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| Noisy miner chicks EOS M6.2 with EF-M 18-150mm lens |
The EOS M6.2 was released a year ago. It is a substantial upgrade over the original M6 with an all-new 32Mpx sensor, improved autofocus and improved performance.
It is a sophisticated camera with many advanced capabilities and functions.
The 600 page Advanced User Guide is well written but daunting in size and complexity.
This guide has been written for users wanting a summary of the setup process in a more concise form and from a photographer’s point of view.
It is for enthusiast users who will set one of the Fv, P, Tv, Av, M or C1, C2 modes for operation.
First steps
Neck strap
The camera comes with a neck strap in the box. Mine is still in the box. In fact I have not used the neck strap supplied with any camera for the last ten years. When changing lenses some means of holding the camera hands free is required and for this purpose I use a neck cord as shown in the photo. This is just a length of sash cord painted black and sewn in to the strap lugs. It takes up no space in the camera bag and is not intrusive when I am taking photos. When out and about I prefer to carry the camera in my hand ready for photo ops.
Users who prefer to carry the camera with lens attached on the front of the chest will probably prefer the supplied strap.
Carry bag
The optimum sized bag will depend on the number of lenses carried with many options available.
I have lately been using a Vanguard Oslo 37 sling bag which has several desirable features. It places the mass of the bag with contents on my back where it is easy to carry and will not swing around when I bend over. It can easily be brought around to the front when access to the gear is required. It can take a body, 5-7 lenses, spare batteries and memory cards, puffer, cleaning cloth, 55mm and 43mm filters, mobile phone and a small tablet if required. It even has a built in raincoat.
Batteries
The LP-E17 battery is larger and has more power than the LP-E12 used in the M50 so it can be expected to deliver more shots per charge. Even so I recommend packing a spare just in case.
Memory cards
SD card nomenclature manages to confuse just about everybody. I find that faster is better for overall performance and buffer clearance. The M6.2 is UHSII compatible for very fast read/write speeds.
Firmware version
Check on the wrench (yellow) menu > screen 5 > Firmware version. Install the latest version (1.1.0 at the time of writing) from a Canon website if you don’t already have it.
Advanced user guide
Download and save this PDF from a Canon website. Go through the description of the camera and its parts with the user guide on screen and become familiar with the functions of all the controls. Note that although the M6.2 is similar in several ways to other Canon cameras you will often find that buttons do not have the same function across the model range which can be frustrating when you are using different models side by side.
The guide is well written and easy to follow with plenty of graphics.
The EVF
Some kits include the EVF-DC2 clip-in EVF with the camera body and I strongly recommend that option. Some users might think they don’t need it but there are many situations especially in bright light outdoors when viewing on the monitor screen is frustratingly difficult.
The next question is what to do with the EVF.
Having tried several approaches I now leave it on the camera at all times. I found that when I tried to carry the camera without the EVF then fit the EVF when needed the process was a nuisance with the risk of losing both the hotshoe cover and the EVF foot cover.
This has implications for carry bag size/shape/configuration as the clip-in EVF is much higher than a built in one and more subject to the risk of damage when being handled or carried in the bag.
Fortunately adjusting the eyepiece diopter on the DC2 is easy, just rotate the ring on the housing.
The button on the right side of the EVF toggles between EVF and monitor view.
Mechanical shutter (Msh) or Electronic shutter (Esh) ?
The M6.2 is the only EOS-M model to date which does not offer electronic first curtain shutter for reasons not revealed to us often frustrated consumers.
The problem is that when the Msh is used image blurring due to shutter shock can occur with zoom lenses at some focal lengths and shutter speeds. But with the Esh you get banding in some kinds of artificial light and rolling shutter distortion with moving subjects and/or camera.
My approach to this is to use the Esh for all outdoors general photography.
Unfortunately although there are 12 programmable buttons on the M6.2 none of them can be set to toggle between Msh/Esh.
So this choice has to be assigned to a slot in MyMenu, which is at least easier to access than the main menu.
Dial functions
The M6.2 has three customizable dials: Top front, which Canon calls the Main dial, Top rear which the guide refers to as the Quick control dial and the one around the cross keys on the back of the control panel which Canon calls Control dial.
Go to Menu > Custom Functions (orange) > C.FnIII:Operation/Others > screen 3 > Customize Dials.
See page 542 of the Guide with a table indicating the options available.
Unfortunately at this point what happens on the camera does not match what I see on that table making dial setup rather confusing.
The camera will in fact do what I want it to do which is:
* Main dial does Program shift in P mode, changes shutter speed in Tv mode, aperture in Av mode and shutter speed in M mode.
* Quick control dial provides direct exposure compensation in P, Tv and Av and changes aperture in M mode.
Note You must activate the exposure system with a half press on the shutter button for these functions to become active.
A little pictogram beside each exposure parameter seen in the viewfinder tells you which dial will alter the adjacent value.
* I have the Control dial (the one around the crosskeys on the 4 way controller) set to OFF so I don’t change some setting accidentally. It can be set to change ISO, BUT only the fixed settings not including auto ISO.
This is all a bit strange. I suspect that for many users the default functions of the dials will do just fine.
In practice the camera is actually very easy to operate in the Capture Phase of use. The main dial changes the parameter set on the mode dial and the quick control dial manages exposure compensation.
Button functions
Go to Menu > C.FnIII: Operation/Others > 2 > Customize buttons.
See pages 537-541 of the Guide, with a big table detailing the options available.
There are 12 buttons with customizable function and 44 options from which to choose although not all these options are available for every button.
This gives us something in excess of three hundred trillion permutations.
What you want to do with each button will depend greatly on what kinds of photography you prefer. The number of options presents new (and plenty of not-so-new) users with an overchoice situation which can be difficult to navigate.
The Guide writers have tried to clarify things by dividing the list into AF/Exposure/Movie/direct action/Menu which is somewhat useful although Drive Mode got caught up in the Menu group, for want of somewhere to put it I guess.
There are some items which such as Esh/Msh toggle and Stabiliser which cannot be allocated to a button and others like select folder and create folder which really don’t need quick access at all.
The basic principle is to allocate to a button those parameters you want to change in the Prepare Phase of use.
Each individual has their own ideas about this and these are likely to change over time.
The items which I often find myself wanting to change in Prepare Phase are:
Shooting mode (on the mode dial), ISO, Drive mode, AF method, AF operation, stabiliser and Esh/Msh.
After a great deal of experience with many cameras from all the main brands I find the most user friendly way to manage options in Prepare Phase is that used by Sony, Nikon and (less elegantly) Panasonic. The Sony/Nikon way is to have a Quick Menu or similarly named button which accesses a 12 item mini display the contents of which are user selectable.
This way I don’t have to remember which item I allocated to which button. I just press the Q (or Fn or whatever it is called) and there on the screen are all my preferred items in one place.
Canon still hasn’t got this right and needs to do so ASAP in my view.
The items accessed by the Q/Set button come closest but they are not user selectable and Drive mode is not on the list.
To make matters worse the items accessed by the Dial/Func button (ISO, Drive, AF operation, White balance, Exposure compensation) are limited and not user selectable and some of the items available from this access point are duplicated in several other places.
It really is a muddle, caused, I imagine, by the designers of the camera providing it with features and controls because they can, but in the process failing to approach the exercise from a user’s perspective.
Memo to Canon: Please re-configure the Q/Set button function to
a) Access a 12 item menu in two lines of 6 boxes across the lower part of the screen.
Hint: That’s what Sony and Nikon do. It works really well.
b) Allow the user to assign items to each of the boxes from a large selection of options.
For the record my approach is to try as far as possible to streamline and simplify the operation of all controls to reduce the likelihood of mistakes due to the over-complexification which camera makers foist onto their long suffering consumers.
So my button function selections are:
Shutter button, half press meter and AF start.
M-Fn, ISO.
Dial/Func, Off.
AF-On, Meter and AF start (for back button focussing which it turns out I never use anyway).
* AEL button, AF point to center.
AF point button, Off.
Video button, video.
Q/Set, Q/Set.
Up (/+/-) button, I leave this at default to enable exposure compensation in M mode and Fv Mode.
Left (Drive) button, Drive mode.
Down (erase) button, Leave at default which is re-set Tv Av +/- ISO in FV mode. This restores settings in Fv mode to those which you would have in P mode.
Right (flash) button, Flash.
With the camera set up this way I use the shutter button, main dial and quick control dial when operating the camera in in Capture Phase.
In Prepare Phase I use the Mode dial, M-Fn button, Q/Set button and Drive mode button.
C1/C2 User set custom modes (on the mode dial)
Go to the wrench (yellow) menu > Screen 5 > Custom shooting mode (C1, C2) > Register settings. The camera will register whatever settings you have already selected.
See page 521 of the guide and on screen prompts. You can allocate most settings across the menus to a custom shooting mode. This enables the user to change many settings with one action.
There are only two Custom shooting modes available.
Make sure you trawl through all your camera settings and get your ducks in a row before committing them to a Custom Mode. Be aware that if you change say, a button function in your normal P, Tv, AV, M modes this will not carry through to C1, C2 settings already committed to memory.
If you make a mistake (I make lots of them) just start the process over.
For the record I have:
On C1: My settings for tripod/landscape. These include Av mode f8 (as a starting point) ISO 100, timer delay 2 sec, E-Shutter, Stabiliser off, AF method 1-point, AF operation one shot, CRaw.
On C2 are my sport/action settings including Tv mode shutter speed 1/1000, AF method zone AF, AF operation Servo, M-Sh, (OK for zooms at high shutter speeds), Auto ISO, evaluative metering, CRaw, Drive mode High speed continuous.
Note that one of the options is [Auto update set.] I leave this at Disable.
This is to ensure that every time I turn the Mode Dial to one of the Custom shooting modes the camera has the same settings. This way I know my starting point for aperture, shutter speed etc…
Now on to the menus starting with
Setup Menu (yellow)
There is plenty of information about menu items in the Guide and also in the feature guide on screen if you wish. I will offer comment only where I think I have something more to offer than you can find in the Guide.
Screen 1
Auto rotate. Set this On for camera and computer.
Format card. Assign this to My Menu for quicker access.
Mode guide/Feature guide. Leave these on initially then remove them to unclutter the screen.
Screen 2
Eco mode. In this mode the monitor screen but not the EVF dims after 2 seconds inactivity to save power.
I leave display brightness at default. Look in the viewfinder for EVF settings.
I set sensor cleaning to auto at power off. It seems to help keep sensor dust levels down.
The Nikon Z50 which I had some time ago does not have a sensor shake dust-off feature and that camera accumulated large amounts of dust very quickly.
Screen 3
I set touch control to standard which works very well.
I set shutter button function for movies to Meter.+ Servo AF.
Screen 4
Shooting info. disp. There are several subheadings here.
Screen info.settings. There are lots of options here. Follow the prompts on screen and description on Page 514 of the Guide.
The idea is to be able to bring up the information you really want without totally cluttering up the screen.
At VFinfo/toggle settings you switch between display settings for the monitor screen and EVF when fitted.
I set VF vertical display Off so the data does not overlay the preview image.
If you load up the screen with every option available the preview image will be difficult to see properly.
Disp. Performance. I set smooth for best performance (highest refresh rate) although this does reduce battery life a bit.
VF display format. I use the larger of the two. Spectacles wearers might prefer the smaller option.
Reverse display. On.
Screen 5
Check the Firmware version installed.
Custom function Menu (orange)
C.Fn1:Exposure.
(1) Exposure level increments, 1/3 stop.
(2) ISO speed setting increments 1 stop. Shutter speed and aperture will change in 1/3 stop increments. There is no need for ISO to do so.
(3) Bracketing auto cancel. Enable. If you set Disable for this one you have to remember to disable bracketing after using this feature.
(4) Bracketing exposure sequence. I use minus, normal, plus in that order as this makes most sense to me.
(5) Number of bracketed shots. I use 3 (set 0:3) as I never feel the need for more.
(6) I set Safety shift to Disable. The camera will still flash the dependent exposure variable in red to warn you if correct exposure cannot be achieved with current settings.
(7) I set AE lock meter. mode after focus to Evaluative.
Now we take time out from our trip through the menus to cover:
How to set up for Auto exposure bracketing (AEB)
Because this does not fit neatly into any menu.
Arrangements for AEB on this camera are so convoluted and un-necessarily complicated that I hardly ever use the feature. Canon’s user interface designers should be ashamed of themselves.
* AEB only works with M-Sh not E-Sh. So if you are using E-Sh and want to make some AEB sequences you have to switch to M-Sh and hope you don’t get shutter shock with the zooms.
* Go to Camera menu (red) > screen 2 > Expo.comp./AEB. Here you set the amount of exposure compensation if any with the Quick control dial and the exposure spacing between shots with the main dial.
Allocate this item to My Menu for easier access.
* Go to CFn1: Exposure (3) to set Bracketing auto cancel.
* Go to CFn1: Exposure (4) Bracketing sequence and set your desired sequence.
* Go to CFn1: Exposure (5) to set whether the camera will make 3, 2, 5 or 7 shots in the AEB sequence.
* Go to Drive Mode (on the left cross-key) and set one of the continuous drives so all the bracketed shots can be made with one press of the shutter button (or other control, see below).
* The camera will not allow you to have timer delay+AEB with one-press action.
* So if you want the bracketed images to be in alignment (on tripod) with no risk of blur from pressing the shutter button you have to use a remote method of activating the shutter. The easiest is probably Canon Connect on a smart phone which works OK. Hold the virtual button on the smartphone down for the sequence of exposures as if it were the actual shutter button.
So the process requires seven separate steps in different Menu locations and most likely two devices if Canon Connect is used with a smartphone. Make that three devices with the tripod.
In practice once the Custom items have been set the sequence is a bit easier but still ridiculously convoluted:
* Switch to MSh if required.
* Drive Mode to Continuous.
* Select Expo,comp./AEB in MyMenu and rotate the main and quick control dials to the required settings, seen graphically on the screen.
* Hold the camera still (tripod) then press and hold down the shutter button or virtual button on Canon Connect while the exposure sequence is made.
Alternatively use the Canon RS-60E3 wired remote if you have one. I do and have tested it on the M6.2 and it works OK.
And camera makers wonder why buyers are deserting their products in droves.
Now back to the menus.
C.FnII: Autofocus
(1) Limit AF methods. I use all available AF methods so I checkmark each one.
(2) Orientation linked AF point. This is a useful feature borrowed from the EOS R line.
Select 1: Separate AF points:Pt only. The camera will remember where your AF point was last time the camera was used and can have one position for landscape orientation and a different position for portrait orientation.
(3) Initial Servo point for Face/eye detect and tracking.
You might want to experiment with this.
I set 1: Initial AF pt set for face/tracking. With this setting you can prompt the camera to initiate tracking on the face or eye which you select. When monitor viewing touch the desired face/eye on the screen, see a little green square initially then notice the camera will keep tracking that target as the subject or camera moves.
When monitor viewing use the touchpad function to select the target. Instead of the little green square we see a little orange broken circle shape to indicate target acquisition.
It all works rather well and is very useful when photographing people.
C.FnIII:Operation/others
(1) Dial direction during Tv/Av. I set and recommend 0:Normal.
(2) Customize buttons and (3) Customize dials have already be discussed.
(4) Release shutter W/O lens. Set 1:Enable to allow third party lenses without electrical contacts to be used.
(5) Retract lens on power off. I’m not quite sure of the purpose of this but there must be one.
Still photo shooting (Camera) menu (red)
See page 119 and following of the Guide which has a lot of information to assist users with the setup process.
Screen 1
Image quality. Users who like to experiment with image quality settings might want to duplicate this setting in MyMenu.
Raw shooters need have no fear of CRaw. It gives results indistinguishable from full sized Raw and speeds up camera operation considerably.
For JPG shooters I see no persuasive reason ever to use any setting less than the highest available.
Image review. Switch this off to speed up shot-to-shot times.
Lens aberration correction. There are 5 items under this heading with some uncertainty in user forums as to the best settings. My approach which empirically seems to work OK is to switch them all Off for Raw capture and all On for JPG.
RAW burst mode. Copy this item to MyMenu for easier access. This function deserves its own post which I will do soon-ish.
Screen 2
ISO speed settings Stills/video. Copy this to MyMenu. This would be a good one to access via a button but you can’t.
Note that in Canon world [ISO Speed] and [ISO speed settings] are separate entities located in different parts of the menu system. Yet another reason camera menus need an overhaul to develop a system which directly relates to camera users not firmware geeks.
For the stills (camera symbol) I set
* ISO speed Auto. You can switch it quickly to any set number with one of the buttons. I use the M-Fn for ISO.
* ISO speed range, take your pick. I set 100-25600 and hope I never have to use the highest level.
* Auto range. Again take your pick but the files start to get noisy above 3200.
* Min.shutter spd. This is quite sophisticated. Select Auto. Then see on the screen that the level can be set Slower or Faster in relation to the focal length of the lens attached. For birds and other moving creatures I will set Faster and for landscapes, Slower. It’s a good system.
* Auto Lighting Optimizer and Highlight tone priority are two JPG features which aim to enhance the effective dynamic range of the camera. I think the best approach for JPG shooters is to experiment with different settings to see the results for themselves.
Raw shooters can leave both Off.
Screen 3
* Metering mode. Having tried every kind of metering over a 60+ year period I recommend and use Evaluative metering all the time for just about everything.
Be aware that the implementation of evaluative metering in the M6.2 and some other Canon cameras applies bias to the in-focus part of the scene. You can easily see this in the viewfinder if you focus on different parts of a scene with a high brightness range.
The M6.2 does not offer zebras for stills but you can still get a good idea if the metered exposure will be appropriate just by looking at the image preview in the viewfinder.
To enable this set Expo.simulation to Enable. Disable this in the case of a studio shoot with external flashes.
Screen 4
* White balance. I find that most of the time Auto WB gives a good result and is anyway what you use when shooting Raw.
There might be a case for a specific WB if you are making a series of photos in a particular location/lighting.
* Color space. There are lots of discussions about this on user forums but I find that leaving this at the default sRGB works just fine.
* Picture Style. JPG shooters will need to invest in some personal experiments to determine what best suits their type of photography. This could take a while as there are many choices.
Raw shooters just ignore this item.
Screen 5
* Long exp.noise reduction. Note this is another feature which is not available with E-Sh.
The usual advice is to set this On, however doing so doubles the effective exposure time, which can be inconvenient if you are shooting fireworks or similar subjects requiring repeated exposures.
* High ISO speed noise reduction. My practice is to set this Off and deal with noise in post processing. But JPG shooters might want to experiment. The problem is that more noise reduction leads to less sharpness and detail in images so it’s a trade-off.
* HDR Mode is another JPG function which warrants some experiment to decide its usefulness.
* Focus bracketing is one to copy to MyMenu. I will publish a separate post about this in due course.
Screen 6
* Touch shutter. When On, touching the screen locates the focus point and fires the shutter immediately. Decide if this is what you want.
* Shutter mode, Esh/MSh has been discussed.
* Interval timer is a special function requiring practice to use effectively.
* Bulb timer is N/A with E-Sh. Copy this to MyMenu for easier access.
Screen 7
* AF operation, AF method and Eye detection are all accessed via the Q/Set and other buttons.
* Continuous AF in Canon speak means that AF tries continuously to focus on something all the time. It’s a way to deplete the battery quickly.
* Touch and drag AF settings: This is the primary and best way to move the active AF area on the M6.2. This group of settings applies to locating AF area while looking through the viewfinder.
Touch and drag AF: Enable
Positioning method: Relative (so you don’t have to use the whole screen)
Active touch area: Top right (easiest access for the right thumb)
* AF-assist beam firing. This is not required, even in low light. Set it Off so it doesn’t annoy people, startle animals and so forth.
Screen 8
* MF peaking settings. I find the Low level works well, with the High level producing too much color.
Take your pick about the red/yellow/blue choice.
* IS settings. Copy this to MyMenu for easier access.
Playback menu (blue)
The M6.2 offers an extensive range of playback functions which allow in-camera processing of many kinds, including RAW image processing which could be very useful for managing the files produced by, for instance, RAW burst mode.
On screen 4 we have Highlight alert (blinkies) and AF point display both of which I set On.
The AF point display is particularly useful for evaluating AF performance and accuracy.
Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connection menu (purple)
I managed this by following the on-screen prompts.
There is a hundred pages of information about wireless functions from page 377-477 of the Guide.
And that’s yer lot for this post.