Last Updated on 07/23/2020 by Mark Beckenbach
Prepare to be blown away by the low light, high ISO performance of the Canon EOS R6.
Earlier today (July 22nd), I received delivery of our Canon EOS R6 review unit. When Canon announced the EOS R6 to us on a conference call, we immediately thought this camera would be a fantastic performer in low light situations thanks to its 20.1MP sensor and the tremendous DIGIC X image processor. It turns out that our initial hunch was correct. Head past the break to see just how good images at ISO 25,600 look from the Canon EOS R6.
To say that we have been impressed with our first test images from the Canon EOS R6 would be somewhat of an understatement. As mentioned in the introduction, we had a feeling Canon developed this camera to be a low light marvel so that it could make easy work of some of their more unique lenses like the RF 600mm and RF 800mm f11 primes. Seeing as the R6 is a Mirrorless incarnation of the legendary Canon EOS 6D DSLRs, which are also known for their low light performance, we were pretty confident in our line of thinking.
As you can see in the lead image, and in the image above, we were right; the images at ISO 25,600 are super clean. The few Canon EOS R6 sample images you will see in this article are untouched, straight out of camera JPEGS. The new Dual Pixel AF II ensured that the animal eye AF was as solid as a rock, and I can say that the AF never missed a beat. While the lighting might look good in these shots, I can assure you that my living room was very dark when these images were made.
Believe it or not, I was using the RF 24-105mm f4-7.1 STM (a $399 lens) when I took these images. This lens worked great in the low light and never stuttered or hunted. The combo of the Canon R6 and this lens proved to be a great pairing in this scenario. There’s a ton of detail in these images, the shadows are nice and clean, and color noise is kept in check too! It’s very impressive.
We, of course, still have a long way to go with our testing of the Canon EOS R6 and the RF 24-105mm f4-7.1 STM lens, and we cannot wait to see how they perform in more real-world tests, but as far as high ISO performance goes, we’re already quite impressed.
Be on the lookout for the reviews and for our review of the Canon EOS R5 as well. Will you be picking up the Canon EOS R6 when it hits store shelves later this month? If so, be sure to place your pre-order. Let us know what you think about the sample images and the R6 in general in the comment section below. (As a matter of ethics, we will just say that all of my dog’s time was paid for with animal crackers and belly scratches.)