Okay. So the world jumped when Canon announced the newest camera to their mirrorless line – the Canon R6. The initial R was a flurry of excitement, and the R5 shook the camera world. However, being much more expensive than the normal consumer could afford, I think everyone got excited when the newest R6 was announced.

I personally was not on the bandwagon. I didn’t want to change to mirrorless – infact I wanted to get another 5d Mark iii instead of jumping straight into mirrorless. However, Grant suggested that I take a closer look and take the leap. And now, after having shot on it for two months, I can say that it was definitely worth the leap!

When I first got the R6 I hated it. And I mean I HATED it. I threatened to send it back a few times and just get another mark iii. However, Grant kept pushing me to use it and experiment with it and now I have to say that I love it. The editing was definitely a curve. The images seem to be a little more flat, and a little more green than my mark iii but the quality is so much better!

The R6 has eye tracking technology and I have to say it’s pretty accurate. Even with a few people in the picture and moving, it snags eyes every. Single. Time. I was blown away. I use the touch and drag feature that Katelyn James suggested using in her youtube video about the R6 and I do like that. However sometimes when I’m chasing my dog around the house or my kitten who refuses to sit still, I rely on the eye tracking to make sure I get them in focus.

I’m not a fan of not having back button focus. It still focuses when I half press my shutter and that takes some time getting used to. I find myself still reaching for the button on the back to focus and that irritates me sometimes during a session, but slowing down and just draging my thumb on the screen has helped me a lot.

The camera itself is lightweight, and easy to hold. It’s not as beefy as my mark iii and honestly doesn’t have that great grip feeling, but I’ve never once thought it would slip out of my hand. I have the basic control ring adaptor and it works perfect with all my EF lenses. I have the basic RF kit lens that came with the R6 (it was really only $100 more to get the lens with it versus without thanks to PA sales tax) and that is a nice lens as well. I really don’t think I’ll ever have the need to switch to the RF lenses unless Canon starts phasing out the EF like they are doing with the DSLR bodies.

One of the my least favorite things about the R6 is that I have to shoot Kelvin instead of using my expodisk. I’ve used and expodisk for the past three years in my business to get my light metering correct. However, with the new R6, when I use my expodisk the images are incredibly cool, and skin tones look funky. I’ve resorted to using Kelvin instead, and that seems to make up for it.

So, here is the complete list of my opinion.

Pros:

• Lightweight, easy to carry.
• Shutter is fast, so much faster than the fastest speed on my mark iii.
• Uses 2 SD cards instead of a CF and SD (so no more carrying around a CF card reader)
• Touch and drag focus is pretty cool.
• It’s sharp. CRAZY sharp even at 20 megapixels
• Low light ability is fantastic, didn’t even need a flash for a wedding reception.
• Quick autofocus
• Eye tracking technology is spot on
• Barely EVER any out of focus images.
• Flip screen on the back so you can always see what you’re shooting.
• Perfect for travel because of it’s size and weight.
• Shoots 4K video

Cons:

• Expensive at $2700 for the normal consumer
• RF lenses so you need an adaptor
• Touch and Drag focus instead of back button is annoying
• Takes a little bit to learn how to edit (more green than magenta like my mark iii)
• Only 20 megapixels. Might hinder printing and blowing up huge pictures for wall hangings and such.
• Batteries die super fast even with included new Lithium battery.
• Can’t use my expodisk with it anymore to my liking.
• Doesn’t have super great video capabilities but still shoots 4K.

So in overview, I really do like the R6. Though I think for video sakes, the R5 would have been nice as well, that was a luxury expense we couldn’t afford right now.

All in all, if you’re looking to replace your Mark iii or Mark IV with something newer, I’d highly suggest jumping on and getting the R6. You won’t regret it. However, if you’re happy with where you’re at, and you don’t need the extra expense, it’s not a deal breaker. My mark iii is still my backup and still the one I pull out sometimes to grab a quick photo. The industry will eventually shift to all mirrorless (Grant informs me) however now isn’t necessarily the time to make the change. It’s okay.

For those of you that are looking at switching, I hope this helped you out!