topic Re: Refurb R6 MkII or New R6 MkIII in Gear Guide

Refurb R6 MkII or New R6 MkIII

keven11 — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 05:44:06 GMT

Looking to finally take the leap and graduate from iPhone portrait mode to a mirrorless camera. A lot of what I shoot is hockey and car shows. I’ve done a ton of research and have landed on the r6 line of cameras. My biggest question is; since this is my first camera, do I go for the newer MkIII with higher resolution or get a refurb MKII and save a little bit of money? I’m looking to pair the body with a 24-70 and 70-200 lenses

Thanks 🙂

Re: Refurb R6 MkII or New R6 MkIII

March411 — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:00:01 GMT

This post EOS R6 Mark III vs EOS R6 Mark II, when video is not a priority is only a couple days old and in line with you question. The only thing I would add is Canon refurbished sells quality equipment. I have purchased several items and I have never been disappointed.

Re: Refurb R6 MkII or New R6 MkIII

SignifDigits — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 15:56:41 GMT

If budget is a concern then put the $1K or so into good glass. @March411 is the guru having owned both and his comments in the other thread are excellent. (of course, he's just a photo guru period)

Canon refurbs are better than new as they have been gone over so thoroughly, so I buy refurb whenever I can.

I have the Mark II and have had some wildlife misses with the RF 200-800, but I would say AF is still amazingly good. Shooting soccer with the RF 70-200 RF 2.8 L IS USM Z I've had no issues with AF. I hear AF is better on the Mark III but am very happy with my Mark II.

The woodpecker was a challenging low-light backyard AF with the RF 200-800. I got it but had to use the focus ring to "help" get it locked on the bird - crop file is 4MB . The deer just looked at me as I stepped onto the back porch to capture the woodpecker shot and that was captured on the fly first try before I turned to the woodpecker.

I would upgrade for the wildlife and color Mark mentions, but colors seem fine to me on the Mark II and as I shoot RAW and adjust in post I'm not sure how much of a concern that is. Renting both is a great idea. BTW, I went with the less expensive RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM and more expensive 70-200 and am very happy with that decision as a trade.

Let us know what you decide and why!

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Re: Refurb R6 MkII or New R6 MkIII

TomRamsey — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 22:30:11 GMT

I think you will be happy with either, I only have the MarkII and love it. I usually advise to go with the newest technology you can afford, but if the refurb allows you to get more lenses quicker, maybe.