Firing up a new Canon
SUPER compact, easy to use, 14 frames per second continuous shooting, 4K video and an optional electronic viewfinder – there’s lots to love about one of Canon’s best new shooters.
The EOS M6 Mark II captures beautiful, vivid images with its 32.5MP Dual Pixel AF CMOS sensor, while there’s a huge array of user controls to cater for photo enthusiasts.
While it takes nice video, its lack of in-body stabilisation means it is not as smooth as rivals.
We tested the camera with a 15-45mm lens that captured some stunning landscape images which were easily viewed on the 3.0 inch rear touchscreen which flips up by 180 degrees or down by 45 degree.
As you would expect, you can shoot in both RAW format for better editing later or JPEG. Bluetooth connectivity with your smartphone means images can be easily shared on your social platforms from the shoot.
The 30 fps burst speed is not designed for high-end sports photography but is more than adequate for getting great photos of your young puppy hurtling towards you.
The camera features AF Tracking which worked pretty well most of the time, though it can wander a little, especially if not trained on the subject well.
The user interface includes the standard dial for different modes, including manual, auto, scenes, aperture priority and custom settings.
Scenes offers a good selection of options including selfportrait, portrait, sports photography, panning to reduce blur, close-up, food, night portrait, handheld night scene and HDR backlight control which retains more detail in bright or dark areas by taking three consecutive shots.
There’s also a hybrid mode that can create a movie with your stills.
On the auto setting, there’s a creative mode which allows you to blur your background, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, colour tone, or shoot monochrome.
It’s similar to the filters you would find in a smartphone and a nice addition to allow some in-camera creativity with your photography.
Other on-camera controls aimed at more higher end photographers include a dial function control, a dedicated manual to autofocus switch, and AF-On button.
There is a myriad of controls also available from the touch screen that has a good user interface.
One of the disappointments with the camera is the battery life, meaning you would definitely need a second battery for a decent day of shooting, especially if travelling.
I found the optional electronic viewfinder very good to use, though it uses the same mount as a strobe flash or shotgun microphone, which is limiting. There’s also no headphone jack which would limit its use for video.
Compared with the Sony a6400 or Nikon Z50, the Canon has the highest resolution, as well as good performance in combating noise resolution and an excellent dynamic range.
At under 400 grams, it’s one of the lightest cameras we’ve reviewed, so Canon has done well to pack so many features in a small, yet very comfortable-to-use device.
Online prices for the camera body start at about $1100, while for about $1500 you can get the 15-45cm lens and the electronic viewfinder.