Canon EOS M6: A review

Canon has been steadily introducing new mirrorless cameras at a more frequent pace lately. They announced the EOS M6 back in February 2017 and it’s now available in the Philippines this month. That’s about a six-month gap from their release of the EOS M5 back in December.

Those familiar with the M5 will see the EOS M6 as a more compact and affordable version. Technically, the M6 is more like a direct upgrade to the M3 and sits one level below from the M5.

What’s missing here is the electronic viewfinder (EVF), which was present in the M5 but is now an optional accessory on the M6.

All the control knobs are found at the top right corner where they’re usually placed and are easily accessible to quick setting changes. Additional controls are found at the back beside the LCD display. Not a lot has changed here so it’s a pretty familiar layout.

The LCD screen now tilts 45 degrees downwards and flips to the top at 180 degrees. This makes it good for vloggers so they can see the frame and focus while recording a video. The older M5 has the flip-screen tilting downwards at 180 degrees, which does not allow it to be attached to a tripod at that angle.

Thethree-inch screen is touch-enabled so it’s easier to set the focus while framing your shot. Overall, the design of the M6 is spot on with very good build quality and ergonomics. It’s also very light and compact and so easy to carry around any day.

The EOS M6 uses the same 24.2-megapixel CMOS APS-C sensor, which is the same one used by the EOS M5. We’re impressed with the fast focusing, thanks to the dual-DIGIC CMOS sensor. Burst shots can go up to 7fps, which is pretty impressive for its category.

Images are clear and crisp, with good low-light performance and good dynamic range. The quality of some of the photos are comparable to a Canon 70D or 80D. The M6 can record up to full HD video at 50p.  One nifty feature is the time-lapse shot. Video quality is very good, sharp and has good dynamic range. It does not support 4K video recording, though, which is something that some mirrorless cameras already offer.

The M6 comes with a 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM kit lens which provides for good all-around photography. This offers a good range of framing options from a wide scenic shot to a closeup group photo. It’s actually perfect for travel and food photography as well as video blogging.

There’s not a lot of EF-M lenses for the M6 but with Canon’s adapter, you can use the entire collection of EF and EF-S lenses.

Suggested retail price: EOS M6 Body Black / Silver – P46,998 EOS M6 EF-M15-45 Black / Silver – P52,998 EOS M6 EF-M18-150 Black / Silver – P69,998 EOS M6 BODY JACKET EH30-CJ Black / Brown – P2,798 EVF-DC2 Black / Silver – P11,998

The camera interface is simple and intuitive. You can easily find what you’re looking for and quickly adjust the settings in a few clicks. The physical dials are very easy to use and work very well even when you’re on manual mode.

WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity is available so you can actually connect the camera to your smartphone via the Canon Connect App. The app allows the user to control camera settings, touch focus and shutter as well as transfer photos and videos to the phone wirelessly.

The EOS M6 uses an LP-E17 Li-Ion battery. It has a capacity of 1040mAh, which is good enough for a whole day’s worth of very heavy use. This is the same one used by the EOS 77D, M5 and M3. In my experience using it, the battery can last around two or three days of mixed video and photos before it hits the 10-percent mark.

Canon has been making great strides in the mirrorless category and the EOS M6 is a testament to this. With merely six months from the release of the M5, the EOS M6 made proper adjustments to the exterior of the camera, which made it more vlogger-friendly.

The decision to remove the EVF and to make it into an optional accessory in order to reduce the retail price gives us a good idea where Canon is positioning the EOS M6. That, plus the positioning of the flip LCD, make the Canon EOS M6 the ideal vlogging camera and we think it’s headed in the right direction.

There are still a few more things to polish or improve, though: 4K video recording is one of them, and same goes for image stabilization for stills and wider choices for EF-M lenses.

Canon has put a good set of cameras in their mirrorless line up and the EOS M6 pushes their position in this category even further. It’s a good all-around camera – light, compact, has great picture quality, and is more affordable.