Pro Moviemaker March/April 2023 - Web

GEAR CANON EOS R6 MARK II

ON THE MENU Making changes to

settings is easy, as the Fujifilm user interface is well-organised and informative (below)

“Compared to the original camera, the body design sports some subtle enhancements and weather sealing still features”

enhancements. Weather sealing still features, but the Mark II is 10g lighter. The on/off switch, which resided on the left of the top-plate on the Mark I version, now sits around the command dial on the right and has been replaced with a switch to quickly flick between photo and video capture. Menu navigation is typically Canon and will be familiar to anyone that has picked up one of its digital cameras in the last 20 years. One small but mighty feature is the ability to check why a menu option isn’t available. It can be a constant frustration to find menu options greyed out, then having to try and crack the code as to why. Not so on the R6 Mark II – simply select the greyed out feature and the camera explains the cause. The R6 Mark II uses the same rechargeable cell as its predecessor, but Canon has managed to cajole more out of it. In real-world terms, battery life is excellent.

FAST AF Autofocus is speedy, ideal when your subject won’t stay still for more than a second or two

heavy rain – so all of this impressive AF performance was delivered in low-contrast conditions that would normally make you stay indoors. In low-light conditions, the highly powerful image stabilisation system delivers. The camera is claimed to have up to eight stops of stabilisation, and it works well. Just walking around the house and going up and down stairs, the footage was smooth and well-controlled. While we’re on the subject of low-light capabilities, the R6 Mark II offers a top native ISO of 102,400, which can be expanded to 204,801. At the other end, native ISO goes down to 100, with 50 available in the expanded setting. Beyond the numbers, image quality at higher ISOs is definitely impressive, with usable images well into five-figure settings even. Compared to the original camera, the body design sports some subtle

quickly and could certainly keep up with our tests on an erratic pup. Part of this is due to the expanded range of subjects the system can lock on to, which now includes cats, horses, birds, trains, aircraft and – of course – dogs. It also uses AI-based learning to help deliver its impressive performance. It will even maintain focus on a subject leaving the frame and then reappearing. Our tests were largely taken in a nightmarish mix of leaden skies and

TWIN PEAKS A pair of SD card slots can either be set to relay or backup-style recording; the media is cheap and available, too

ON A PEDESTAL Canon is famed for its colour science, and the latest EOS produces a natural look

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