Canon’s EOS M sequence has been clinging on for expensive life for a number of years now, however the brand new Canon EOS R50 lastly confirms it – the corporate’s unique APS-C mirrorless digicam vary is now all however historical past.
Our hands-on Canon EOS R50 evaluate reveals that the digicam, which is fronted by Canon’s newer RF-mount, takes the hobbyist baton from the Canon EOS M50 Mark II. And it’ll hopefully take the EOS M idea additional than that sequence has managed during the last decade.
Just like the M50, the R50 is an entry-level mannequin for rookies, and turns into the smallest and lightest digicam within the EOS R system. It additionally successfully finishes off the EOS M sequence, which launched again in July 2012, for good.
This isn’t precisely an enormous shock. Canon hasn’t launched a brand new EOS M digicam since early 2021, and the disappointing EOS M50 Mark II was successfully only a firmware improve of getting old {hardware}. Canon’s first APS-C fashions for the EOS R system, the Canon EOS R7 and Canon EOS R10, additionally landed in mid-2022, one other transfer that confirmed the EOS M vary’s days have been numbered.
However whereas the R7 and R10 are extra like mirrorless reboots of Canon’s inexpensive DSLRs, the brand new EOS R50 is clearly a successor for the basic EOS M50. It has acquainted seems, feels the identical (barely lighter, the truth is), and has a near-identical mannequin quantity. However the EOS R50 can be pricier and, regardless of the arrival of a brand new RF-S 55-210mm f/5-7.1 lens, at present shares a limitation that plagued the EOS M sequence: a scarcity of native glass.
Gradual rebirth
Canon doesn’t formally discontinue digicam techniques, preferring to allow them to quietly slide into irrelevance – and it’s the identical with its EOS M system.
After we requested Canon if the EOS R50 meant the tip for its unique APS-C mirrorless digicam sequence, it instructed us “at current, we consider you will need to develop our lineup of EOS R system cameras” and that “we’ll proceed to supply digicam techniques that meet the wants of our clients”.
That’s a reasonably inventory Canon reply – and, to be truthful, some EOS M cameras are nonetheless that can be purchased new. Each the EOS M50 Mark II and EOS M200 are in inventory within the US and UK, with the latter additionally accessible in Australia. Canon’s EF-M lenses are additionally in manufacturing, and are sometimes the topic of tempting reductions (the Canon EF-M 32mm f/1.4, for instance, obtained a hefty worth reduce throughout final yr’s Black Friday gross sales).
However the actuality that the brand new EOS R50 makes clear is that additional improvement of the EOS M sequence has, unofficially, now ended. And because of this for hobbyists who’re in search of a Canon mirrorless digicam, the EOS R50 is the higher future-proofed possibility – should you can swallow its increased worth and present lack of native lenses.
Glass ceiling
Proper now, the Canon EOS R50 is just appropriate with three native lenses: the RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3, RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 and the brand new RF-S 55-210mm f/5-7.1. There are nonetheless no prime lenses.
In comparison with rival crop-sensor techniques like Fujifilm’s X-series and, particularly, Micro 4 Thirds, that’s fairly paltry. Canon doesn’t launch official lens roadmaps, so it’s tough to know what number of are en route – and regardless of being round for over a decade, Canon solely ever made eight first-party lenses for its EOS M system. That isn’t an ideal precedent for the EOS R50.
Nonetheless, different RF-S lenses, just like the RF-S 11-22mm f/4.5-5.6, are rumored to be within the pipeline for launch early this yr, and the EOS R50 is appropriate with Canon’s pricier full-frame RF lenses. The one downside is that these are a bit like taking skilled golf golf equipment to a sport of loopy golf.
Shopping for a Canon EOS R50 does convey different benefits that assist to compensate for its present lack of glass. In contrast to a variety of finances mirrorless cameras, it has an digital viewfinder (EVF), which is invaluable when capturing in vibrant circumstances. You additionally get the identical 24.2MP sensor and Digic X processor because the Canon EOS R10.
Crucially, this implies the R50 additionally provides you a similar autofocus efficiency because the R10, which was a key motive why the latter rocketed to the highest of our information to the greatest digicam for rookies. We forgave the R10 for a scarcity of lenses as a result of its sticky AF monitoring and topic detection have been so spectacular for a digicam of its dimension and worth.
The EOS R50’s topic detection will likely be barely less complicated than Canon’s higher-end cameras (for instance, you possibly can’t decide which eye to deal with in Eye AF mode), but when it matches the EOS R10’s efficiency, it may properly supply good worth for its comparatively excessive £789 / $680 (about AU$1,250) price ticket.
Historical past repeating
Our retrospective of the unique Canon EOS M, which launched again in 2012, known as it “a half-baked warning from mirrorless digicam historical past”. Hopefully, Canon will launch much more RF-S lenses for the EOS R50 and its APS-C stablemates.
For hobbyist digicam patrons, this implies Canon’s entry-level fashions are at one thing of a transitional cross-roads. Older cameras just like the Canon EOS M50 Mark II are cheaper (simply $699 / £699 / AU$999 with a package lens, within the M50’s case) and have extra native lenses. This partly explains why Canon is reluctant to discontinue the EOS M sequence – it nonetheless sees them as its finances mirrorless choices.
However these cameras are additionally based mostly on know-how that is nearly 5 years outdated, and for that motive it is arduous to advocate them as we speak until you are on a really tight finances. As our hands-on Canon EOS R50 evaluate states, “the EOS R50 is a succesful snapper, and excellent for a newbie who needs the digicam to do the lion’s share of the work when taking photos”.
For now, that does assist to compensate for a scarcity of RF-S lenses – however we hope Canon would not repeat the error it made with its EOS M sequence. These unique APS-C mirrorless digicam sequence function a reminder that nice cameras nonetheless want an ideal lens system – notably when, within the case of the RF-mount, it seemingly stays closed to third-party producers.