The Canon EOS 6D Mark II is a full-frame DSLR camera. It's well-built, comfortable to use, has an intuitive menu system, and offers an excellent overall battery life. It also delivers excellent image quality, with little apparent noise or graininess present in images and an okay dynamic range. Unfortunately, its video qualities are somewhat limited, with no support for 4k recording and mediocre video quality in FHD. It's also big and bulky, making it a challenge to carry around for long periods.
Our Verdict
The Canon 6D Mark II is decent for travel photography. Images are sharp and mostly clear of visual noise when shooting at high ISO levels. You can use its long minimum shutter speed to take complex long-exposure shots. It also has a fantastic battery life for photos, depending on how you use it. Unfortunately, its autofocus performance is mediocre, especially with tracking faces, and its bulky design can make it a hassle to carry around.
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Excellent image quality.
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Good build quality.
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Great ergonomics.
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Slow maximum shooting speed.
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Bulky design with heavy kit lens.
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Mediocre autofocus performance in photography.
The Canon 6D Mark II is good for landscape photography. Images are sharp, color-accurate, and mostly free of visual noise even at high ISO levels, good for nighttime shooting conditions. It's also quite sturdily built, with an aluminum and polycarbonate construction that's rated as being weather-sealed. It's comfortable to use and has a bright screen that you can easily read under direct sunlight. However, its bulky size and considerable weight with its kit lens attached can be a bit of a hindrance on long hikes to remote shooting locations.
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Excellent image quality.
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Good build quality.
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Bright, sharp, fully-articulated screen.
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Great ergonomics.
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Bulky design with heavy kit lens.
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Mediocre autofocus performance in photography.
The Canon 6D Mark II is a satisfactory option for sports and wildlife photography. Its maximum shooting speed isn't especially quick, making it hard to capture distinct images of subjects that can move across the frame quickly, though its rapid buffer-clearing time means that continuous bursts don't lead to long interruptions. Image quality is excellent, and the camera's short maximum shutter speed is good for freezing the movement of fast-moving subjects. Unfortunately, its autofocus system can occasionally struggle with tracking and maintaining focus on moving subjects.
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Excellent image quality.
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Good build quality.
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Great ergonomics.
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Slow maximum shooting speed.
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Bulky design with heavy kit lens.
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Mediocre autofocus performance in photography.
The Canon 6D Mark II is a poor fit for vlogging. It's bulky and has a heavy kit lens, making it difficult to carry around for extended recording sessions. It also can't record 4k footage, and its video quality in FHD isn't especially sharp. Its stabilization performance is also disappointing, leading to shaky handheld recordings. That said, its autofocus system does an amazing job of maintaining and tracking. Its fully-articulated screen makes it easy to see yourself when the camera is held in a selfie position.
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Excellent autofocus performance in FHD recording.
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Bright, sharp, fully-articulated screen.
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Bulky design with heavy kit lens.
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Mediocre video quality in FHD.
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Sub-par video stabilization capability.
The Canon 6D Mark II is bad for studio video work. It can't record in 4k, and its video quality in FHD is mediocre. It also lacks a clean HDMI output to use an external recorder free of any overlays or a headphone jack to let you monitor audio more precisely. However, its autofocus system is consistent, reliable, and quick while recording, and its menu system is easy to understand.
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Excellent autofocus performance in FHD recording.
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Easy-to-use menu interface.
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Mediocre video quality in FHD.
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Limited frame rate selection.
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No headphone jack or clean HDMI output.
The Canon 6D Mark II isn't designed for action video. It's much too big to be mounted to a chest or helmet rig and can't record at very high frame rates in FHD for generating smooth slow-motion video. Its video stabilization performance is also middling, which can give recorded footage a somewhat shaky quality. Thankfully, it feels well-built.
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Good build quality.
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Bulky design with heavy kit lens.
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Mediocre video quality in FHD.
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Limited frame rate selection.
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Sub-par video stabilization capability.
- 7.3 Travel Photography
- 7.4 Landscape Photography
- 7.1 Sport & Wildlife Photography
- 5.9 Vlogging
- 5.5 Studio Video
- 3.4 Action Video
- Updated Dec 15, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.12.
- Updated Nov 21, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.11.
- Updated Sep 23, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.10.
- Updated Aug 31, 2022: Updated 'Advertised Battery Life in Photo' to show the advertised battery life when using the viewfinder rather than Live View, since this aligns more closely with real-world DSLR usage and better reflects the camera's capabilities.
- Updated Aug 16, 2022: After running into issues with RawTherapee during retesting for Test Bench 0.9, we decided to process the 'Photo RAW Dynamic Range' test scene in Lightroom instead. The test scene photo has been reuploaded.
- Updated Jul 29, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.9.
- Updated Apr 22, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.
- Updated Jun 30, 2021: Amended shutter type from 'Mechanical and Electronic' to 'Mechanical'.
- Updated Jun 23, 2021: Amended 'Manual Focus Assistance' to 'Yes.'
- Updated Mar 08, 2021: Corrected input error in the 'Max Aperture (Full Frame Equivalent)' field inside the 'Lens' section.
- Updated Mar 01, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Feb 26, 2021: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Canon 6D Mark II is only available in one color variant: 'Black', and you can see its label here. We tested it in conjunction with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens, but it can be purchased with other EF-mount lenses, including the Canon EF 24-105mm USM lens. However, we haven't tested it in any other configuration. It can also be purchased without a lens at all.
Let us know in the discussions if you come across a different variant, so we can update our review.
Compared To Other Cameras
The Nikon D780 is better overall than the Canon EOS 6D Mark II. Both are full-frame DSLRs that can take high-quality images, but the Nikon is a higher-end camera aimed at more advanced shooters. It has a faster max burst rate and a more effective autofocus system, which borrows from the mirrorless Nikon Z 6 when shooting in Live View, giving you more versatility for different shooting situations. Unlike the Canon, the Nikon can also record 4k video and offers more frame rate options in 1080p, including 120 fps for slow-motion footage. The Nikon also has a longer battery life, although it's slightly heavier and bulkier than the Canon.
Test Results
- Body is made of aluminum and fiberglass-reinforced polycarbonate resin
- Command dials, mode wheel, and buttons offer good physical feedback
- Articulated screen hinge feels solid
- SD card compartment features a solid hinged door
- Canon EOS 6D Mark II body
- Canon EF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens
- Lens cover
- Lens cap
- Shoulder strap
- 1x LP-E6N battery
- Sensor cap
- Battery charger
- Basic instruction manual
- Hand grip is quite large
- Plenty of room for a wide variety of hand sizes, so fingers shouldn't get pinched between the body and lens
- Hand grip has a textured surface that provides a secure hold
- Dedicated controls for shutter speed, aperture, and ISO
- Weight is unevenly distributed toward the front of the camera due to its heavy kit lens
- Menu is easy to navigate with physical buttons or via touchscreen interface
- Guide mode helps provide a brief explanation of some functions
- Q menu lets you quickly access frequently used features and settings
Update 03/08/2021: Corrected input error in the 'Max Aperture (Full Frame Equivalent)' field. The score has been updated.
