Auto ISO with a Minimum Shutter Floor: RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM
Manual exposure with auto ISO is the most practical exposure mode that most photographers leave unused. The RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM — Canon’s modest, versatile nifty-enough-fifty-equivalent for the R system — is the lens where this mode earns its keep, because the lens covers such a wide range of use cases in a single shooting session that fixed manual settings cannot follow it.
The setup: set the camera to M mode, ISO to Auto, aperture to whatever the scene requires (f/4 for general use with context in the background, f/1.8 for subject isolation, f/8 for near-to-far landscape work), and shutter speed to 1/250s as a floor. Then set Auto ISO’s minimum shutter to Auto — the R5 and R6 series will calculate the minimum shutter from focal length, defaulting to approximately 1/60s for a 35mm lens. Override this manually to 1/250s. The camera now manages ISO to hold your specified aperture and shutter, climbing as light drops until it hits your ISO ceiling.
What this accomplishes: you stop thinking about exposure. In the RF 35mm’s native range — close-focus tabletop at Macro STM distances, environmental portrait, architecture interior, street reportage — the light changes constantly. Auto ISO with a shutter floor keeps you in acceptable motion-stopping territory while preventing the camera from selecting a shutter speed slow enough to introduce blur. The ISO penalty for well-lit scenes is zero; the camera will drop to base ISO 100 when light allows. The penalty for dim scenes is ISO noise, which on the R6 Mark II at ISO 3200 is an acceptable trade for a sharp frame.
The RF 35mm f/1.8 IS adds its own stabilization layer. Combined with the minimum shutter override, you have a coherent exposure philosophy that adjusts to the scene rather than requiring you to adjust to it.
Set it once per environment. Then forget it.