Canon R5/R6 Crop Mode…..Is it usable?
Canon R6 Camera body
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Back in November 2021 I upgraded from my Canon 80D to a Canon R6, I finally made it into the mirrorless camera world. Now it’s been just over a year that I have had it and 2.5 years since it was first released. I won’t go over all the features and this is not a review though I may do my own personal take in the future , what I want to talk it about is the built in “crop mode” which I don’t hear a lot of People talk about. Now both the R6 and R5 have it and I presume the R3 as well and the new R6 mkii has a different version of the internal crop mode. I could be wrong but I assume most don’t take advantage of this feature, especially on the R6 model. But we will go over why, even with the R6 I think it can still be a usable feature in certain circumstances so grab a drink sit down and join me as I go over what I think are pros and cons of the Built in crop mode.
Lets start with how to get to the crop mode setting, I have been asked how you even get to it on the camera a few times, and if you don’t know it’s there I can see how you could overlook it. First off with your camera on click the menu button on the touch screen press the Q button at the top right corner, from there on the bottom left select Cropping/Aspect ratio and on the bottom of the screen you will see your options such as 1:1, 4:3, 16:9. But the second option right beside Full is the 1.6 crop option select this and it magnifies what you see and what the sensor see’s. So now you know how to get to the crop mode now let’s look at how this impacts your image and what you can do with it.
Shot with Canon R6 in 1.6 crop mode
The down sides of the 1.6 crop mode show up more on the R6 rather than the R5, primarily because of the fact that it reduces the megapixels your sensor is using. On the R5 this is less of an issue since it starts with 45 MP and once crop mode its activated you go to 17 megapixels, which is still plenty to work with for most applications. On the other hand the R6 drops from 20 megapixels down to 7 megapixels, this will limit what you can do with the image in post and for print applications. How many megapixels you need for what application is a hot topic and I wont go into it here but so far when I have employed the function its been just fine, though I am particular about the situations I use it in and sometimes I make use of it just to get some more reach to better identify a subject farther away then I can easily see. When post processing an image you took in crop mode its more or less the same except you probably don’t want to crop it anymore as you don’t have a lot of resolution to work with. This is the major draw back to using it with the Canon R6 vs. R5, so I would say its imperative you get the composition right when you take the shot. As for the rest of the edits you may do, such as exposure adjustment’s and colour grading should be just fine.
Shot with Canon R6 in 1.6 crop mode
So what are the upside’s that I have found in using the crop mode and times when it works for me, well one of the most simplest uses is just to get a tighter shot to help identify a subject that’s farther off. This would never be a shot I would use for a portfolio image but in loo of not having a good set of binoculars (which I really need ) this is an option, albeit yes a waste of battery and more so used when I have one of my longer lenses on for wildlife oppose to short wide angle lenses. But I have also found it useful for photographing smaller song birds to get nice tighter shots when they are perched on a branch or maybe a nice tight head shot of some waterfowl. The trick here I have would be when I am staying stationary, sitting at a location with my camera on my tripod and using the crop mode in conjunction with straight full frame to get different or unique shots. Now it’s probably best to use this mode on a tripod or monopod as any movement from you will be more noticeable and can ruin your image also be sure to switch your aspect ratio back to full afterwards, I have made this mistake myself and that can certainly impact your shoot. I should also note that if you are walking through a forest or park, or wherever you may be out shooting, being in crop mode could make it harder to find your subject in the view finder. This also goes for tracking birds in flight, this can be difficult with longer focal lengths let alone setting the 1.6 internal crop mode.
In the end should this be your main way of getting more reach out of your camera, well no I don’t think so. Teleconverters will work much better allowing for the full sensor resolution, there is also the fact that you could crop in on the image after if you need too, both of these would probably be my first recommendations to use. That or practice getting closer to your subjects with out making them uncomfortable of course or when possible use a longer reach lens as well. If you made it this far thanks for reading and I hope you gained something from it, if I have missed any points you think are worth noting please don’t hesitate to leave a comment with your thought’s, or just leave a simple greetings.
Shot with Canon R6 in 1.6 Crop mode
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