Canon EOS R6 II review: hybrid just got better

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Two-minute review

If you’re buying into Canon’s EOS R mirrorless system, you mightiness good beryllium weighing the do-it-all EOS R6 II against the much costly and high-powered EOS R5. Plenty chose the archetypal EOS R6 for its price, low-light capability, burst shooting and video features, and the R6 II removes 1 remaining obstruction – the archetypal model’s 20MP resolution. 

The Mark II’s solution summation volition whitethorn not marque overmuch quality to the item rendition, but it’s an important intelligence bonus which puts the Canon connected a par with rivals similar the Lumix S5 (and present the S5 II), Nikon Z6 II and Sony A7 III (though not rather the A7 IV).

The R6 Mark II’s burst mode framework rates are doubled to 40fps with the physics shutter but enactment astatine 12fps with the mechanical shutter, and portion the AI-powered AF taxable designation has been extended with much taxable types, the archetypal was beauteous bully already.

For video, the archetypal 30-minute signaling bounds has been scrapped and Canon reckons the R6 II tin sprout for implicit 40 minutes astatine 4K 60p, and up to 6 hours astatine 4K 30p. It besides has Canon C Log 3 and tin seizure 6K ProRes RAW implicit HDMI.

These things are each great, but they are incremental alternatively than revolutionary improvements, and they marque for a beauteous costly camera that’s lone worthy it if you request everything that it does.

The EOS R6 II is bully to usage and captures precise charismatic stills and video, but the 8-stop IBIS strategy volition not needfully present that successful existent beingness and does not person the fluency for creaseless camera movements successful video. The EOS R6 II feels similar 1 of the amended cameras successful its class, but not needfully the champion and decidedly not the cheapest.

Canon EOS R6 II: merchandise day and price

• About the aforesaid terms astatine motorboat arsenic the aged R6, which is welcome
• Much much costly successful the UK than the US
• Seems costly compared to the Sony A7 IV and Lumix S5 II

New Canon cameras typically get with premium terms tags comparative to the contention and instrumentality a portion – sometimes a precise agelong portion – to determination backmost down to a much competitory terms point. Launch terms for the Canon EOS R6 II is $2,499.99 / £2,799 / AU$4499 assemblage only, and $3,599.99 / £3,999 / AU$6399 bundled with the RF 24-105mm F4 lens.

It’s nary astonishment then, that the EOS R6 II instantly looks costly compared to its rivals. These see the Nikon Z6 II, Sony A7 II and the marque caller Panasonic Lumix S5 II, each of which are astir $500 cheaper. Indeed, adjacent the 30MP Sony A7 IV presently costs little than the Canon. And if you’re reasoning of getting the R6 II and 24-105mm f/4 lens bundle, that’s astir the terms of an EOS R5 body.

So is the EOS R6 II bully capable to marque it worthy the other compared to its nonstop rivals? At this level, you perpetrate to a strategy alternatively than a circumstantial camera, and if you’re starting from scratch you’ll request a batch of spot successful the Canon marque to wage the other for the R6 II. If you’re a Canon shooter, the R6 II mightiness marque a logical upgrade for existing kit, but if you already usage Sony, Panasonic oregon Nikon gear, it’s hard to spot wherefore you would switch.

• Price Score: 3.5/5

Canon EOS R6 II: design

• Curved shapes and creaseless materials marque it bully to handle
• Very bully EFV and rear display
• Some insignificant power niggles

Canon does marque precise nice-handling cameras. When different makers look to beryllium favoring hard-edged rectilinear designs, the EOS R6 II has comfy curved contours and soft, grippy surfaces. Your small digit is inactive near dangling astatine the bottommost of the grip and it does consciousness overbalanced by bigger lenses – we tested it with the RF 24-105mm f/4 – but it’s much comfy than its rivals.

The three-dial power layout does instrumentality immoderate learning, since the dial functions beryllium connected the mode and successful immoderate modes 2 dials bash the aforesaid thing, but it’s each portion of learning a blase camera.

It would person been bully to person had dedicated ISO and WB buttons, and wherefore doesn’t the stills/video lever connected the acold near of the apical sheet person a continuous shooting option? It’s thing this camera is particularly bully at, truthful it’s a spot annoying to person to excavation astir the the interface to find it.

And you mightiness privation determination was immoderate speedy mode to disable the subject-recognition strategy for erstwhile you privation to take the absorption constituent – though you could bash that with the C1, C2 and C3 settings connected the main mode dial.

It does feels arsenic if Canon has gone distant from the thought of a camera that has buttons and dials you tin see, to a camera you customize and programme yourself.

The EVF offers superb clarity, explanation and contrast, though it tin besides beryllium a spot jittery arsenic you determination the camera, and portion the vari-angle rear surface is arsenic excellent, could Canon not person stretched to a 3.2-inch show alternatively than 3-inch?

If you similar cameras with powerfulness levers astir the shutter release, close wherever your forefinger is, you won’t similar the R6 II’s large Off-Lock-On lever further backmost connected the apical plate. There indispensable beryllium immoderate ergonomic crushed wherefore you should request 1 manus to clasp a camera and different to power it connected and off. Answers connected a postcard.

There’s nary presumption sheet connected the apical plate, but the paper system, though extensive, is precise wide and casual to navigate. The video grounds fastener connected the connected the apical sheet looks to beryllium successful a random presumption but it’s really rather casual to find with your scale finger.

• Design 4/5

Canon EOS R6 II: features and performance

• Really bully AI autofocus and tracking
• Operation all-round is smooth, responsive and satisfying
• We didn’t get Canon’s claimed 8-stops of IBIS

Canon’s latest AI autofocus strategy is precise awesome – mostly due to the fact that you tin acceptable its subject-recognition to car and fto it get connected with it. Almost ever it figures retired what your taxable is and focuses connected it without you having to bash a thing. It’s particularly effectual with animals and humans, but it’s besides precise bully astatine identifying cars.

If you take Zone AF oregon azygous constituent AF, it volition inactive amusement you what it’s recognized successful the EVF oregon connected the rear screen, but it volition respect your area/point AF choice, which saves you getting into a combat with the camera implicit what to absorption on.

The oculus AF and tracking is precise good, and perfect for one-person vlogging crews filming themselves. In our tests it tracked america doggedly arsenic we walked astir talking to the camera, and lone failed with abrupt framework entries for accelerated and erratic movements. Basically, arsenic agelong arsenic you’re not deliberately trying to travel it up, it doesn’t enactment a ft wrong.

It was besides fantabulous for tracking squirrels successful our section park. With a squirrel face-on it didn’t rather fig retired the eyes, but with the squirrel sideways it got the absorption bang on.

The 8-stop (claimed) IBIS is little convincing. It’s quoted with the RF 24-105mm lens astatine 105mm, which is conscionable however we tested it. We got an acceptable deed complaint astatine astir 4-stops compensation, but beauteous mediocre results aft that.

We didn’t find it large for video oregon agelong lenses, either. For static filming it’s excellent, but for immoderate benignant of camera question it does excessively galore ‘jump-resets’ for reliable footage successful the hands of each but the astir skilled operators. We tried it with the RF 800mm f/11 super-telephoto and got the aforesaid results – if you can’t support this lens’s question nether choky control, the stabilizer conscionable jumps from 1 ‘stable’ presumption to another, making close framing precise difficult.

• Features and show 4/5

Canon EOS R6 II: representation and video quality

• Very charismatic colour rendering for some stills and video
• Excellent high-ISO representation quality
• 24MP solution capable for astir but unremarkable

The JPEGs we got from the R6 II are truly attractive. The car WB seems to justice the lighting and the colors of the country perfectly, and the evaluative vulnerability metering seems to cognize precisely however you would privation a country rendered. We changeable some JPEG and raw, but the vulnerability strategy and the JPEG rendering proved truthful effectual that the earthy files were mostly superfluous.

The solution was nary amended and nary worse than we’d expect from a 24MP afloat framework camera with an anti-aliasing filter. For resolution, the EOS R6 II is bully but utterly unremarkable. At slightest it’s not astatine a megapixel disadvantage compared to astir rivals, dissimilar its predecessor.

The low-light, high-ISO show is highly good. We acceptable up a trial country with the aforesaid taxable changeable astatine a scope of ISOs with the camera connected a tripod and operated with the self-timer to destruct immoderate imaginable shake. The results were precise bully so close up to ISO 6400, erstwhile it was imaginable to commencement seeing immoderate nonaccomplishment of item and representation smoothing, but it wasn’t until ISO 12,800 erstwhile we felt determination was immoderate important prime loss.

This was each done by comparing JPEGs. The information of comparing earthy files is that antithetic earthy converters grip sound differently.

The video prime was precise awesome too. We changeable 4K 30p and 4K 60p in-camera successful modular mode (no log flattening) to spot what the R6 II could bash consecutive retired of the box. Detail was sharp, the colour rendition was affluent and earthy and the vulnerability – arsenic with stills photography – gave capable dynamic scope for astir needs and lighting conditions. The AF kept up good too, with creaseless shifts for changing taxable distances.

The IBIS was little convincing, failing to decently creaseless retired walking footage and not handling agelong focal lengths oregon creaseless camera movements (or arsenic creaseless arsenic we could marque them) peculiarly well.

The IBIS could get you retired of a spread if you’re shooting handheld and you don’t person your tripod oregon gimbal but, realistically, you request those supports to truly get the champion from this oregon immoderate camera.

• Image and video prime 5/5

Should I bargain the Canon EOS R6 II?

Don't bargain it if...

Don't bargain it if...

Also consider

If our Canon EOS R6 II reappraisal has you wondering astir alternatives, present are 3 rivals to consider.

Canon EOS R6 II: investigating scorecard

First reviewed: January 2023