Women sells food rain in low light taken on the canon d6 mark 1 night shuiwei Shenzhen china

Canon 6D Mark I The Best Full Frame in 2025?11 min read

What was the main reason you first bought an APS-C or mirrorless camera? I am going to be completely honest – I couldn’t afford a nice professional full frame camera. The good news at this moment there are dozens of great brands with full frame sensor that are as cheap as chips.

I have already talked about the phenomenal Nikon D600 (see my review), but there are others too. Enter the Canon 6D Mark 1, it’s a camera of spectacular value, quality and very available on the second market.

Front view of the canon d6 mark 1 control dial with lens Held in hand side on
Front view of the canon d6 mark 1 control dial with lens Held in hand side on

Why decided to give the 6D Mark I a try

I give full credit to Martin Castien when comes to me purchasing the Nikon 600 and for trying out the Canon EOS 6D Mark I. In fact it was the Canon 6D Mark 1 that I was hunting for. All because of his indepth YouTube reviews. If it wasn’t for the fact the seller I came across was a bit of an ass, I would’ve bought the Canon. The next seller was an awesome guy so I got the Nikon D600. There was nothing scientific about it.

The reason’s for even looking at these were:

  • Their prices both were around $300 – $400 
  • They both produced the most gorgeous images
  • Neither of the seemed massive in size
  • Low light capabilities 

I will do a comparison article soon, so I stop the comparison with this last point or two. 

Both cameras are legends in terms of their durability and wonderful colours. Lastly they are both work horses.

I do street photography and travel photography mostly and I really wanted to find out, if I was missing out on buying the Nikon 600, the Canon has such a great reputation. 

In dongmen Shenzhen china taken on Cannon 6d Mark 1 vendors selling food shops and signs all around daytime
In dongmen Shenzhen china taken on Cannon 6d Mark 1 vendors selling food shops and signs all around daytime

Features I loved

Eventhough I only leased the camera for a week, there is a whole bunch characteristics and features that I loved:

Price

I could have bought the camera for $350 dollars which is a bargain. The biggest turn off for me weigh new full frames is the price. In some sense newer camera produce perfect images, which I think have less character.

In dongmen Shenzhen china taken on Cannon 6d Mark man with ebike on crowded street daytime
In dongmen Shenzhen china taken on Cannon 6d Mark man with ebike on crowded street daytime

Mega Pixels

I don’t put much weight on pixel count, even 12 million for is plent enough, this camera goes well beyond that.

Autofocus

The auto focus is a little slow but if you take your time to place the center focal point on the subject even in lowlight produces decently sharp images.

Coffee bar table light glass phone and charger in low light taken on the canon d6 mark 1 night
Coffee bar table light glass phone and charger in low light taken on the canon d6 mark 1 night

Lowlight 

This camera produces gorgeous low light images, colours and warm and dare I say nostalgic.

In dongmen Shenzhen china taken on Cannon 6d Mark 1 man sits on shops beautiful roof and signs all around daytime street
In dongmen Shenzhen china taken on Cannon 6d Mark 1 man sits on shops beautiful roof and signs all around daytime street

Colours

The dynamic range was pretty nice better than the APS-C sensor which I have gotten used to. I’m not going to compare specs because real life use is the real test. The Canon colour science is warm and pleasing.

Weight 

I did not find this camera heavy at all. I loved the form factor, the look and the shape. It is still a great looking camera. It’s simply not that large. Some of the APS-C fujis have gotten pretty close in size namely the X-T3, X-T4..

Nikon d600 view of on off button display held in hand
Nikon d600 view of on off button display held in hand

Handling

I loved the overall handling. It felt good in my hand, I never felt it was at risk of dropping it. 

Low light chairs on with Shenzhen subway in background Shenzhen china taken on the canon d6 mark 1
Low light chairs on with Shenzhen subway in background Shenzhen china taken on the canon d6 mark 1

ISO

The Canon 6D’s ISO performance although not near today’s cameras is still surprising good and there were no issues between 3200 or 6400. Impressive for a 12 year old camera.

Front view of the canon d6 mark 1 control dialå with lens Held in hand
Front view of the canon d6 mark 1 control dialå with lens Held in hand

Build quality

Its Magnesium alloy body feels so rugged. Many of today’s best sellers in other brands seem to be cutting some corners in this regard, yes I am talking about some of the latest Fujifilm cameras. It’s so nice to hold a camera that feels like it can handle a bump or even a drop.

Battery life 

I’m not sure the battery is as long lasting as the Nikon D600 that’s for days. This battery seems to last around a 1000 shots, which is about two times better than most mirrorless camera.

Front view of the canon d6 mark 1 back menu screen side by side with Nikon d600 front
Front view of the canon d6 mark 1 back menu screen side by side with Nikon d600 front

Back screen

I felt it worked well even in live mode. The screen is bright and clear almost looks modern.

Lock button

A nice feature it can lock aperture and exposure,it can even be remapped.

Features I don’t like

Auto focus

Let’s be honest here it’s an old camera so we should adjust our expectations. The camera has 11 focus points but they are not that reliable in my experience. The centre cross-type, performs reasonably well even in lowlight. But yes the autofocus is sluggish.

Baby chick walks on floor in dongmen Shenzhen china taken on canon d6 mk1 Out of foucs
Baby chick walks on floor in dongmen Shenzhen china taken on canon d6 mk1 Out of foucs

Single card slot

This is more of an annoyance more than anything else. It’s certainly not a deal breaker. I come from the mirrorless world where this is pretty normal, the Nikon D600 is the first dual slot camera I have had. To be honest I have yet to use it, but it’s a nice feature.

not sure the battery is as long lasting as the Nikon D600 that’s for days. This battery seems to last around a 1000 shots, which is about two times better than most mirrorless camera.

In dongmen Shenzhen china taken on Cannon 6d Mark builders pedestrians woman walks across street on crowded street daytime
In dongmen Shenzhen china taken on Cannon 6d Mark builders pedestrians woman walks across street on crowded street daytime

Screen

It’s a nice feature to have, let’s face it. You know what else doesn’t have tilt screens – Leicas and everyone wants one of them. People will even pay the price of a new car for one. Yes it’s nice, but not a necessity.

Weight

Yes it’s a bit heavy, but it isn’t bad. Put a longer lens on I think it becomes unwieldy for street photography, get something like a nifty fifty and it will be fine. It will never be a discreet tool though. 

In dongmen Shenzhen china taken on Cannon 6d Mark 1 man sits on shops beautiful roof and signs all around daytime street
In dongmen Shenzhen china taken on Cannon 6d Mark 1 man sits on shops beautiful roof and signs all around daytime street

Menu

Personally I didn’t like the menu system. It just seem that logical to me. Perhaps that’s my fault because I should have spent more time with it.

The buttons

Once again I’m not a fan, they seemed kind of squashed together. Again I think I needed more time with it. The on/off switch on the other hand was super annoying, I dislike the placement.

Who is it for?

Portraiture

This camera already had fantastic reputation for portraits. The colours and skin tones are a sublime. In the studio, or standing still this camera performs wonderfully.

Travel and street photography

Yes absolutely but… as long as the subjects are stationary or slow moving. This camera will struggle with explosive movements or fast unfolding street scenes. 

Good for taking travel images of old buildings or quiet slow street scenes for example locals outside a restaurant.

Women sells food rain in low light taken on the canon d6 mark 1 night shuiwei Shenzhen china
Women sells food rain in low light taken on the canon d6 mark 1 night shuiwei Shenzhen china

Even low light night scenes as long as there is a good light scourse and there is not too much fast movement. This camera takes very nice low light images actually.

Landscapes photography 

This camera is very strong as all the Canon cameras are for landscape photography. This camera is also weather sealed. Canon cameras like the Canon 5D Mark I, 5D Mark II and 5D Mark III produce some of the most beautiful imagery for landscapes the famous for the earthy tones.

Beginners

This camera is a fantastic camera to learn on and to get a feel for full frame cameras. The price is right and you can really learn all the basics and learn what a good full frame cameras can do. If you break it or lose it or fall out of love with photography, then you haven’t spent or wasted too much money.

In dongmen Shenzhen china taken on Cannon 6d Mark 1 women selling food clothes shops and signs all around daytime
In dongmen Shenzhen china taken on Cannon 6d Mark 1 women selling food clothes shops and signs all around daytime

Final thoughts

This is still an amazing camera in 2025, in many ways the aesthetics for one the look and the design of the camera has aged really well. You just have to spend time with this camera to get used to all the shortcuts and the button layout as well as the menu.

A lot of people find the Canon menus great to navigate and to use for me I wasn’t a fan, honestly I’ve gotten used to the Nikon menu and prefer the Fuji and the Ricoh menus.

For me what shines about his camera is the image quality it’s ability to produce good images in low light the price which is amazing and the handling in economics the field of the camera in your hand. I also love the battery life.

Would I buy this camera? I might but I still have other classic cameras to check out for now and I will stick with my Nikon D600. 

That said it’s such a great camera at such a good price, that makes it worth buying if you want to try your first full frame camera or if you’re curious about the special and gorgeous images that these old cameras produce. 

For me vintage cameras produce very special colours and have a unique qualities baked into the images. There’s something special about these old senses. If you’re looking to get a classic DSLR in 2025 why not pick Canon 6D mark 1, you won’t be disappointed it’s one the best cameras out there.

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