Canon R6 Mark II Custom Buttons: Photo and Video Setup

To set up custom buttons on the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, open the Custom Functions menu, Tab 3, and use Customize buttons and Customize dials to put drive mode, focus mode, exposure compensation, ISO and AF area where your thumb already rests. Then lean on the Quick Control screen and the three Custom shooting modes, so one saved setup serves photos and another serves video.

Why custom buttons make shooting easier

Think about a kitchen. If the spoon you use every day sits in a drawer across the room, you walk over every time. If it sits in a cup next to the stove, you just reach. Custom buttons work the same way. You move the settings you change all the time right next to your fingers.

A custom function is just a rule that says, for example, "when I press this button, let me change ISO." You are not breaking the camera. You can always change it back.

If you have only shot in auto so far, that is completely fine. Setting up buttons is a great way to learn, because each button you assign teaches you one control at a time.

If you are brand new to this camera, the guide Best Canon R6 Mark II Settings for Beginners: 7 to Set First is a gentle place to start before you customize anything.

Get to know the controls first

Before you assign anything, learn where things live on the body. On the R6 Mark II, a switch for toggling between stills and video sits to the left of the electronic viewfinder, where the power switch used to be. The power switch moved to the right side of the camera, above one of the command dials. PetaPixel's review notes this change makes one-handed operation possible.

A small warning that is not your fault: PetaPixel's hands-on reviewer, used to an older Canon layout, kept flipping the photo/video switch when trying to turn the camera off. If that happens to you, it is just muscle memory catching up.

On the back, the play, trash, info, magnify and Quick menu buttons are where long-time Canon users expect them, along with the multi-function joystick. The video record button is unchanged.

Customize buttons: the menu path

The-Digital-Picture's 44-step setup list for the R6 Mark II gives this path: Custom Functions Menu, Tab 3, Customize buttons, Multi-function button, Dial function. You then press INFO to set the details.

That guide fills the multi-function button with two rows of choices. Here is the layout it uses:

Slot	Top row	Bottom row
1	Drive mode	ISO
2	One Shot - Servo	AF area
3	Exp. comp	Flash exp. comp
4	Off	Off
5	Off	Off

Notice that two slots in each row are left Off. That is a smart idea. Fewer choices means less scrolling, so you land on the setting you want faster.

What each choice does, in plain words

Drive mode decides whether the camera takes one photo or many when you hold the button. The R6 Mark II can shoot up to 40 frames per second with the electronic shutter and up to 12 with the mechanical shutter. Example: one photo for a still portrait, many photos for a kid running.

One Shot - Servo picks how focus behaves. One Shot locks focus once, like taking a single photo of a flower. Servo keeps focusing while the subject moves, like following a dog across a yard.

Exposure compensation makes the picture brighter or darker than the camera wants. On the R6 Mark II it runs plus or minus 3 stops in 1/3 or 1/2 stop steps. Example: if snow looks gray, nudge it brighter.

ISO is how sensitive the sensor is to light, like turning up the volume on a quiet song. The R6 Mark II's auto range is 100 to 102400, expandable to L:50 and H1: 204800.

AF area chooses how big the focus target is. Options include Spot AF, 1-point AF, AF point expansion, Flexible Zone AF 1 to 3, and Whole Area AF. Example: a tiny spot for an eye behind branches, the whole frame for a bird in open sky.

Flash exp. comp makes the flash brighter or dimmer without changing the rest of the photo. If you never use flash, swap this slot for something you will use.

Customize dials: the control ring

The same guide lists Custom Functions Menu, Tab 3, Customize dials, Control ring, and sets it to OFF. It also suggests using that dial for a function that makes sense for your own needs.

Turning it off is a safe start. A ring that changes a setting by accident can make photos too bright or too dark without you noticing. Once you know which setting you reach for most, give the ring that one job. Many people pick exposure compensation or ISO, because both get adjusted often and turning a ring feels natural for both.

The Quick Control screen

The Quick Control screen is a one-page grid of your main settings. It is one of the display choices on the R6 Mark II, alongside basic settings, advanced settings, settings plus histogram and level, and no info. The Quick menu button on the back opens your quick settings.

Think of it as the camera's dashboard. You press one button, see everything, and tap or use the joystick to change what you need. For settings you change a few times per shoot, like image quality or white balance, this is often faster than digging through the full menu.

The sources used for this guide do not list a menu path for rearranging the Quick Control screen. If you want to change which items appear there, check Canon's official manual for your firmware version.

Two more settings that put things under your thumb

Touch & drag AF

The-Digital-Picture sets AF Menu, Tab 4, Touch & drag AF settings, Touch & drag AF to Enable. This lets your thumb slide across the rear screen to move the focus point while your eye stays at the viewfinder. It is like moving a cursor on a laptop trackpad without looking down.

Screen info displays

The same guide uses Shooting Menu, Tab 9, Shooting info. disp., Screen info. settings, enables screens 1 through 4, sets screen 2 to basic shooting info plus the electronic level, and sets screen 3 to basic shooting info, histogram and electronic level. A clean screen means less clutter between you and your subject. Pressing INFO then flips between a simple view and a more detailed one.

Custom shooting modes: saved setups for photo and video

The R6 Mark II offers Custom shooting modes, three for stills and three for movies. A custom shooting mode is like a save slot in a video game. You set everything the way you like, save it, and come back to it in one move.

This is the cleanest way to keep a photo layout and a video layout without redoing buttons each time. Canon's official manual shows how to register settings to each slot, so follow it for the exact steps on your firmware.

Recommended photo layout

This layout builds on The-Digital-Picture's choices and adds suggestions for common jobs. Treat it as a starting point, not a rule.

Control	Suggested setting	Why
Multi-function button, top row	Drive mode, One Shot - Servo, Exp. comp	The three things that change most between a still subject and a moving one
Multi-function button, bottom row	ISO, AF area, Flash exp. comp	Light and focus target in quick reach
Control ring	Off at first, then one job you use often	Prevents accidental changes
Touch & drag AF	Enable	Move focus without leaving the viewfinder
Custom photo modes	One for still subjects, one for action	Switch the whole camera in one move

Portraits and weddings

PetaPixel's hands-on says wedding and event photographers can make use of the faster frames and smarter focusing system. For portraits, a slot with One Shot, a small AF area and a lower burst rate keeps things calm. Save a second slot with Servo for walking down the aisle or the first dance.

Sports and action

The R6 Mark II reaches 40 frames per second with the electronic shutter. It also has a pre-record RAW burst mode that keeps recording a couple of seconds while autofocus holds a subject, then hands you those earlier frames when you press the shutter. For an action slot, set Servo, a wider AF area, and the fastest drive mode. PetaPixel's review notes that at 40fps on SD cards, the reviewer occasionally waited for the buffer to clear, so short bursts help.

Low light

PetaPixel lists the R6 Mark II among the best Canon cameras for low light and astrophotography, citing its high ISO handling. Keeping ISO on the multi-function button makes it easy to raise when the room gets dark. If you are fighting soft or blurry results, the Canon R6 Mark II Autofocus Settings: Beginner Focus Guide walks through focus step by step.

Recommended video layout

Flip the stills/video switch to movie and build a separate setup in one of the three movie Custom modes. Video has different needs, so give it its own home.

Control	Suggested setting	Why
Movie Custom mode 1	Your everyday look, standard color	Ready to film without thinking
Movie Custom mode 2	Canon Log 3 setup	For footage you plan to color later
Touch & drag AF	Enable	Guide focus by hand when it wanders
Quick buttons	ISO, AF area, Exp. comp	Fix light and focus mid-shot
Control ring	Off, or ISO	Avoid bumps that change exposure while recording

The R6 Mark II records full-width 4K at up to 60 frames per second, oversampled from 6K. It can record Canon Log 3 internally at up to 4:2:2 10-bit in H.264 or H.265. Canon Log 3 looks washed out on the screen, a bit like a photo before you add color. That is normal, and it gives you more room to edit.

Focus deserves extra care in video. PetaPixel found video AF less powerful than stills AF, with the camera hunting more and tending to jump to horizontal or vertical lines in the background when filming moving subjects. That is why AF area and Touch & drag AF belong close to your thumb. If focus wanders, you can tap it back right away. Treat each wobble as practice, not failure.

If you add a monitor, microphone or handle, a cage gives them a place to mount. This one is listed for both the R6 Mark II and the R6 Mark III:

Write your layout down

The-Digital-Picture recommends keeping an up-to-date list of your menu setup so that after a factory reset or service, every setting can be put back. The same list makes setup fast if you buy a second, similar camera. The guide also notes that it makes further changes based on the shooting situation, and the list covers only the starting setup.

A note on your phone works fine. Write the menu path, the setting, and one word about why. Weeks later, that "why" will save you from guessing.

If you later move to the newer body, the Canon R6 Mark III Setup: Settings to Change Before Your First Shoot guide covers that camera.

A few setup steps worth doing at the same time

While you are already in the menus, The-Digital-Picture's list includes a few small comfort changes. It turns the beep off in Set-up Menu, Tab 3. It disables the screen dimmer under Set-up Menu, Tab 3, Power saving. It sets Auto Rotate to On computer in Set-up Menu, Tab 1. And it reminds you to format each memory card in the camera before use, in Set-up Menu, Tab 1, knowing that all data on the card will be lost.

Take your time with all of this. Set up one button, go shoot for a day, and see how it feels. Your layout should grow with you, the way a new pair of shoes slowly fits your feet.