming to market and my review time was constrained by the high demand for the lens (and for review copies). As a result, there were three major things I wanted to accomplish that I didn’t get a chance to (and they were things that many of you really wanted to see.). They were, 1) to test the lens’ performance on APS-C 2) to compare the lens against the excellent Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II which does so well with the 1.4x extender attached and 3) to test the lenses with Tamron’s new line of 1.4x and 2.0x extenders that are compatible with the lens. When I did my previous review, the extenders were not yet available and the time constraints meant that I reserved my review equipment to the full frame that the lens was designed for and against the previous generation 150-600 VC that the lens was replacing. Fortunately I have the opportunity to rectify all of that this time, so join me as a I take a second look at the 150-600 G2.

I’m attaching my breakdown on the build, design, and upgrades here, but if you read my initial review here (Tamron 15-600 G2 Review) you may want to skip over the new few sections to the 150-600 G2 on APS-C section. If you want to watch my conclusions on APS-C, performance with Teleconverters, and comparisons to the Canon 100-400L II, just click on the video below.

Serious Upgrades?

I reviewed the original Tamron 150-600 VC here, and it proved such a popular review that (at the time) it pretty much broke my website and made me invest some serious money to build a more robust site ready to handle the traffic. It was ample evidence that people were extremely interested in the “affordable reach” market. The original demand outstripped supply, and that lens has ended up in a lot of photographer’s kits. It beat Sigma to the market by a fair margin and thus enjoyed a lot of the early sales.

That lens has optically and functionally held its own even with a number of new releases since. While the Sigma variants (Sport and Contemporary) have both proven to be a little sharper at 600mm, the Tamron proves sharper at some other focus distances. For field use they all have very little variation. This article from LensRentals makes for an interesting read as it reinforces the point that while there are sharper options out there, they aren’t much sharper.

Tamron promised optical improvements in their press release that was sent to me, “Optical design refreshed to achieve even higher performance Three LD (Low Dispersion) lens elements completely eliminate axial and transverse chromatic aberrations. The design also features an upgraded optical construction (21 elements in 13 groups) and leverages improvements in manufacturing technology. As a result, the lens delivers high resolution, improved sharpness and overall better performance.”

In short, Tamron added one additional element to the optical formula. But there’s more to it than that, as I discovered when comparing the lenses head to head that the 150-600 G2 has a completely different rendering than the previous generation lens. This is definitely more than a minor tweak.

One weak point that Tamron has definitely addressed is the minimum focus distance, which I sometimes found a bit confining in the older version. It would focus down to about 8.9’/2.7m, but the 150-600 G2 will focus as close as 7.22’/2.2m. That is enough improve the maximum magnification ratio from 1:5 (0.20x magnification) on the old version to 1:3.9, or 0.256x magnification. That’s slightly over one quarter life size, and you are getting into the very useful range. Here’s a visual comparison at the difference in magnification.

You can shoot macro(ish) shots from over 7 feet away (now that is a nice working distance!!) and I found it easy to fill the frame with flowers or leaves. Be aware that depth of field at that minimum focus distance is a REALLY tiny 0.2”/5mm, and even stopped down to f/11 the depth of field is still under 9mm. I’d recommend a tripod and a lot of light to produce the best results. It’s not the easiest focal length to deal with for macro type shots (there’s a reason macro lenses AREN’T 600mm), but you can be rewarded with some nice results if you employ good technique.

Further helping is that the Focus Limiter switch has more (and better) options. The V1 of the lens had two positions: Full and 15m to Infinity. It had no option for close range shooting, and the 15m (nearly fifty feet) limiting position meant that you could easily miss shots where your subject moved a bit closer. The 150-600 G2 has three positions on the switch: Full, 10m to Infinity, and 2.2-10m. Furthermore, by using the Tap In Console, you can tweak all of these to your own liking. The compatibility with the Tap In Console is a big deal, as it eliminates one of the key advantages that the Sigma lenses held over this one. The 150-600 G2 is Tamron’s first zoom lens to be compatible with the Tap In. Here’s a look at the different screens as they apply to the 150-600 G2 (scroll to see more screens from the Tap In):

Build Improvements

Best to get the bad news out of the way: the 150-600 G2 has put on a little bit of weight. The A011 (First Generation lens) weighed in at 4.3lb/1950g, while the new version weighs 4.42lb/2010g. The reality is that this isn’t really enough of a weight gain for me to notice when switching from one to the other. The 150-600 G2 significantly undercuts the weight of the 6.3lb/2860g Sigma Sport. A friend who owns the A011 handled the G2 and asked if it was lighter, so that tells you that the weight gain definitely isn’t very noticeable. Handholding the 150-600 G2 is a piece of cake compared to the Sigma Sport as the Sport is a very front heavy lens that makes supporting the big front element (which ends up pretty far from your body at 600mm) quite a challenge (and I’m fit!) The bad news isn’t really so bad here. This isn’t a light lens, but it is fairly easy to handheld, and I suspect it will be used that way by a lot of photographers. I used it that way almost exclusively save some controlled tests and moon shots.

For that little bit of weight gain, however, you get a lens that is much better in every detail, from the build quality to the tactile feel of the materials. The A011 had a pretty decent build, but some of the materials here and there felt a little “plasticky”. Most notable was the lens hood. While the lens hood is still technically made of plastic, it is now a much more premium “soft-touch” feel that has a nice rubberized transition at the mount that feels a lot like the Sigma ART series. Those kinds of little touches are the kind that I’ve strongly praised, so perhaps Tamron was listening. The primary barrel material is a lightweight metal similar to the SP primes with a nice satin finish. All of the surfaces of the lens have a much nicer, premium feel to them, and while the lens doesn’t have the military grade build of the Sigma 150-600 Sport there is no question that this is a very nice lens that has moved upscale. I think many shooters will find this a nice compromise between weight and sturdiness.

All of the switches are much improved. Compared side by side the G2 switches all have a much nice, more definite feel. A lot of thought has been put into the tactile responses, and it shows in the quality action of the switches.

The zoom and focus rings both have a nicer feel in both the materials and in their actions. I particularly noted the improvement to the smoothness of the zoom action. The barrel extends smoothly with very consistent damping throughout the zoom range. I found that the A011 could sometimes have sticking points in the zoom action where more effort was required. The consistent damping in the zoom ring will help a lot for those that want to use the lens for shooting video, and I also noted that it helped eliminate zoom creep when the lens is pointed down.

It is actually on the topic of zoom creep (caused by the weight of the front element pulling the lens towards maximum zoom when the lens is pointed down) where one of the most notable advances has happened. The A0011 had a traditional zoom lock switch, but it could only be engaged at the fully retracted (150mm) and 400mm positions. The 150-600 G2 version of this lens incorporates what Tamron calls a FLEX ZOOM LOCK mechanism to permit locking the zoom position at any focal length. If you have ever shot a Tokina lens that uses a clutch mechanism to switch between AF and MF mode you will have a good sense of how this works. The zoom ring can be moved forward which engages a friction mechanism that holds the lens at whatever zoom position it is at. Simply pull the clutch mechanism (zoom ring) back and it releases. In field shooting it is much quicker and more intuitive to use the new Flex Zoom lock than the traditional lock switch (which is still retained if you prefer that way of locking the lens). It was the friction ring on the Canon 100-400L II that was one of the selling points for me, and the 150-600 G2 has moved much closer to that style with the Flex Zoom Lock.

One other complaint for some shooters was that the A0011’s tripod foot wasn’t compatible with Arca-Swiss style plates. On the plus side was the fact that the tripod collar could be both rotated and removed. The 150-600 G2 has a removable rotating tripod collar that features an Arca-Swiss type compatible foot which helps with using the lens atop a tripod or monopod. One more box checked.

Both versions of the lens have a large 95mm filter thread (expensive), but the Sigma Contemporary versions shares that size and the Sport moves up to an even more massive 105mm filter thread. You can’t compete with physics. If you decide to forego the front filter you will be happy to find that an expensive fluorine coating has also been applied to the front lens element to protect against dust, dirt, and smearing. The weather sealing this time around is far more robust, with a number of internal seals at key points to prevent the intrusion of dust and moisture. This compliments a rear gasket at the lens mount and coatings on the exposed elements.

Both versions have a nine bladed aperture, though the new version emphasizes the “rounded” shape of the aperture blades. The bokeh quality is noticeably softer with less hard edges when compared to the A011, although I find that I still prefer the bokeh quality from the Canon 100-400L II. At certain distances I still see a little “busyness” in the bokeh quality, although most of the time the bokeh looks quite lovely.

An electromagnetic diaphragm is used for more precise and consistent exposure control, especially when shooting at high continuous shooting rates.

All in all, the G2 (A022) shows that Tamron has been listening to the feedback of photographers and they have addressed pretty much every complaint I’ve heard about the lens. In short, the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 is improved in basically every metric.

That’s not to say that everything is perfect. I didn’t feel that the VC mechanism on the 150-600 G2 that I was reviewing was operating within spec. It caused a little “jumping” in the viewfinder and didn’t seem to work as effectively as the A011 I had for comparison. All reports indicate that the VC should be MORE effective on the G2, not less. I’ve asked for a different copy to be sent to me for review in a few weeks, where I’ll review that portion again as well as test the lens on a crop sensor body (my review period was too short to cover everything I wanted to this time). I bring this up to say that Tamron still has a few glitches in the manufacturing process, though I’ve had a good experience with them listening to my personal concerns and working to get them fixed. Like the previous generation the lens is designed in Japan, manufactured in China (save the lens hood, which is manufactured in the Philippines), and distributed to me in Canada. Globalism indeed.

VC and USD

These have become two of Tamron’s modern acronyms. VC stands for Vibration Compensation, Tamron’s image stabilization system, while USD refers to the ring-type Ultrasonic Silent Drive autofocus motor. Both have received some love in the G2 version.

When I compared the VC of the A011 with the Canon 100-400L II, I found that I preferred the behavior of the Canon Image Stabilization. It provided the more stable viewfinder, even when I added a 1.4x teleconverter into the mix. The Tamron only had a VC ON/OFF switch, with no external switches for customizing stabilization. Tamron added a “silent” panning mode through firmware, but you had to rely on the lens to detect panning motion and turn off that axis of stabilization. The new lens seriously ups the ante by giving you much more control over the VC behavior. Along with the ON/OFF switch there is now a second switch with three difference VC modes.

Mode 1 (standard) is the normal mode for most shooters, though you have the option to tweak that mode via the Tap In Console. You can switch it to a “Viewfinder Priority” mode which emphasizes smooth transitions to the VC coming on and off and also keeps it engaged longer. The main priority in this mode is for video use, and it will give smoother footage.

The Mode 2 position is for panning, and ensures that if you are tracking movement the VC won’t interfere while still helping to stabilize on the Y axis.

Mode 3 is what Tamron calls “Shutter Release Priority” mode. The VC doesn’t really impact the viewfinder in this mode but rather activates just as the shutter is being released. This might be a good option for those tracking birds in flight or other movement where you want complete freedom in the viewfinder but stability when you actually press the shutter. This seems like a good choice for when using a monopod, too, and Tamron actually claims about 2/3rds of a stop extra stabilization in this mode (up to 4.5 stops).

I noted above that I didn’t feel the VC on my review copy was working within spec, so I couldn’t really perceive an advantage in my testing and noted the VC behavior was abnormal (I’ve tested a LOT of lenses with Tamron’s VC). I’ll add new notes to this review when I’ve been able to use a second copy of the lens.

Tamron’s USD is a full ring-type autofocus motor which allows for full-time manual focus override. The behavior of the USD motor in the 150-600 G2 is clearly more refined. Focus is smoother, faster, and surer. Tamron has a new line of extenders (1.4x and 2.0x) that are compatible with this lens, but I have not been able to test them as of yet. I felt like there was clearly more speed on the long end (the area of need), and didn’t notice much hunting. In the field I found that I didn’t really think about autofocus, and that speaks a lot to me. It means that the AF was doing what it was supposed to. It is also worth nothing that I felt like the AF Servo tracking was better, too. I’m not really an experienced bird in flight shooter (don’t have the patience!), but was pleased with the results I got during a brief period of tracking some geese.

One of the headline improvements is that the 150-600 G2 is compatible with the Tap In Console which allows you to tweak the focus at 24 different points. For example, you can plug in values for minimum focus, medium distance, and infinity at 150mm, 200mm, 300mm, etc… Six different focal lengths with three distance values for each. While this represents some time invested, I’ve seen the dividends with other compatible lenses. You can dial in focus better than what I’ve seen with any other third party lens before. This is a significant upgrade and helps to get the most out of the newly improved optics (read on).

While the manual focus ring feel is improved on the G2, manual focusing is still challenging due to having a rather small focus throw. It’s easy to go past the point you want to focus on. One more reason to dial in that autofocus!

The 150-600 G2 on APS-C

There are many photographers that use APS-C somewhat like a teleconverter/extender. Put an APS-C camera onto a lens like this and it acts in many ways like a 1.5x (Nikon) or 1.6x (Canon) extender. On a Canon body like the Canon EOS 80D that I’m using as a “test mule” for this review the focal length becomes an effective 240-960mm. That’s a LOT of reach, and so this is a lens a lot of people are interested in mounting on a crop sensor body. To answer the first question: yes, the Canon mount of this lens will mount on all Canon APS-C cameras with an EF-S lens mount (and via adapter on the EOS M line). And yes, the lens will autofocus on all them, too. Some cameras have better autofocus systems than others, obviously, but the 150-600 G2 is a very good focusing lens. It has good focus acquisition speed and produced repeatable results during my calibration process.

The 80D has a good focus system, and I used the lens to track action while following wildlife and horses.

Your greatest challenge using a lens like this on an APS-C body will be that this lens is a “slow” one in terms of the amount of light that it lets in. The largest possible aperture is f/5 on the wide end and f/6.3 on the telephoto end. Lenses like this work best where there is a lot of light available, and to compound things, lenses like this are often used to stop action (birds or wildlife), meaning that a fast shutter speed is required. In many situations you will be shooting at higher ISO settings, where APS-C cameras tend to struggle more than their full frame counterparts.

This lens holds up quite well optically on APS-C and provides good looking results. The first round of these affordable 150-600mm variants (150-600 VC, Sigma 150-600 C and S) surprised everyone with how good they actually were, and Tamron has managed to improve on the performance of the G1 lens particularly on the long end, where the lens exhibits better contrast and resolution (less haze and more crisp detail). Here’s a look at worst case scenario: wide open (f/6.3) at 600mm.

Center sharpness looks good here, though you can see a loss of contrast in the edges of the frame. Lower contrast seems to be the single biggest “loss in translation” from full frame to APS-C on the lens.

To give some perspective on this performance, however, let’s take a look at how it compares to the superlative Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens. If we compare both lenses at roughly 560mm (Canon at 400mm + 1.4x extender) we get the following results:

As you can see the results are pretty similar. The Tamron is actually a bit sharper in the center of the frame. The only place where the Canon really bests it is on the right side of the frame, where the Canon shows a better centering. That’s actually pretty impressive, as the Canon is a fantastic lens that I personally own. My takeaway from real world use is that I prefer both of these lenses on full frame, where they show the best, but they are both fairly good on crop as well.

Use with extenders and comparison with the Canon 100-400L II

One of the key selling points of the new Tamron 150-600 G2 is the reported compatibility with Tamron’s new line of extenders (1.4x and 2.0x). These multiply the focal length by 1.4x and 2x, respectively, but at a cost of light. The 1.4x increases the maximum aperture to f/9 on the long end while the 2.0x increases the maximum aperture to f/13. Cameras require a certain amount of light to achieve autofocus, and in the past that limit has often been f/5.6. Lenses with a maximum aperture of f/6.3 have always focused fine (that is only 1/3^rd stop darker), but often combinations with an extender that achieved a maximum aperture of f/8 would not autofocus. Canon and Nikon have enabled the ability to autofocus at these smaller apertures on certain bodies, but unless you have a new (two years old or less) higher end camera body (80D/7DII/D500 or 5DIV/1D series/D810/D4 or similar) you should know that you probably won’t be able to really get autofocus with an extender and any lens with a maximum aperture of f/5.6 (or 6.3).

My results come from using two of the Canon bodies best suited to this kind of combination (Canon 80D for APS-C and the 5D Mark IV for full frame, which shares the autofocus system with Canon’s flagship 1Dx II). In short, the following basically represents best case scenario for Canon shooters. I dealt with the Tamron extenders in detail in this video:

The Canon EOS 80D (APS-C) has Canon’s current best APS-C performance with f/8 autofocus with 27 of the 45 AF points available at f/8 (some other bodies that support f/8 only enable the center point). With Canon’s 1.4x III extender attached to the 150-600 G2 in my “lab” with good lighting on my focus subjects (my vintage lenses), the autofocus mostly pulsed and/or gave up. I switched to the Tamron 1.4x extender and found that while there was definitely some pulsing, the lens did accurately lock focus (though a few times it locked on an obviously defocused image). Live View fared better, for, while slow, it was steady and accurately locked focus.

With the 2.0x extender in PDAF (viewfinder) the lens just hunted. It would focus (accurately) in Live View, though with snail-like acquisition speed.

When attaching the Tamron 1.4x to the Canon 100-400L II, I noted an odd quirk. On the 80D the combination incorrectly reports as a maximum aperture of f/11 (which is what the 2.0x should register). The maximum aperture should be f/8. Because the camera detects a maximum aperture of f/11 it refuses to even attempt autofocus through PDAF. In Live View it focused slowly but surely. Here’s the quirk, though. When I mounted the 2.0x, however, it registered as f/8 and did attempt to focus through PDAF. It did a bit of pulsing, but did lock accurate focus. Live View focus was very similar to the result with the 1.4x mounted. So, for some reason the communication between the lens, TC, and body results in the aperture information being reported incorrectly. Because of this quirk the focus behavior is far preferable with the native Canon extender mounted on the Canon lens, as the Tamron extender makes for a combination that is basically useless for field use. When I tested the Canon extender + lens on the 80D I found that, other than a bit of occasional pulsing, the combination worked fairly well…particularly when choosing a single focus point rather than a group.

The story is a little little bit different on my Canon 5D Mark IV, which has a fantastic focus system with a good deal more complexity than that found on the 80D. The native Canon 100-400L II +1.4x III extender combination works with all focus points and works pretty much like that of a native lens. The same communication error is present on the 5D IV, where the Tamron 1.4x registers like a 2.0x extender and gives a maximum aperture reading of f/11. The 2.0x extender combination registers as f/8 and actually focuses fairly quickly in PDAF, though this focus was not accurate (it would need calibration). In Live View focus was slowish but very accurate.

The story is very different when using the Tamron 1.4x extender on the Tamron lens. These components were designed for each other, and the 5D Mark IV correctly registers the aperture value (f/9) and actually focused quite quickly in the controlled environment (as good the Canon combination, I would say). I had not calibrated the two components together yet, but I can tell from the results that the focus results between PDAF and Live View were close enough to just be a matter of [very minor] AFMA. I found when performing my calibration that I got basically the same values with or without the extender mounted. I swapped extenders and mounted the Canon 1.4x on the Tamron lens, and found now that the combination registered as f/6.3 maximum aperture (incorrect). When using PDAF focus I got a momentary (split second) pulse, but focus did lock. Live View focus was slower but not glacial, and it achieved perfect focus whereas the PDAF focus was a bit soft (would definitely need calibration). I would say that the Tamron combination would the better choice for field work, as focus seems to come more confidently due to correct communication between the three components. It is interesting that the Tamron extender reports correctly with a Tamron lens but not with a Canon lens (and vice versa).

Using the 2.0x Tamron combination on the 5D Mark IV (which has as good a focus system as any camera out there) resulted in unsatisfactory results. The aperture value does not register correctly (it still shows at f/6.3) perhaps to trick the camera into attempting focus (which it does, but not very successfully). The end result is a lot of pulsing and hunting before eventually a tentative lock is achieved. Live View focus is slow but possible, but the incorrect aperture value will affect metering.

When I went into the field I found using the 150-600 G2 + the 1.4x extender to be a bit of a frustrating experience. The combination doesn’t focus quickly/confidently enough to be useful if your subject is moving at all. Even with a horse walking towards me slowly I could not achieve focus lock even on the 5D Mark IV. I ended up utilizing manual focus instead, which produced more reliable results. Fortunately the MF ring on the 150-600 G2 is pretty good.

Now for the good news. Image quality is actually fairly decent with most all of these combinations (though best on full frame). The most extreme combination here is the Tamron 150-600 G2 + 2.0x on an APS-C body (effective focal length of a whopping 1920mm), but even that really looks quite good globally, though at a pixel level the images look a bit rough.

On APS-C the Canon lens + 1.4x (either one) is roughly on par with the Tamron 150-600 G2 set to roughly the same focal length (around 560mm) with perhaps the slightest edge going to the Tamron. The Tamron 2.0x delivers great optical results (if not focus results!) with the image quality with the Canon combination looking fairly similar to the results with the 1.4x. Comparing the Tamron with the 1.4x (840mm) vs. the Canon with the 2.0x (800mm) shows a fairly similar result with perhaps a slight edge to the Canon combination (note that these combinations aren’t reporting accurately in the Lightroom readout).

Here are a few real world APS-C + extender shots:

I think that this combination is pushing the limits of what I consider acceptable image quality. I personally would suggest sticking with the results from the bare lens mounted on APS-C (which already provides 960mm equivalent of reach!)

On full frame the results look even better (the 30MP full frame image is kinder than the 24MP APS-C). The 150-600 G2 actually looks pretty great even with the 2.0x extender mounted. Center performance is stronger than the edges, obviously, but even the edges look pretty good considering the 1200mm focal length (600mm x 2). The 1.4x combination looks a bit better, but I suspect that if the framing were equal the two images wouldn’t look much different.

The Canon 100-400L II + 2.0x extender image looks pretty much perfect, and looks better than the Tamron 150-600 G2 + 1.4x. The optical chops of the Tamron extenders is shown in the fact that when I compare the Canon 100-400L II images between the Tamron 1.4x and Canon 1.4x III the image with the Tamron extender looks a hair better.

To sum up: using extenders is more complicated than just looking at the end result. The image quality results are pretty good all around (exceptionally good with the Canon lens), but unless you have a camera body with an extremely robust focus system you will get extremely mixed autofocus results, and several of these combinations won’t autofocus well enough for field use. If you want autofocus, it is better to use the Canon extender with the Canon lens and the Tamron extender with the Tamron lens and skip the 2.0x extender altogether. If you need the reach but not necessarily autofocus, however, the optics in Tamron’s 2.0x teleconverter is surprisingly good and yields very good end results. I’m very impressed with the optics of these Tamron extenders, and, from what I can tell, the Tamron 1.4x yields slightly better result than the Canon version.

And now for the big comparison: when I set the Tamron bare lens to 600mm and mount the 1.4x extender on the Canon 100-400L II (560mm) I find that I [very] slightly prefer the result from the Canon combination. In the center they are virtually indistinguishable, but on the very edges there is a slight advantage for 100-400L II + 1.4x combination. If I stop the Tamron down to equal the aperture (f/8) of the Canon combination I find that the Tamron center result is sharper but the edge result still slightly favors the Canon. I doubt there is a big enough different in the result to be observable in field use.

The Canon 100-400L II is still tops for overall image quality in my mind, but it has a more limited focal range + a higher price. In real world shooting those sharpness differences are going to be pretty small, however, and if you want/need 600mm of reach (on a regular basis), I would still recommend getting the Tamron 150-600 G2 over the Canon 100-400L II + 1.4x combination despite the Canon delivering a [very] slighter better image quality result. The bare Tamron lens will autofocus (well) on all Canon/Nikon bodies, whereas the 100-400L II + 1.4x combo will only autofocus on a few, and often with limited focus points available. Using extenders requires making sure to bring it along and often means more hunting when the light dims. The Tamron has a maximum aperture of f/6.3 (only one third stop slower than f/5.6), whereas the Canon combination has a maximum aperture of f/8 (two thirds stop slower than f/6.3). It’s also worth noting that the Canon combination will cost you twice what the Tamron lens will. If you only occasionally need the reach provided by a TC combination, then the TC option is fine (that’s the category I fall into), but if you regularly need a certain focal length I always recommend going with a lens that covers that focal length natively.

In some ways I think Tamron has made a mistake in marketing the new extenders as being “compatible” with the 150-600 G2. They are physically compatible, and even optically compatible, but they actually only achieve autofocus under fairly narrow circumstances. Using TCs is somewhat complicated, and the nuances are lost on more inexperienced photographers, which is reflected in the user reviews I read here. People are claiming that they don’t work (untrue), but getting them to work relies on certain criteria being met (as we have seen). If you have a body with a higher end autofocus system you probably can use the 150-600 G2 with the Tamron 1.4x extender, but just know that you will need a lot of light for that combination. I personally feel that the lens is best used in its bare form.

Conclusion

My end feeling is pretty much unchanged after reviewing the 150-600 G2 for the second time and adding more variables into the mix. I feel like this lens offers the best overall mix of image quality, build quality, features, and usability of the various 150-600mm competitors. Canon shooters have the option of going with the Canon 100-400L II, an excellent lens, but one with a considerably higher price tag and a more limited range. It’s a lens that I really like (and own), but I rarely need a very long focal length for my shooting style and prefer the smaller size of the Canon. If you regularly need a focal length longer than 400mm, however, I think the Tamron 150-600mm G2 may be your best bet for an affordable supertelephoto option. Likewise Nikon shooters have the option of the Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6, a very nice lens with slightly better image quality. In this case, however, the Nikkor is not only more expensive (and with a smaller focal range) but is also a good bit larger. The Sigma 150-600 Sport is also an excellent lens, but I found it personally a fairly difficult one to handhold due not only to the overall weight but the balance of the lens. As far as use with extenders: I really think that adding an extender to a lens with a maximum aperture of f/6.3 strains the limits of current focus systems. Just enjoy the lens without the extender…you’ll be happier!

In conclusion, then, while it is certainly not perfect, the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 VC USD G2 may be the most well rounded option in this class and should definitely be considered by those looking for a moderately priced lens that will give them a lot of reach on either full frame or APS-C.

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (5D4): B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon Canada
Canon EOS 80D: B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca |
In Canada Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 (use code AMPLIS52016DA to get 5% off)
United States and World B&H Photo | Amazon Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52016DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Check me out on:

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Sentinel of Niagara

Dustin Abbott

March 26th, 2017

I get it – Niagara Falls has been shot literally millions of times. I was just there for a conference this weekend, and tried to find something fresh and unique to share. What caught my eye was this lone, bare tree on a cold night. The lights on the main falls (Horseshoe Falls) was a blue, moody color, and the constant mist was so prevalent that it almost obscured the falls. It provided a great canvas to silhouette the tree against, with hints of the falls themselves on either side. The new Tamron 10-24 VC HLD has fantastic image stabilization, so handholding this 1/6th second image was easy, giving me a little more blur on the water and allowing me to keep the ISO from skyrocketing for this image. See more photos from the lens here:

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 80D: B&H Photo | Amazon.com | Amazon.ca |
Tamron 10-24mm VC HLD: B&H Photo | Amazon |
Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52016DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

Check me out on:

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

November 28th, 2016

The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART is by far the most requested lens since Sigma launched the ART series line. I’ve been asked when it was coming since I did my first ART series lens review several years ago. It’s finally here, and it is a beast of lens in both size and image quality. Some will be put off by the former, but few by the latter. I’ll be putting the Sigma 85mm ART through my review paces for a couple of weeks and will be reporting in greater detail on it. In the meantime you can watch this space for new photos and watch my YouTube channel for video coverage, too. Thanks to Sigma Canada for getting me a copy of the 85 ART along with the new Sigma 12-24mm f/4 ART lens!

Images of the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART lens:

Images taken with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART lens:

Check me out on:

Gear Used:
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (5D4)
Canon EOS 6D DSLR Camera (Body Only)

Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM ART lens (USA)
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM ART lens (Canada)

Adobe Lightroom CC Software for Mac and Windows (Boxed Version)
Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud 1-Year Subscription
Alien Skin Exposure X2 (Use Code “dustinabbott” to get 10% anything and everything)

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52016DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 Review

Dustin Abbott

October 28th, 2016

The first generation of Tamron’s affordable supertelephoto zoom took the world by storm when it was released less than three years ago. Never before had the market seen such incredible reach (up to 600mm on a full frame DSLR) in such an affordable, well executed package. The lens wasn’t without faults, but even when later competitors were released from Sigma, Nikon, and Canon it demonstrated that it could hold its own. Tamron caught my attention when they announced a G2 (2^nd Generation) version of the lens. The G2 gives the lens the beautiful new SP design language including a better build and weather sealing. It addresses a number of the handling issues of the first lens and promises on paper to improve pretty much everything about the first lens. Can the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 deliver on its spec list promise? I got my hands on both a first and second generation 150-600 VC and put them to the test. We’re going to discover whether or not the 150-600 G2 is a worthy upgrade.

Prefer to watch your reviews? Check out Parts 1 and 2 of my review below:

My Reviews of all the Players:

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II

Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD (V1)

Sigma 150-600mm f/5.-6.3 OS HSM Contemporary

Sigma 150-600mm f/5.-6.3 OS HSM Sport