Canon EOS R50 review: compact, capable but lacking for lenses: Digital Photography Review – digitalcameras.ie

Product photos by Richard Butler

The Canon EOS R50 is a compact mirrorless digital camera designed to enchantment to customers in search of one thing greater than a smartphone. It is primarily based round a 24 Megapixel APS-C sensor and Canon’s newest ‘RF’ lens mount.

Key options:

• 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor with second-generation Twin Pixel AF
• Burst capturing at as much as 15fps in full e-shutter mode (12 in digital first curtain)
• 4K video as much as 30p with no crop
• 10-bit HDR video and HEIF photos
• 2.36M dot OLED viewfinder
• 1.62M dot totally articulating touchscreen
• Exterior mic enter
• Shut-up and vertical video modes
• Stay streaming and webcam functionality

The EOS R50 is Canon’s second-cheapest RF-mount digital camera, sitting above the EOS R100 and beneath the EOS R10. The R50 is priced at $679.99, body-only. A equipment with the retractable RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM sells for round $799.99, and a two-lens equipment that provides a brand new 55-210mm F5.0-7.1 takes the MSRP as much as $1029.99.

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Index:

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What’s new

The EOS R50 is basically designed as an RF-mount equal of the EF-M-mount EOS M50: an easy-to-use interchangeable lens digital camera that is sensible to hold round. It is a related dimension to the EOS M50, however along with utilizing Canon’s newer lens mount, it additionally brings a more recent sensor and processor, which collectively ship considerably extra superior autofocus capabilities.

Autofocus

The R50’s most compelling characteristic might be its autofocus system. It is a comparatively easy however very highly effective system that mixes a collection of topic recognition modes with tenacious monitoring. In lots of circumstances (notably with individuals), you possibly can choose the place you need the digital camera to focus, and it will monitor whoever or no matter you pointed at.

Particularly, the R50 has been educated to acknowledge individuals (eyes, faces and heads), animals (particularly canine, cats, birds and horses) or autos (motorsport automobiles and bikes, trains and plane). There’s additionally an ‘Auto’ possibility that may attempt to establish which of those topics are in entrance of the digital camera.

The EOS R50 has an AF system finally derived from that of the EOS R3. It was accurately capable of acknowledge this as a hen and routinely give attention to its eye. RF-S 55-210mm F5-7.1 IS STM @ 146mm | ISO 250 | 1/320 sec | F7.1 Photograph taken with a pre-production lens Photograph: Chris Niccolls

We have discovered it to be very efficient, a minimum of in stills mode, and the interface makes it simple to take no matter stage of management you need over proceedings: you possibly can simply let the digital camera choose a topic or place an AF level in the event you want to place the main target your self.

The R50 additionally positive aspects an AF mode designed for vlogging, which prioritizes something near the digital camera however in any other case makes use of face detection mode. That is expressly designed for vloggers filming themselves who wish to maintain an merchandise up and have the digital camera shortly refocus on it, then again to them when the merchandise is lowered, for instance, to showcase a product. This characteristic works as marketed, although you undoubtedly wish to use a gimbal or tripod, since picture stabilization is turned off.

Burst capturing

The R50 is surprisingly adept at burst capturing: it may seize clips at as much as 12 frames per second utilizing its digital/mechanical shutter mode or 15 frames per second in totally digital mode (with the chance of transferring topics showing distorted if there’s an excessive amount of lateral motion). It may possibly solely seize roughly 7 Uncooked or 42 JPEG photos in every burst, which is not wondrous.

Auto ISO

It is price noting that, not like higher-end Canon cameras, there isn’t a technique to set a minimal shutter velocity when utilizing Auto ISO. You possibly can choose the highest sensitivity, however that is it. For these of us with shaky palms or these fearful about topic movement, having the ability to choose a minimal shutter velocity of, say, 1/125 sec, would result in fewer throwaway photographs.

Mode information / Scene modes

The mode information is proven whenever you rotate the mode dial. It offers you a visible illustration of what the results of fixing settings do in the true world, however that is about it (you possibly can’t regulate these issues with out going into Superior Auto mode described beneath).

The mode information is simply considerably useful whenever you rotate the dial.	The visuals as you flip by the choices in scene mode are fairly however marginally helpful.

When deciding on a scene mode, you additionally see an instance picture of what the mode is designed to shoot. As soon as you’ve got chosen a mode, you will discover instruments to regulate settings within the Q.Menu or when composing photographs. For self-portrait mode, you possibly can regulate background blur, brightness, and easy pores and skin. For panning mode, the digital camera illustrates how a lot of your topic will probably be blurred, although I had a tough time determining what the strains on the display represented.

A+ Superior Auto

The EOS R50 contains Inventive Help mode as a part of its beginner-friendly A+ auto mode. This makes use of a touchscreen interface to allow you to regulate a lot of the digital camera’s key parameters, expressed in phrases corresponding to ‘Brightness’ and ‘Coloration’ relatively than technical terminology. It really works properly, although it will be good to have the ability to assign certainly one of its capabilities to the command dial relatively than having to delve into the touchscreen interface each time.

As well as, the R50 positive aspects an ‘Superior A+’ possibility, that takes the extent of automation nonetheless additional. If Superior A+ spots a scene that is too darkish, too excessive in distinction, or one that may profit from larger depth-of-field, it should routinely shoot 4 photographs and mix them right into a single JPEG, to beat these challenges. We have seen modes like this in different cameras for years, although by no means one able to evaluating and selecting certainly one of three multi-shot modes for various scene points.

Superior A+ mode produces JPEGs solely, not like Inventive Help mode, which helps you to seize Uncooked photos (helpful if you wish to regulate them in-camera or on a pc, later),

Within the A+ modes the digital camera seems to make use of the ‘AI Focus’ drive mode, which routinely chooses between single and steady AF. The upshot is that, in the event you or the digital camera chooses to give attention to an individual, as an illustration, it should refocus in the event you or they transfer earlier than you totally press the shutter.

Not like higher-end fashions, the R50 would not have a Uncooked conversion possibility within the playback menu. That possibility may be discovered by way of the Inventive Help characteristic.

Video and HDR PQ

The EOS R50 can seize 4K video at as much as 30 frames per second. This footage is created from all 6000 horizontal pixels of the sensor, so it must be very detailed. The usage of the total width of the sensor additionally means it is not awkwardly cropped-in and also needs to give higher efficiency in low mild.

You probably have an HDR TV, the EOS R50 will allow you to shoot stills and movies that exploit these HDR capabilities to make photographs with shiny highlights look extra vibrant and extra life like, utilizing the ‘HDR PQ’ possibility (The ‘HDR video’ possibility is one thing totally different, confusingly).

As you may anticipate for a digital camera at this stage, there is a mic socket however no technique to join headphones.

Lens choice

For those who’re in search of a big collection of RF-mount lenses designed for APS-C cameras just like the R50, we now have dangerous information: there aren’t many. The truth is, there are simply three. They embrace the collapsable RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM used on this overview, a 55-210mm F5-7.1 IS STM ($349), and a flexible 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS STM ($499).

You possibly can actually purchase Canon’s common RF-mount lenses, that are designed for its full-frame our bodies, however they will not be low cost. Since Canon retains its lens mount design personal, third get together lenses aren’t prone to come anytime quickly (although Sigma will reportedly launch full-frame lenses later this yr). You can even add an adapter to mount older EF and EF-S lenses for DSLRs, however these can get fairly unwieldy fairly shortly: undermining the purpose of shopping for a smaller physique.

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The way it compares

The EOS R50 is the primary new digital camera within the entry-level / below $800 ILC class that we have seen for a while, which suggests it instantly feels much more fashionable than a lot of its rivals, each by way of autofocus and video.

Not included on this desk is its stablemate, the EOS R10, which is $300 costlier and provides options corresponding to twin management dials, 4K/60 seize and sooner UHS-II card slots. The costlier mannequin additionally features a full mechanical shutter, able to 15fps seize, although nonetheless lacks a contemporary USB 3.X interface.

What the desk cannot actually seize is simply how efficient the R50’s autofocus is. Solely the Sony a6100 comes shut, although its topic recognition capabilities solely prolong so far as human faces and eyes. The identical cannot be stated for the a lot older, cheaper a6000, which actually exhibits its age on this firm.

The OM-D E-M10 IV lags considerably by way of AF and is not as easy a digital camera to make use of – although it offers you extra digital camera and a lens system to develop into – however it does supply in-body picture stabilization, which all of the others lack at this worth.

Whereas tons of of {dollars} extra, the Nikon Z50 is price contemplating. Its weather-sealed physique is way more rugged, and its EVF is bigger than most of its friends. Nevertheless, its autofocus system is not as strong because the R50’s. There is not any 10-bit possibility when capturing 4K video, however, not like the Canon, there’s now a selection of third-party lenses from corporations together with Sigma.

Whereas not within the comparability desk, the EOS R100 deserves a point out. It is Canon’s entry-level RF-mount digital camera, with an MSRP of simply $479 (physique solely). Whereas it seems to be so much just like the R50, it has an older processor, slower burst mode, mounted LCD, important 4K crop, and no USB charging: we predict it is price spending the additional.

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Physique and dealing with

The EOS R50 is surprisingly small, regardless of that huge RF lens mount on the entrance. The grip is fairly small (I discovered myself wrapping my fingers throughout it at a 45-degree angle relatively than making an attempt to understand it straight-on) however enough for the way small and light-weight the digital camera is, particularly with compact lenses. The R50 does really feel a bit too plasticky, however asking for a rugged weather-sealed physique on a $679 digital camera physique may asking an excessive amount of.

There’s a dial on the highest of the digital camera in the event you want to use the digital camera within the extra hands-on P, A, S or M modes, however it’s relatively under-utilized. It is because the digital camera has a really touchscreen-focused consumer interface.

Like earlier Canons, the R50 will current a display explaining the mode you’ve got simply chosen or the characteristic you’ve got simply engaged that will help you perceive when it is relevant. These clarification splash screens may be turned off in the event you want or when you’re conversant in the digital camera.

The compact dimension of the R50 has its penalties: its controls are very cluttered, making it simple to press a button unintentionally.

The Inventive Help mode, which offers a collection of icons representing choices corresponding to brightness or shade, is fairly easy, however whereas the command dial can be utilized to regulate the settings, it is solely energetic whilst you’re within the regulate settings screens. When you’re capturing, the command dial does nothing, which seems like a waste since your finger will seemingly be resting on it.

The viewfinder is a comparatively modest 2.36M dot OLED show with a relatively low 0.59x magnification stage (which suggests it seems fairly small). The pattern we used appeared very susceptible to the diopter adjuster getting knocked, so if the viewfinder appears mushy, it is price checking the little slider immediately below the viewfinder.

The totally articulating rear touchscreen is a pleasant contact. The R50 has a mic enter socket however nowhere to connect headphones, which barely undermines its vlogging enchantment.

Whereas the digital camera does have a USB-C socket for connecting to a pc or pill and charging (see beneath), switch speeds are gradual (480Mbps tops). These are USB 2.0 speeds: most fashionable cameras supply a minimum of ten occasions this.

Battery

The EOS R50 makes use of the identical LP-E17 battery as Canon’s different small ILCs. It is a 7.5Wh battery, which is not so much to energy a mirrorless digital camera. It’s going to do properly for snapping occasional photographs as you go about your day, however in the event you dedicate any size of time to photographs or video, there’s an opportunity you will all of the sudden be confronted with a flashing pink battery warning (it has been a very long time since I’ve encountered the ‘full… full… full… LOW BATTERY!’ expertise of a small digital camera with no cost share indications).

In commonplace (‘Clean’) mode, the digital camera is rated to ship a decent 370 photographs per cost in the event you use the LCD however simply 230 photographs by the viewfinder. As traditional, these CIPA-standard figures can are likely to considerably underestimate what number of photographs you are prone to get, sometimes by round an element of two, relying in your capturing type. Vitality saver mode boosts the numbers to 440 and 310 photographs, respectively.

Fortunately, the R50 may be charged utilizing a USB PD (energy supply) charger, so it is easy sufficient to maintain topped up in case you are dropping again to a automobile or resort room or have a contemporary energy financial institution with you. (USB sockets in accommodations and automobiles is not going to cost it.)

Alongside the battery within the base of the digital camera is a single SD card slot. In step with the digital camera’s comparatively modest ambitions, it is the older, slower UHS-I sort.

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Autofocus

Whereas the autofocus settings may be complicated, as soon as they’re to your liking, the R50 performs exceptionally properly. Utilizing a single focus level, the Servo AF perform will seize onto what you’ve got pointed the digital camera at and dutifully monitor it across the body. It did a stable job detecting faces and eyes, each human and animal – even after they weren’t staring on the digital camera. The animal detection was particularly spectacular: it locked onto the eyes of tigers, birds, penguins, and, in fact, cats.

The assorted AF areas may be seen on the backside. Additionally, when “allow” is displayed, Complete Space monitoring is OFF. You need it to say “disable,” unusually sufficient.

You can even monitor topics in ‘Complete Space AF,’ however you will want to show it on first. Essentially the most smart means is by way of the AF tab within the menu, however it may be performed within the fast menu as properly, as proven above.

You place the main target level utilizing the touchscreen or by urgent the main target level button on the rear of the digital camera and utilizing the directional controller (sadly, there is no room for a joystick on the R50). When capturing with the viewfinder, a ‘Touchpad AF’ characteristic permits you to transfer the main target level utilizing the touchscreen.

We discovered the R50’s steady autofocus to work very properly. It was capable of preserve topics – human and in any other case – in focus as they moved or have been briefly blocked by different topics. The EOS R50 additionally did properly with topics transferring in a fashion that was troublesome to foretell. In different phrases, its AF is fairly foolproof.

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Picture high quality

Our take a look at scene is designed to simulate quite a lot of textures, colours and element sorts you will encounter in the true world. It additionally has two illumination modes, full even mild and low directional mild, to see the impact of various lighting situations.

With our take a look at scene at present unavailable, we have not been capable of shoot our commonplace take a look at photos with the EOS R50 but. This evaluation is predicated on our real-world utilization and the studio outcomes of the EOS R10 that makes use of the identical sensor and processor. We’ll take a look at the EOS R50 and double-check our evaluation as quickly as potential.

Whereas the textual content is not, maybe, fairly as sharp because the Sony a6100 and Nikon Z50, there’s not a lot to decide on between them. You’ll encounter some moiré, however it’s fairly delicate. As you’d anticipate, there’s little or no seen noise at base ISO. The R50 could also be barely noisier than its friends in decrease mild, however not by a lot. For those who actually end up in restricted mild and have to extend the ISO, you will be welcomed by fairly a little bit of luminance and chroma noise.

In JPEG mode, the default sharpening is a bit of blunt and heavy-handed,, that is fairly typical for this class. It is laborious to not just like the daring, saturated shade within the R50’s JPEGs. At low ISOs, the digital camera goes simple on the noise discount, leaving loads of element. At center sensitivities, high quality element begins getting eaten up, and it goes downhill at increased ISOs, smudging away a bit of extra element than its APS-C friends.

Under is a real-world instance of element smudging in an ISO 6400 JPEG in comparison with a transformed Uncooked with very conservative guide noise discount adjustment. The element is there: you simply should get it again.

Out-of-camera JPEG	Uncooked conversion w/guide NR adj.

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Video

As talked about on the high of the overview, the EOS R50 captures 4K/30p video utilizing the total width of the sensor, which suggests no crop and nice high quality (usually). One thing to be careful for is distortion brought on by “rolling shutter,” which is straightforward to see when panning the digital camera. (It is also a difficulty when capturing extremely high-speed bursts with the digital shutter).

Some nasty rolling shutter is seen when panning the digital camera in 4K/30p mode.

It is price mentioning that there’s a slight crop (roughly 1.1x) when utilizing Film Digital IS and a extra substantial crop whenever you activate ‘Enhanced IS.’

You possibly can choose from plenty of video capturing modes when the primary dial is ready to that place. They embrace auto publicity, guide publicity, close-up demo, film IS (1080p with a big crop), HDR film, and customized settings. There are additionally high-speed (as much as 1080/120p) and time-lapse modes. The R50 may also shoot vertical video for the TikTok crowd.

It is necessary to notice that the HDR film mode you possibly can choose right here is not the identical issues because the digital camera’s HDR PQ mode to be used on HDR TVs. The decision is decrease (1080/30p), and the outcomes aren’t almost as spectacular because the digital camera’s 10-bit HDR PQ mode (to say the least.) Primarily the HDR film simply reduces the probability of skies showing as plain white and will increase the chance of the distinction wanting a bit of bizarre.

It’s potential for the digital camera to overheat when capturing 4K video for lengthy intervals of time, which is why the R50 shows a thermometer on its show. If the digital camera will get too scorching, you will should take a break whereas issues calm down.

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Conclusion

The Canon EOS R50 is a really succesful mirrorless digital camera, particularly whenever you take its $799 (with lens) worth under consideration. It delivers in almost all areas, most significantly picture high quality and autofocus. Full-width 4K video with 10-bit HDR are massive pluses, as properly. The R50 isn’t with out its flaws, nevertheless. Its controls are tight, the equipment lens so-so, and 4K video suffers from noticeable rolling shutter.

RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM @ 29mm | ISO 100 | 1/6 sec | F9 Photograph by Jeff Keller

Whereas the R50 is straightforward to carry, with a surprisingly massive grip, its rear controls are very tight, which led to many unintended button presses in our expertise. The EVF is on the small facet, however there’s simply no room for a bigger one.

One of many main points with Canon’s APS-C RF-mount cameras for the time being is an absence of obtainable lenses. As of September 2023, there have been simply three, and since Canon doesn’t publish roadmaps, what comes subsequent is unclear. Within the meantime, you should utilize full-frame RF lenses, however they’re expensive, or adapt EF lenses, which might find yourself being cumbersome.

RF-S 24-240mm F4-6.3 IS STM @ 144mm. ISO 100 | 1/200 sec | F6.3 Publicity and shadows adjusted in ACR. Photograph by Jeff Keller

The Twin Pixel AF system caught to transferring topics, even after they have been obscured. Topic detection labored very properly with individuals and exceeded expectations when it was capable of lock onto the attention of most animals encountered at a close-by zoo.

Photograph high quality is superb, although the mushy equipment lens would not present the R50 at its finest. We have lengthy been a fan of Canon’s saturated shade, and that hasn’t modified on the EOS R50. Positive particulars in JPEGs taken at excessive sensitivities (ISO 3200 and above) are sometimes smudged, although guide noise discount tweaking of Uncooked information will produce higher outcomes.

RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM @ 29mm | ISO 100 | 1/100 sec | F5.6 Photograph by Jeff Keller

As for video, the R50 makes use of the total width of its 24MP sensor to seize 4K/30p footage with no crop, and it seems to be nice. Autofocus is as simple to make use of as in stills however we have seen cases the place focus can drift off your topic to the background, so it is not fairly as dependable.

The digital camera can seize 10-bit HDR PQ footage which saves extra spotlight element. (You will must hook as much as an HDR show with a view to see it.) One thing to be careful for on the R50 is rolling shutter; it is fairly important whenever you pan the digital camera (see the instance earlier within the overview for an illustration).

In conclusion, the Canon EOS R50 gives numerous bang for the buck, although the RF-S system has a technique to go in relation to lens choice. It is one of the crucial moveable mirrorless our bodies on the market, although it comes at the price of tight controls and a small viewfinder. It isn’t suited to each state of affairs, corresponding to panning to comply with quick motion in stills/video, however as a ‘each day driver,’ the EOS R50 is a digital camera we will get behind. It is price seeing whether or not the lenses you need can be found, in the event you’re in search of a digital camera to develop into, although.

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Scoring

Scoring is relative solely to the opposite cameras in the identical class. Click on right here to find out about what these numbers imply.

In comparison with its friends

The EOS R50’s has two shut friends, the primary being the Nikon Z50, which sells for a similar worth in the event you walked right into a digital camera retailer right this moment. Whereas the Z50 has the next construct high quality, the R50 is the higher digital camera in nearly all respects. Arguably the Z50’s greatest weak level is the much less dependable AF in video and its lack of 10-bit seize for HDR or Log recording. Not like Canon, Nikon has allowed Sigma to introduce some useful prime lenses for its Z-mount.

Regardless of being a number of years older, the Sony a6100 retains tempo with the R50 in lots of areas. Each have glorious autofocus programs and oversampled 4K video, although will equally dangerous rolling shutter. The a6100’s battery life is the perfect in its class, and the collection of E-mount lenses blows the R50 (and the Nikon, for that matter) away. Its low-res EVF and LCD do knock it down a notch, nevertheless.

The OM System E-M10 Mark IV is to not be forgotten. It has a number of bodily controls, in-body picture stabilization, uncropped 4K video, and an enormous lens assortment. Its smaller sensor cannot fairly sustain with its APS-C friends, however this enables smaller lens/digital camera combos. Its autofocus system is not as strong. however it’s actually no slouch.

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Pattern galleries

Please don’t reproduce any of those photos on a web site or any e-newsletter/journal with out prior permission (see our copyright web page). We make the originals obtainable for personal customers to obtain to their very own machines for private examination or printing (along side this overview); we accomplish that in good religion, so please do not abuse it.

Evaluation pattern gallery

Preliminary pattern gallery

The RF-S 55-210mm F5-7.1 IS STM lens used for this gallery was pre-production.

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