Whereas reviewing the Canon EOS R6 II, we additionally had the Canon EOS R8 in hand. Armed with a wildlife lens virtually as huge as our optics author, we had been eager to see how these two cameras stacked up within the subject. On paper, they share a number of the identical skills, however out within the subject, the distinction is like evening and day. The R6 II felt clean and reliable, whereas the R8’s sluggish buffer and restricted controls had been sufficient to make us wish to fling it throughout the character reserve (we didn’t, after all).
These two cameras show that specs aren’t every little thing. Dealing with, ergonomics and structure could make or break your taking pictures expertise. With the Canon EOS R6 II and Canon EOS R8, the proof isn’t essentially within the pudding; the proof is in how satisfying the method of creating the pudding is.
On paper, they give the impression of being very comparable
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At first look, the 2 cameras share many similarities. They’ve the identical 24MP decision and Digic X processor, the absolutely articulating display screen is similar dimension and determination, and so they share the identical 40 fps burst charge. From specs alone, you’d assume the R8 can be made for wildlife images.
However out within the subject, the Canon EOS R6 II shortly proves why it’s price the additional cash.
Why is that? Nicely, there are two causes.
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The primary is the buffer. The R8’s buffer fills shortly and clears too slowly for fast-paced wildlife motion — even after we had been utilizing a Lexar Gold Collection 1800x UHS-II SDXC reminiscence card with a 210MB/s write velocity.
When utilizing the mechanical shutter, the buffer is “limitless” — however solely at 6 fps in RAW. If, nonetheless, you’re taking pictures with the digital shutter, you’ll get 54 RAW or 98 cRAW recordsdata at 40 fps. That sounds nice in principle, however in drive mode, we discovered that the buffer fills up extremely quick and takes a very long time to clear. In the actual world, this might doubtlessly imply lacking “the shot” — the precise second your topic takes flight or makes that excellent leap. We frequently needed to cease taking pictures altogether to attend for the buffer to clear.
The R6 II, however, can maintain roughly 75 RAW photos or 190 JPEGs earlier than slowing down at 40 fps. Extra importantly, you’ll be able to simply hold taking pictures in high-speed steady mode even whereas the buffer clears. Technically, you are able to do this on the R8 too, but it surely’s a lot slower in observe that it feels such as you’re ready eternally for the digicam to catch up. For wildlife images, the place timing is every little thing, that’s an enormous distinction.
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The second main distinction is the button structure. The R6 II has three dials — one on the entrance, one on the highest and one on the again. The R8 solely has two. It feels like a small element, however if you’re out photographing wildlife, it issues lots.
For those who’re photographing crepuscular animals (lively at daybreak or nightfall) or taking pictures in altering gentle circumstances, you’re continuously adjusting your aperture, shutter velocity and ISO as the sunshine adjustments. On the R8, with solely two dials, you’d must dive into the menu to vary the ISO manually until you allow it on auto. That’s nice for novices who principally shoot in aperture or shutter precedence, but it surely’s clunky for anybody wanting full handbook management.
The R6 II makes these changes seamless — you’ll be able to change publicity settings instinctively with out taking your eye off the viewfinder. When wildlife moments occur quick, these additional seconds depend.
Moreover, the Canon EOS R8 doesn’t have picture stabilization. That’s not a complete dealbreaker — most of Canon’s wildlife lenses have optical stabilization — but it surely’s nonetheless an obstacle in comparison with the R6 II.
To sum it up
The R8 isn’t a nasty digicam — removed from it — but it surely’s not constructed for the wild. For novices who’re comfortable to remain throughout the auto and precedence digicam modes, or in case you simply wish to take pictures of your pets, it’s an awesome little digicam physique. However if you take it right into a wildlife setting, its limitations turn into apparent.
The R6 II, nonetheless, was a dream to make use of for wildlife images, and, contemplating it’s solely round $400-$600 dearer than the R8, we expect it’s price stretching your finances to get the R6 II if you wish to take your images extra severely. It’s a digicam you’ll be able to develop with, and can serve you nicely lengthy after you’ve moved previous the newbie stage. Plus, with the current announcement of the R6 III, the R6 II may come down in worth over the subsequent couple of months and we’re already seeing a Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal on the Canon EOS R6 Mark II over at Walmart, which is best than Amazon.
Briefly, the R8 will get you began. The R6 II retains you taking pictures.
