It's a great camera

kitchen sinks Canon 20 2 Digital Camera 3 0 Inch

I have waited for this camera since September 2012 and it has met and exceeded my expectations.
I bought it directly from an Amazon vendor because they gave a free Lowepro bag and 32GB SDHC card with the purchase. I have used (rented for weeks) the 5D Mk2 and own a 5D Mk3 and the 6D is a better camera than the 5D Mk2. The 5D Mk3 is a $900 better camera than the 6D. If I had the 5D Mk2 I would keep it as a secondary and get the 6D as my primary. For now I leave my 5D Mk3 in the bag and pull out the 6D every time for the last 30 days because it's so simple and fun to work with.

The 6D is very light, simple to use and the photo quality is exceptional for this price point. It makes my slow lenses faster and my fast lenses very fast. This cameras ISO 2,000-4,000 to the eye is nearly the equivalent of ISO 600-1,200 on older digital cameras which will make it much easier to stop down and work well in low light with depth. If you pixel peep, higher ISO's (+8,000) are mildly noisy (to my eye) but the Digic 5+ does a decent job managing things. I actually carry less equipment because the 6D is so versatile and flexible. It could be considered (in some circles) an entry level camera because it's design is simple but camera function and quality of properly exposed images are impressive. I find this to be a very easy digital camera to pick up and use, even in the dark. Menu access and adjustments are simple and most can be done with 1 hand. Something else of note with this camera is that in RAW, even if you over or under expose a shot, when you go to edit the photo the details are still there to correct unlike many older digital cameras when you over expose and attempt to fix the photo file the details are gone or when you underexpose and try to lighten the noise increases....the files from the 6D are so heavy with info you will more easily save poorly exposed images. My 1Ds was terrible with overexposure.

After considerable use im not as happy with the Auto Picture Style and Scene Intelligent Auto (A+) jpg limitations as I was initially. My workaround has been to convert to tif before any editing. In silent mode this camera is so quiet, people posing don't know when I have snapped the photo and often, I have already taken the shot or 3 or 4 shots unheard from 15 feet away. It is definitely stealthy. If there is conversation going on in the room the camera will not be heard in silent mode.

Wi-Fi is functional and easy to use if you understand basic Wi-Fi principles but my primary concern is image quality and it comes close to the 5D Mk3 and for nearly $900 less I feel that got my money's worth.

I think the professional and the novice will enjoy using this camera. It's an excellent tool to learn and grow with or to jump right in and make money for the professional.

Im a freelance photographer and I most often shoot events, concerts (low light) and single subject portrait work. I don't miss the on board flash. The SD card versus the CF card or dual cards is a non issue for me. My primary concern is image quality. Ease of use is a bonus. I don't shoot video very often as of yet but it seems adequate.

I have 2,981 shutter actuations (at least 2,950 actual photo taken) on this camera as of January 9, 2013

If you want a 5D Mk3 this is not an alternative though it comes close in many ways. If your primary concern is to save money and you are a good shooter get the 5D Mk2 but you will get what you pay for. If you are moving up from a cropped sensor camera, experienced or new to photography you will be impressed with this camera and satisfied with your purchase.