The Canon EOS R6 shook the industry when it launched in July 2020. It's a brilliant body – but is it really dead already, after just two years?
Of course, the camera isn't really dead, but it seems that it's already set for replacement – which feels a bit soon, especially when for the first of those years it was pretty difficult to actually find the Canon EOS R6 in stock anywhere.
Those who did find it, though, found one of the best Canon cameras that the manufacturer has ever released. Blistering 30fps burst shooting, industry-best autofocus (including spookily accurate animal eye AF that is a cheat code for wildlife photography) and stunning 4K HQ video… it's a stunning camera.
However, according to the rumor mill, Canon is set to launch a successor – and again, this is a camera that only came out in 2020 and that is already very, very good. For context, the original Canon EOS R was released in 2018, and the Canon EOS RP in 2019 – neither of which have received successors, despite arguably being far more in need of an update than the R6.
It's all just rumor, of course – albeit what appears to be a very reliable rumor. So why would Canon be replacing one of its best cameras so soon into its life cycle?
The answer, it seems, is due to the cluttered nature of the company's mirrorless lineup. Despite being a fantastic camera, one of the oft-criticized features of the R6 is its 20.1MP image sensor – especially compared to the 30.3MP of the EOS R and the 26.2MP of the RP, both of which are technically junior to the R6. As is the Canon EOS R7, with its 32.5MP (albeit APS-C) sensor.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest rumored difference in the Canon EOS R6 Mark II is a bump to the resolution, in the form of a 24MP sensor.
Obviously, the original Canon EOS R6 is still going to work just as well as it always did – even if Canon makes the inevitable move of discontinuing it. And two-year camera update cycles are far from the norm. It just feels odd, within the EOS R system, for it to be replaced so quickly when a four-year-old camera is still a current model.
On the plus side, it means that we will probably see some of the best Canon EOS R6 deals – especially when the Black Friday camera deals kick in!
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