Canon EOS 6D vs Sony Alpha A7 Mark II Camera Comparison

Canon EOS 6D Advantages

Lens Selection

Canon offers a LOT of lenses – pretty much any lens you could ever want (or need) is available from Canon. From standard zoom lenses to exotic telephotos ($10,000 or more) to tilt/shift lenses. This has always been one of the biggest advantages for both Canon and Nikon.

Battery life

Since the Sony is a mirrorless camera it uses an electronic viewfinder that zaps the battery in no time flat. On the Canon I typically get 1,000+ images per battery charge while on my Sony A6000 I’m lucky to get 400 shots on a single battery charge. The Sony A7II battery performance is similar to the Sony A6000.

GPS

The Canon features a built-in GPS unit (as well as an optional hot-shoe mounted version that runs on it’s own batteries). While I don’t use this frequently due to the penalty on battery life, it is nice to have it and being able to see where I shot the images on the map in Lightroom is a nice benefit.

Startup Time

The Canon is pretty much ready to start shooting as soon as it is turned on. The Sony can take up to 2-seconds before it is ready to shoot. On my A6000 I was experiencing an issue where the camera was taking up to 10-seconds before it was ready to shoot. After some research I found that the updated remote app was the culprit. I removed it and the other add-on apps and my start up time was back to a respectible 1.5-2 seconds again, but still not as fast as the Canon.

Low Light Auto focus

This is probably the biggest advantage for the Canon EOS 6D. It can focus in pretty much moonlight. The Sony will hunt when focusing in low light. I do like to shoot after dark, so this is a disadvantage, but that is somewhat offset by the focus peaking and the EVF as you will see in the Sony Advantages below.

Sony Alpha A7 Mark II Advantages

Size & Weight

This is probably the biggest advantage of the A7II over the Canon EOS 6D. I bought my A6000 to use as my “point and shoot” to help offset this difference and I have to admit it is nice to have a small and lightweight camera, but I do miss the full frame aspect of my 6D when I leave it home because it is too big and heavy.

EVF

Even though the EVF is a huge battery drain, I really, REALLY like it. Being able to navigate menus and settings with my eye to the viewfinder is great, but more importantly, when reviewing images in the field it is nice to be able to see them in the viewfinder, especially on sunny days. My aging eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be and not having to break out my reading glasses to see the screen is a bonus. Another nice benefit to the EVF is the exposure simulation and white balance preview as you compose your image. Sometimes it is nice to see the exposure before you shoot and the live histogram is a major boon. Other times having the viewfinder not set to preview the exposure is also helpful as it can be similar to night vision when composing in low light – the EVF gets a boost in light that makes it easier to compose in the dark.

Dual Axis Level

Like many photographers, I suffer from keeping my horizon level when shooting not only hand held, but even on a tripod. The Canon 6D has a built in viewfinder level, but it only shows the “pitch”, not the yaw, and it doesn’t work at all when the camera is turned vertically. The Sony A7II features the dual axis superimposed over the screen that is very easy to see and doesn’t have to be activated separately, nor is it cancelled when you press the shutter button halfway like it does on the Canon.

Tilt LCD

This is not as much as advantage as I would like it to be, I really wish it was fully articulated, but having some adjustment is better than no adjustment at all.

Focus Peaking

In the good old days before auto focus it was somewhat easier to focus manually since the viewfinders of old featured a split prism focusing screen. This gave you a relatively easy way to tell if your shot was in focus. When auto focus was introduced the split finder went the way of the dinosaur and focusing manually became a real challenge. Focus peaking, combined with the auto zoom when focusing manually makes this a lot easier and even somewhat enjoyable. This is a real advantage when combined with adapters for old manual focus lenses that can be had for a dime a dozen used.

Customization of Buttons/controls

If there is one thing that really makes these cameras user friendly it is the plethora of customization to the controls. One of my complaints on my Canon 6D is the lack of a direct “White balance” button. This is a setting I change frequently and having to dive into the menu or the quick menu to change it is tedious. With my A6000 I set the C1 button to be my white balance and I can change it with my eye to the viewfinder to boot.

In-body Stabilization

Until every lens made by a manufacturer is image stabilized it is hard to argue against the benefits of in-body stabilization. The 50mm f/1.8 lenses are typically used in low light where image stabilization is a real advantage, especially when shooting at the longer focal lengths.