Canon EOS R6 II for PHOTOGRAPHY review vs A7 IV and S5 II

Does the pixel count make a difference

Hi Gordon, would you prefer the Canon 6D Mark 2 vs the Sony A7RV?

I’m currently a 6Dmkii body shooter. My workhorse lens is the Tamron 24-70m f/2.8. If I upgrade to the R6mkii will my Tamron (with adapter of course) not function in terms of AF? Cheers, Josh.

I'm a total noob to this hobby and this was so much great information. Thank you!

Excellent stuff as always, Gordon! I hadn't really been giving any thought to moving to mirrorless, being very happy with my 7D2 and 1DX3. But more and more, I find myself tempted to add the R62 to my camera bag. I think it would be a great addition to my kit, since I could keep using my Canon glass with the EF-RF adapter.

great review, thank you. did you review the video too?

Nikon Z9 was first to have multi-subject AF select I think, no?

The very best review of the R6 II i´ve read so far. You covered details i didn´t know i would be interested in, but i was. Hats off!

no no no i hate what sony does with high iso, footage looks so ugly, i would prefer canon anytime. More noise, but more detail

Thank you Gordon. I am a Canon DSLR user who is well overdue in my jump to Mirrorless. Your video phenomenal features I haven't seen in other videos, and which I now must have!

The only reason I won’t go for Canon is their dumb decision not to let third party manufacturers to make lenses for their cameras.

Lack of lenses still lacking with canon especially affordable , the 100-500 is still overpriced and alone

Do yours R6mii body make rattling sound in switch off mode??

Awesome video only now I’m torn hang fire see what stacked bodies come out or get the r8 as a 2nd body along side my r6 or px the r6 in for the mk2 I love the pano mode and the better sensor readout speed decisions decisions

Thanks for a detail review of R6 ll. I want know whether focus bracketing will work with large products like rugs and carpets😮. Thanks

This was such an amazingly thorough video! Been eyeballing the Mark II for a while and have been growing more and more confident to purchase one to enhance my channel's video quality. You might have just tipped my motivation to get one, good sir - well done and thanks for putting this together!

Canon still has best skin tones while the lumix magenta push is wild

The S5 can do Multiple exposures of up to 5 photos l believe.

Great review, thanks Gordon!

I always appreciate your no-nonsense and detailed reviews. I have been shooting with the R6II for a month or two - only stills, I am not a videographer.
I would like to make a couple of points about the 3rd party lens issue - accepting that reviews age with time:
1. Sony started out with their mount came out in 2010, about 8 years earlier than Canon or Nikon did and I took the trouble to find every third party lens released for their MILC mount. It turns out that the first 3rd party lenses came out only SLIGHTLY earlier than Canon or Nikon, and the mass of those third party lenses came out after 8 years, so they have had a major time advantage.
2. At time of writing both Canon and Nikon have said that they will allow 3rd party lenses on a case-by-case basis, and one RF autofocus 3rd party lens has been released by Meike in April 2023.
3. I have been shooting with the R5, R6 and R6II, using legacy Canon EF lenses, as well as the Sigma 150-600c and Sigma 60-600s lenses. Personally, I have not experienced the pulsing that some people have apparently found, and I think this could be due to how the lenses have been set up - as I have customized both using the Sigma docking station, and how the Canon Autofocus Eye tracking has been configured - which can vary wildly among users.. I am expecting Sigma to get the go-ahead to eventually release an RF version of their recent 60-600 release for Sony, but in the meantime I don't feel any frustrations.
I have never had an issue with my legacy EF lenses: 70-200 f/2.8 MkII, 70-200 f/4 MkII, (both IS USM), 70-300L, 100-400MkII, 24-105 MkI L, 17-40 f/4L.

hello is R6ii compatible wit Dji RS2 procombo? RS2 is in the compatibility list

Well done! When do we see the review for video? Cheers!

Do you know if there is still banding in indoor ambient when shooting silent on electronic shutter, or the faster readout and improved flicker reduction fixed that?

your seagull in flight is the highlight of your video for me.
Always look forward to it.
VERY few reviewers even know how to do that

i will never buy a brand that can't take on healthy competition from 3rd party lens brands....

I truly appreciate the amount of work needed to put this video together. Thank you.

Thanks for this photography review and comparison 🎉. I have been looking for this. Most reviews just focus on video

News is Canon has changed and will license the use of RF mount to lens makers on a case by case basis and just approved the first:

“starting with the recent Voigtlander 50mm f/1.0 lens. It will be the first third-party lens that can communicate with the body's RF mount without an adapter, and Canon is also in talks with other manufacturers about more third-party lenses.”

Great review. I would note on your comments on lack of 3rd party lenses, that Sony has been out for almost 10 years, so it has had a long time to establish its own lens portfolio and get back the investment in its mount technology. I use Sigma EF lenses: 150-600c and 60-600s lenses with my R5 and R6 bodies with no issues.

Another fantastic video, thank you.
I personally take a lot of long exposure night photos of scenes, both moonlit & light painted,
I can't find much info comparing the Sony & Canon in this regard.
The Sony sports the BSI sensor supposedly good for low light, but then the lower MP count of the Canon should help it in low light too.
I currently still use the 6D for such shots but it's time to change..

But the majority aren't buying the A7 IV & S5II for photography but for filmmaking.

I'm considering buying the a7 IV, this is just what I need to make the choise easier for me since I will mostly take stills.

awesome video!

For video I am so excited about the Panasonic S5-II. The Canon is interesting. I am curious if Tascam support XLR balanced audio for the Canon. The Panasonic does support XLR audio from their own. Sony does the same though especially higher costs. I would chase these mostly for video. The phase detect auto focus for the Panasonic is great. No more breathing background. Systems wise, the Sony wins. Panasonic is next, then Canon. I am amazed Canon has not made open 3rd party lens support. Just silly.

I watched every second and enjoyed your review thoroughly. Thank you for being so detailed. I currently have and enjoy using the R6. I hope to upgrade to this version come summer. Once again, thank you for your review.

This is my favorite waterfall to shoot in TN. There are so many good shots to take here. I love it when the pool beneath fall is full. Nice shots. 🙌 Keep up the good work.

Thank you for such a detailed video. Out of curiosity, what specific SD card was used, and its speed?

For price point...most perfect vs sony nikon fuji. R6 mkii fixed most complaints of r r5 r6 and most don't want r5 bit expensive overkill..

Sadly I have r6 and might upgrade r6 mk2 in future and maybe 2nd body r8.

Looks like a very competent camera with well thought out updates to the user interface and functionality.

Hi Gordon thanks for your video . For wedding fotography which one do you think is better between those three ?

Hi Gordon. Will EOR6 Mark II detect and focul on all people faces in the frame. I have original EOR and that is the biggest issue that I have with it. It would not find all the faces in the picture. What can you say about that. Please let me know. Thank you.

Thanks!

Gordon! I have all EF adapted lenses for the R6 II and they all get H+ speeds. And they work amazing! The EF Sigma 50 1.4 focuses 2x faster than the RF50 (both the 1.8 and 1.2).
These all work with H+ mode
EF Sigma Art 50 1.4
EF Sigma Art 14-24 2.8
EF Canon 70-200 2.8 IS Mark III

Shot hockey with the 70-200 and yup, full H+ speeds (around 12 FPS) and it was 100% accurate... the best focusing setup I've ever used and I've been a pro shooter for about 18 years.

The battery info you gave is for the old R6. The new R6 II has a huge improvement over the original R6 (and much better than the S5 II and A7IV) with a CIPA rating of 760 shots with the LCD.... almost 50% better than the R6 and the competition.

I got the R6 II when it was released in early December and it was actually $200 cdn cheaper than the A7IV. It was a huge steal! The R6 II with 12/40 fps, the only full frame oversampled 4K60 on the market, class leading battery life, build and LCD, and the best rolling shutter of any non stacked camera was the best camera I could buy after a lot of research. The S5 II came out around the same time and it has way too many "Gotchas!" and cripples (especially in high speed modes) and would definitely be a slight step backwards, though it is slightly cheaper.
James Reader also did a comparison of the R6 II and its competitors and his findings were the same: R6 II on top followed by the A7IV and then finally S5 II bringing up the rear.

As a photographer and not a videographer I see no reason to spend the extra cash on the mk.2
What do you think?

Why do people claim there are no third party rf lenses with autofocus?
I have the samyang/rokinon 85 1.4 that has autofocus. It has worked plenty well for me when taking portraits and photos of people.