It's time for another photo walk. This one was actually done way back in 2022 when I was using the Canon M6 Mark II with the Viltrox 33mm f1.4 lens for the EF-M system. Sadly, all of this equipment is probably discontinued at this point, except for the Viltrox lens, but you might be able to find it used if you look around.
Check out the main video on YouTube:
Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 AF lens for Canon EF-M:
- B&H: https://bhpho.to/3d3xicN
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/37d2ohc
- ebay: http://ebay.us/r5WK12
Canon M6 Mark II Digital Camera:
- ebay: https://ebay.us/xelrMs
- KEH: https://shrsl.com/2b3pp
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/35UYV2G
As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases! Usually anything within 24 hours of the initial visit.
Keep in mind that any italic text blocks are generated by Gemini Pro to provide context.
For this photo outing, I went to one of my favorite places, a beautiful Japanese-styled garden in the area. Given that it was around October at the time, it had a lot of color.
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| A single red leaf on a rock, captured with the Canon M6 Mark II. The settings are 33mm, f/1.4, 1/320s, and 100 ISO. |
My Camera Setup for the Day
For this photo outing, I recorded a settings video that I included in the linked video. Otherwise here's a basic description of the setup I have for the M6 Mark II on that photo outing. Of course, the touchscreen works as you would expect. I don't have that disabled.
I have the back dial fully disabled so it just doesn't get in my way.
On the top dials, the one next to the mode dial is for controlling exposure compensation. I'm using aperture on the dial surrounding the shutter button. You can adjust aperture on the lens in this case, but this specific copy of the 33mm from Viltrox had issues with its aperture ring so I tended to leave it in the 'A' setting.
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| My thumb covering the back dial d-pad control. I disabled this because it's easy to accidently change something. |
Aperture priority is a shooting mode where the photographer sets the aperture (the opening in the lens that lets light in), and the camera automatically selects the shutter speed to ensure a correct exposure. This mode is popular for its ability to control the depth of field, which is the range of distance that appears sharp in a photo. A wider aperture (smaller f-number) will result in a shallower depth of field, with a blurred background potentially, while a smaller aperture (larger f-number) will create a larger depth of field, with more of the scene in focus. Editor's note: getting a thin DOF look also relies on your distance from the subject.
I had the M-FN button set to control ISO when used in combination to the large adjustment dial next to the mode dial.
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| The top of the Canon M6 Mark II, with a finger pointing to the M-FN button, which is set to control ISO. |
A Workaround for Video Settings
How I get around the not-ideal video settings in the photo mode... In that case, I push my aperture mode with all the settings that I have to the C2 custom settings save mode. With one click one click of the main dial I'm able to swap to video mode or switch back to that photo mode assigned to C2.
I default to f2.8 for the aperture that was pushed into C2. In aperture priority with automatic ISO, you can set a minimum shutter speed on this camera. In this case, I set it to 1/125th of a second minimum. I think you could get away with 1/60th of a second, but just to be on the safe side, that's what the minimum I set as for this photo walk.
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| The menu on the Canon M6 Mark II, showing the minimum shutter speed set to 1/125th of a second. |
Lens and Camera Combination
This lens and camera combination does have a bit of weight to it. Viltrox lenses are mostly metal on the outside. The M6 Mark II is a really nice camera. It has the three dials to control all of the important settings if you want to, but you can also use auto modes. In this case, I tend to use aperture priority a lot. But having those dials is a nice benefit when you want it.
Obviously, it doesn't have a viewfinder. That was probably a big negative for a lot of people at the time when this camera was available, but you could get an add-on electronic viewfinder if you wanted that. Personally, I wasn't interested. The articulating screen was good enough in a lot of situations, except for vertical photography.
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| The articulating screen of the Canon M6 Mark II, tilted out to the side. |
It's a nice compact setup, but obviously with any interchangeable lens camera, the lens itself, especially something with a maximum aperture of f1.4, will be a large addition to the overall size, so it's only going to be so small. But with this APS-C camera and lens designed for APS-C, it's definitely a pretty compact camera combination.
The Photo Walk Experience
I love walking around, especially at a beautiful garden like this. And photography is a great facilitator for that. Having a small camera is an added benefit. It's not super noticeable. It's fun to use in this case. It has a lot of control with the M6 Mark II. So, I can walk around, take photos. I can get as detailed as I want or just do simple modes with the camera. Whatever works. You've got that physical control with all the dials, the touchscreen. Really nice setup.
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| A shot of vines with reddish leaves climbing up a tree trunk. The settings are 33mm, f/1.4, 1/500s, and 100 ISO. |
If you're in the system or you can find it used, you could consider this lens or the 32mm f1.4 from Canon. I had both lenses at the time. The Canon was definitely a higher quality lens optically, but this was a nice alternative at the price. I really enjoyed using this combination. You have that nice large aperture. Still a fair amount of detail in the center.
Just to avoid some of the lower quality of this lens, at least in comparison to the 32mm, I was having the default at f2.8 like I mentioned in the settings portion of the linked video. And that definitely sharpens things up.
Considering the crop factor of this camera and the 33mm focal length of the lens, your field of view will be somewhat normal.
Capturing the Autumn Colors
In Northern Illinois, we've got the beautiful mix of colors around October and such. Definitely visible here. Animals are still around. It's not cold enough to be unpleasant. It's kind of one of the really nicer times of the year for this area.
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| A close-up shot of a what I'm guessing is a Japanese maple tree with reddish-purple leaves. The settings are 33mm, f/2.8, 1/1600s, and 100 ISO. |
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| A tree with reddish-pink leaves against a clear blue sky. The settings are 33mm, f/2.8, 1/1600s, and 100 ISO. |
Final Thoughts
I don't remember too much from this photo walk from years back, but looking at the photos, looking at the video footage, I get relaxed and happy just looking at it!
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| A photo of mossy rocks in a stream. The settings are 33mm, f/1.4, 1/400s, and 100 ISO |
Anyways, hope you enjoyed the article and consider checking out the linked video!