After four years and months of speculation, Canon is replacing the Canon EOS 6D with a newer model, the EOS 6D Mark II – slotting in nicely below the flagship Canon EOS 5D Mark IV but above the 7D Mark II.

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The original EOS 6D was built to plug something of a hole in Canon’s range of enthusiast cameras, which it did successfully; becoming very popular with photographers looking to upgrade from their APS-C models into full-frame territory, leading to its categorisation as a ‘junior’ full-frame DSLR.

Accordingly, though the EOS 6D Mark II does wield a full-frame sensor and a number of features in common with Canon’s top end products, it very much keeps its place as a camera aimed at enthusiasts rather than professionals; there’s an impressive £1,350 price difference between the 6D Mark II and 5D Mark IV, and it actually launches £200 cheaper than its older sibling did back in 2012.

On the inside, it’s all change. The older 6D model’s respectable 20.2MP CMOS sensor has been replaced by a brand new 26.2MP full-frame CMOS chip. ISO has increased from a range of 100-25,600 up to 100-40,000 expandable further to ISO 50-102,400.

The new sensor teams up with the latest DIGIC 7 image processor, which we’ve seen in a number of Canon’s newest DSLRs, for improvements to both speed and image quality. Image information is processed 14x faster than Canon’s DIGIC 6 image processor, and it can now shoot continuously up to 6.5fps, against the original’s 4.5fps.

The new EOS 6D Mark II inherits the autofocus system from its EOS 80D sibling – 45-point, all cross type. Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology makes another appearance, boosting Live View autofocus performance speed.

On the outside, the EOS 6D Mark II is very slightly smaller than its older sibling, weighing in at 765g for the body only. It features sturdy construction from aluminium alloy and polycarbonate resin with glass fiber – noticeably lighter than the 5D Mark III or IV, but still durable. Canon also states that the body is dust and drip-resistant, which should see it survive a few drops of rain when used in the great outdoors.

One of the biggest changes to the back panel is a new 3in, 1040k-dot vari-angle touchscreen, replacing the fixed screen of old. Canon users have been asking for a vari-angle screen on a full-frame DSLR for some time now so it’s great to see Canon acting on their customer feedback.

No 4K recording is available, unfortunately for keen videographers – though the EOS 6D Mark II does come with an intriguing 4K time-lapse movie mode. Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity are both built into the camera, as well as the option to permanently pair it to a smartphone via Bluetooth.

The Canon EOS 6D Mark II is set to go on sale later this year for £1999.99.