Canon EOS M6 Mk II Tips and Tricks

Hi all.  Loving the Canon EOS M6 Mk II.

Post your tips and tricks here.  Even if they appeared in earlier models (they'll still be useful for newcomers).

Happy shooting!

R2

Menu Navigation Tip:

While scrolling through the menus, just press the "INFO" button to instantly jump to the Next Section (skipping sub-sections). Makes navigation from end to end very quick.

R2

The “Live View” feature in Canon’s DSLRs (and now mirrorless lines) does not AF on purely horizontal lines.  If the AF does balk in these (rare) situations, just tilt the camera about 30 degrees to focus lock.

R2

ken_in_nh wrote:

Note that you can customise the "viewfinder" images, whether on the back screen or in the viewfinder and that the viewfinder customizations are separate from the back screen.

"have it your way"

Yes, this is a good one!  The options are found under the “Wrench” section (sub-section 4)  Shooting info. disp.

Drill down into the “Screen info. settings” then highlight the particular screen that you want to edit (make sure it has a checkmark by it).  Hit the “Info” button to then select the various items to display.  Note: this is where you’ll find the Histogram and Electronic Level, etc.

R2

I would suggest to turn off both WIFI And blutooth when not in use for transfering files, but they are useful for backing up to phone if needed since there is only one SD card slot; so turn them on for "WORK".

As the M6ii may often be used without the EVF (my primary M.O.), it becomes even more important to use great handholding technique.

> I often use what I coined the "Twist Grip" handholding technique (lots of people have actually been doing this over the years). You use the principle of Isometrics to help stabilize the camera by *slightly* twisting the camera in one direction with one hand, which causes a counter-twist in the other direction with the other hand (this is very similar to the "Weaver Grip" when shooting handguns!). You'll gain a LOT of stability this way. Works great with cell phones and P&S cameras too!

> Shoot in high-speed bursts, whether photographing action or not. Many different ways to do this with this camera (Bursts at 7 or 14 FPS, "Focus Bracketing" with the electronic shutter, "Raw Burst" mode, Handheld Night Scene, Multi-shot Noise Reduction, etc etc). Cherry pick the best (one shot is invariably sharper than the rest). I gain at least a stop in handhold-ability in low light doing this! In fact I call it "Poor Man's Image Stabilization."

Hope these help you!

R2

So the M6ii flash bursts can be pretty slow, primarily due to Canon’s new(ish) flash communication protocols.  To get around this?

Tape the pins.

Yup, use the age-old work-around and place a piece of (strong) clear tape over the “flash communication” terminals on the hotshoe, leaving just the larger x-sync terminal exposed.

Then set your flash to manual power (or perhaps one of the non-ttl auto modes), and Bingo: you’ve got 14 fps flash bursts.  Great for shooting macros (for stacking), or anything else your little heart desires.  

Have fun!

R2

R2D2 wrote:

Hi all. Loving the Canon EOS M6 Mk II.

Post your tips and tricks here. Even if they appeared in earlier models (they'll still be useful for newcomers).

Happy shooting!

R2

Spend time customizing the buttons. It makes shooting with the M6II much easier than any other Canon camera I have ever used. Nearly every button can be customized according to what works for you. This means less "dipping" into the Q menu for me

There's a flash on and off button (or command) that I somehow didn't notice before. This means that even when the external flash mounted is powered up, it won't flash unless flash is set to on in your camera menu (there's a shortcut on the scroll wheel). A bit weird if you ask me, as hardware settings should precede or override software setting, but it's there, just saying. Best to leave the setting to ON all the time.

nnowak wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

So the M6ii flash bursts can be pretty slow, primarily due to Canon’s new(ish) flash communication protocols. To get around this?

Tape the pins.

Yup, use the age-old work-around and place a piece of (strong) clear tape over the “flash communication” terminals on the hotshoe, leaving just the larger x-sync terminal exposed.

Then set your flash to manual power (or perhaps one of the non-ttl auto modes), and Bingo: you’ve got 14 fps flash bursts. Great for shooting macros (for stacking), or anything else your little heart desires.

Which flash are you using that can handle 14fps?

My Canon 580EX-II and my Nissin i40 will both do 14 fps through at least buffer-full (min. 21 frames).

My little Canon 90EX and my ancient Sunpak Auto 383 Super can only manage 3 frames (still at 14 fps tho).

My cheapo Neewer Radio Triggers will also trigger 1 or 2 flash units remotely at the full 14 fps too. Note: these triggers are non E-TTL (no need to tape pins).

A very capable little system.

R2

ps. My Meike triggers however are E-TTL(II) and won't do bursts.

Did all previous Eos M have the ability like M6ii to be able to copy and download images while the Camera is powered off ? I havent tested exact distance but its an amazing feature. I may be late to the party but just saying....

R2D2 wrote:

So the M6ii flash bursts can be pretty slow, primarily due to Canon’s new(ish) flash communication protocols. To get around this?

Tape the pins.

Yup, use the age-old work-around and place a piece of (strong) clear tape over the “flash communication” terminals on the hotshoe, leaving just the larger x-sync terminal exposed.

Then set your flash to manual power (or perhaps one of the non-ttl auto modes), and Bingo: you’ve got 14 fps flash bursts. Great for shooting macros (for stacking), or anything else your little heart desires.

Have fun!

R2

My Canon EL-100 shoots continously at low speed continuous. It even has CSP setting, aside from ETTL and Manual, which stands for continuous shooting priority.

And while my more expensive 470EX-AI doesn't have CSP option, it does support continuous shooting at low speed continuous while the flash head is bounced, which is useful to avoid overexposed shots when shooting indoor activities.

These are all based on my having used these external flash units on the M6II and the EOS R.

Noogy wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

So the M6ii flash bursts can be pretty slow, primarily due to Canon’s new(ish) flash communication protocols. To get around this?

Tape the pins.

Yup, use the age-old work-around and place a piece of (strong) clear tape over the “flash communication” terminals on the hotshoe, leaving just the larger x-sync terminal exposed.

Then set your flash to manual power (or perhaps one of the non-ttl auto modes), and Bingo: you’ve got 14 fps flash bursts. Great for shooting macros (for stacking), or anything else your little heart desires.

Have fun!

R2

My Canon EL-100 shoots continously at low speed continuous. It even has CSP setting, aside from ETTL and Manual, which stands for continuous shooting priority.

And while my more expensive 470EX-AI doesn't have CSP option, it does support continuous shooting at low speed continuous while the flash head is bounced, which is useful to avoid overexposed shots when shooting indoor activities.

These are all based on my having used these external flash units on the M6II and the EOS R.

+1 My Canon 580EX II, Canon 90EX, and Nissin i40 will all do 3 fps in ETTL too (no matter what the M6ii's burst rate is set at).

So far that I've seen you need to tape the communication pins in order to get any faster (flash) frame rates.

BTW flash is not triggered when in any of the electronic shutter "burst" modes.

R2

I like to have the M-Fn button (next to the shutter) set to switch between "One-Shot AF" and "Servo AF."  I use BBAF (with AF disassociated from the shutter button), so this setup is extremely versatile.

Note that you can have the AF choices in the "Q" menu set up differently than the M-Fn button too (this is where I have the Face Tracking option!  ).

Happy customizing!

R2

Thanks R2. With the BBF, which are you mainly using, servo more versatile or one shot ?

vxcalais wrote:

Thanks R2. With the BBF, which are you mainly using, servo more versatile or one shot ?

Sorry about the late reply.

BBAF with Servo mode is by far my fave (it’s so Very versatile).  However if the light is pretty low I’ll switch to One Shot.

R2