Big test
PERFORMANCE: ISO The EOS R6 Mark II delivers a superb ISO performance. As you’d expect, the low native ISO settings from 100-800 are all but faultless, with consistent results letting you shoot with confidence. What’s reassuring, though, is that this continues higher up the ISO dial. Noise is well-controlled heading into four digits – 1600, 3200, 6400 and even beyond. I’d be confident shooting at 12,800 before any real drop in image quality started. Once you head above 25,600, noise becomes increasingly prominent, but not to the point of uselessness – the grain effect is manageable and the colours stay true. Delve into six-figure ISO settings and the grain is very evident, but again in a pleasant way – images take on a watercolour look while tones and colours don’t muddy up too quickly either.
100
200
400
800
1600
3200
NEW SHOES The R6 Mark II features the same multi-function shoe as the R3, which allows for new accessories including this Tascam XLR adapter
6400
12,800
25,600
512,000
102,400
204,801
“I SHOT HUNDREDS OF FRAMES AND PLENTY OF VIDEO, YET DIDN’T EVER EXHAUST A FULL BATTERY CHARGE”
and having to crack a code to work out why. Not so on the R6 Mark II – select the feature and the camera will explain why it’s not there. Getting back to Mark I/Mark II differences, battery life has been greatly improved. The R6 Mark II uses the same cell as its predecessor, but Canon has cajoled almost 50% more frames out of it. CIPA ratings suggest you’ll get 580 frames per charge using the normal mode, compared to 360 on the Mark I. In real-world use, I found the battery life to be excellent. I only had the camera for three days, but shot hundreds of frames, plenty of video and incessantly pixel-peeped and dug around in menus on the rear LCD, yet didn’t exhaust a full charge. Must try harder.
grand scheme of things, but a good pub/camera club fact nonetheless. More worthy of note is that 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. Other than that, there’s not much more to see from an aesthetic perspective. As a regular user of Fujifilm cameras, however, I must admit I thoroughly
enjoyed having a sizeable grip to give me a solid purchase on the R6 Mark II. It’s more DSLR in style than mirrorless, but it feels great, as does the body’s rubberised finish. Menu navigation is typically Canon and will be familiar to anyone who’s picked up one of their digital cameras in the last 15 years or so. One feature I really like is the ability to see why a menu option is unavailable. I’m constantly frustrated by finding menu options greyed out,
ONE STEP BEYOND The R6 Mark II represents a design philosophy which focuses on improving features without chasing the dragon of ever-higher megapixel counts
18 Photography News | Issue 103
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