If this is the way photography is going, then sign me up to mirrorless straight away
- 8/0
- 539.99
- https://www.canon.co.uk/cameras/eos-m50/
What we love...
- Small, Light and Easy to Use
- Accepts EF lenses with the adapter
- Accepts EF lenses with the adapter
What we don't love...
- The 4k crop factor
- The lack of autofocus on 4k
- Not quite full frame yet
There I was, stood in Dixons duty free staring a the Canon EOS M series camera. It was 2012 and I was heading out the Canadian Grand Prix. With my AMEX clearly trying to burn a whole in my pocket, I asked the sales advisor to fetch me one with the EOS EF adapter.
Gutted, absolutely gutted. It was Canon’s first attempt at a mirrorless system and this camera was virtually a miniature Canon 650d. It had a touchscreen, flash hotshoe and a could take my vast collection of EF and EF-S lenses with the optional adapter.
It didn’t stay in my collection long. I found it hard work, slow and the quality was no where near as good as my then backup, the Canon 650d. On a wedding it was slow to react and the touchscreen was a pain to use.
Since then, whenever I hear anyone rave about mirrorless cameras, I play ignorant. Doesn’t matter if these are people I look up to like Jason Lanier, my father in law Merv Spencer or my old college tutor, mirrorless just wasn’t for me.
Enter the Canon EOS M50…
Build and Design...
It looks like a traditional EOS camera from Canon, but its much smaller and lighter. The plastic look from the first 2012 Canon M series has long gone and Canon has opted for a much finer build quality.
The screen folds and twists, but doesn’t feel as wobbly as other cameras on the market do. The dials and buttons feel like they have been taken out of a German automobile, but without the diesel fumes.
You’ll love how light the camera is, but it is a bit discerning after using a Canon 5d Mk 3 for a few years. Add your EF lens with the adapter and the required weight comes back to comfort me.
What can you do with it...
Canon has entered the M50 as an entry level mirrorless camera, but you’ll be super surprised by the features. I think they have aimed this at the new generation of Vloggers with its 4k capability, flip around screen and connectivity features.
I’m assuming that Canon thing that this market are more likely to dump their Panasonic GH5’s and their Sony RX100V’s to get a great all rounder.
Of course, the main thing you’ll want to do with this camera is take photos. A new onboard processor DIGIC 8 processor, the first time that this has appeared in Canon’s lineup.
It takes up great shots, you only have to #canonm50 on instagram to see that.
Operating System and Apps...
As per the usual Canon line up, you have the option of downloading Canon’s software both for your desktop and your smartphone.
The Canon ‘Camera Connect’ app feels a little dated and can be quite difficult to work out. Once connected the camera can auto transfer photos as you take them, it also processes the Geo tags from your smartphone and embeds them within the EXIF data on the camera.
The desktop software got dumped, I didn’t like it. It had to be reprised for a small second when I realised that Canon had introduced CRAW – a new compressed RAW format that my Macbook and my old copy of Lightroom didn’t like. A download of Adobe DNG solved that issue.
Performance and Speed...
In day to day situations, the camera is fantastic. It took a little getting used to the menu system and I had to disable the idiot proof system and go with the traditional Canon menu.
It also took me a while to get the settings right, I used my Canon EF lenses from the outset and my Canon 50mm 1.2 L let way too much light in to start off with. Now the photos come out crisp and clear.
Video quality is excellent if you don’t mind the footage in 1080p, but the 4k footage has a huge crop and on top of this the autofocus system doesn’t work too its full potential.
Would I Buy One...
Its already purchased, in a way I bought this as the Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI that I had bought a few weeks earlier did not work to its full capacity with my Canon 5D Mk 3.
But I am chuffed with my purchase and have actually gone on to purchase a 22mm pancake lens so that I can take it on a few trips alongside my Sony RX100V.
I have also used it for a few videos, but not to its full resolution. I do want to try a few timelapse videos with the camera.
Would It Go With Anything Else...
A lovely range of Canon EF lenses would do the trick. I am a massive fan of the costly, but super quick Canon 50mm 1.2 L lens. But the Canon 50mm 1.8 at just over £100 is just as good.
A Peak Design Leash is a well worthy upgrade on the supplied Canon strap and I had to purchase a USB card reader so that I could read the onboard CRAW files.
If you really want to go to town, the Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI flash gun is amazing, it automatically works out where it needs to bounce the light from and to.
Disclaimer
I have written this review to show my true reflection of the Canon EOS M50, I have not been paid to write this review and purchased the camera with my own funds. But I would like to point out that should you click on the links on this page and make a purchase, there is a slim chance that I make a couple of pennys.
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