Daily life with some old EF glass and a new M6 Mark II

I worked professionally for the better part of a decade covering news and sports — I still have my original EOS 1D with over half a million shutter actuations as a keepsake. But because of this, I have the good fortune of owning an old but sizeable collection of EF glass. Most of it has been collecting dust until recently, when I got my first new camera in ages with a new M6 Mark II.

Truly, I am blown away by this piece of kit!

The M6ii exceeds the performance of every 1D-series camera I've ever worked with, except perhaps in its ability to hammer down the occasional nail. And while my intention has always been to travel with just the M6ii and compact 22/2, I've been having a lot of fun re-discovering my old gear in casual, point-and-shoot moments of daily life.

Here are a few images from the past couple months with my M6ii and variety of adapted glass — EF 16-35/2.8, 35/1.4, 50/1.2, and 135/2 — some with a 0.71x reducer.

davecheng wrote:

I worked professionally for the better part of a decade covering news and sports — I still have my original EOS 1D with over half a million shutter actuations as a keepsake. But because of this, I have the good fortune of owning an old but sizeable collection of EF glass. Most of it has been collecting dust until recently, when I got my first new camera in ages with a new M6 Mark II.

Truly, I am blown away by this piece of kit!

The M6ii exceeds the performance of every 1D-series camera I've ever worked with, except perhaps in its ability to hammer down the occasional nail. And while my intention has always been to travel with just the M6ii and compact 22/2, I've been having a lot of fun re-discovering my old gear in casual, point-and-shoot moments of daily life.

Here are a few images from the past couple months with my M6ii and variety of adapted glass — EF 16-35/2.8, 35/1.4, 50/1.2, and 135/2 — some with a 0.71x reducer.

Hi Dave,

i love all of the images you posted but the flare in the shot of the car at the filling station is particularly intriguing. 11mm, f/2. Is that a 16-35L f/2.8 with the reducer?

Pro stuff Dave, pro stuff.

R2

Lovely ! That 35mm is just killing it. Love the shot into the sun.

davecheng wrote:

beagle1 wrote:

small is good

Indeed! I only wish the tiny 22/2 pancake was a stop faster.

Well, there is the Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 (with AF).  I don’t know how good it is wide open, and it only comes in silver right now...

Viltrox 23mm at @mazon

Might be worth a try (it’s still on my wish list).

R2

davecheng wrote:

vxcalais wrote:

Lovely ! That 35mm is just killing it. Love the shot into the sun.

Thank you! The 35/1.4 is absolutely my favourite "everyday" lens.

I am wondering how good 35/1.4 works with Viltrox. Is your 35L the original, not version 2? Thanks for sharing wonderful shots.

davecheng wrote:

lumenite wrote:

I am wondering how good 35/1.4 works with Viltrox. Is your 35L the original, not version 2? Thanks for sharing wonderful shots.

Thank you! Yes, my lens is the EF 35mm f/1.4L — the original, not the II. It works reasonably well with the Viltrox. The focusing is quick and the centre is sharp wide open. The corners of the frame are a little soft, as I have found the Viltrox to be with all my lenses.

The Viltrox does not seem to like f/1.2 primes, though. The AF hunts, never locks on, and the live view image brightness "twitches" continuously.

I've ordered the Metabones EF-M speed booster

That one is too expensive in my opinion.

and should have it by the end of the week. It's supposed to be sharper in the corners than the Viltrox, and I'm looking forward to the novelty of playing with an auto-focusing 35/0.9.

Great images!

Sittatunga wrote:

davecheng wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Well, there is the Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 (with AF). I don’t know how good it is wide open, and it only comes in silver right now...

Viltrox 23mm at @mazon

Might be worth a try (it’s still on my wish list).

That's interesting. It looks similar in size to the EF-M 32/1.4 — which is to say, a lot smaller and lighter than an EF 35/1.4L + reducer. Admittedly, the silver finish does not appeal to me one bit... :/

There's also the Samyang 21mm f/1.4, absolutely superb if you get a good one, but 3x the size of the Canon 22mm and absolutely manual with no EXIF data.

Hmm, I wouldn’t mind the size, but I’d absolutely need AF, as it would be primarily an event and candids shooter for me.  Even some sports up close and personal.

R2

davecheng wrote:

The M6ii exceeds the performance of every 1D-series camera I've ever worked with, except perhaps in its ability to hammer down the occasional nail. And while my intention has always been to travel with just the M6ii and compact 22/2, I've been having a lot of fun re-discovering my old gear in casual, point-and-shoot moments of daily life.

I am really curious --- can you be more specific, what do you think makes the M6 Mark II stand out so much? Image quality, and/or what other things?

As a relatively new M6 Mark II owner I'm happy to hear your comments, from someone with a lot of experience. I'm only an "enthusiast' but have been shooting with Canon gear since the 80s with the F-1, EF, T-70 and a full set of FD lenses. I went digital in 2007 with a rebel T1i, and this year upgraded successively through a 70D, M6 mirrorless, and then finally 'arrived' with the M6 Mark II which I am extremely pleased with in almost every way.

interestingly the step up from the M6 to the M6 Mark II was quite noticeable, the low-light images, camera's extra resolution, ability to focus in low light, faster shooting modes, and electronic shutter and intervalometer make it great for astrophotography and low light photography, which I do a lot.

Thanks for your post, I'm really enjoying your images.