Canon T6 Performance

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Canon T6 Performance

Timing and Performance

Mostly entry-level performance.

Startup/Play to Record
Power on to first shot	~0.5 second	Time it takes to turn on and capture a shot.
Play to Record, first shot	~0.3 second	Time until first shot is captured.

Powering on and taking a shot was good, at about 0.5 second. Switching from Play to Record mode and taking a shot was faster, at about 0.3 second.

Shutter Response (Lag Time), Optical Viewfinder
Full Autofocus Single-point (center) AF	0.273 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture.
Full Autofocus Single-point AF TTL flash enabled	0.343 second	Time to capture while forcing flash to fire. Preflash metering pulses from flash often slow shutter response.
Manual Focus	0.120 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".
Prefocused	0.112 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Shutter Response (Lag Time), Live View
Prefocused Live View	0.097 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

In terms of the Canon T6's ability to determine that it's properly focused when shooting the same target multiple times using the optical viewfinder and a Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM kit lens, its full autofocus shutter response was a bit slower than average for a DSLR these days. We measured 0.273 second for full AF lag using single point (center) AF. Enabling the flash added a delay to account for pre-flash metering, resulting in a capture lag of 0.343 second.

Shutter lag with manual focus was good at 0.120 second. "Prefocusing" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure resulted in a lag time of 0.112 second, which is fair.

The Canon T6's prefocused shutter lag time in Live View mode was a bit faster than using the optical viewfinder, measured at 0.097 second, which is very good. Note that we no longer test full AF lag in Live View mode for DSLRs, because the lens used makes such a huge difference that comparing is pointless. We'll try to comment on real-world Live View AF performance in our field tests.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Cycle Time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large/Fine JPEG	0.53 second	Time per shot, averaged over a few frames.
Single Shot mode RAW + L/F JPEG	0.54 second	Time per shot, averaged over a few frames.
Early shutter penalty?	No	Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous mode Large/Fine JPEG	0.33 second (2.99 frames per second); 15 frames total; 5 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over 15 shot buffer capacity, then slowed to an average of 0.55s or 1.83fps when buffer was full.
Continuous mode RAW	0.34 second (2.98 frames per second); 6 frames total; 9 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over 6 shot buffer capacity, then slowed to an average of 1.39s or 0.72fps when buffer was full.
Continuous mode RAW + Large/Fine JPEG	0.34 second (2.97 frames per second); 4 frames total; 9 seconds to clear*	Time per shot, averaged over 4 shot buffer capacity, then slowed to an average of 1.93s or 0.52fps when buffer was full.
Flash recycling	1.8 seconds	Flash at maximum output.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s UHS-I SDHC card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity and noise reduction settings can also affect cycle times and burst mode performance.

Single-shot cycle times were about average for a consumer DSLR at just over 0.5 second for JPEG and RAW+JPEG files. (Note that we no longer test single-shot mode with just RAW files, as the results are usually somewhere in between JPEG and RAW+JPEG modes.)

Full-resolution continuous mode speeds were sedate at about three frames-per-second, no matter the file type. That's slow even for an entry-level DSLR these days.

Buffer depth for best quality JPEGs was decent at 15 frames, and you may be able to do better with real-world subjects as our target for this test was designed to be difficult to compress. When shooting RAW files, however, buffer depths were quite shallow at only 6 frames for RAW, and 4 for RAW+JPEG frames. Shallow buffers when shooting RAW files isn't uncommon for its class, though.

Buffer clearing times were a bit sluggish ranging between 5 seconds after a burst of JPEGs to 9 seconds after a burst of RAW or RAW+JPEG frames.

The Canon T6's built-in flash took an average of 1.8 seconds to recharge after a full-power discharge, which is pretty good.

Bottom line, the Canon T6's performance is fairly typical for an entry-level DSLR, however its burst speed is below average these days. Still, it's capable of capturing some action, but don't be surprised if it can't keep up with active subjects.

Battery

Battery Life
Mediocre battery life for a DSLR.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
Still Capture, (CIPA standard, Optical Viewfinder)	500
Still Capture, (CIPA standard, Live View LCD)	180

The Canon T6 uses a custom LP-E10 rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power, and ships with a dedicated battery charger. Battery life is a little below average for an entry-level DSLR using the optical viewfinder, rated at 500 shots with 50% using flash, and of course Live View mode draws more power reducing battery life considerably. We recommend you pick up a spare battery and keep it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the Canon T6 is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))