Is the Canon EOS R6 Mark II My Next Camera?

In my original analysis of mirrorless cameras I compared the Canon EOS R6 and the Sony A7 IV. The R6 had many features I was looking for, including 20 fps image capture and an autofocus system as advanced as Sony’s and far better than Nikon’s. I’ve tried one at Best Buy on numerous occasions and its a solid and comfortable camera with lots of customization. My only major reservation was its 20 MP sensor, which Canon has now addressed with the Mark II. Is this my next camera?

Let’s talk about the upgrades, at least the ones I care about. The sensor has been upgraded from 20 MP to 24 MP, matching my D750. Even at 20 MP, the R6 provided clearer detail than my D750, so a bump to 24 MP should be even better. The Mark II still shoots at 12 fps with its mechanical shutter but now can hit 40 fps with the electronic shutter. It drops from 14-bit RAW to 12-bit to do this, but it can still autofocus, and it has enough buffer to last about 3 seconds. The buffer isn’t as deep as my D500, but its enough, and the continuous shooting speed blows the Nikon Z6 II and Sony A7 IV out of the water. In addition it has a RAW pre-capture mode that saves half a second of images while the shutter is half-pressed. After taking images you can pull additional ones out of the pre-capture. This is extremely helpful for action where I always wish I hit that shutter button just a tiny bit earlier.

These features check off three of the items I outlined when talking about what my next camera needed to have. It’s excruciating waiting for Nikon to release a follow-up to the Z6 II and Z7 II to see if they will meet my criteria. The R6 Mark II meets my most important criteria, and if I was choosing between it and a Z6 II, the decision would be easy. So am I switching to Canon?

No. Even though it’s hard waiting for what I want, I’m too invested in Nikon to jump ship right now. It would be very expensive to get all of the Canon gear I needed and I wouldn’t get much for my Nikon equipment if I sold it (so I’d probably keep it). I’m also pretty confident that I want a higher resolution camera. That would put me in R5 territory, near the $4,000 mark, making my switching costs even higher. I’m also confident that Nikon will release something next year and it’s likely I’ll have buyer’s remorse when it does.

The Canon EOS R6 Mark II is a compelling camera, but I’ll keep waiting. I have setup a rental from Lensrentals.com just to try one out for a week. If I like it I still don’t plan on buying it, not yet. I’ll give Nikon another year, then all bets are off.