Canon M6: Out Of The Box And First Impressions

I’ve bought a camera, a proper one. You might have seen it pop up on my Instagram a couple of times already and I’ve definitely been using it for some of my photos and Youtube videos. It’s the Canon EOS M6 in Silver and I’m a bit obsessed with it.

Technically though it’s a birthday gift for my 30th, which was on Friday and it’s felt kinda wrong to be talking about it before then so I’ve been trying to use it quietly as a way of getting used to it but as I found out with a hard reality check; having a proper camera is not at all like using your iPhone camera and I had no idea what I was doing.

I still don’t really although I’ve learnt a few things over the last couple of days that have given me hope that I just might figure it all out and be able to make use of it the way I want to.

Before I jump into my first impressions let me tell you what it comes with straight out of the box;

• the M6 camera body
• the 15-45mm stock lens
• battery and charger
• neck strap

As with all camera’s you have to buy your own SD card before you can use it. The camera also has lens covers for both the camera body and the lens so that they are protected when not being used or if you have to separate them for storage. These covers are a great idea and they’re essential to protect the camera, easily misplaced though. I’ve only had the camera for about 3 weeks and already lost them twice, in the house so I know they’re here somewhere but I can imagine they wouldn’t be at all hard to lose if you were out and about with them.

Okay, so that’s what you get in the box because I bought the whole camera set, although since this is part of the M series you can just buy the camera body and use it with existing Ef-m lenses if you already have them, this will save you a few pounds and is a nice option if you’re considering an upgrade but don’t need everything.

My first impression? Well as with everything there are things I love and things I’m not so keen on;

Things I love about it:

• It looks so good, I just think it’s a beautiful bit of kit. I opted for the black and silver version so it has the metal looking strip at the top but it does also come in all black if you prefer.
• The lenses are interchangeable; to be honest this one of the big influencers to be choosing this model. Having the option to buy additional lenses if and when I need to is a great feature.
• It has a port for an external microphone; this was the bigger. The deal sealer if you like, being able to attach an external mic was a must, especially as I hope to get into vlogging when I have the confidence and skill to do it.
• It has a phone app; you can transfer your photos directly from the camera to your phone in seconds and you can also use your phone as a remote control to take photos too.
• It has built in WiFi; this one I actually only learnt at the weekend when my friend explained to me that the camera doesn’t just rely on your home WiFi to transfer photos (as I thought) but that it actually has it’s own WiFi built in that you can connect your phone to and then transfer photos where ever you are – game changer!
• It has a flip up touch screen; I’m so used to using my phone and just tapping the screen to focus that I think I would really struggle if the Canon wasn’t the same, but it is so that’s perfect.

Things I don’t like about it:

• I still find it quite heavy and awkward to hold, I think that it because before this I had only ever taken photos with my phone. Don’t get me wrong it’s no where the weight of a DSLR or anything like that but it’s heavier and chunkier than a phone and that’s taking a bit of getting used to.
• The external mic has to be attached to an extra mount on the tripod if you want to use the flip screen. I mentioned this in a previous post about cameras, about how the hot shoe on this camera blocks the use of the screen and that is annoying but it’s not the end of the world like I thought it might be. You get used to it.
• The neck strap; I’m having a love hate relationship with this thing at the moment. On one hand I appreciate it for carrying the camera and giving me the security that it is safe around my neck if I were to drop it but then at the same time when I’ve not got it round my neck and I’m trying to take photos at home, it’s danging everywhere. It’s either in the shot or blocking the screen, I’m constantly pushing it aside and trying to tuck it out of the way. I took it off for a few days but then I was paranoid about dropping the whole thing so I wimped out and put it back on.

So those are my first impressions, as I mentioned earlier there is so much about using a ‘proper’ camera that I still don’t understand, like the terminology and how to use the settings of the camera. So if you need me, I’ll just be over here taking photos in Auto, you know, like a pro!