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I'd like to buy a full frame camera. I'm not sure if I'm ready for the 5DMIII. 6D seems to be okay with me, as I'm not interested about having two card slots and I don't shoot a lot of videos.

However, I would like to know the following. Given that I'm not going to do sport shooting, what would be the disadvantage of having only one cross point focus? Where would I notice it?

Additionally, can someone explain the 1/80 flash sync issue? I could not quite get what the issue is.

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    \$\begingroup\$ I don't get why in the title you say "full frame" and no where in your question do you mention any cropped sensor cameras, but you added a tag for cropped-sensor. Why? Also, the question about the flash sync speed should be asked separately, and it probably already is if you search the site for sync. \$\endgroup\$
    – dpollitt
    Mar 21, 2013 at 0:45
  • \$\begingroup\$ Here is an interesting blog post which provides some interesting opinions VRP to some of the topics in your question. \$\endgroup\$ Mar 21, 2013 at 0:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ So, what do you shoot if you dont shoot sports? That will help here. Both Jakub and I have the 6D and I can speak for myself that it suits my needs very well. I do a lot of landscape photography and portraits. The single cross center point is a non issue for me. \$\endgroup\$
    – dpollitt
    Mar 21, 2013 at 0:56
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    \$\begingroup\$ Flash sync on the 6D is 1/180", not 1/80". \$\endgroup\$
    – Caleb
    Mar 25, 2013 at 22:52
  • \$\begingroup\$ @dpollitt I mostly do street photography, macro and studio. \$\endgroup\$
    – zzzbbx
    Mar 30, 2013 at 7:01

2 Answers 2

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The focus-point issue depends on your personal habits. Many people who shoot a variety of non-action photography, only ever use one focus point. Yes, one focus point, not one cross-type, one focus point in total. You do that using the focus-lock and recompose technique.

On the other hand, having multiple focus points and particularly more sensitive ones is very beneficial when using continuous or tracking autofocus. You say that sports is not what you will be shooting, so I'd consider it less important.

The most significant difference feature between these cameras is that the 5D Mark III has a 100% coverage viewfinder. If you want to frame precisely and not have to crop all your images afterwards, this is essential and neither the 6D or 5D Mark II offers this.

The flash-sync issue is probably a non-issue if you are not aware of it :) What it means is the the 5D Mark III can use flash with a higher shutter-speed which is needed to augment the relative flash contribution when shooting in bright light.

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Even though you aren't shooting sports, you may be shooting things that are fast moving. For that, only one cross-type point in the center is going to be weak, but whether or not it matters depends on the style of shooting. The 6D is a very good option for full frame consumer users looking to do traditional, family style, photography. You get very good quality for a very good price, but it's not a powerhouse for anything else.

The sync speed issue, which may not mean much to your shooting, is the speed at which the shutter can synchronize with the flash. The slower that speed, the less you can use the flash to overpower ambient light. Basically, a flash is a short, intense, burst of light and the longer the shutter is open outside of the time of that burst, the more ambient light will strike the sensor. Shorten the sync and less ambient hits. That's the issue. There were a lot of Canon professional users that considered the 6D as an inexpensive backup camera to a 5D mk III or 1Dx, but the sync held many of them back.

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    \$\begingroup\$ It is a powerhouse for low light photography, for landscape photography, for anyone that values wifi connectivity or GPS... :) \$\endgroup\$
    – dpollitt
    Mar 21, 2013 at 1:10
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    \$\begingroup\$ @dpollitt - You bet. It's a good cam, just not as much when you want to control the light. Personally, I would go 5D mk III instead, for much the same reasons that I went D800 over the D600. :) \$\endgroup\$
    – Joanne C
    Mar 21, 2013 at 1:41
  • \$\begingroup\$ @dpollitt - yeah, low light performance is why I went with the 5D Mark III when I was evaluating cameras. That things sees better in the dark than I do even at hand held shutter speeds and I have good night vision. \$\endgroup\$
    – AJ Henderson
    Mar 21, 2013 at 1:49
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    \$\begingroup\$ The 6D outperforms the 5D MkIII in both low light sensitivity(-3EV) and high ISO performance. So one would not choose the 5D over the 6D for those reasons alone. \$\endgroup\$
    – dpollitt
    Mar 21, 2013 at 3:38

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