topic Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

Cantrell — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 13:47:33 GMT

All,

I have a Canon R6M2 with several lenses. We are having Thanksgiving at our house with the family. Which includes our grow children and their children and my 92 year old mother in law. All of the shots will be taken indoors. Normally I shoot in manual, but wondering if I should shoot in different priority. Just concerned that I will miss a shot because I am adjusting the ISO or shutter speed.

I am thinking about using my 24-240mm lens. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thank you in advance. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

stevet1 — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 14:39:25 GMT

Cantrell,

I think you could probably get away with shooting in Aperture Priority. Your lighting will more than likely be pretty dim, as compared to being outside on a sunny day, so your aperture will be pretty wide to pull in as much light as you can.

You'll probably be shooting in the 35 - 50mm range or so, so you won't be zooming very much

Your ambient light will probably vary from room to room, so you can probably use Auto ISO.

My camera seems to have a tendency to overexpose by about 1/3 of a stop when I use Aperture Priority, so you could test out about 1/3 of a stop of negative exposure compensation to see what you think.

Also, if you have time between now and then, test out using a Tungsten White Balance indoors. I find it yields pretty good results.

You could also test out using the Program Mode on your camera, and let the camera make the choices.

Steve Thomas

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

shadowsports — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 14:41:29 GMT

Greetings ,

You can use the rf24-240 indoors if you have good lighting. If not, a flash might help. How many rows deep will your family portrait be? Do you have other lens options available?

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

jrhoffman75 — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 15:34:53 GMT

I agree that Program would be best for rapid response. That is what I will be using at our get-together.

Along the line of Rick's question, low light can generally mean wide apertures, but depending on what you are shooting (maybe the long dining table) you might have depth of field issues.

If possible tripod and flash for certain shots would be a help.

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

Cantrell — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 20:53:33 GMT

All,

Thank you for the recommendations. The Program sound like a great idea. All of the suggestions were wonderful and appreciated.

I think I need to get a 50mm lens.

Reese

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

normadel — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 22:23:10 GMT

A 50mm lens? Why? If you want a prime (single focal length) lens for shooting indoors, a 35 or 28 will capture more, rather than having to back yourself against walls to get your family in the picture.

Or, a much shorter-range zoom lens.

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

Cantrell — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 22:44:20 GMT

normadel,

Thank you for your reply. What is "a much shorter-range zoom lens" in your opinion? I am asking for my educational purposes.

Reese

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

normadel — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 23:12:26 GMT

Looking at the RF lens line, and "reasonable" cost, the RF 24-105 F4-7.1 IS STM or the RF 28-70 f/2 IS STM are two choices.

Then there are the ultrawides, more expensive.

Here are all the Canon-brand RF zooms, at B&H Photo Video:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/Mirrorless-Camera-Lenses/ci/17912/N/4196380428?filters=fct_brand_name%3Acanon%2Cfct_zooms-primes_5903%3Azoom-lenses

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

Cantrell — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 23:16:13 GMT

normadel,

Thank you very much for the information on the shorter range zoom lenses.

Reese

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

stevet1 — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 01:11:37 GMT

Reese,

You said you had a 24-240 lens, so that is a shorter focal length lens than the 50mm you mentioned. You can take shots between 28 and 35mm say.

The trick is that the lowest aperture range (depending on your focal distance), is going to be between f/4 and f/6.3. Depending on your lighting situation, and whether you want to isolate one person, there may be times when you would want to widen your aperture to say, f/2.8 or so, and you wouldn't be able to do that with the lens you've got.

In that situation, I'd say your best bet would be to add more lighting, or boost your ISO.

Cameras these days handle higher ISO's than they used to. That's why I suggested using Auto ISO. I personallly struggle with trying to guess ISO in dimly lit situations.

One option is to go into Live View, tap on the ISO button, and using your arrow keys, scroll through the ISO settings until the screen appears bright enough for you.

Steve. Thomas

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

Cantrell — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 02:14:58 GMT

Steve,

Thank you for mentioning the f stop range for the 24-240mm lens. I like the lens, but I have tried to use it in low light situations and it has been disappointing. I have the RF 15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM that I probably could use. I would just set it at 35mm. Maybe look for the RF 28-70mm F2 IS STM lens.

After reading about setting the ISO to AUTO I took some shots with my 50mm. Setting were F1.4, shutter speed 125, and Auto ISO. Shots came out okay because my subject was one of my sleeping dogs. I will need to set the shutter speed faster because I will have subjects moving through the house.

Reese

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

stevet1 — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 05:05:06 GMT

Re3se,

Yes. Shooting moving subjects in dimly lit situations is one of the most difficult challenges photographers face, I think.

Keep your aperture wide enough to let in the light you need without sacrificing your depth field requirements, and your ss speed high enough to reduce or eliminate motion blur. That's where boosting (or Auto) ISO becomes your friend.

You'll just have to see if Aperture Priority will give you the shutter speed you need.

Steve Thomas

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

Cantrell — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 10:01:14 GMT

stevet1,

Thank you for this information. Happy Thanksgiving.

Reese

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

p4pictures — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 10:20:06 GMT

The suggestion to keep the camera setup simple is a good one for family events that you are also a part of. It's good idea to use Program mode with auto ISO as that will let the camera do most of the work to give a good exposure in a range of situations, and potentially by other family members taking a photo with your camera.

One thing that is not widely known is that the Canon cameras feature "program shift" while using program mode, once you half press the shutter the camera shows the shutter speed, aperture and ISO value, you can turn the main dial next to the shutter to adjust the combination of shutter and aperture if you like. For a group shot with many people you can choose a more closed aperture for greater depth of field. Once the photo is taken you are back to standard - camera decides - shooting.

Others have suggested some good lens options, smaller fast aperture wider lenses like the recent RF 28-70mm F2.8 is a good choice for indoor family events.

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

Cantrell — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 10:26:12 GMT

normadel,

I have looked for the RF 28-70 F/2 IS STM lens. I have found a RF 28-70mm F/2.8 IS STM and a RF 28-70mm F/2 L USM lens. Which lens would you recommend? Happy Thanksgiving.

Reese

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

p4pictures — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 10:39:46 GMT

I own and love the RF 28-70mm F2L USM lens, but it is expensive, huge and heavy. You only gain 1-stop of light over the smaller, lighter, cheaper F2.8 model. For a family event I'd pick the RF 28-70mm F2.8 IS STM and let the camera use 1-stop higher ISO value with the EOS R6 Mark II is more than capable of doing.

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

Cantrell — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 15:49:00 GMT

Brian,

Thank you for your comments. I saw the price for the RF 28-70mm F2 L USM and felt that was going to be difficult to explain to my wife. The F2.8 might be easier to sell to my wife.

Reese

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

SignifDigits — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 02:44:02 GMT

Sorry for the late response - maybe this will helpful for you or someone for Christmas. I have both that camera and that lens and agree about Program mode. I've shot it wide open and Canon software does a good job of correction. That said, on a budget I would find it more effective and fun to use a faster lens. On a budget there are some nice prime lenses. If you like wider lenses the 16mm and 28mm are both f2.8, and if you prefer narrower shots the 50mm f1.8 are all in about the same price range and can be had used, as well. RF L lenses are fast zoom lenses if you can afford them. I've shot with them all and when shooting family holidays I am assuming that I'm going to not blow them up for all prints, but for sharing with others. Thus high ISOs aren't a problem. For a non-L lens I'd probably pick the 28mm and ignore zooming to make me and the camera as invisible as possible. I use electronic shutter for no sound, and would do my best to compose with my legs, but plan on cropping. I prefer wider and cropping for composition so that I can participate as much as possible and shoot as little as possible. What I really recommend is whatever is fun and familiar for you, is what I really recommend. though. Put the camera on full auto and focus on participating if that's what it takes to have fun and fully participate at a family event. You never know how long you'll have the 92yo and other family members with you. Cherish the moment first and capture what you can while you can and still participate and have fun. Of course, capturing precious moments on film is important, but stressing about missing one or fussing with learning a new mode or technique can make the time more stressful and less enjoyable. That's why it's important to practice before the holiday itself. In fact, I didn't take any pictures this year, but just enjoyed being there and helping the wife host the event.

I will photograph the grandkids and family at Christmas. I'm currently planning to use the RF L 15-35mm f2.8 L lens at about 28mm (and not fiddle with zoom), in Fv mode with ISO on auto, shutter at 1/100th, f11, and high-speed continuous drive mode . I am used to getting just a few frames with a light touch with continuous drive, so that I don't have to sift through a thousand frames. I love that you can delete the whole series for a bad shutter click. Things tend to move somewhat quickly with grandkids, otherwise I'd probably use bracketing instead of the continuous drive mode. In the slower parts of Christmas I'll likely do some manual adjusting to adapt to the lighting as I move about the house. I'm using Fv in essentially Program mode, so that's a great choice. Still, I prefer Fv in that it allows me to range from wholly manual to fully auto in the viewfinder if/when that means a better picture. I'm comfy in Fv and high-speed continuous drive mode because of my time shooting wildlife in those modes, but each person has to decide for themselves what works for them for skill comfort level and budget. I may change my mind and decide to shoot single frames and use the zoom and skip any post-processing, as well. Again, for me, taking a few nice snapshots is fine for family events, and if I get a few special gems to share with others, and I participate in the fun and don't detract from others' fun I'll have met my goals.

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

Cantrell — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 02:49:44 GMT

All,

Hope everybody had an enjoyable Thanksgiving. Thanks to everyone that recommended that I used the Programmed priority. That priority worked well for my needs. Before my family arrive I was in the backyard taking picture of my dogs. I was using the RF 24-240mm lens. I took pictures at 24mm, 70mm, and 240mm. The F stop was 4.0 at 24mm and went to 6.3 at 240mm. Now I understand the value of the constant F stop.

Reese

Re: EOS R6 Mark II - Which Priority To Shoot For The Holiday

SignifDigits — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 03:05:27 GMT

Thanks for letting us know how it went. I hope you had a wonderful time today and got the pics you wanted. I've had a lot of fun and gotten some good shots with that lens. Not my favorite indoors lens, for sure. The IBIS on the R6 definitely helps out.