Canon Eos M6 Mark II Expert Review: An Ideal Mirrorless for Video Bloggers!
The Canon EOS M6 II is a mirrorless camera with a 32.5-megapixel APS-C sensor that is aimed at photography enthusiasts and beginners alike, and also uses the Canon EF-M mount. In many ways, this is a combination of a compact mirrorless version and the Eos 90D DSLR, which was introduced at the same time.
In terms of body, it closely resembles the first-generation M6, but hosts a higher speed and newer features that give you a better photography experience. Improvements to this model include a higher-resolution sensor, the ability to record 4K movies, and state-of-the-art shooting in raw Raw format at up to 30 frames per second. As a result, the Eos M6 II is an attractive and pleasing camera that attracts the attention of photography enthusiasts.
Key Features :
32.5 megapixel Dual Pixel AF CMOS sensor
Sequential shooting at 14 frames per second
Continuous shooting mode at 30 frames per second (using tracker autofocus system and very high buffer capacity)
4K UHD video recording at 30 or 25 frames per second, without any cropping, or using full-width sensor
3.0-inch touch screen that can rotate 180 degrees up or 45 degrees down
Optional electronic viewfinder
USB 2.0 port with Type-C connection
Canon says that with the operating system update in 2020, it will add 4K video recording capability at 24 frames per second to the M6 II.
Canon EOS M6 Mark II comes with a different lens kit. The official price for the camera body alone is US $ 849. With the addition of the 15-45mm IS STM kit lens with an EVF (as you can see in the pictures), the price will increase to $ 1,099, while an 18-150mm STM kit lens with An EVF will bring its price to $ 1349.
What is new?
New sensor
The EOS M6 II uses a newly built 32.5-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor. The sensor also uses Canon’s proprietary Dual Pixel system design, in which each pixel is actually two and a half pixels, one for receiving information from the left side of the lens and the other for recording from the right. This split design can be used to evaluate any separation between left and right images, which, just like human binoculars, allows the camera to assess the depth of the scene.
This means that each pixel individually helps the camera’s autofocus system to more accurately detect the subject and its detection speed, and also does not suffer from the band distortion that can sometimes occur in other phase-detection autofocus systems.
This camera can shoot consecutively at speeds of up to 14 frames per second or 30 frames per second. Of course, to achieve this rate, you must also tolerate a certain amount of crop on your image. My initial look at the electronic shutter shows a speed of about 22.1 seconds (46 milliseconds), so if you can use the electronic shutter mode to capture frozen moving subjects, you can expect a lot from the electronic shutter. .
Eye Detector Autofocus System
The Canon EOS M6 II also has the eye-tracking autofocus capabilities we first saw in the EOS RP and Eos R mirrorless cameras. Previous experience has shown us that although this sensor is not the best at tracking a subject quickly or continuously, you can trust it in most situations, as it tries to focus only on your subject’s eyes. It can also be somewhat prone to jump from face to face in a crowded scene.
Also, if there is more than one face in the photo, if it is necessary to determine or change the subjects, it can still be said that its performance is relatively acceptable, but there are better sensors on the market.
You may think that you are not on the side of one of the best autofocus systems on the market, that is, you are not going to work with a good system. But in fact this is not true either, you can trust the camera and its automatic operation most of the time, but it is annoying that sometimes it can jump from one subject to another and you have to manually control everything again.
4K video recording
At the moment it seems that adding 4K video capability to a camera in 2020 is very strange, but the first generation EOS M6 was only able to record 1080p videos. The M6 Mark II, however, can now shoot at 4K resolution using the full width of its sensor. It is one of the first Canon cameras to receive this feature in its entirety, albeit beyond the Cinema EOS series.
The EOS M6 Mark II can record video at 4K resolution at 30 or 25 frames per second. Canon says that through an operating system upgrade in 2020, it plans to add 24 frames per second for the same resolution. Surprisingly, the video quality of the videos recorded with this camera is much better than that of the EOS 90D, despite the fact that both cameras have the same resolution sensor and the same video specifications.
Continuous RAW raw shooting mode
The M6 Mark II has Raw Burst mode, which can record up to 70 frames per second at 30 frames per second . It is unclear whether this camera can focus automatically in the same mode. It also includes a pre-fired buffer that starts when you half-press the shutter and saves 0.5-second images before you fully press it.
Mobile Raw workflow (iOS)
The EOS M6 II uses Canon’s new CR3 Raw format. This includes the “CRaw” compressed option, which is smaller only with the limited effect of processing flexibility as you exit files. There is also an uncompressed option if you prefer.
Both raw files can be sent over Wi-Fi and edited by Digital Photo Professional Express (mobile version of Canon Raw Processing Software) . Unfortunately for Android users, this app has not been developed yet and can only be downloaded on iOS.
Compared to companions…
Although the M6 Mark II does not use the built-in viewfinder, which is unusual for a camera at this level, the EVF-DC2 external viewfinder inside the box gives you great performance.
