EOS R6 Mark II - Trouble with getting clear photos

[sdphotography1]

Hello, i am a beginner photographer and I'm having some trouble. I saw that someone else was having the same issues as i am but with a different camera body. So i am shooting in M and i have my back button focus set but when i take photos they look grainy almost. Like they are clear but its not super clean and crisp like others. I heard that you need to have the ISO down to the lowest setting because the higher it is the more grainer the photo will be. I could really use help on improvement and what to fix!! I shoot with the 50 mm lens F 1.8 and the RF 25 -105 mm F/4L IS USM as well. 

[rs-eos]

First and foremost, before embarking on using Manual mode, have a solid understanding of the exposure triangle.

Until then, try out either Aperture Priority (Av) when you want to control how much of the scene is in focus (depth of field). Or Shutter Priority (Tv) when you want to show (blur) movement or freeze it.

Regarding ISO, yes, the lower* the better.  When using modes like Av and Tv where the camera will choose an ISO value for you, you can always set the camera to pick only from a certain range of values (e.g. 100 through 3200).  An EOS R6 II does very well will ISO performance, so don't be afraid of using higher values.

* except in cases where capturing video where you'd want to use a proper base ISO (e.g. 800) which can lead to a higher dynamic range being captured.

[LeeP]

Why are you in M?

There really is no need for manual unless you are dealing with some tricky lighting issue.

The automatic modes are pretty amazing for their accuracy.

To do manual effectively, it is beneficial to understand exposure triangle (Google it) along with what shutter speed, aperture, and ISO do independently of each other.

The attachment shows what each of those do. I've forgotten who originally shared it, so I apologize to them in advance for not remembering and thereby giving appropriate attribution to them. I saved it because it was so succinct and perfect and exemplified the type of help that the true experts here give.

[normadel]

Is your lens set on M(anual) Focus? Why are you using BackButton Focus?

Do a total reset of the camera settings. The set the mode to P. Set the lens to AF.

Take pictures of stationary subjects at lots of distances. 

How well are they focused?

[March411]

Just posting this to support Ricky's response which is extremely important to resolving your challenges. Shooting in manual will be difficult, as many have suggested until you learn some of "guidelines" for proper exposure.

Understanding the exposure triangle 

[LeeP]

Excellent graphic.

[sdphotography1]

Is back button focus not a good thing to do? even with using Av? sorry I'm a beginner and still learning!

[kvbarkley]

What lens?

Backbutton focus is fine, but you should familiarize yourself with the camera in the shutter-button focus mode first to get familiar with the focus modes.

Not trying to be offensive, but if a "beginner photographer" says that they have set back button focus, that tells me that they have spent too much time watching YouTube videos, and not enough time out there shooting.

Set the camera back to its defaults, go out on a sunny day with the camera in green square mode. Take some shots. Are these sharp? How do you determine sharpness?

[LeeP]

Excellent advice. YouTube is great until it isn't. I've seen a lot of "experts" who are saying something that is dumb as bricks.

[normadel]

BBF has nothing to do with Exposure mode (Av, Tv, P, whatever).

The reason I asked why you're using it is because it can get confusing. Stick with the "normal" focusing method.....half-press of the shutter button, then all the way to shoot. Get comfortable with the basics. Try BBF after you see if it solves a problem (for example, like taking the picture when all you want to do is check focusing.  I have tried BBF numerous times and changed back to the normal way.