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 decent overall battery life. It also delivers excellent image quality, with little apparent noise or graininess present in images and a fairly high dynamic range. Unfortunately, its video qualities are somewhat limited, with no support for 4k recording and mediocre video quality in FHD. It's also quite big and bulky, which can make it a challenge to carry around for long periods, especially when using its heavy kit lens.
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. Depending on your usage patterns, the camera offers decent battery life. Unfortunately, its autofocus performance in photography is mediocre, especially with tracking faces, and its bulky design can make it a hassle to carry around.
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, though we don't currently test for that. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Update 03/08/2021: Corrected input error in the 'Max Aperture (Full Frame Equivalent)' field. The score has been updated.
Update 06/30/2021: We've updated the shutter type from 'Mechanical and Electronic' to 'Mechanical' only. According to Canon, this camera uses a mechanical shutter that is electronically controlled. Because of this, its 'Silent' shooting mode isn't true silent shooting, as you can still hear a mechanical shutter sound.
Update 06/23/2021: We previously indicated that this camera didn't have manual focus assistance. It does in fact have a focus magnification feature to help check if your image is in focus.
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.
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.