How much would it have cost?

[rpcrowe]

Canon supplies a printed manual with the 6D Mark.ii camera. The manual is a handy size for a camera vest or camera bag. Approximately 5 3/4 inches by 4 1/4 inches. it is also one inch thick...

However, in addition to the English language version, this manual is combined with the French and Spanish versions. I don't think that anyone would need all three language versions at one time. However, to carry a version in a single language (to reduce the weight and bulk), the camera owner would need to physically rip off the other language versions leaving a single language manual which would fall apart into individual pages.

The printed English version of the manual is abbreviated and contains less information than the online PDF version. I perused the printed version and the PDF version concurrently and there is significantly less information available.

Sure, if I wanted a full printed manual, I could print out the PDF version but, then I would have a letter sized manual.

Originally, the 6D2 sold here in the USA for about two thousand U.S. Dollars. How much would a full printed manual in the smaller size of the present printed manual have cost Canon? A minuscule fraction of the purchase price. Especialy since they already have a fully formatted PDF version.

This just goes to show how cheap the "Canon Gods" were when they introduced this camera. Perhaps that is why they just took the 80D focusing system and plopped it down to occupy only a portion of the 6D2 sensor and perhaps that is why there is no 4K video except for time lapse.

I would, in fact like to purchase a full manual printed in the 5 3/4 inch x 4 1/4 inch size. Especially if printed in color, However, since it is not available, I have purchased a Kindle version of the David Busch's book on the 6D2.

This is a really nice camera that has some very annoying foibles. The user manual problem is not the main problem but, is an indication of Canon's thoughts and ideas about giving us the least for the most money. BTW: they must have been smoking wacky-weed when they thought the camera would sell for its original MSRRP of two grand. It took a almost immediate nose dive in price through sales and rebates. I paid about $1,300 for the camera and got a Canon battery grip, a 64 GB Sandisk card and a Canon Pixma Pro 100 printer plus 50 sheets of large Canon paper at that price...

[Shadowman]

They are either cheap or have read countless forums which suggests that a percentage of camera users aren't reading their manuals so they force those that do to download a copy. I like the paperback size manual although it tends to get dog eared over time.

[Manfred M]

Cost reduction efforts are part and parcel of any product that we buy and that includes cameras. It's not just the cost of writing and printing the manual, but all of the activities around those exercises where the real efficiencies are revealed.

Having a basic manual in three languages means that Canon only has to produce a single SKU and warehouse it. That reduces the risk of running out of one and having to put shipments on hold while the replacements are printed. Likewise, there is a single storage location for these in the warehouse, again simplifying things for Canon.

Paper manuals are not something the mainstream customer base uses. They download the pdf version and read it on their phones or tablets, and Canon saves a bit of money that goes straight to their bottom line.

[DanK]

Almost everything I buy has a manual (if it has one at all) either in multiple languages or in no language at all (just pictures). The particular languages vary, presumably as a function of where the market is for that particular product. I think Manfred's post explains this well. It's a natural consequence of global trade.

My Canon cameras so far have had manuals that are identical in hard copy and pdf, but my Lumix has a shortened hard copy. I don't mind that, although they chose poorly what to include.

I think there are plenty of signs that most customers don't read the full manual. Think how many times you have seen posts asking people how to do things that are clearly explained in the manual. Many don't even think to look. Hence the various forms of RT_M.

[rpcrowe]

Manfred... Canon used to bind the specific language copies individually. However, they packaged the manuals in cello-wrap, together. That way they did not have to worry about different stock numbers of manuals to be shipped with the various cameras.

Like I said, I'd happily pay for a small sized, "complete"manual.

I didn't realize that the printed version was quite abridged.

I guess downloading to my phone might be the way to go.

Actually, I never really needed manuals for my 30D, 40D or 7D. However the 6D2 has quite a few new bells and whistles, especially in the area of video and live view shooting.

[CP140]

I too find the lack of a printed (comprehensive) manual to be annoying... and not just with cameras.

While I've put the PDF versions on my mobile, tablet and laptop I'd really like a printed copy. The print version lets me add a note or two if want, the battery life on the printed version is fantastic and I can drop it two stories onto concrete with minimal damage.

[Manfred M]

Richard - I guess Nikon agrees with you.

Every camera of theirs I have owned came with a full English (and French- this is Canada so everything comes in both languages) manual that is identical to the PDF version.

[skitterbug]

Users may have different functions for manuals. Some want the short and sweet version, and some like me would appreciate a manual that not only tells me how to change this and that, but why I should want to change the settings, etc.

I've purchased a couple of books about the 7D Mark II since I purchased the camera and I use them a lot. I am so far behind the experience of the group that books explaining how a camera works and why I would want to do it in a certain way are very useful to me. And when I can't find what I need, I'll turn to CiC for answers that are probably obvious to experienced users but for someone like me, I often can't even find what I am hunting for. Often, looking in the index doesn't yield the page numbers necessary because the term I'm using, isn't even listed! So I appreciate the patience of the group when I ask questions that seem obvious to others! And having a detailed manual that can be carried along is definitely a plus!

[rpcrowe]

Another big plus for the printed manual is that I can leave it in the bathroom and read it along with other tasks Of course, I could print out the manual from the PDF and have a full size version to read.

I would still be willing to pay a bit to get a "complete", small sized, manual printed in color that I could just carry along in my camera bag or photo vest...

[george013]

Another big plus for the printed manual is that I can leave it in the bathroom and read it along with other tasks Of course, I could print out the manual from the PDF and have a full size version to read.

I would still be willing to pay a bit to get a "complete", small sized, manual printed in color that I could just carry along in my camera bag or photo vest...

Also a reason why I like printed paper.

George

[Tronhard]

If you have a small tablet device that can read PDFs you could upload all of your manuals and not only be able to read them but search them, bookmark them and read them in dim light if necessary. Even if the screen is small you can zoom in the text as required. You can use the same device for reviewing useful videos or images. Personally I prefer the e-manual version over the hard copy one for those reasons.

I am glad to see that many text books for educational institutions are going that way. You either buy, or rent access to the book for a year. I can recall in my own student days humping around a mass of heavy books that cost a lot because they were small print runs, and when one wanted to sell them they had been superseded by new ones and had no value.

[DanK]

I can recall in my own student days humping around a mass of heavy books that cost a lot because they were small print runs, and when one wanted to sell them they had been superseded by new ones and had no value.

It's worse than that, although the digital revolution won't help with the last problem. In some cases, textbook publishers require that authors sign a contract indicating that they will revise a certain percentage of the material after a fixed number of years, regardless of whether there is any need to. You can figure out why.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Richard,

Sure, if I wanted a full printed manual, I could print out the PDF version but, then I would have a letter sized manual.

Can't you get smaller size of paper stock (close to 5 3/4 inches by 4 1/4 inches) and set the printer to print on that?

I accept, not having seen or compared the pagination between your tri-language book and the pdf, that could result in a font size that's just too small to read (on that size paper).

If you could export to a Word Processor and adjust the paper and typeface sizes there, it might be able to re-paginate for you at a readable size, but I suspect the many inserted diagrams and photos would preclude this.


The advantage of e-books is that you can probably more easily find, by word searching and skipping through 'Next', what you're looking for compared to perusing a printed Index, which usually is too small to read!

Cheers,
Dave

[george013]

Hi Richard,



Can't you get smaller size of paper stock (close to 5 3/4 inches by 4 1/4 inches) and set the printer to print on that?

I accept, not having seen or compared the pagination between your tri-language book and the pdf, that could result in a font size that's just too small to read (on that size paper).

If you could export to a Word Processor and adjust the paper and typeface sizes there, it might be able to re-paginate for you at a readable size, but I suspect the many inserted diagrams and photos would preclude this.


The advantage of e-books is that you can probably more easily find, by word searching and skipping through 'Next', what you're looking for compared to perusing a printed Index, which usually is too small to read!

Cheers,
Dave

There's software that can split the pages in 2. In that case you get smaller paper and the same print size but twice as much leaves of paper. Google for "pdf page splitter" or something like that. Don't ask me further, I never used it.

I agree that searching a pdf is very easy. But reading a book I prefer paper.

George

[NorthernFocus]

The print versions of all of my cameras/lenses never get removed from the wrapping. I can't remember the last time that I used a paper copy of a manual. The ability to word search electronic documents on a smart phone is a huge time saver. Not to mention saving the hassle/effort of hauling paper manuals all over the world in one's baggage on the off chance that you may need to use an obscure function that you've forgotten. Nikon now has an app for their manuals. And it only downloads the user specified language. It's awesome. I say good riddance to printed manuals.

[rpcrowe]

At the risk of seeming rather dense How would I load the Canon 6D2 User Manual on to my Smartphone (I use an iPhone 6S Plus)...

BTW: I noticed that the Canon 6D2 sold in the U.K. is packaged with an English only version of the user manual...

[ST1]

At the risk of seeming rather dense How would I load the Canon 6D2 User Manual on to my Smartphone (I use an iPhone 6S Plus)...

BTW: I noticed that the Canon 6D2 sold in the U.K. is packaged with an English only version of the user manual...

Go to this link on the Canon USA site using your phone browser (Safari) and you should be able to save the instruction manual to your phone storage. I have the one for my camera saved to iBooks
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/p...eos-6d-mark-ii


Sent from somewhere in Gods County using Tapatalk

[rpcrowe]

Go to this link on the Canon USA site using your phone browser (Safari) and you should be able to save the instruction manual to your phone storage. I have the one for my camera saved to iBooks
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/p...eos-6d-mark-ii


Sent from somewhere in Gods County using Tapatalk

Thanks Peter, I will do that!