Canon EOS R6 Mark II vs Pentax XG-1

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS R6 Mark II and the Pentax XG-1, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Canon EOS R6 Mark II was introduced in November 2022 and Pentax XG-1 was introduced in July 2014. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS R6 Mark II over Pentax XG-1.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax XG-1 over Canon EOS R6 Mark II.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Canon EOS R6 Mark II and Pentax XG-1 have 3.0" screens with 1,620k dot and 460k dot resolutions respectively. Canon EOS R6 Mark II has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Pentax XG-1 has a Fixed screen Canon EOS R6 Mark II also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Canon EOS R6 Mark II has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,690k dot resolution and Pentax XG-1 has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 200k dot resolution. Canon EOS R6 Mark II has 100% coverage with 0.76x magnification and magnification.

Canon EOS R6 Mark II features a 24.2 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 23.9 mm and a total area of 858 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 102,400 and expands to 50 - 204,800 in boosted mode. Pentax XG-1 features a 16 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 3,200.

Pentax XG-1 has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Canon EOS R6 Mark II is equipped with DIGIC X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. Pentax XG-1 can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3648 x 2736, 2592 x 1944, 640 x 480, 4608 x 3072, 4608 x 2592, 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080 with 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization (8 stops of compensation in Canon EOS R6 Mark II). On Canon EOS R6 Mark II it means that you are still getting vibration reduction when it is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Canon EOS R6 Mark II

Canon EOS R6 Mark II has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Canon EOS R6 Mark II

Canon EOS R6 Mark II has a built-in Bluetooth (version 5) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Canon EOS R6 Mark II has a Micro HDMI and Pentax XG-1 has a Type D HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS R6 Mark II comes with LP-E6NH battery pack with battery life of 580 shots and Pentax XG-1 comes with LB-060 battery pack with battery life of 240 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS R6 Mark II has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots. Pentax XG-1 has a single SD/SDHC card slot.

Shutter

Canon EOS R6 Mark II has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Canon EOS R6 Mark II, and up to 1/2000 sec on Pentax XG-1. Canon EOS R6 Mark II can shoot continuously up to 40.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 12.0 fps with mechanical shutter. Pentax XG-1 can shoot continuously up to 9.0 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS R6 Mark II has Dual Pixel CMOS AF II system with 4897 (1053 cross-type) focusing points and Pentax XG-1 has . Canon EOS R6 Mark II has detection range from -6.5 to +21 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS R6 Mark II ranges from -3 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Canon EOS R6 Mark II and ±2 range on Pentax XG-1. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS R6 Mark II and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax XG-1.

Flash

Pentax XG-1 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 6.00 m. Canon EOS R6 Mark II has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Intelligent Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Canon EOS R6 Mark II.

Canon EOS R6 Mark II body has dimensions of 138 x 98 x 88 mm (5.43 x 3.86 x 3.46") and Pentax XG-1 body has dimensions of 119 x 89 x 98 mm (4.69 x 3.5 x 3.86"). Canon EOS R6 Mark II weighs 670 g (1.48 lb / 23.63 oz) and Pentax XG-1 weighs 567 g (1.25 lb / 20.00 oz).

Canon EOS R6 Mark II

Pentax XG-1

138 mm

98 mm

119 mm

89 mm

98 mm

89 mm

88 mm

98 mm