Observations of the M6 II (AF errors and Shutter Shock); and M50 II to a degree

TL;DR, use the right mode for the right subject; don't just shoot all one mode because of fear of shock, AF miss (full time e-shutter, or single shot), or all another out of ignorance (mech shutter, AI-Servo), either.

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This is bound to be a contentious subject here... But after shooting with the M6 II for a while, this copy of the M6 II (best to date of the 3 or 4 I've had), I feel I can weigh in on it...

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Gonna keep it short and sweet: The short, yes, there is most defiantly shutter shock on the M6 II, and it shows up the most on IS equipped lenses at the appropriate shutter speeds. I do feel the issue is more pronounced than the DPR review indicates, I do at times see it crop up, but I'm not sure it's as pronounced as some folks here make it out to be where I don't recommend going full time e-shutter (like many folks have). You're going to end up with more rolling shutter and lost shots if you're a continuous burst shooter by being forced to shot single-shot. That makes sense if your subjects aren't moving though. Mine do, but I do shoot mixed where both landscapes and people matter.

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Now I will say I gather this issue impacts the R10 and R7, too. Canon should convert to a stacked CMOS at some point ala R3, so we can have our cake and eat it (shoot e-shutter and not suffer rolling shutter). This will obviously never happen for the M, but I thought I'd throw it in there. I do plan to shoot my M6 II + M glass for a number of years, but, at some point I may convert should Canon get the R platform sorted out with "real" glass for the crop R's and a stacked sensor that is in fact "better" then the M6 II.

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Regarding the other element that doesn't get too much attention; autofocus errors. Those, I do see with more frequency than the shutter shock (as I've said before), but, they are two separate issues which produce the same result: lack of peak sharpness either due to micro-AF miss, or due to micro (or macro at times) shutter shock. Again, I do find DPR's recommended AF mode of initial AF point very useful, and likewise, I have my M-FN button assigned to toggle between AI-Servo and Single Shot. I find that switching to single shot makes this issue largely disappear as it appears the "scanning" the sensor does to confirm lock can in itself produce AF errors; use Single Shot if your subject is static. Likewise, I have C1 dedicated to e-shutter, and use it when my subject doesn't need spray and pray and want to mitigate risks of shutter shock. This allows me to quickly swap both the AF mode and shutter modes out.

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The end of the story? It's sorta like the old saying, "If it moves and shouldn't, use duck tape. If it doesn't move and should? Spray with WD-40". Static subjects will do well using e-shutter, Single Shot AF. Moving subjects, although it will produce some shutter shock at times, shoot anyways with mech shutter (to give you continuous shooting) and AI-Servo (even though it times it'll produce AF errors, it tracks, too). That is the end of this long debated saga in my book. There is no image quality penalty I can find other than rolling shutter for using e-shutter, but, you surely will miss shots using it if your subject moves be it because you can't bring FPS to bear, or AI-Servo to bear. It really is that simple. Oh, and the M6 II is a "better" camera in terms of what it can deliver than the M50 II which doesn't suffer mechanical shutter shock ala no EFCS... I've owned both so I can speak to that. Shame Canon is killing the M6 II. It's the best M out there in my book and I still use it as a daily driver. It's fun, provoking, and capable. My R, as capable a beast as it is, it's not like I'm eager to go shoot with it. The glass of the R though, it delivers, but that's another story, we're talking the M here

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I know folks will be like, "samples, prove it!". I can only say I can cough up samples of both AF miss and shutter shock, they both very much exist (with AF miss being the larger headache), but what I can't give you are images of missed photographic opportunities trying to mitigate those, because well, you missed the shot... These things should be obvious, but to us forum dwellers, that can get fixated on a given shortcoming, maybe not so obvious and hence the post...

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Oh on a side note, even if you aren't shooting an M6 II, say you're shooting the M50 or M50 II, M200; the same applies. You'll get the best results from your AF system if you use the right mode. I say this because AI-Servo is so good on the M50 (original) I stopped using Single Shot, only to find as I've gotten older and wiser, it isn't bullet proof. Now again, if you're new at photography and don't know better, you should let the camera do the thinking and keep AI-Servo on full time, and be okay with a couple AF errors. You're just going to get more keepers. Period. And you're still learning and will suffer way more camera shake from poor technique, wrong exposure, framing, etc etc. Just leave the thing on Auto. But for veterans, yes. Use the right mode for the right subject. Don't leave it to the camera. It's only as smart as the person behind it, much like this computer I'm on...