R6 not using full LCD screen for still image playback - can you help?

drmikeinpdx

Celebrating 20 years of model photography!
I'm switching from a 5D4 to an R6. On my 5D4, still images would be displayed on the rear LCD screen at a size that almost completely filled the screen.

The R6 shrinks the image and leaves a substantial black border on all 4 sides. Does anyone know why it does that, and is there a way to make still images fill the entire rear screen?

I know the viewfinder can be set to give you a smaller image, so I tried changing that to see if it affected image size on the rear screen - it doesn't.

Thanks for your help!

Mike
 

koenkooi

CR Pro
Feb 25, 2015
3,617
4,192
The Netherlands
I'm switching from a 5D4 to an R6. On my 5D4, still images would be displayed on the rear LCD screen at a size that almost completely filled the screen.

The R6 shrinks the image and leaves a substantial black border on all 4 sides. Does anyone know why it does that, and is there a way to make still images fill the entire rear screen?

I know the viewfinder can be set to give you a smaller image, so I tried changing that to see if it affected image size on the rear screen - it doesn't.

Thanks for your help!

Mike
When you say 'screen', do you mean the actual LCD or the whole flip out assembly? The R6 has a relatively small LCD compared to the size of the assembly.
 
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drmikeinpdx

Celebrating 20 years of model photography!
When you say 'screen', do you mean the actual LCD or the whole flip out assembly? The R6 has a relatively small LCD compared to the size of the assembly.

I'm just referring to the glass portion of the screen, not the black plastic border. I grabbed a millimeter ruler and measured the unused portion of the glass LCD screen

4mm on the left
9mm on the bottom
5mm on the right
4mm on the top

Maybe Canon just didn't program this camera to use the whole screen? It's the same when using the Q screen, the menu system and every other rear screen function I could think of.

Can another R6 owner check this out and see if their copy is the same?

I do a lot of photography with models and I frequently show them an image on the rear screen so they know what I'm creating. It's a great photoshoot aid. The large screen on the 5D4 was good for that. The smaller R6 screen seems a little less professional. Models are used to seeing pix of themselves on phone screens, so the little R6 screen is not going to look very impressive.
 
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drmikeinpdx

Celebrating 20 years of model photography!
Well, I found a video on Youtube that shows the LCD screen and it looks just like mine. Apparently Canon decided not to use all the real estate available on the rear screen for some reason. Rather a disappointment for me. I wonder if this might be changed with a future software update?

If you like to view your pix on the rear screen, you should check out this issue before buying.

Here is the video. Starting at about 32:40 you get a good look at the rear screen in action.
 
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H. Jones

Photojournalist
Aug 1, 2014
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The "extra screen" is not extra screen, it's just a continuation of the glass protecting the LCD. The R6 has a 3 inch screen, while the R5 has a 3.2 inch screen, which is the same spec as the 5D mark IV. The R6 got a slightly smaller 3 inch screen due to price.

Canon's flip-out screens need more space around the LCD panel to house its internals, since they are all self-contained in the flip out portion of the camera. This isn't a waste of space or anything that could be "fixed in a firmware update," the LCD physically requires this space for all of its internals.

Previously Canon handled these extra LCD internals by putting a huge plastic bezel around all sides on the screen, which I wasn't a fan of, as on the 80D here:
1599624537496.png

On the R5 and R6, this is handled by using black glass almost all the way to the physical edge instead, but you can clearly see where the LCD actually ends in these product images: 1599624794044.png
 
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drmikeinpdx

Celebrating 20 years of model photography!
The "extra screen" is not extra screen, it's just a continuation of the glass protecting the LCD. The R6 has a 3 inch screen, while the R5 has a 3.2 inch screen, which is the same spec as the 5D mark IV. The R6 got a slightly smaller 3 inch screen due to price.

Yes, I believe you have explained the situation quite well!
 
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