FULL TEST
The small, budget mirrorless R50 is the rebirth of the M50 in the RF mount – with some all-around big improvements
The Canon EOS R50 is the new, budget beginner APS-C mirrorless camera. Could this be the affordable, smaller EOS R mirrorless you’ve been waiting for? Or the camera to make you switch from your old DSLR? Or the R50 could be a smaller carry-aroundwith-you compact camera to complement your bigger DSLR setup!
The R50 is basically a newer, cleverer replacement for the M50 line. Even though the M50 will continue to be sold, and the EOS M system will continue to be supported (for now).
Still, it’s pretty inarguable that the Canon EOS R50 is the spiritual replacement for the Canon EOS M50 Mark II, released in 2020 (as a very marginal update to the original Canon EOS M50 from 2018). And the R50 manages to supersede its predecessor in almost every way. Its compact size and all-around capability qualifies it as one of the best travel cameras, with its low cost of entry and beginnerfriendliness continuing the M50 lineage as one of the best cameras for vlogging.
The fact that it shares the same RF mount as EOS R cameras like the Canon EOS R5 and Canon EOS RP gives the R50 access to a rich, cutting-edge and ever-increasing line of Canon RF and RF-S lenses. Though at the same time, this does create an issue where a tiny camera has to use lenses designed for bigger bodies.
Here’s the full story of how the Canon EOS R50 breaks down, what it does, who it’s for, and where it stands in Canon’s increasingly complex catalogue.
New features
The Canon EOS R50 produces 24.2MP still images using its APS-C-sized sensor – which is the same one featured in the Canon EOS R10. It is also capable of 15 frames per second continuous shooting speeds using the electronic shutter, which is incredibly quick and would have been unthinkable for a camera of this size and cost just a few years ago.
The EOS R50 uses the Canon RF mount, which supports RF-S lenses designed for its APS-C line-up of cameras – so it goes without saying that EF-M mount lenses for EOS M cameras will not work with this one, meaning that those hoping for a quick upgrade from the M50 might be disappointed.
Canon’s APS-C sensors have a crop factor of 1.6x (unlike the standard 1.5x crop of APS-C sensors from other manufacturers), meaning that the same focal length displayed on your lens is narrower than on a full-frame camera, so this is something to bear in mind if you like to shoot very wide.
Video can be captured in 4K 30p, w
