Canon EOS R6: Welcome To The New World
The very term “mirrorless camera” seems to be fading into oblivion soon – clarifications are simply not required. Mirror models are slowly being pushed aside into purely professional niches, some brands completely refuse to release them, and companies that have made a name and reputation for themselves on “DSLRs” are rapidly expanding their range of “mirrorless” cameras. For example, Canon at the end of last year released two models at once, the EOS R5 and EOS R6, which finally throw into the past the reputation of the great Japanese company as a manufacturer of exclusively SLR cameras.
The Canon EOS R5 is a professional camera with a huge sensor resolution and impressive capabilities for capturing photos and videos. The Canon EOS R6 seems to be a much simpler camera if you look at the price – it is one and a half times lower than that of the R5 – but it is also a very powerful tool, just focused more on photography. Here we will just talk about the capabilities of this device – broader than it might initially seem.
Canon EOS R6 – this is the third generation of the full-frame mirrorless cameras Canon -mount Canon RF, first used in the Canon EOS models R 2018. This is not just a lens mount, but a whole hardware complex that allows you to create more perfect optics for the new camera than for the classic “SLR” EF mount. With the same 54 mm diameter, it offers a flange distance shortened by up to 20 mm (versus 44 mm for the EF), as well as an increased number of contacts from 8 to 12. With their help, the camera can collect from the lens, for example, additional information about optical deviations and, due to the Digital Lens Optimizer function, correct them.
Over the three years of the new system’s existence, almost 20 lenses of the new series have already been produced – and there is no need to go far for examples of the same “more advanced” optics.
A new mount is always a guaranteed skepticism from photographers. The ecosystem is just starting, there are few optics, you need to use adapters … All this no longer applies to Canon RF. The new system can serve as an example of rapid development: in just three years since its inception, more than 20 lenses have been produced, and of the highest level – and this is in addition to more than 80 lenses of the classic EF line, fully (with autofocus) working through an adapter. But the emphasis should still be placed on the optics of the RF series – for an example of why you don’t have to go far.
We tested the EOS R6 with Canon’s latest RF 28-70mm F2L USM universal zoom, offering a unique combination of a wide enough focal length range and a consistently high aperture ratio. All the photographs illustrating our article were taken with this particular lens – you can yourself appreciate the simultaneously sharp and soft bokeh picture with excellent backlighting and excellent color reproduction. We will move on to talking directly about the camera.
The Canon EOS R6 has a full-frame 20-megapixel CMOS sensor – this moment in these days, when 40-50-megapixel cameras do not surprise anyone, can raise a lot of questions. But the reduced number of light-sensitive elements on the image sensor leads to what? That’s right, to an increase in the size of each of them – and, as a consequence, a higher quality of the picture at high ISO values. In fact, values up to ISO 25,600 can be called working – a very impressive result, especially taking into account the built-in matrix image stabilizer, which in addition allows you to lengthen the shutter speed by about three times compared to the usual value. The Canon EOS R6 is perfect for shooting in the dark or twilight.
The relatively small resolution has two more advantages. Firstly, it is theoretically higher shooting speed – Canon plays such a trump card quite successfully: the EOS R6 allows shooting at up to 12 frames per second with a mechanical shutter and up to 20 with an electronic one. And no clipboard overflow problems: the camera can shoot up to 1000 frames in JPEG, HEIF or C-RAW, or up to 240 frames in RAW. Provided you use the fastest SD UHS-II card, of course, the EOS R6 has two slots for them.
Secondly, this is the volume of files – you don’t need to buy a NAS for tens of terabytes to store them, and Photoshop will process them very quickly even on not the most powerful computer.
The built-in DIGIC X image processor is responsible for image processing, which is used, among other things, on full-size professional equipment – for example, the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III. The autofocus system is new – Dual Pixel CMOS AF II. Each pixel on the image sensor is simultaneously responsible for light painting, shooting, and focusing. As a result, we get a huge number of focus positions (6072) and automatically selectable zones (1053 and 100% frame coverage, face and eye recognition – both people and animals). And for even more accurate focusing, machine learning technologies are used. And it all works flawlessly in the end: Canon EOS R6 – one of the best cameras to date in terms of speed and autofocus accuracy. Moreover, both single-frame and tracking – the camera perfectly works out the dynamics and complex scenes. For example, photographing animals.
The lack of an optical viewfinder, which is inevitable with mirrorless cameras, can confuse the orthodox, but this solution also has its advantages. First, the 3.69 million-dot OLED viewfinder looks great. Secondly, in it you can immediately see the frame as it will be in the picture. Thirdly, it is possible to build a frame fully on the main screen with a diagonal of 3 inches – touch and rotary in all planes. This is very convenient, also due to the ability not to limit the angles with the capabilities of your body. You can shoot from the hip, or with the camera on the ground, or even from around an angle, without compromising focus quality in any way, unlike DSLR cameras.
The ergonomics of Canon EOS R6 are quite classic, “mirror”. In this model, the manufacturer ditched the touchpad that debuted in the EOS R, the first camera in the series. The controls are also traditional: many keys and mechanical dials and selectors. Quick selection of the AF point is carried out using both the touch screen and a dedicated joystick. Almost all controls of Canon EOS R6 are customizable (and separately for photo and video modes), the user can completely adapt the camera for himself.
The body is of a traditional shape, with a large projection for a right hand grip, covered with a material under the skin. The grip is natural, the camera is large enough to house all the necessary controls, and compact enough to be different from DSLRs of the same class (for example, Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, replacing which Canon EOS R6, in fact, and becomes) was visible to the naked eye. For example, with a battery and a memory card, the “six” weighs 680 g, and the fourth “mark” – 890. The optics for “mirrorless”, thanks to the shortened flange focal length, are also more compact – when it comes to such unique pieces as the Canon RF 28- 70mm F2L USM, of course. Due to the high aperture ratio, glasses of very large diameter are used in it, and this is already a “mirror” lens in terms of dimensions. But in total, the system will in any case weigh much less and take up space in the backpack.
Directly on the shooting capabilities of the Canon EOS R6 represents the most up-to-date device. It provides for both shooting in RAW – in this case, extremely flexible, the pictures are excellently “stretched” in photo editors (and in-camera, there is such an option), – and in JPEG. If desired, you can shoot in the proprietary lossless compression format C-RAW – in it the pictures “weigh” about 40% less, and there is no noticeable difference to the eye. The highly efficient HEIF compression format is also available, which many are now relying on as a future replacement for JPEG. The camera also has image profiles (portrait, landscape, monochrome and others, including customizable copyright ones), HDR shooting with various effects and multiple exposure (it is possible to combine up to nine images using various algorithms). In essence, we are talking about a tool that allows you to produce a result without further processing.
Despite the significantly less emphasis on video in the EOS R6 compared to the older model EOS R5, the camera is quite good at that too. Shooting is available in 4K resolution at up to 60fps or up to 120fps in Full HD. In this mode, autofocus and image stabilization system work very well, there is the possibility of shooting in HDR (HDR PQ) format. The camera has connectors for a microphone and headphones, there is an option to record compressed (AAC) or uncompressed (Linear PCM) audio. That is, in fact, Canon EOS R6 can be used as a professional tool for both photo and video shooting, there are no restrictions.
The Achilles’ heel of all mirrorless cameras is essentially the same – battery life, which suffers from an always-on screen or an electronic viewfinder (which consumes even more power). The Canon EOS R6 allows up to 380 shots when shooting through the viewfinder and up to 510 when shooting through the LCD screen. That is, you should immediately attend to the purchase of a pair of additional batteries for busy shooting days and an optional battery grip, which holds just two batteries. In this case, the battery can be charged either with an external charger or without removing it from the camera – via USB.
Worth Canon EOS R6 version without lens 209 990 rubles – and this is an adequate price for such a powerful and versatile camera that combines both an excellent job in low light conditions and fast autofocus, and very high-speed continuous shooting (with a huge buffer) and adequate modern video recording capabilities, and excellent ergonomics, and a huge potential for working with a wide variety of optics. The EOS R6 is a camera designed primarily for reportage and travel photography, but does not limit the photographer to these genres only.