Canon has been in the game for quite sometime now and the Japanese camera makers are finally expanding their compact size options for novice users. Over the years, Canon has promised us that their main strategic focus would be more towards connectivity and video and they manage to perfectly execute both of that with the M50. We’ve seen a ton of great offerings from the brand that deliver A-class performance with images for a higher price tag but the M50 is the latest installment in its EOS range that doesn’t break the bank.
The Canon EOS M50 is an entry-level mirrorless camera that boasts an array of cool features, a few notables ones are : an electronic viewfinder, fully articulating touchscreen, single control dial and a 24MP APS-C sensor – the same used by its M-series siblings.
This compact beast comes with Canon’s latest DIGIC 8 processor and offers expanded Dual Pixel AF coverage, 4K/24p video capture (sadly with a 1.7x crop) as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC. A special mention has to be made for Canon’s all new image format, the CR3 Raw format – which has an updated compression option called C-Raw; giving you all the capabilities of the RAW format but with a 30-40% decrease in file size. All of these specs might make it sound like a camera that’d rack up the big bucks but it’s actually the brand’s most affordable M-mount offering.
With a price tag of just above 2500AED, the M50 appeals to a very broad current market: beginners just wanting to explore the world of photography and videography and/or novices wanting to step up their game and get more polished footage for their home-production videos or even vlogs for their YouTube fans!
After having gotten a gist of what the M50 is, let’s take a look at some of it’s key specs :
- Sensor: 24.1MP APS-C CMOS, 22.3 x 14.9mm
- Image processor: DIGIC 8
- AF points: 143/99-point Dual Pixel CMOS AF
- ISO range: 100 to 25,600
- Max image size: 6,000 x 4,000
- Metering zones: 384 zones
- Video: 4K UHD at 25/24p
- Viewfinder: OLED EVF, 2,360k dots
- Memory card: 1x SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I)
- LCD: 3in vari-angle touchscreen, 1,040k dots
- Max burst: 10fps (7.4fps with AF)
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC
- Size: 116.3 x 88.1 x 58.7mm
- Weight: 390g (with battery and memory card)
Now that we have the numbers out of the way, let’s dive into how it compares to everyday use and what would be the most notable and common features.
The M50 is cased in a nice and sturdy body that will easily fight through everyday use with ease, it’s also worth mentioning that the camera feels great in the hand having the right grip options to ease the process of capturing photos or video.
As we move inside the camera, it has a bunch of more auto-focus points as well as a new eye-detection auto-focus system that does a brilliant job in capturing portrait stills. The refined articulating screen also has a nifty feature where you can control the focus straight from the 3” touchscreen. Canon’s new DIGIC 8 processor does a great deal to the overall image processing of the camera. The new beefed up processor gives out great image stabilisation as well as a great ISO range, that will give your footage or photos that much needed dynamic range while keeping it nice and crispy.
Canon definitely targeted the vlogger market with this offering as it has seamless and subtle features that would make the life of a vlogger much more easier. The already mentioned compact size that it comes in does a great deal in mobility in addition to an actual mic input, awesome audio pre-amps, a cool time lapse feature built in within the system and great 1080p video capability. To top all of this off, it comes with WiFi connection that lets you seamlessly transfer footage and pictures straight to your phone using Canon’s app : Camera Connect, which gives you added controls to the camera.
Overall, the Canon M50 is capable and easy to handle for both beginners and enthusiasts. At a very reasonable price, this is one of the cheapest mirrorless cameras with okay-ish 4K video recording.
Verdict: As a normal photography camera, the EOS M50 is a solid choice for people who want a more feature-oriented camera than an entry-level one. With the new DIGIC8 processor, we get better image quality, improved AF system and good ISO performance. The addition of the wireless connectivity and the new C-Raw format is a nice bonus. While 4K isn’t the main highlight of the camera given its high crop factor, if you’re looking for an upgrade from you 2000AED+ smartphone’s camera or a daily 1080p driver for your vlogs; the M50 is a no-brainer!
