I’ve owned every generation of the Canon R6.  In fact, the R6 was the first mirrorless Canon camera body I purchased when I traded in my last DSLR – the 5D Mark IV.   So, I can confidently say that Canon’s new EOS R6 Mark III isn’t just an iterative refresh to the R6 II line.  Calling this camera an upgrade almost undersells what Canon has done here.  The R6 III represents one of the most significant generational jumps we’ve seen in the mid-range full-frame mirrorless class in years.  This camera doesn’t just improve upon its predecessor — it fundamentally reshapes where the R6 series sits in Canon’s lineup.

For years, the R6 line occupied the role of the “middle child” in Canon’s mirrorless ecosystem — the camera that offered strong stills performance, dependable autofocus, and excellent ergonomics, but stopped short of the high-end specs seen in cameras like the R5 or the cinema-oriented EOS C70.  Which I always found interesting because for many years, this segment never existed in Canon’s full-frame line up.  You had the 1Dx cameras, and the 5Dx cameras – everything below that was APS-C, or “crop sensor” cameras.  It wasn’t until 2012 that this segmentation changed, when Canon introduced the 6D – a full-frame camera specifically intended for the consumer market.  The R6 is, in many respects, the mirrorless successor to the 6D line and created the line which separated Canon “pro” full-frame” camera bodies from their enthusiast/hobby bodies.  Thanks to subsequent technological advancement, that line has continued to become increasingly blurred.  With the R6 Mark III, that separation has practically evaporated.  Here are the specifications:

• Sensor:  32.5-megapixel full-frame CMOS
• Processor:  DIGIC X (Next-Gen Enhanced Architecture)
• Image Stabilization:  In-body 5-axis IBIS rated up to 8 stops with compatible lenses
• Autofocus:  Dual Pixel CMOS AF II with subject recognition (people, animals, vehicles) and person registration for up to 10 subjects
• Continuous Shooting:  40 fps electronic shutter / 12 fps mechanical
• Video Recording:  7K internal RAW (open-gate) and oversampled 4K up to 120 fps
• Viewfinder:  3.69M-dot OLED EVF with 120Hz refresh
• LCD Screen:  3.0” fully articulating touchscreen
• Card Slots:  1x CFexpress Type B + 1x UHS-II SD
• Battery:  LP-E6P (same as the R5 Mark II)
• Weather Sealing:  Dust and moisture resistant magnesium alloy body
• Price:  $2,799 USD (body only)
• Release / Ship Date:  November 25

Canon has now placed a 32.5-megapixel full-frame sensor – the same sensor design used in Canon’s latest compact cinema camera (the Canon EOS C50) – into a body that previously topped out at 24.2MP.  This alone shifts the R6 III into a new category.  It brings detail, dynamic range, and image flexibility that were previously reserved for higher-tier bodies.  And it doesn’t do this at the expense of speed, autofocus, or low-light performance.  Quite the opposite.  And it now challenges Nikon and Sony in a segment where Canon simply wasn’t competitive before.  If the R6 Mark II felt like Canon playing catch-up, the R6 Mark III feels like Canon taking the lead baton and sprinting through the finish line.

Perhaps even more notable, Canon has narrowed — almost to the point of disappearing — the gap between the R6 III and the R5 Mark II.  This is a very big deal for Canon who, historically has taken the dreaded “cripple hammer” to their camera bodies in order to maintain clear capabilities segmentation between their various products.  We first saw this change in Canon with the R5 Mark II, which had many asking “what do I need with the R1?”  For many working photographers, hybrid shooters, wedding filmmakers, and small production creators, the R6 III now occupies the position of the most compelling “do-everything” camera in the Canon system.  As a Canon R5 Mark II owner, those are tough words to type.  After I got the Canon R5, and most recently the R5 Mark II, the R6 was relegated to being my 2nd camera body (I typically like to shoot with two cameras) or my backup camera body in some cases.  When shooting with both bodies, I used to have to really think about which camera lens I was going to put on which camera body – I had to make sure that if I thought I was going to do significant cropping, I shot with the R5 Mark II.  Now, with the R6III at 32.5MP,  it hardly matters.  And for someone like me that shoots with two bodies, there’s some really significant changes that make life a whole bunch easier.  Before the R6III, I had two different sets of batteries and two different sets of memory cards that I had to travel with – which was also a limiting factor in determine which camera I’d reach for when taking a shot.  The R6II had a relatively small buffer and used SD cards, which really limited it’s burst shooting capabilities.  But now the R6III has the same memory card setup as the R5 Mark II – one CFExpress Type B card slot, and one SD card slot – which puts it on a more level playing field with the R5 Mark II.  The R6III also uses the new LP-E6P – same as the R5 Mark II.  And like the R5II, the R6III is backward compatible with the older Canon LP-E6NH / LP-E6N batteries – but many key features will be disabled when using the older batteries.

The updated card slots on the R6 Mark III

IMPROVED PHOTOGRAPHY CAPABILITIES

From a photography standpoint, the R6 brings that wonderful new 32.5mp sensor, as well as pre-capture capabilities, and improved autofocus.  Though there is one oddity with the pre-capture, or what Canon calls “Pre-Continuous Shooting.”  When the R5 Mark II was released, pre-capture was also fixed at a half second of image capturing – that could end up being a lot of extra photos that you may not need or want.  We recently got a firmware update that allows the user to better control The number of pre-capture photos that are taken.  The pre-continuous shooting mode on the R6 Mark III functions essentially the same as it initially did on the R5 Mark II pre-firmware update.  Why?  is not giving the R6III the same level of control on pre-capture Canon‘s way of maintaining separation between the R5II and R6III?

VIDEO POWERHOUSE – A TRUE HYBRID CAMERA

If the stills side of the R6 Mark III is a meaningful evolution, the video side is where Canon has kicked the door completely open.  Whether or not to get the R6III over some other Canon cameras may come down to how much social media video content you produce.  For the first time in a Canon camera body, the R6III supports open gate video recording – which means you have access to every bit of the sensor – both vertically and horizontally.  Record your YouTube video in 7k RAW open gate – output to 16×9.  Then output some portrait style clips for YouTube Shorts and Instagram reels – you don’t have to record the same thing twice when you use open gate.  As a content creator myself, this feature alone may have me switching to the R6III for my primary video camera.  For the true video content creators, the R6III also has a full size HDMI port.  Even Canon camera as high-end as the original Canon R5 had the dreaded mini-HDMI port, but thankfully Canon has switched to full-size HDMI ports on their most recent releases.  Canon even added tally lights, much like the did with the R5II, so that someone in front of the camera could easily tell when the camera is recording.  Very handy feature for solo creators, like myself.

The new full-size HDMI port on the R6 Mark III

When you compare all of the various video file format options of the R6III  and the Canon C50, you may wonder why anyone would select the cinema camera.  Particularly when you consider that with the R6III you get both an electronic view finder and IBIS (in body image stabilization) But keep in mind that the R6III lacks the internal fan system of the C50, so overheating during extended shooting in some video modes could be an issue.

NEW SHOOTING MODE

New to the R6 Mark III is a setting on the top of the mode dial – “S&F” mode.  This “slow and fast” setting is for video and is user configured and is designed to save some time in post production video editing.  When you turn on S&F mode, the camera records video at one frame rate but plays it back at another, letting you create:

• Slow motion (dramatic hair flips, water splashes, cinematic walking)
• Fast motion / time-lapse style playback (clouds racing, people teleporting through life, etc.)

So instead of speeding up or slowing footage later in editing, the camera bakes the effect right into the video file.

Looking at the mode dial on the R6 Mark III we see the new S&F setting

It’s an interesting if perhaps curious setting that I’m not entirely sure why I would use.  Yes, the R6III has a ton of professional video modes and capabilities, but it’s also a camera that’s designed to be that bridge between hobbies/enthusiast users and professional content creators.  So perhaps the new S&F mode will appeal to users who are less experienced and want to create time altering effects without doing it using video editing software.

ANY DISAPPOINTMENTS?

If there are any disappointments in the new R6 Mark III, it’s the fact that we’re getting the same electronic view finder and same flip out and twist LCD screen found in the R6II.   I’m not mad about the EVF – I have no complaints there.  But for months, there were rumors that the R6III would be getting a Sony-style flip screen which allows the LCD to be angled up or down without flipping it to the side – a feature most coveted by photographers.  Perhaps Cannon will redesign the LCD articulation for the R5 Mark III.

The LCD & EVF on the R6 Mark III

But when you step back and look at how feature packed the R6III is and at the price point Canon hit, it’s hard to complain.  Increased competition from both Sony and particularly Nikon have forced Canon to rewrite their new release playbook and toss out the dreaded “cripple hammer.”  As a result, the R6 Mark III is very un-Canon-like in execution.  Rather shockingly so for those of us who have followed Canon cameras for the last 20+ years.

Sample Photos

I was able to take the R6 Mark III out to a local high school basketball game to do some testing.  I paired it with my RF 70-200 f2.8, which together proved to be more than capable for what I was trying to accomplish.  All of these photos were taken at f2.8, shutter speed of 1/800th, and ISO 2500:

The auto focused did well as you can see.  But I screwed up.  This was actually my first time shooting indoor basketball.  I knew the ideal shutter speed was 1/1000.  But at f2.8, I punched it all the way up to 2500 ISO just to get to a shutter speed of 1/800.  And that was probably still under exposing by a stop.  Knowing that I wanted to publish these photos, I didn’t want to go above 2500 ISO – completely, forgetting that the R6III has a dual gain sensor.  Once you push much past ISO 2000 you’re usually better off going straight to ISO 6400 which is about where the dual gain kicks in and will give you a much cleaner photo, then what you would get between 2000 ISO and 3200 ISO.  I should’ve pushed two 6400 ISO and increased my shutter speed to 1000 and I still probably would’ve been able to expose correctly.  Live and learn.

I do not envy any manufacturer in the photography space right now.  Where do they go from here?  More megapixels in photography?  Sure, but that’s of limited benefit to many and even a detriment to some.  Greater video resolution?  Why? Display manufacturers are no hurry to move beyond 4K…Largely because they’re in the same boat.  Where do they go from 8K?  Display tech technology has already developed to the point where the human eye can’t really perceive more resolution or colors or detail.  What do you do when you’ve manufactured a product that is essentially at the ceiling of the human experience?  I’m not saying that there’s no room for innovation in cameras.  But we’re racing ever faster toward that theoretical wall.  Think how far Canon mirrorless cameras have come since the introduction of the Canon R.  Now consider just how many people – even professionals – still photograph with a DSLR.  A little scary isn’t it?

For now, enjoy the golden age of photography.  We are most certainly living in it.  Never has so much capability been delivered at such an attainable price.  The R6 Mark III – power to the people.

Here’s my video review: