Canon R6 I Recommending the R6

[PB Aus]

Hi....my best mate is in the market for a mirrorless camera (this is a genuine case). At the end of June we both attended a Sony field day photographing birds with all their latest cameras and lenses. I was always staying with Canon but my mate who currently uses Nikon was ambivalent on brand. He now has decided to most likely/ probably go to the R6. My questions are 1. Has anyone found that any of the features are not up to the hype (perhaps excluding any video issues) and 2. Are there features exceeding expectations. Just want to convey real world opinion to assist decision making....thanks

 

[Aether]

Indirectly answering your question, 20MP sensor is really something to be considered heavily. Depending on what your mate is using it for, it could be enough, but then again, it may not. If there’s a lot of cropping being done, maybe say for birding, it may not be the best option. If it’s for portraiture or things like that where you don’t foresee a whole lot of cropping being done, then it’s really not an issue. It is a fantastic camera overall, but the 20MP sensor could make or break the decision. It was pretty much always more than adequate enough for me when I was using it, but I was never really doing much cropping with it.

Just something to consider.

Regarding question 2: the autofocus system is stellar and the low light capability never ceased to impress me. The system was snappy and it really is bargain for the price (if the megapixels aren‘t the driving factor).

 

[Kwazy]

Having had enough time to play around with my R6, I've found myself wishing numerous times that I'd bitten the bullet and splurged on the R5.
Like Aether, I end up cropping a lot, and having that extra resolution would go a long way in macro + telephoto. I'm planning to see how prohibitively expensive the 100+ megapixel rumored camera is, and either upgrade to that one or maybe the R5 if it ends up being a 7k+ thing.

On the plus side, with the R6 I don't have to deal with huge files while I'm learning new techniques and shooting 2000+ images per outing, and had enough budget left over for a few lenses which probably wouldn't be the case had I gone with the R5. I like the full frame sensor and the image quality that it offers, especially in low light. To be fair, there's still noise, and you can't shoot in the dark expecting superb images, but I think it's an improvement over what I've seen in the past. The resolution is enough for my needs for the time being. Even after a crop I end up with a large enough image to discern a lot of detail not seen with the naked eye, or use the image as a wallpaper. Haven't tried printing anything.

If the goal is to shoot images that won't be cropped, or for the web, then R6 is more than enough and R5 would likely be an overkill. If you want to print poster-sized pictures, then 20MP might not be enough. A lot of people like the R7, as it has an even higher pixel density than the R5, albeit on a crop sensor - resulting in a smaller resolution overall.

A few things to consider based on wants and needs!

 

[EarthShadow]

If the 20 MP R6 is too low on resolution, and the R5 is too expensive, consider a Sony A7IV. That is a nice sweet spot (for some) that Canon has skipped. Or perhaps a Nikon Z7II, and don't believe all the crap that it doesn't autofocus as well as an R5. It doesn't, but does excellent for 98% of the users and users who know how to actually use the autofocus correctly.

 

[Jake Shoots Birds]

Is bird photography his thing? It's mine. I have an R5, R6, and an R7. The R6 sits around for times when I just need a walkaround with no expectation of shooting wildlife. It's not that it can't. I shot a 20MP D500 for 5 years and never worried about resolution - but the cropped sensor gave me 50% more reach so I was actually better off than an R5 in cropped mode.

Which of the others do I use the most? It depends. The R7's focus system (from the R3) is great in that it can do eye detection in every focus mode. That said, it seems to lose lock in poorer lighting conditions, something I expect to be improved on in a future firmware release. It suffers from a small buffer that prohibits more than a couple seconds of continuous shooting, particularly at full resolution. The added reach and 32.5MPs make it ideal otherwise and carrying around a camera with an effective 160-800mm is a dream.

That said, if the R5 gets the full R3 focus system I'll likely use that whenever lighting conditions force me to high ISO constantly. Until then, I'm thrilled with either of them and for someone on a budget the R7 is an amazing wildlife camera.

 

[PB Aus]

Hi...an update on this....and thanks to those who offered advice ...Mate has settled on R7 + 100-500. In addition as a second everyday lens is looking at the 18-150.…does anyone have experience with this lens and have any opinions please?

 

[Kwazy]

Hi...an update on this....and thanks to those who offered advice ...Mate has settled on R7 + 100-500. In addition as a second everyday lens is looking at the 18-150.…does anyone have experience with this lens and have any opinions please?

Sounds like a fine and well-researched choice.
I'm a bit jelly.