Yes, it’s a small system compared to the 5D Mark IV. The best part of any mirrorless is how compact the lenses are.
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It was only a few days ago that I was congratulating Canon on a great job of keeping its first full-frame mirrorless camera under wraps. Then boom — what looks very much like an official PDF with the complete specs and some tiny shots of the camera and lenses appearing to be official marketing photos pop up on the web.
And it looks like Canon’s starting off with a camera that’s least likely to cannibalize its full-frame DSLR best-seller, the 5D Mark IV, instead slotting into the same niche as the enthusiast-oriented 6D Mark II, taking on Sony’s A7 III and eventually, Nikon’s still-an-unknown-quantity Z6.
The camera is expected to be announced within the next 24 hours. If so, I’ll be back to update on Sept. 5.
That positioning presupposes that Canon’s pricing will be around $2,000 for the body as rumored (no satisfying leaks on that), which is where it seems to belong. Its standout feature seems to be a new autofocus system with 5,655 phase-detection points and a sensitivity down to -6EV; that implies it can focus in the dark.
I do think that starting off with the cheaper model, assuming this is the entry-level model in a new line, is a smart move. If there are any issues, Canon has the chance to iron out the bugs before unleashing it on more demanding pros. Plus, it gives the camera a chance to build up some word-of-mouth buzz (or not) before the consumer holiday shopping season starts. A pro camera has the luxury of releasing a little later — but not too late, as the high-resolution 5DS and 5DS R turned three in June, and Canon has fallen behind both Nikon and Sony in that class. Even the two-year-old 5D Mark IV could use an update.
There’s a programmable multifunction pad next to the viewfinder, a spot easily accessible with your thumb.
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The specs look like a well-rounded general-purpose camera that’s rooted firmly in the present: Canon’s the last holdout sticking with optical stabilization, which is too bad, since it makes the lenses bigger, heavier and more expensive, and puts you at the mercy of Canon’s deciding which lenses deserve IS.
It’s also got an odd mix of features. For instance, it supports 4K all-I video recording, but it only has a single card slot and as far as I can tell, there are no log-anything Picture Styles. It’s not clear whether it supports 10-bit output (or clean HDMI output at all — the specs just list HDMI for simultaneous monitoring).
It’s probably a decent step-up model for Canon enthusiasts who want better photo quality than their their APS-C DSLR or EOS M like the 80D or M5 delivers, but like the idea of the smaller mirrorless body and lens, or who want the much better video-shooting experience a mirrorless offers. Its continuous shooting speed is just okay, but doesn’t even match the 7D Mark II.
There doesn’t seem to be anything here to woo people away from the competing options, and in fact is larger than both the Z6 and the A7 III.
The body is smaller and lighter than the 6DM2, but not by a lot: about 0.4 in/10mm in every dimension and less than 4 oz/105g lighter. It looks like there’s a neat little multifunction-mappable touchpad by your right thumb, which is a clever touch. It also has a top status LCD, OLED EVF, a hefty grip and an articulated back display.
It’s expected to launch with four RF-mount lenses: a 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.2L, 28-70mm f2L and 24-105 f4L. Other lenses it’s expected to debut are an EF-M 32mm f1.4 — the first really wide-aperture lens for its APS-C mirrorless line, and since that angle of view is equivalent to a standard 51mm, a good option for portrait photography — and revs to its EF 400mm f2.8 and EF 600mm f4L lenses.
RF-mount adapters for EF and EF-S lenses will be available, but not for EF-M. The RF mount design has a 20mm flange distance — the distance between the sensor and the mount — while Canon’s APS-C mirrorless EOS M models have an 18mm flange distance. That leaves only 2mm/0.08 in for an EF-M to RF adapter, which is nothing to cry over, but less than zero for an RF to EF-M. In other words, you’ll never be able to use the new, higher-quality lenses on the APS-C mirrorless models.
As Canon News points, out, that means one of two things: either the EOS M line will never get a decent selection of fast, high-quality, lighter-weight lenses (even if Canon is up to managing products for three active lens-mount lines), which gives you no way to up your photos without buying an entirely new camera, and rener any EOS-M camera a really bad buy. Or it will obsolesce the EOS M in favor of a revised APS-C line with the RF (or compatible) mount. In which case, people who’ve already sunk money into the system are, well, you do the math.
And, like every other newborn mirrorless line, the battery life is meh, rated at 350 shots using the viewfinder. Like Nikon, Canon decided to stick with an existing DSLR battery, which is completely insufficient for a power-draining mirrorless. Canon will offer a grip for a second battery, but then it’s larger than a DSLR and still has a shorter battery life.
Comparative specifications
| Canon EOS 6D Mark II | Canon EOS R | Sony A7 III | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sensor effective resolution | 26.2 Dual Pixel CMOS 14 bits | 30.1MP Dual-Pixel CMOS n/a 14-bit | 24.2MP Exmor RS CMOS 14-bit |
| Sensor size | 35.9 x 24mm | 36 mm x 24mm | 35.8 x 23.8mm |
| Focal-length multiplier | 1.0x | 1.0x | 1.0x |
| OLPF | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sensitivity range | ISO 50 (exp)/ISO 100 – ISO 40000/102400 (exp) | ISO 50 (exp)/100 – ISO 40000/102400 (exp) | ISO 50 (exp)/ ISO 100 – ISO 25600/ISO 204800 (exp) |
| Burst shooting | 3fps (Up to 6.5fps with focus and exposure fixed on first shot) n/a | 5fps 47 raw/100 JPEG (8fps with focus and AE fixed on first shot; 3fps with confintuous focus/tracking) | 10fps 172 JPEG/89 raw |
| Viewfinder (mag/ effective mag) | Optical 98% coverage 0.71x/0.71x | OLED EVF 100% coverage 0.71x-0.76x/0.71x | OLED EVF 0.5-inch 2.4 million dots 100% coverage 0.71x |
| Hot Shoe | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Autofocus | 45-point phase-detection all cross-type 27 to f8, 9 cross-type 1 to f2.8 | 5,655-point phase detection AF | 693-poing phase-detection AF; 25-area contrast AF |
| AF sensitivity (at center point) | -3 to 18 EV | -6 to 18 EV | -3 – 20 EV |
| Shutter speed | 1/4,000 to 30 secs; bulb | 1/8,000 to 30 secs; bulb | 1/8,000 to 30 secs; bulb; 1/250 sec x-sync |
| Shutter durability | 100,000 cycles | n/a | n/a |
| Metering | 7.560-pixel RGB+IR, 63 zones | 384 zones | 1,200 zones |
| Metering sensitivity | 1 – 20 EV | -3 to 20 EV | n/a |
| Best video | H.264 QuickTime MOV 1080/60p, 30p, 25p, 24p | H.264 MP4 4K UHD 2160/30p @ 480Mbps, 1080/60p HDR; 1080/30p HDR, 720/120p | XAVC S 4K 2160/30p, 25p, 24p @ 100Mbps; 1080/120p @ 100Mbps |
| Audio | mono; mic input | n/a; mic input | Stereo; mic input; headphone jack |
| Manual aperture and shutter in video | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum best-quality recording time | 29m59s | 29m59s | 29:59 min |
| Clean HDMI out | No | n/a | Yes |
| IS | Optical | Optical | Sensor shift 5-axis |
| LCD | 3 in/7.7 cm Articulated touch screen 1.04m dots | 3.2 in/8cm Articulated touch screen 2.1m dots | 3 in/7.5cm Tilting 1.2m dots |
| Memory slots | 1 x SDXC (UHS I) | 1 x SDXC (UHS II) | 1 x SDXC (1 x UHS I, 1 x UHS-II) |
| Wireless connection | Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth |
| Flash | No | No | No |
| Wireless flash | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Battery life (CIPA rating) | 1,200 shots (VF), 380 shots (LV) (1,865 mAh) | 370 shots (LCD), 350 shots (VF) (1,865 mAh) | 710 shots (LCD), 610 shots (VF) (2,280 mAh) |
| Size (WHD) | 5.7 x 4.4 x 2.9 in 144 x 111 x 75 mm | 5.4 x 3.9 x 3.3 in. 136 x 98 x 84mm | 5 x 3.9 x 3 in 127 x 96 x 74 mm |
| Body operating weight | 27.0 oz (est.) 765 g (est.) | 23.4 oz (est.) 660 g (est.) | 23 oz (est.) 650 g (est.) |
| Mfr. price (body only) | $1,600 £1,730 | n/a | $2,000 £2,000 AU$3,100 |
| Release date | July 2017 | n/a | April 2018 |