Menu setting optimization for EOS R6 Mk ll

[James27]

Hello!  New to the group, first post.  Hope someone can point me in the right direction for what I need.

I recently purchased a Canon EOS R6 Mk ll.  This is quite the upgrade for me from my old Canon EOS 5D Mark ll.  I do a lot of sports photography.  Amateur of course, but I do this for schools so I want good images (which I have had excellent luck with the 5D Mark ll over the past few years).

The R6 Mark ll menu is pretty extensive, and I find myself questioning quite a few things.  One item for example is under the red menu, section 5... Lens Aberration Correction.  I open it up and there are five things to turn on or off. I'm not sure which should be on or off for my style.  I've also noticed the battery drains faster than it did on my old camera, and have heard that turning off lens optimization is one item that helps (which is why I was in that menu section).  I just don't know if it's a good idea to turn off all 5 of these.  I edit in Lightroom, so I know I can do the basic lens optimization correction there.  I do have two new Canon brand batteries, but on a full charge, I ran them both dry with a total of 713 photos last week.  I know this camera should do better.

What I really need to know is what things can be turned off everywhere in the menu to help with the battery - and what things I still need on for sports photography.  I know I'm asking a lot, but if someone can say "look over here...".  I have checked YouTube, and everyone says something different.  This forum was suggested as a place to get accurate info.  Any help would be valuable.  Thank you!  

[p4pictures · Accepted solution]

I have the EOS R6 Mark II and sometimes shoot a bit of motorsports with it. I managed 4,500 shots at a super bike race on a single LP-E6NH battery a couple of weeks ago.

One of the biggest consumers of power is preview AF in the AF menu page 3. If set to enabled I found a 50% hit on battery life. What it does is constantly try to focus and drive the lens when the camera is powered on. With it disabled the camera only focuses when you press the shutter or back buttons.

If you are shooting RAW and editing in Lightroom then less corrections are not important, though I have peripheral illumination turned on, distortion correction turned  off and digital lens optimiser set to standard. 

[p4pictures · Accepted solution]

I have the EOS R6 Mark II and sometimes shoot a bit of motorsports with it. I managed 4,500 shots at a super bike race on a single LP-E6NH battery a couple of weeks ago.

One of the biggest consumers of power is preview AF in the AF menu page 3. If set to enabled I found a 50% hit on battery life. What it does is constantly try to focus and drive the lens when the camera is powered on. With it disabled the camera only focuses when you press the shutter or back buttons.

If you are shooting RAW and editing in Lightroom then less corrections are not important, though I have peripheral illumination turned on, distortion correction turned  off and digital lens optimiser set to standard. 

[James27]

Hi Brian,  thanks for the info.  That's a lot of shots on a single charge!  I just looked, and the AF preview was on... now it's off.  I also see two other settings on this tab.  One is Lens Drive when AF Impossible, the other is AF-Assist Beam Firing.  Both of these are set to ON.  Is that suggested?

The other two options for the lens - Red menu tab 5 - Chromatic Aberration Correction, and Diffraction Correction are currently ON.  Should they be if I edit in Lightroom?  The other three are as you suggested.

Do you find Mechanical or Electronic shutter better for fast sports?  I'm sorry for all the questions.  The tech advancements are great compared to the 5D Mark ll, but I'm trying to wrap my head around what is best for my style of photography.  

I appreciate your time answering!

[p4pictures · Accepted solution]

Here’s a few more answers…

Lens drive when AF impossible determines if a lens should look for a new subject when the current one is lost by traversing through the entire focus range, ir should it stay where is is when the subject was lost. Leave this on, same setting was in 5D Mk3 I recall.

You can leave the AF assist beam on unless it interferes with your subject (wildlife for example) 

I leave these two lens corrections on too. 

Shutter mode I set to Electronic first curtain most of the time, sometimes electronic and rarely mechanical for sports. For portraits with fast lenses I tend to use mechanical. 

[James27]

I appreciate the additional feedback, Brian!  This is very helpful.  Thank you!