The best Canon kit for low-light and night photography

Canon's state-of-the-art EOS R System cameras and RF lenses are highly capable whatever the weather, but their advanced technologies make them an outstanding choice particularly for low-light photography. This is the case even in extreme situations where retaining image quality and all-round performance has long been problematic, such as shooting at night without artificial lighting or down a coal mine when the whole aim is depicting the ambient conditions and flash would be inappropriate.

"The main technical challenge of night photography is the difference between what the eye can see and what the camera can capture," says Mike Burnhill, Senior Product Specialist at Canon Europe. "With the hugely wide dynamic range of human vision, we can pick out really fine detail in near-darkness, but replicating that in a camera system is a real challenge.

"That said, a problem with using DSLRs in the dark is that, when you look through their optical viewfinders, you're at the mercy of ambient light conditions and might see barely anything at all. However, with the electronic viewfinders in EOS R System cameras, the viewfinder brightness is adjustable. You can literally see in the dark. What's more, exposure simulation gives you an accurate preview of exposure levels and other settings you have applied. On top of that, EOS R System cameras can autofocus in almost complete darkness, which can make all the difference between getting the shot and missing it altogether because your eyes can't see what is in focus."

Here, Mike and Tibor reveal the best Canon mirrorless cameras for night photography and the kit that should be in every low-light photography enthusiast's kitbag.

"All EOS R System cameras work really well for this but I favour the Canon EOS R5," Mike says. "It has a high megapixel count for retaining ultra-fine detail, plus advanced image stabilisation that's worth up to 8-stops, enabling you to shoot handheld and play the angles in conditions that previously were prohibitive. Image quality at high ISO settings isn't as noise-free as high-ISO images from the Canon EOS R6 Mark II but, because you have such high resolution, you can downsize the images if necessary, say from 45 to 30 megapixels, where resampling further reduces the appearance of any noise."

Tibor highlights the EOS R6 Mark II as one of the best Canon low-light cameras. "It is probably our most balanced camera for shooting low-light landscapes and nightscapes," he says. "The EOS R6 Mark II has an improved sensor compared to the original EOS R6, with a higher resolution of around 24MP. This provides a really good balance between resolution and low-light performance, as it's less susceptible to noise than cameras that have a lot more pixels squeezed onto their sensors."

You can also use EF lenses on EOS R System cameras with no loss of quality or functionality via an EF-EOS R Mount Adapter, and if you choose this option the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM is ideal. "When launched, it redefined the capabilities of a standard zoom," Mike says, "and it has become a classic for pro-grade photography."

The sheer tonal range of night-time cityscapes can be a challenge for any camera. "There's often a massive difference between brightly lit areas and near-black shadows," Mike points out. "The Canon EOS R3 comes into its own for creating HDR (High Dynamic Range) images in-camera. Other EOS R System cameras have this function but the super-fast drive rate and data read-out of the EOS R3 means that you can fire off three exposure-bracketed shots in as little as 30 milliseconds, the blink of an eye, effectively creating HDR images even of moving objects.

For candid street photography, the ultra-compact Canon EOS R8 and Canon RF 35mm F1.8 Macro IS STM make a brilliant combination. "The EOS R8 is the smallest and lightest full-frame camera in the EOS R System, and has a moving subject HDR shooting mode," notes Tibor. "When you're out and about on the streets at night, the last thing you want to be doing is carrying bulky kit that attracts attention. The camera has the same full-frame sensor as the one in the Canon EOS R6 Mark II as well, so it's capable of capturing atmospheric city scenes in low light."

Mike favours the Canon EOS R6 Mark II for low-light portrait photography. "It shares a lot of the EOS R5's finer points but can autofocus in even darker conditions, right down to -6.5EV as compared to the EOS R5's -6EV," he says. "The intelligent face-detection and eye-detection autofocus technology powered by deep-learning AI keeps on working really well even under very low lighting. This means accurate focusing in portrait photography with a really shallow depth of field is no longer a worry, so you can just concentrate on the creative elements, like the pose and the composition that make for a great shot. Again, highly effective image stabilisation offers the freedom of handheld shooting.

"The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM is a favourite for portrait photography at weddings and events, thanks to its range of focal lengths and excellent image quality. But my absolute top choice is the Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS. It's optimised for shooting wide-open and its 'defocus smoothing' enhancement gives a really soft outline to classic bokeh discs created from defocused light sources.

"For popping a bit of extra illumination into low-light portraits, a flash can come in really handy," Mike adds. "The Canon Speedlite EL-1 is amazing, as it has a really low minimum output of 1/8000th of the maximum power. This lets you add just a little light without losing the ambience of the surroundings and background."

The Canon Speedlite EL-5 is another powerful option for cameras which have Canon's Multi-Function shoe, such as the EOS R6 Mark II and EOS R3. This Speedlite's output can be reduced to as low as 1/1024th power and it features an adjustable Dual White LED modelling light that enables you to see where the light will fall in a picture.

For capturing light trails and painting with light, Mike says there aren't really any specific criteria for camera and lens choice. "You'll be using long exposures, so you don't need a lens with a fast aperture. However, operating the camera remotely can be a big advantage, so it's great using a camera like the Canon EOS R8 with the Canon Camera Connect app. You can fully control the camera from your smartphone, via Bluetooth or by creating a Wi-Fi hotspot. So, for light painting, you can get into place and then start and stop the exposure, as well as checking the results, without having to run back and forth to the camera each time. For light trails, remote operation avoids the risk of vibrations caused by touching the camera.

"For astrophotography I'd definitely go for the Canon EOS R5, with its high resolution," says Mike. "It's often vital to retain as much fine detail as possible in the sky. If small stars disappear from the image, that's a major concern. It's amazing how much detail this camera can capture in the night sky. I've seen images taken on an EOS R5 with a Canon RF 800mm F11 IS STM and a Canon Extender RF 2x where Saturn's rings are clearly visible.

"Generally in astrophotography, you need to keep shutter speeds fairly fast, to avoid stars and other celestial objects smearing across the sky. Wide viewing angles with wide apertures are the ideal combination, and the Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS USM is the most obvious choice. For a smaller, lighter and less expensive option, the Canon RF 16mm F2.8 STM is ideal.

To capture more open shots of the sky on an APS-C camera, you need to choose an ultra-wide lens. "The RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM is a good choice," says Tibor. "Even with the 1.6x crop, the shortest focal length of this zoom provides the equivalent view of 16mm on a full-frame camera, which still gives you an ultra-wide shot." For general scenes featuring the night sky, the RF 15-30mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM offers a versatile range of focal lengths in a lightweight, compact package.

For the ultimate in all-round versatility and performance, when you plan to shoot both stills and video in low-light conditions, Mike recommends the Canon EOS R6 Mark II and Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM zoom lens. "The EOS R6 Mark II delivers exceptional image quality at really high ISO settings, and the Nano USM autofocus system of the lens is super-fast for stills but also really smooth and silent for video focus transitions. You can actually alter the transition speed for autofocus when shooting video, so that pull-focusing has exactly the look and feel that you're after.

"For prime lenses, I'd pick the Canon RF 50mm F1.2L USM as a superb low-light lens, even though it's better suited to stills than video. The Canon RF 35mm F1.8 Macro IS STM wins out as a high-performance yet affordable all-rounder, with a really natural viewing perspective."

Tibor highlights the Canon EOS R7 as another of the best Canon cameras for low-light photography and video. "Like the EOS R6 Mark II, it's able to focus accurately in very low light and it delivers low noise at high ISO sensitivities." Both cameras are equipped with IBIS, he points out, and they are capable of capturing excellent detail, colour and dynamic range in darker conditions: "They're great all-rounders with all the technology that is needed to produce high-quality low-light photography and video."