Since the release of Canon’s first full-frame mirrorless camera, the EOS R, the company has continued to debut new R-series models without upgrading the old; as Canon fans will undoubtedly know, the EOS R was followed by a slew of cameras: the EOS RP, the EOS R5, the EOS R6, the EOS R3, and most recently, the (APS-C) EOS R7 and EOS R10.
But now, four years after the EOS R’s launch, Canon seems ready to revisit and improve upon its original designs. According to Canon Rumors, the EOS R6 Mark II, successor to the EOS R6, is “already in prototype testing” and is “in the near-term pipeline.”
What does this mean for consumers? Unfortunately, CR didn’t supply additional information indicating an expected EOS R6 Mark II launch date. I wouldn’t hold out hope for a 2022 release, but I could see the EOS R6 successor debuting in early 2023 (February or March) or in June/July 2023 (which would put the R6 Mark II’s launch exactly three years after the release of the original EOS R6).
But while CR is short on release-date predictions, it did offer a handful of “extremely reliable” rumored specifications. For instance, the EOS R6 Mark II will drop its 20 MP sensor in favor of a 24 MP chip – likely “a version of the sensor in the Canon EOS R3.” We can also expect many of the same features present in the EOS R6: In-body image stabilization, dual SD card slots, 12 FPS continuous shooting (using the mechanical shutter), and cropped 4K/60p video.
Unfortunately, looking at the R6 Mark II’s rumored specification list, it’s tough to see just how the new camera will improve on the old – sensor aside, of course. CR does note that the R6 Mark II will be capable of Dual-Pixel RAW burst shooting and offer a “digital teleconverter,” though I struggle to imagine how the latter feature could be more than a glorified crop-and-resize tool. I do think the R6 Mark II may jump to 30 FPS continuous shooting via the electronic shutter, which will be a welcome bonus for action photographers.
But Canon may have an additional trick or two up its sleeve, and we’ll need to wait for an official announcement – or, at least, a more comprehensive set of rumored specifications – before we can pass judgment with certainty. I do expect that the EOS R5, which was released alongside the EOS R6, will gain a successor soon after the R6 Mark II debuts, so be sure to keep an eye out for EOS R5 Mark II rumors!
Now over to you:
What do you think of the EOS R6 Mark II? Given the specifications I shared above, would you buy it? What additional features do you hope it offers? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
