Canon Unveils the EOS R6 Mark II
Canon has introduced the EOS R6 Mark II, a redesigned model that the company touts as a “Swiss Army knife” of a camera, just two years after the release of the original EOS R6. A newly-developed 24.2-megapixel sensor at its core provides several significant improvements, such as faster shooting speeds. What’s more, Canon has dramatically reduced the overheating issues of the previous model.
The R6 Mark II’s main body design is similar to previous Canon RF-mount camera designs; however, the configuration of the camera’s top has changed. To the left of the electronic viewfinder, where the power switch once was is now a new switch for toggling between stills and video mode. The power switch moves to the camera’s right side above one of the command dials, which is now smaller than the previous version. The video record button remains unchanged as does the general arrangement of the buttons and dials on the rear of the camera.
The Canon EOS R6 Mark II has a new 24.2 megapixel Full-Frame CMOS sensor. It shares the same DIGIC X image processor as the EOS R5/EOS-1D X Mark III on the inside. Image stabilization is included into the EOS R6 Mark II (IBIS). For the best stabilization results, up to 8 stops, optical and in-body image stabilization can be combined.
On the photo side, the EOS R6 Mark II can take stills at up to 40fps with the electronic shutter and up to 12fps with the mechanical shutter. Additionally, it offers the choice to record a half-second pre-shoot in RAW burst mode.
It’s no secret that Canon cameras have outstanding autofocus skills. Like its predecessor, the Canon EOS R6 Mark II offers Dual Pixel CMOS AF II. But Canon improved it by adding tracking for people, cars, and animals.
In the case of humans, you can designate which eye should have focus precedence. The EOS R6 Mark II will instead focus on the face in the photograph if it cannot detect the eyes. As a result, even if the subject you’re photographing briefly turns away, the camera will still follow their head even though their body is no longer visible. All video modes, including slow-motion Full HD, have autofocus.
Here are some sample pictures:
On the video side, the EOS R6 Mark II features internal 4K video recording that is oversampled from 6K and shoots at up to 60 frames per second without a crop (full width), which it can continuously record for 40 minutes or more. The company says there is no maximum time for recording and adds that after 40 minutes, the amount of storage space on inserted memory cards and environmental conditions will determine how long a recording lasts. When set to 4K at 30 frames per second or less, the camera can record for an unlimited amount of time.
Additionally, the R6 Mark II enables internal recording up to 4:2:2 10-bit in either H.264 or H.265 and can film in Canon Log 3. The camera can also shoot in 6K RAW when linked to an upgraded and supported external recorder.
The Canon EOS R6 Mark II camera will be available in late November 2022 for estimated retail price of $2,499.
More info on Canon’s website.
