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Canon EOS R6 Mark II Foto Koch
Reading time: 5 minutes - November 02, 2022 - by Lennart Filthuth

Canon EOS R6 II Hands-On

More than just a facelift!

Almost exactly two years ago, Canon launched their most popular system cameras to date with the EOS R5 and EOS R6, making their then still fairly new mirrorless R system really competitive. The R6 came as a very attractively priced mid-range full-frame and was a strong camera not only for photographers, but also for filmmakers. Now it's going into its second generation!

What the new camera can do and if it's worth the upgrade, you'll find out in this article.


LIVE Tech Talk: Fujifilm Novelty & Canon EOS R6 II Presentation

In addition to our short hands-on video, we sit down again for an in-depth conversation about the new Canon EOS R6 II, as well as the new Fujifilm Novelty.

You can use the live chat to ask your questions about the new cameras and discuss the new features with us.


New features of the Canon EOS R6 II

New body & button layout

When we look at it from the outside, we immediately see some important changes to the body. Canon has integrated a split button layout here, meaning the On/Off switch has moved to the right side and on the left we now have a switch for switching between photo and video. Since this is completely detached, we gain the complete mode dial for both stills and video, adding the 3 Custom Profiles C1-C3 for video as well.
The Video Record button has also been enlarged, so both of these already hint that the camera will also have a stronger focus on video. More about this in a moment. The new Canon multi-interface hotshoe is also built in, of course, so that modern accessories like the Tascam audio interface can develop their full potential and communicate wirelessly.

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Canon EOS R6 Mark II Housing

  • Canon EOS R full frame camera
  • 24 MP CMOS sensor
  • Autofocus with deep learning detection of people, animals and vehicles
  • 40 bps continuous shooting with full AF / AE tracking
  • 5-axis image stabilization (IBIS) of up to 8 stops
  • two UHS-II SD card slots
Canon EOS R6 II Button Layout

New sensor

The 6 series of Canon's lineup has always been defined the same way. It was the brother of the high resolution professional cameras from the 5 series and with the fast continuous shooting speed perfect for sports and nature photographers.
An update that many have been asking for is the new sensor. The new R6 II now has 24 instead of 20 megapixels and now manages a full 40 bps in the electronic shutter, twice the continuous shooting speed of its predecessor.

New photo features

In addition, we now also get the pre-capture feature of the R7, where the camera before triggering already saves some photos, so as to no longer miss an important moment.
New and first in Canon's full-frame cameras, are now also the panorama & focus stacking functions, as well as HDR shots with moving subjects.
Stacked images and panoramas can now be created easily by hand without large equipment, which saves not only time, but especially a lot of weight. The camera calculates the individual images directly in the housing and offers you a finished photo. We were especially impressed by the focus stacking from the hand.

Canon EOS R6 II Sensor

EOS R6 II Video Features

The video aspect of Canon has always been a big highlight. Back then with the 5D MK II they really laid a foundation in DSLR or hybrid cameras. With the R6 II we get a lot of upgrades. Although the video resolution in the body is still limited to 4K at 60fps, we can now output up to 6k in 60p in 10bit raw. We still only have a micro HDMI port here and no full-size HDMI yet.

But let's move away from resolution, to the actual important video news: Compared to the R6, at 4K 30p we have a rolling shutter that has been improved by 40% and yes, you can see it clearly! What filmmakers will also be happy about is the option of Breathing Compensation, False Color and Pre-Record. Couple all this then with the new improved image stabilizer of up to 8 stops, and we see a really strong video camera in all areas. From interviews, corporate, to run and gun style documentaries.

Canon EOS R6 II

Canon R6 II Autofocus

The autofocus area on the R6 II can be summarized relatively briefly: It has improved in every line. Here we have the same autofocus algorithm as already used on the R3, R7 or R10. For a more detailed test in practice, we refer at this point to our video on the R7 and R10, where we were able to test the autofocus at a water ski facility. We can assure all nature and sports photographers that you won't have any problems with the focus.

As a little bonus, we have added the nice "Detect only" function to the video. Here, the focus does not jump away from the subject once the autofocus loses the target, but remains at the same focus distance until the subject is found again. This can be exciting when filming animals or birds, for example!

Canon EOS R7

Canon EOS R6 II vs. EOS R7

If you're now asking yourself, "Okay, that's all well and good, but why buy an R6 II and not an EOS R7?" Well, there are several points here.
If you do a lot of video or want to expand that professionally, there's really no way around the R6 II.
If you're purely into photography, there's the battery grip argument in addition to the better noise performance thanks to the full-frame sensor. Most of the "complaints" we heard with the R7 was the lack of a battery grip for longer battery life and ergonomic grip shape at long focal lengths.

The R6 II can use the familiar BG-R10 here, offering much more continuous fire performance than an R7. Those who need the reach of an APS-C sensor can use the digital teleconverter here to get more focal length again. This actually also offers a sharper image result than switching to APS-C mode. It is best to test it out.

Canon EOS R6 II

Conclusion - is the update worth it?

All in all, we think the Canon EOS R6 II is a worthy successor to the R6 and fits perfectly in the lineup. It's a really good alternative to an EOS R3 in terms of price with almost the same feature set, at least we've inherited all that we don't need a stacked sensor for.

So for anyone who has already built their equipment on the Canon R system, or is considering taking the step to take their work to the next level, we can really recommend the R6 II and the current RF lens lineup.

More about Canon

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Housing

  • Canon EOS R full frame camera
  • 24 MP CMOS sensor
  • Autofocus with deep learning detection of people, animals and vehicles
  • 40 bps continuous shooting with full AF / AE tracking
  • 5-axis image stabilization (IBIS) of up to 8 stops
  • two UHS-II SD card slots
Canon EOS R6 II Button Layout

New sensor

The 6 series of Canon's lineup has always been defined the same way. It was the brother of the high resolution professional cameras from the 5 series and with the fast continuous shooting speed perfect for sports and nature photographers.
An update that many have been asking for is the new sensor. The new R6 II now has 24 instead of 20 megapixels and now manages a full 40 bps in the electronic shutter, twice the continuous shooting speed of its predecessor.

New photo features

In addition, we now also get the pre-capture feature of the R7, where the camera before triggering already saves some photos, so as to no longer miss an important moment.
New and first in Canon's full-frame cameras, are now also the panorama & focus stacking functions, as well as HDR shots with moving subjects.
Stacked images and panoramas can now be created easily by hand without large equipment, which saves not only time, but especially a lot of weight. The camera calculates the individual images directly in the housing and offers you a finished photo. We were especially impressed by the focus stacking from the hand.

Canon EOS R6 II Sensor

EOS R6 II Video Features

The video aspect of Canon has always been a big highlight. Back then with the 5D MK II they really laid a foundation in DSLR or hybrid cameras. With the R6 II we get a lot of upgrades. Although the video resolution in the body is still limited to 4K at 60fps, we can now output up to 6k in 60p in 10bit raw. We still only have a micro HDMI port here and no full-size HDMI yet.

But let's move away from resolution, to the actual important video news: Compared to the R6, at 4K 30p we have a rolling shutter that has been improved by 40% and yes, you can see it clearly! What filmmakers will also be happy about is the option of Breathing Compensation, False Color and Pre-Record. Couple all this then with the new improved image stabilizer of up to 8 stops, and we see a really strong video camera in all areas. From interviews, corporate, to run and gun style documentaries.

Canon EOS R6 II

Canon R6 II Autofocus

The autofocus area on the R6 II can be summarized relatively briefly: It has improved in every line. Here we have the same autofocus algorithm as already used on the R3, R7 or R10. For a more detailed test in practice, we refer at this point to our video on the R7 and R10, where we were able to test the autofocus at a water ski facility. We can assure all nature and sports photographers that you won't have any problems with the focus.

As a little bonus, we have added the nice "Detect only" function to the video. Here, the focus does not jump away from the subject once the autofocus loses the target, but remains at the same focus distance until the subject is found again. This can be exciting when filming animals or birds, for example!

Canon EOS R7

Canon EOS R6 II vs. EOS R7

If you're now asking yourself, "Okay, that's all well and good, but why buy an R6 II and not an EOS R7?" Well, there are several points here.
If you do a lot of video or want to expand that professionally, there's really no way around the R6 II.
If you're purely into photography, there's the battery grip argument in addition to the better noise performance thanks to the full-frame sensor. Most of the "complaints" we heard with the R7 was the lack of a battery grip for longer battery life and ergonomic grip shape at long focal lengths.

The R6 II can use the familiar BG-R10 here, offering much more continuous fire performance than an R7. Those who need the reach of an APS-C sensor can use the digital teleconverter here to get more focal length again. This actually also offers a sharper image result than switching to APS-C mode. It is best to test it out.

Canon EOS R6 II

Conclusion - is the update worth it?

All in all, we think the Canon EOS R6 II is a worthy successor to the R6 and fits perfectly in the lineup. It's a really good alternative to an EOS R3 in terms of price with almost the same feature set, at least we've inherited all that we don't need a stacked sensor for.

So for anyone who has already built their equipment on the Canon R system, or is considering taking the step to take their work to the next level, we can really recommend the R6 II and the current RF lens lineup.

More about Canon

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