Best Canon R8 Mark II Settings: Photo, Quick Menu, Buttons

The best Canon EOS R8 Mark II settings for a beginner are C-RAW files, Auto ISO with your own upper limit, the electronic first-curtain shutter for everyday shooting, and a Subject to detect choice that matches what you shoot. After that, rebuild the Quick Control screen around the settings you change most, give the buttons useful jobs, and save the whole setup to C1 to C3.

What you are setting up

The R8 Mark II keeps the 24.2MP full-frame sensor and DIGIC X processor of the original R8. The headline additions are IBIS and an AF joystick, both of which the first R8 lacked. That matters for settings, because the joystick and stabilization change how you hold and aim the camera.

Spec	Canon EOS R8 Mark II
Sensor	24.2MP full-frame CMOS, DIGIC X
ISO	100 to 102,400, expandable to 50 to 204,800
Stabilization	5-axis IBIS, up to 7.5 stops centre, 7.0 stops periphery
Burst	40fps electronic, 6fps electronic first-curtain
Pre-continuous	20fps in H+
Buffer	Up to 73 RAW
Shutter speeds	Electronic first-curtain 30s to 1/4000s; electronic to 1/16,000s
AF low-light range	Down to EV -7.5
Card slot	One UHS-II SD
Battery	LP-E17, about 340 shots LCD, 220 viewfinder
Weight	499g body only, 546g with card and battery

The menu is large. Wimarys counts 60 pages across eight tabs, with the Still Photo Shooting tab alone running to twelve pages. You do not need to touch most of them. The sections below cover the settings that change your results.

Start in A+ for the first afternoon

The R8 Mark II has the green A+ Scene Intelligent Auto mode, which handles every setting for point-and-shoot simplicity. Using it for your first few hours is fine. It lets you learn the grip, the viewfinder and the buttons before you add decisions. Once you want control over blur, motion and brightness, move to the settings below. For a broader look at when to leave auto behind, see the Canon beginner settings guide.

Image quality settings

File type: C-RAW

Wimarys recommends starting with Image quality set to C-RAW. C-RAW uses lossy compression but keeps full RAW file support, with an estimated 40% file size reduction compared with Canon's standard RAW, according to The Digital Picture. With a single SD slot, smaller files mean more shots per card and less hard drive space later.

If you have never edited a RAW file, shoot C-RAW plus JPEG for a while. You get a ready-to-share image now and an editable file for when you learn.

High ISO noise reduction

The Digital Picture sets High ISO speed NR to Low or Off, on the grounds that noise reduction is destructive to image detail, and notes non-Canon software is expected to ignore this setting. If you shoot JPEG, Low is a reasonable middle ground. If you shoot RAW and edit in third-party software, it makes little difference.

Lens aberration correction

Here the two setup guides disagree. Wimarys says to leave Lens aberration correction on. The Digital Picture turns all the options off, but suggests at minimum enabling Chromatic aberration correction, and notes non-Canon software ignores these settings. For a beginner shooting JPEG or using Canon's software, leaving corrections on gives cleaner images straight from the camera. The Digital Picture also suggests installing the latest Digital Photo Pro and EOS Utility so your computer supports the camera.

Shutter mode and drive

The R8 Mark II does not have a fully mechanical shutter. Under Still Photo Shooting, Shutter mode, you choose between two options:

• Electronic first-curtain: 6fps and cleaner rendering of fast movement. Wimarys recommends it for general shooting without rolling shutter.
• Electronic: 40fps and silent shooting, with some rolling shutter.

Make electronic first-curtain your default. Switch to electronic for fast action or quiet places like ceremonies, and switch back afterward.

Pre-continuous shooting

Pre-continuous shooting runs at 20fps in H+. Wimarys suggests turning it on for anything that moves. It helps with birds taking off, kids jumping and anything you react to a beat too late. Digital Camera World reports Canon's figures of a 30 percent larger RAW buffer and a 58 percent larger JPEG buffer than the original R8.

Exposure: Auto ISO and stabilization

Wimarys recommends setting your own Auto ISO ceiling rather than leaving the default. The ceiling stops the camera from climbing to an ISO you find too noisy. Pick a limit, look at your images at 100% on a computer, and raise or lower it from there.

Stabilization changes how slow you can go. The original R8 relied on lens IS and had no in-body stabilization, while the Mark II adds 5-axis IBIS rated to 7.5 stops at the centre. Camera Jabber says this means sharp handheld frames in low light without pushing the ISO. Digital Camera World expects fewer blurry shots as a result. In practice, you can try slower shutter speeds handheld for still subjects before raising ISO. IBIS will not freeze a moving person, so keep shutter speeds fast for people in motion.

Autofocus settings

The R8 Mark II uses Dual Pixel CMOS AF II with deep learning subject detection for people, animals and vehicles, with eye, face, head and body tracking. Camera Jabber lists animal detection that includes horses, and vehicle detection that includes aircraft and trains.

One Shot or Servo

Use One Shot for still subjects such as landscapes and posed portraits. Use Servo AF for anything moving. With subject tracking this capable, many people leave the camera in Servo all the time, which is a fine habit to try.

Subject to detect

Wimarys advises setting Subject to detect to the subject you are actually shooting rather than Auto. If you are photographing your dog in a park full of people, telling the camera to look for animals stops it from jumping to a passerby.

Register People Priority

You can register up to 10 faces in-camera, or 100 on a card, so the camera prioritises those people in a busy scene. Fstoppers points out this could be handy when you only want the camera to focus on your own child in a crowd. It is worth setting up before school events and family gatherings.

Cases and release priority

The Servo tracking Cases sit under AF, Customize AF operation. Wimarys calls Case Auto genuinely good and explains that Case Manual exposes Tracking sensitivity and Accel./decel. tracking. Tracking sensitivity is how stubbornly the camera holds a subject when something crosses in front, and acceleration tracking is how well it copes with a subject that changes speed. Leave it on Case Auto until you have a specific problem to solve.

The priority settings decide whether the camera fires when you press or waits until focus is confirmed. Wimarys sums it up: release priority gets the moment with some soft frames, focus priority gets sharp frames and misses moments. Choose by subject. For more on focus areas and modes, see the R8 autofocus modes guide, which covers the same autofocus family.

The Quick Control menu

The Quick Control screen is what you will use in the field, and Wimarys describes the default arrangement as generic. Their advice: put the five things you change constantly on it and you will rarely open the full menu. You edit it under Shooting Menu, Tab 9, Quick Control customization.

The Digital Picture's setup puts these items on the screen:

• AF and One Shot to Servo
• Drive mode
• Anti-flicker shoot
• Subject to detect
• Focus bracketing
• Pre-continuous Shooting
• AF-MF
• Switch focus/control ring

For a beginner, a shorter list works better. Start with Drive mode, One Shot or Servo, Subject to detect, Pre-continuous Shooting and white balance if you shoot JPEG. Add more only when you catch yourself digging through menus for the same item twice.

Custom buttons, joystick and touch

Use the joystick

The R8 Mark II adds the joystick multi-controller that the original R8 lacked. The Digital Picture describes it as Canon's responsive 8-way type, though it still requires pressing or holding for larger AF area changes. Camera Jabber notes it makes moving the focus point by hand far quicker. Get used to moving your focus point with your thumb while your eye stays at the viewfinder.

Touch and drag AF

The Digital Picture turns Touch & drag AF settings on, calling it a great AF area selection option. With it on, you slide your thumb on the rear screen to move the focus point while looking through the viewfinder. If your nose keeps moving the point, restrict the active area to the right half of the screen.

Button assignments

Button jobs live under Customized controls, Tab 1, Customize buttons. The Digital Picture assigns the * button to toggle Pre-continuous shooting on and off. That is a smart choice for beginners, because it puts a burst safety net one press away.

Two more from the same setup:

• Multi function lock: all unchecked, so the lock never engages by accident when the power switch is not turned far enough.
• Playback buttons: Set button assigned to Magnify/Reduce, so one press zooms in to check focus.

Small settings that prevent frustration

• Release shutter without card: Disable. Wimarys includes this in the first-hour list. It stops you from shooting a whole session with no card in the camera.
• Retract lens on power off: OFF. The Digital Picture uses this to stop a chosen focal length and focus distance from resetting when the camera auto powers off.
• Bracketing auto cancel: OFF and Bracketing sequence: -0+. The Digital Picture prefers to control when auto exposure bracketing turns off, and shoots the darkest frame first so bracketed sets sort by brightness.
• Copyright information. Wimarys notes it takes two minutes and attaches your name to everything you shoot afterward.
• Auto pwr off temp. There is no cooling fan in this body, and Wimarys calls Standard the honest setting.

Wimarys also describes a viewfinder option that makes the electronic viewfinder look more like an optical one, with a wider apparent dynamic range. If you are moving from a DSLR and the viewfinder feels wrong, try it.

Save the setup: C1 to C3 and a custom menu tab

The mode dial holds three complete camera configurations, C1 to C3. Wimarys suggests one for stills, one for video and one for a third situation. A beginner version might be everyday photos, fast action with electronic shutter and Servo, and video.

Build a custom menu tab from the settings you use, since the full menu is so long. Wimarys points out the item many people miss: set Menu display to open on that custom tab, so every press of the MENU button lands on your own shortlist.

Finally, use Save/load cam settings on card to write the whole configuration to the card. Wimarys calls the file your rollback after a firmware update or a reset. The Digital Picture adds that keeping a written list of your settings means you can rebuild quickly after servicing or when adding another camera.

R8 Mark II or the original R8

If you are still choosing, the Mark II's settings advantages are real: IBIS, the joystick and a bigger burst buffer. Digital Camera World lists the Mark II at $1,899 body only and $2,099 with the RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM lens in the US. Battery life stays the same as the original. For a full breakdown, see Canon R8 vs R8 Mark II, and if you already own the first model, the original R8 settings guide covers it.

Whichever body you have, the order above holds: file type, shutter, ISO limit, autofocus subject, then the Quick Control screen and buttons. Once the camera is set, a good next step is the right lens, covered in the first lens guide for the R8.