I use battery grips on all of my Canon DSLRs. I tend to shoot a lot in portrait and the grips are great for better stability in portrait shooting. Also, the extended battery life is a real plus as well. I use third party grips and have only had one not work perfectly of the 6 I have used.

I was in Shanghai earlier this year. While walking along the river there must have been 10 couples being photographed. A number of the photographers had full off camera lighting setups and 2 or 3 assistants. It was interesting that about half on the brides wore red and the other half wore white. The grooms were all in black.

I travel all around the world on a regular basis with my camera and computer. I only carry the small adapter plugs for all of my electronics (no power converter).

To save some weight I have purchased USB chargers for the camera batteries that I take along and plug them into a multiple port USB that I also have.

I am not certain there is a well written YN-685 manual, but the link below has a good YN-622C guide. If you only want to use your 685 in 622 mode (and not 603 mode), then it may be helpful. I think the hardest part is remembering how to change between 603 and 622 mode.

http://www.diyphotographystuff.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/The-Other-YN622C-User-Guide.pdf

I have a 6D and the 7DII. Both are excellent cameras for their intended purposes. The 7DII is a definite improvement on the 7D (which I sold when I bought a 5DIII). The 7DII is a great action camera. I use it primarily for action shots in gyms where the lighting is less than perfect. ISO 3200 for these pictures with a 70-200mm f/2.8. I can shoot all day without any issue. The antiflicker capability in many gyms is incredible where you want to hit the withe balance consistently. Having dual cards slots is great for piece of mind. This is also the camera I tend to use for weddings from a distance in order to stay as inconspicuous as possible during the ceremony. As a crop sensor camera, shooting in tight spaces can sometimes be a challenge.

The 6D is a fantastic camera as well. It's my go to for family events due to its lightness (relatively speaking). The full frame is great for small spaces and getting some bokeh. This is the camera that I have my second shooter (typically my daughter) use. Great high ISO capabilities and battery life. Not so great coverage of the autofocus points. This was also my portrait camera prior to the 5DIII. A solid performer with some interesting features.

I was initially very excited about the 6DII primarily due to the AF system improvements. However, reviews have suggested that the dynamic range is not so great on this camera (no personal experience with the camera, so others opinion, not mine). For me this is not so good as shadow detail can be very important.

The bottom line is that you should buy the camera that works best for what you want to do with it. If you are shooting a lot in areas with open shadows, the 6DII could be a great camera. In my opinion (for what it's worth) the 7DII is a more versatile camera in that it can do more types of shooting well. Just remember, it's a crop sensor, so getting a shallow enough depth of field can be challenging in some situations.

Another (pricey) option.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NB0Q9QP/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=IGSB040N755YU&colid=27BR8KCTX1M3E

I shoot color guard competitions routinely with a Canon 7DmkII and a 70-200 f2.8. My typical practice is to set the camera at iso 3200 (possibly 6400), set a manual white balance before starting, lock the shutter at about 1/320 or 1/400 and set an aperture of about f/3.5. Since the lighting in the gym doens't change during the performances, manual is the way to go, especially when your background could change from black to white between pictures. I also set antiflicker on as well as this feature of the 7Dmkii works great. I also use high burst rate to catch the action at its peak. I do get noise with this setup. but nothing that can't be handled with LR noise reduction. Generally these pictures are only printed up to about 8x10, so the noise is not so distracting. From my perspective, focus sharpness is far more important than some noise.

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#4 drives me crazy. One of the reasons I wanted the M5 was for a viewfinder. I find I am also changing the focus to the upper left with my nose when I use the viewfinder.

Nice little camera otherwise. I am using on my first trip right now (in China).

I am curious how others interpret the ban on electronics. Would a lens be considered as electronics? It has some electronics in it, but I doubt if the average airline security person understands that. On the other hand, would a lens be banned just because they are electronic/camera equipment and therefore "guilty by association". If it was an issue one could show a security person that the lens was hollow and didn't contain anything. Would it be possible to carry all of your lenses on board and check only bodies (Oh, don't forget to take your batteries out before checking your luggage). Perhaps one could rent a body locally, but use your personal lenses.

I think you need to go to the printer stepup at the bottom left and set the paper size, the type of paper and the quality of printing from there. Set this a a new user print profile and save it. The various printer presets have this information embedded in them, even the supplied print profiles. I think that is over writing your expected results. Alternatively you might try printing from the <Printer...> button where you can supply a one time change to the print driver settings. Hopefully this will be of some use.

I bounce around using various Canon models depending on my needs at the time. The main operational difference is probably the focus systems (number of points, serve operation choices, etc.). I don't find I have much problem doing that. You will find the the 5D has many more options than the T3i especially. Basic functions (Aperture, Shutter, ISO) all operate the same across the Canon line.

I might recommend a gym membership to prepare yourself for the weight difference especially if you feel the desire to get L glass and a battery grip next.

Here's another idea: DSLR Controller. I'm not certain that it is what you are looking for, but possibly. I have not set this up yet on my non-wifi Canons, but I have the hardware and am planning to do so. Link: http://dslrcontroller.com/guide-wifi_mr3040.php

My experiences with the Eye-Fi and Canon 6D using wireless have not been as good as straight tethering with an USB cord, primarily due to speed. If you only transfer smaller jpegs it works pretty quickly.

I loaned mine to a high school student taking a photography class. I hear she is having a great time using it.

This works for EyeFi cards (older ones at least). There have been some changes at EyeFi that might cut into the ability to do this now, so I am not certain. I use the Canon 6D and I believe it will only transfer jpg to the EOS utility.

I have found that what works best (wirelessly) for me in the portrait realm is to shoot both RAW and a medium quality jpg. I only transfer the jpg to the laptop (into Lightroom) at this point for viewing on the screen which is fairly quick. I also have the folder on the laptop sync through Lightroom Mobile and have it pop up on my iPad within a few seconds. If I am doing a senior yearbook photo, for example, a parent (Mom) can mark their favorites on the iPad and that information ends up back on the laptop. At the end of the session we pare down the favorites (Picks) on the iPad and then later I transfer the RAW files to the laptop using a cable or a card reader and compare the picked jpgs with the Raw files to get the ones I need. Transferring RAW files seems to slow everything down to a crawl. I have used this system with both EyeFi and camera WiFi. I like that my laptop can stay close to me without having a parent looking over my shoulder the entire time. The method could be modified to use in the field or on location with the right portable router, but the system will not work without an internet connection since the link through LR Mobile needs the internet, There should be a way to send to the iPad (or phone) directly as well and LR Mobile would sync up once you have an internet connection.