Has anyone seen any actual Black Friday leaks or confirmed deals for the Canon R6 Mark II yet because I'm seriously stuck between buying now or holding out for the big holiday sales? I've been shooting weddings here in the Pacific Northwest for years with my trusty 5D Mark IV but the autofocus is starting to feel like a dinosaur compared to what my second shooters are using and my shutter count is way past the 200k mark so I'm basically living on borrowed time at this point. I have exactly $2,800 saved up and I really need to make it stretch as far as possible without blowing the whole budget on just the body.
Right now I am looking at three different paths and I'm totally overthinking it. I want to be smart with the money but I also dont want to miss out if the current price is the best its gonna get.
- Option A: Just grabbing the R6 II body only since it's already on sale for $2,299 at most places like B&H or Adorama but then I'd have to use an adapter for my old EF glass which kinda makes the whole setup feel bulky and I'm worried it might affect the balance during a 10-hour day.
- Option B: Waiting for a real Black Friday kit deal with the 24-105mm f/4L lens. I saw a rumor on a gear blog that it might hit $2,799 which would be my entire budget gone but Id have a native RF L-series lens which would be amazing for those rainy outdoor ceremonies we get here in Oregon.
- Option C: Watching the Canon refurbished store like a hawk. I know they sometimes do these insane 15-20% off sales right around Thanksgiving but their stock is so unpredictable and I'm worried if I wait for that and miss it I'll end up paying full price for the kit elsewhere once the other sales end.
I need this camera before my first winter wedding in mid-December so the timeline is getting a bit tight and I'm getting nervous about shipping delays too. If anyone knows if Canon usually does better deals on the body vs the kits during the actual holiday week let me know... I'm leaning towards the kit but that extra $500 is a lot of money right now and I still need to buy extra batteries and high speed SD cards.
^ This. Honestly, dont bank on the refurb store. Last year I waited for a big drop and the site lagged so hard I missed the Canon EOS R6 Mark II Body entirely. It was super frustrating and honestly just a waste of time.
- Holiday kit deals usually bundle cheaper lenses, not the L-series glass you actually need.
- Make sure to budget for SanDisk 128GB Extreme Pro UHS-II SDXC cards too, cuz that buffer fills fast. Better to grab the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM now than risk missing your December wedding.
Unfortunately, I gotta say the Black Friday hype usually ends up being a big letdown. I tried waiting for a kit deal last year and it was not as good as expected because the shipping took forever. I almost missed a huge family event and it was a total nightmare... basically just added a ton of stress for nothing. If you want my honest take, you should play it safe and grab what you can now for these reasons:
- Relying on the refurbished store is way too risky for a professional. I've had issues with stock disappearing in seconds and the site crashing right at the checkout. For a job in mid-December, you need the gear in your hands now, not a maybe.
- The Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R works perfectly fine. I was worried it would be weird or clunky but it actually feels very secure. Its way better than spending all your cash on one lens and being broke.
- You really need to budget for high-end cards like the Sony SF-G Series Tough 128GB SDXC UHS-II. The Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body shoots so fast that cheap cards just wont cut it and you might lose data if they overheat.
- Mirrorless uses way more power than your old DSLR. Youll need at least three Canon LP-E6NH Rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries to get through a 10-hour wedding day without panicking. Id just buy the body and the adapter now. Its better to have the gear and be ready than to save a few bucks and be stressed out about shipping delays.
Building on the earlier suggestion, what specific EF glass are you running right now? In my experience shooting PNW weddings, you really dont want to be caught short on power or storage. Id grab the Canon EOS R6 Mark II 24.2MP and spend the rest on Canon LP-E6NH spares and ProGrade Digital 128GB SDXC UHS-II V60 Gold cards tho. Reliability beats a fancy new lens every time... lmk what you have and I can help plan the bag.
Late to the party but I feel your pain. I went through this exact same panic last year during the holiday rush, and unfortunately, it didn't go the way I planned. I spent weeks tracking prices thinking I would snag a deal, but I ended up with so much stress that it nearly ruined my workflow for the whole season.
- I held out for a bundle that looked perfect on paper, but the shipping delays were awful and it arrived just two days before a gig.
- Dealing with the customer service for that late delivery was a total nightmare, and honestly, the anxiety just wasn't worth the few bucks I saved.
- My current setup is basically what I could put together last-minute, and I learned the hard way that having reliable gear in hand beats hoping for a massive sale discount that might never happen. Looking back, I wish I had just pulled the trigger when the items were actually in stock. Sometimes trying to be too smart with the budget just creates more headaches when the gear arrives later than you need it.
Seconded!