topic Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos. in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

ivFrito — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 23:11:39 GMT

I am new to Canon cameras and was really excited to begin filming but am having a major issue where I pretty much can't shoot anything. The camera in question is a Canon R6 Mark II. I have a SanDisk Extreme Pro 128 GB SD card in the camera. I have formatted the card and set the setting under "Record func+card/folder sel." to disabled and enabled multiple times as well as swapped between slots 1 and 2. When outside the settings, I see an SD card icon with a 1 or 2 depending on what slot it's in, so I am assuming it's detecting the card, but I still can't seem to shoot anything. When I press the "Q" button, I go in and select the card, but still nothing. I have the camera set to manual and have gone through each other mode, but nothing. I changed resolutions and frame rates, took out the battery and SD card, etc. I am completely out of ideas, as I've gone almost a week since purchasing the camera, messing around with every setting possible and watching all sorts of videos, and still nothing. The only thing I haven't done is completely reset the camera. I'm highly sure the SD card is fully functional, so I really have no clue what it can be.

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

TomRamsey — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 22:34:06 GMT

It sounds as if you are only using one card, if so do you have the setting "release shutter without card" disabled? (shooting menu - 7). I believe that would have to be enabled, or on to actually record.

EDIT: I just tested this and I was wrong. I removed a card and tried this, it still recorded a photo.

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

jrhoffman75 — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:10:28 GMT

@ivFrito wrote:

I am new to Canon cameras and was really excited to begin filming but am having a major issue where I pretty much can't shoot anything. The camera in question is a Canon R6 Mark II. I have a SanDisk Extreme Pro 128 GB SD card in the camera. I have formatted the card and set the setting under "Record func+card/folder sel." to disabled and enabled multiple times as well as swapped between slots 1 and 2. When outside the settings, I see an SD card icon with a 1 or 2 depending on what slot it's in, so I am assuming it's detecting the card, but I still can't seem to shoot anything. When I press the "Q" button, I go in and select the card, but still nothing. I have the camera set to manual and have gone through each other mode, but nothing. I changed resolutions and frame rates, took out the battery and SD card, etc. I am completely out of ideas, as I've gone almost a week since purchasing the camera, messing around with every setting possible and watching all sorts of videos, and still nothing. The only thing I haven't done is completely reset the camera. I'm highly sure the SD card is fully functional, so I really have no clue what it can be.

Are you able to take photos and have them saved to the SD card?

https://cam.start.canon/en/C012/manual/html/UG-08_Set-up_0030.html

From reviewing this it looks like yo need two cards in the camera to record photos and video.

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

jrhoffman75 — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:12:08 GMT

You could give Canon support a call at 1-800-OK-CANON.

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

Waddizzle — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:58:22 GMT

“ I am new to Canon cameras and was really excited to begin filming but am having a major issue where I pretty much can't shoot anything. The camera in question is a Canon R6 Mark II. I have a SanDisk Extreme Pro 128 GB SD card in the camera. “

Are using full size, UHS-II SD cards?

Do you format cards using the camera prior to first use?

Word to the wise. Do not share SD cards with other devices. Allowing other devices to write to your camera cards will corrupt the data.

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

stevet1 — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 01:55:17 GMT

ivFrito,

1) Are you sure that the lock switch on the side of the card is slid up to the unlock position?

2) Take your card out and insert either into a SD card slot on your computer, or into a card reader. Do you see any folders on it? Look for one called DCIM. That folder should have one or more subfolders on it. Click on that or those, and see how many bytes are in each. These should be numbered sequentially, like 100, 101, 102, etc.

3) Try a different card. Format it in the camera.

Steve Thomas

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

ivFrito — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 02:07:08 GMT

Unfortunately, I tried this, and no luck. Thanks for the reply.

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

ivFrito — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 02:09:03 GMT

I messed around with all the photo and video settings as shown in the link, but still no luck. I couldn't imagine needing 2 cards being a necessity to shoot anything, but I may invest in a second in hopes of it actually being the solution. Thanks for the reply!

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

ivFrito — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 02:09:49 GMT

Sure thing, I will definitely give it a shot in the next day or 2 if I still have no luck. Thank you!

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

ivFrito — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 02:13:50 GMT

Yes, I am using the SanDisk Extreme Pro 128 GB https://a.co/d/dSxoT1b. Also, yes, the first place the SD card went into was the camera, and I formatted it directly after. Thanks for the reply!

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

ivFrito — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 02:17:48 GMT

1. Yes, the lock switch is unlocked.

2. I opened it on my PC, and the DCIM folder has 2 folders titled "100EOSR6" and "CANONMSC" with no files in either of them.

3. I am looking at buying a 2nd sd card similar to my current one, as others mentioned having 2 SD cards could be a solution.

Thanks for the reply!

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

stevet1 — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 12:06:22 GMT

ivFrito,

I think maybe you don't have your record setup installed correctly.

I would suggest that you look at your manual and go back to your Setup section. Read the sections on Folder setup and file numbering, etc. It sounds like you do not have it set up correctly to record photos and videos.

If you haven't done so yet, I'd also encourage you to download your manual in pdf format. That way, using a pdf reader like Acrobat, you can look up answers to specific questions.

Steve Thomas

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

Waddizzle — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 12:35:24 GMT

I think the memory card might not be the reason why you cannot take photos or videos.

What lens(es) are you using?

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

ivFrito — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:31:59 GMT

The lenses I am using is a Helios 44M 2/58mm f2 with a M42 to EOS RF Mount and a Canon RF Joseph Petzval 35mm f/2 lens from Lomography.

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

ivFrito — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:45:13 GMT

Thank you, yeah. I took a look at it from a prior reply from jrhoffman75, as he suggested it, and I set everything up as shown in the PDF when he replied, and I also double-set it up from your reply. I also took a look at the recording sections and followed along with those, but still nothing.

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

FloridaDrafter — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 22:48:09 GMT

@ivFrito wrote:

"I took a look at it from a prior reply from jrhoffman75, as he suggested it, and I set everything up as shown in the PDF when he replied, and I also double-set it up from your reply. I also took a look at the recording sections and followed along with those, but still nothing."

For "troubleshooting" purposes, use this card configuration. I know it works 🙂

This is the way I've set up my wife's R6 mark II and both video and stills are captured and played back. If you still have problems, we can rule out the card assignment.

*EDIT* I forgot to add... Just be sure your card is in Slot 1 if you are only using one card, LOL!

Newton

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

stevet1 — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 01:44:09 GMT

ivFrito,

Judging from what I read, the 100EOSR6 is a correct folder name.

If I understand it correctly, the CanonMSC folder is a miscellaneous folder that Canon creates to hold the settings if you want to print directly from the camera.

I'm afraid I don't know why your camera is not writing files to your 100EOSR6 folder.

The only things I can think of is doing a reset of your camera, or trying a different card. I do not think you absolutely have to have two cards in the camera at the same time for your camera to work. Just make sure you are recording to the slot where your card is located.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

Steve Thomas

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

ivFrito — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 17:02:30 GMT

I set mines up the same and still nothing unfortunately.

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

jrhoffman75 — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 17:33:49 GMT

Time to give Canon support a call at 1-800-OK-CANON.

Re: R6 Mark II SD card in camera but can't shoot videos or take photos.

Waddizzle — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 17:49:05 GMT

“ The lenses I am using is a Helios 44M 2/58mm f2 with a M42 to EOS RF Mount and a Canon RF Joseph Petzval 35mm f/2 lens from Lomography. “

This is the problem. Fully manual lenses. The lenses are not communicating with the camera. So the camera doesn’t know that a lens is attached to it.

Go into the menu and look for a setting “Release Shutter without Lens Attached” Enable it. Hope this helps.