Canon EOS M50 Mirrorless Vlogging Camera Kit with EF-M 15-45mm Lens, Black

I am writing this review almost a full year after purchase. I used this camera primarily for video and vlogging and it has been absolutely great! I was a complete beginner at videos at the time and I was looking for a camera that was easy to use and had good auto focus. This camera has delivered on all. I am aware that people are saying the auto focus isn’t that good in 4K and the crop makes the 4K totally useless. But I feel like they are comparing these features to a camera that probably costs 1k-2k more than this camera, so of course that will be the case. I have used the 4K and there is a crop but I love shooting videos and I made it work and it’s really not that big a deal. It also depends on what you are using this camera for. For vlogging and most videos that a beginner would shoot, this camera is perfect. For the highly critical enthusiast and professional filmmakers doing professional work, this camera won’t cut it. But it’s not SUPPOSED TO,this is a 650 dollar camera.The menus are easy to navigate and after about 4 months of playing around, I have learned the ins and outs of this camera like the back of my hand. I feel like now it’s time to graduate to a new camera but I am still keeping this camera for vlogging purposes because it’s great for that and it’s super lightweight and small. Lastly, the lense selection is not that extensive so I actually just used the kit lense and that’s it. I did this because I knew I would eventually buy a more expensive camera so I didn’t invest heavily in lenses for this camera and the kit lense is actually pretty versatile. Lastly, if you are a beginner like I was and you are thinking you need all these features, DCI 4K/8k or just an expensive camera to make things look good, you don’t. There are so many other factors like lighting and color grading etc that come into play. You won’t be able to appreciate or use the features of a more expensive camera to its fullest potential until you first gain the knowledge to do so. Just like a more expensive guitar won’t make a guitarist better at playing. More expensive cameras usually have a higher learning curve and some even make you pull manual focus so why not start with something that you can fire up and start making content with rather than spending 3 times as much money only to get your camera in and have to learn massive amounts of info before you can even use it? All in all, this a great camera for the price. If you are a beginner, you will love this camera. At the end of the day, this camera accomplishes exactly what it set out to accomplish and it is easy on the wallet. The video is also stellar and in my opinion is miles better than filming with your phone. If you are a beginner, I have hard time believing that you will be disappointed with the quality of videos that come from this camera. Happy Filmmaking

I’m not a fan of buying something because it is new. I am a fan of buying things that solve problems. The problem I’m having is that I’m getting older and my heavy DSLR and long Canon “L” lenses were getting too heavy to cart around all day. So I made a list of Must have and Nice to have items.

Must have: small, lightweight, interchangeable lenses (and a variety to choose from), fully articulated LCD, near zero shutter lag, raw processing, 8 shot buffer minimum, high ISO, viewfinder (with visible histogram), hot shoe.

Nice to have: wireless remote, iOS app, GPS.

This camera has all the items on both lists. (The GPS requires connection to a phone, and that drains the battery on both, so I probably won’t use it much)

Then there are some unexpected bonuses. One is that Canon introduced a new raw format called CR3. It is highly compressed and lossless, so it will save considerable disk space. This is getting important with >20Mpixels on modern sensors (24 here, IIRC). The camera came out March 26. Adobe updated its software April 3 to handle it.

You’ll get a lot of opinion on what make a camera a professional’s camera. Non-photographers judge by bulk, and that’s just stereotype. To me, a professional camera has better weather sealing, multiple memory cards and a large buffer (transfers image to the card). It would also have a bigger offset between the tripod screw and the battery cover. (So the battery could be changed easily without removing the tripod or plate.

As for full frame, it doesn’t matter. Imagine an 8×12 picture, perhaps from a magazine. Then put a mat on it where the sides are 1 inch thick. The part of the picture you see now is 6×10. That’s what a 1.6 crop sensor does (in round numbers). The part of the image you see is completely unchanged. If the lens manufacturers just changed the numbers on the lens itself, no one would ever know. A lens marked 10mm becomes 16mm, but all else is the same. If you like the fisheye look, then you have to go full frame, but for pretty much anything else it doesn’t matter.

As for video, that’s a matter of the buffer. Shooting at 30 frames a second means filling the buffer fast (just hold the shutter button down on the camera you have now and see how fast it fills). To make continuous images for video, any camera has to crop the image before even sending it to the buffer and then the card. So video means a tighter crop. Again, a pro might want a more video capable camera .

The only glitch I ran into was with a third party lens from Tokina. The new software in the camera didn’t talk to the software in the lens, and so it generated an error message about the connectors not being clean. After returning the first lens and getting a second with the same problem I called Tokina and they told me about the mismatch. They said that they’re working on a firmware ujpgrade that will require me sending in the lens, but they had no due date on the fix. (I sent it back). If you’re considering a lens from them or any 3rd party, I suggest giving them a call first. When they fix it I’ll buy the lens again and update this review.

EDITED TO ADD:

1. Thing I miss the most: Port for wired remote shutter release. Yes, the smartphone app does the job but it burns the battery. Also, no way to take time lapse, which uses an intervalometer (and that feature isn’t in the app, even if battery wasn’t a problem)

2. This Arca-Swiss compatible plate fits the camera and still leaves room to access the battery compartment. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XK2790Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought this to replace my Canon 600D DSLR camera I purchased more than 6 years ago. Compared to 600D this camera is small, light weight and build quality is also much better. Initially it may take a couple days to get used to electronic view finder as there is a small delay (may be fraction of second). It takes excellent photos with punchy colours in JPEG and videos. I have yet to try 4k video as it fill up the card very quickly. The bundled kit lens is very compact and good quality for its price.

If you are new to DSLR or already own an entry level DSLR you can give this one a try. The other comparable (mirrorless) cameras are offerings from Fuji. I had played with it Fuji cameras during a US visit, XT-20 is an excellent camera with great kit lens but about 30k pricey in India. I am not also sure about after sale service for Fujis in India, so did not want to take risk. Sony’s A6300 is also another comparable camera but it is 4 years old already. Since I already own a Sony RX100 P&S camera did look into Sony cameras further.

I will stick with only the Kit lens for an year or so before buying other lenses. I’ll update the review in few months.

This is my first high-quality camera. And, I am still exploring.
Image quality and video quality seem really good.
The full rotatable touch screen, mic input, and good user interface make it a very good deal for me, as I plan to do personal content creation.

I considered the Sony a5100 as an option, but could not make the compromises and got this instead. But, the Sony a5100/6000 is great value for money even today, if you want it only for still photography.

I got the m50 at around 51k on Amazon Prime day. I think you can wait if you plan to buy. In the US it costs only 650-700 bucks, so the Indian price may reduce in a while.

I would recommend the EF to EF-M mount adapter along with the Canon 50mm F1.8 STM lens, or even the EF-M 22mm F2 lens if you prefer the compact form factor (no adapter business). They do make a significant quality difference in portrait photography and further improve the sharpness of the camera. I would add some sample clicks in the future with my Nifty Fifty lens.

The supplied carry bag is too big, hence I bought the Amazon Basics Carry bag for Compact Cameras, and that fits it well (even some of the other mirrorless cameras too). The m50 is now in a really compact package and I can take it along easily in my backpack most of the time.

Update: May 2019

1. Since now this is available at below 50k, with offers and discounts it can be owned at 45k, this is a steal in my honest opinion.
2. Added sample photos!!! Particularly from the popular 50mm f1.8 lens, used with an adaptor.

Update: September 2019

1. I am enjoying the camera more and more, the camera has just the right amount of controls for a beginner.
2. I came to know about Viltrox Speed Booster for M50. Adding a speed booster is an awesome way to make the camera much more capable. Planning to buy it, but would probably directly get it from US or China.

Update: December 2020

1. Sigma lenses have made this EOS-M series cameras way more complete and worth than ever.
2. I strongly recommend the “16mm F1.4 Sigma” for Vlogging, “30mm F1.4 Sigma” or “32mm F1.4 Canon” for Street and Portraits.
3. But, the “56mm F1.4 Sigma”, I would settle with the “50mm F.18 Canon” for the value it offers.

Moreover, there is an update to the original Canon M50 with a Mark ii, with an almost identical feature set.
I don’t know why Canon calls it mark ii.

Also, if you plan on serious content creation and want the best quality, in the long run, I would recommend the Canon EOS RP (Body only) with Canon EF 17-40mm and 50mm (Nifty-fifty)