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Canon M6 Mark II Performance


Timing and Performance

Excellent overall performance for its class.

Startup/Play to Record

Power on
to first shot
~0.9 second

Time it takes to turn on and capture a shot.

Play to Record,
first shot
~0.6 second

Time until first shot is captured.

Powerup to first shot and switching from Play to Record mode & taking a shot were quite fast for a mirrorless camera.


Shutter Response (Lag Time)
Mechanical / Electronic Shutter

Full Autofocus
Single-point (center) AF
0.142 / 0.188
second

Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture.

Full Autofocus
Single-point AF
TTL flash enabled
0.200 / NA
second

Time to capture while forcing flash to fire. Preflash metering pulses from flash often slow shutter response.

Manual Focus
0.105 / 0.123
second

For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".

Prefocused
0.052 / 0.098
second

Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

In terms of the Canon M6 Mark II's ability to determine that it's properly focused when shooting the same target multiple times using the EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM kit lens, its full autofocus shutter response was quite fast a mirrorless camera. We measured only 0.142 second for full AF lag using single point (center) AF-S in the default mechanical shutter mode. Full AF shutter lag with the internal flash enabled increased to 0.200 second to account for the pre-flash metering, but that's still quite fast.

Shutter lag using manual focus was lower at 0.105 second. When "prefocusing" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure, the M6 Mark II's shutter lag was low, at 52 milliseconds.

As you can see, switching to the all-electronic shutter yielded slower lag times, and note that flash is not supported.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Cycle Time (shot to shot)

Single Shot mode
Large/Fine JPEG
< 0.3 second

Time per shot, averaged over a few frames.

Single Shot mode
RAW + L/F JPEG
< 0.3 second

Time per shot, averaged over a few frames.

Early shutter
penalty?
No

Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.

Continuous H+
Large/Fine JPEG
0.07 second
(14.0 fps);
48 frames;
11.3 seconds to clear*

Averaged time per shot, then slows down to an average of 0.27s or 3.7 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

Continuous H+
RAW
0.07 second
(14.0 fps);
26 frames;
6.1 seconds to clear*

Averaged time per shot, then slows down to an average of 0.29s or 3.5 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

Continuous H+
RAW + L/F JPEG

0.07 second
(14.0 fps);
25 frames;
8.0 seconds to clear*

Averaged time per shot, then slows down to an average of 0.38s or 2.6 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

Continuous H+
C-RAW
0.07 second
(14.0 fps);
42 frames;
7.6 seconds to clear*

Averaged time per shot, then slows down to an average of 0.32s or 3.1 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

Continuous H+
C-RAW + L/F JPEG

0.07 second
(14.0 fps);
42 frames;
9.3 seconds to clear*

Averaged time per shot, then slows down to an average of 0.44s or 2.3 fps when buffer is full with a lot of variation.

RAW Burst Mode (17.9MP images)
0.03 second
(30.0 fps);
84 frames total;
2.3 seconds to clear*

Average time per shot. Camera won't let you shoot again until buffer is cleared.

Flash recycling
3.4 seconds

Flash at maximum output.

*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a Sony 64GB SF-G UHS-II SDXC card (R:300MB/s, W:299MB/s). Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and noise reduction settings can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Single-shot cycle times were very fast on average at below 0.3 second for best quality JPEGs or RAW+JPEG files, but varied a lot. (Note that we no longer test single-shot mode with just RAW files, as the results are usually somewhere in between JPEG and RAW+JPEG modes.)

The fastest full-res Continuous H+ mode burst rate was excellent for its class. We measured a consistent 14.0 frames-per-second for all file types, matching Canon's specifications. And that's with Servo AF (continuous autofocus) support. Continuous H and L modes are available as well, rated at 7.0 and 3.0 fps respectively.

The M6 Mark II also features a special RAW Burst Mode which captures cropped 17.9-megapixel raw images at a whopping 30.0 fps for 84 frames and saves them to a single CR3 file ("roll"), from which individual CR3 or JPEG files can be extracted in-camera or using Canon's Digital Photo Professional software. Note that focus is locked at the first frame in RAW Burst Mode.

Buffer depths at 14 fps were quite good with our fast Sony 64GB SF-G UHS-II SDXC card at 48 best quality JPEGs, 26 RAW or 42 C-RAW frames in our tests. With RAW/C-RAW+JPEG files the buffer depths were similar at 25 and 42 frames respectively. And shooting at slower speeds will yield even deeper buffers. When we tested the 7 fps mode, buffer depths were 86 JPEG, 45 RAW and 70 C-RAW files.

Buffer clearing times were decent considering the buffer depth and resolution, ranging from 6.1 seconds after shooting a max-length burst of standard RAW files, to 11.3 seconds for best quality JPEGs. The camera lets you adjust settings while the buffer is clearing, but you can't view just-shot photos until after the buffer clears.

The Canon M6 II's built-in flash took an average of 3.4 seconds to recharge after a full-power discharge, which is about average.


Bottom line, the Canon EOS M6 II offers excellent performance for its class, with quick startup, fast single-shot autofocus, low shutter lag, very fast cycle times, impressive burst speeds, generous buffer depths and reasonably quick buffer clearing. A very nice all-around performance in the lab, especially considering the resolution.

Battery

Battery Life
Below average CIPA battery life.

Operating Mode Number of Shots
Still Capture
EVF, CIPA standard
250
Still Capture
LCD Monitor, CIPA standard
305

The Canon M6 II uses a custom LP-E17 rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power, and ships with a dedicated battery charger. In-camera charging via USB is also supported.

CIPA-rated battery life with 50% flash shots is poor for a mirrorless camera, at 250 shots per charge with the electronic viewfinder and 305 shots with the LCD monitor, though there is an Eco mode that boosts battery life with the monitor to up to 410 shots. We strongly recommend you pick up a spare battery for extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of on fully-charged battery, based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions. While real-world battery life tends to be much better for mirrorless cameras, CIPA-rated battery life is still very useful for comparison purposes.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

 

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