M50 Review

Bought in March 2019 before a trip to Hawaii. It shoots faster than my M3 and has a flip out screen. Those are the main features I wanted in the next M camera. I tried the M5 and M6 but was not impressed with either enough to keep them. The stated 9 FPS for both the M5 and M6 is really misleading since it can only shoot that fast for 2-3 seconds before the buffer fills up and then you have to wait several seconds for it to clear. This means you should only shoot that fast for 1-2 seconds if you want to keep shooting and not wait for the buffer to clear. This can be a problem. In reality, you get 1-1.5 seconds of 9 FPS burst from the M5 and M6 and that’s it. The M50 will shoot at its stated 10 FPS for ? seconds before the buffer fills up. This is shooting just RAW.

The camera is significantly heavier than the M3. It autofocus faster and winds faster.

The battery is different from the M3 so the charger is not compatible. 😦 It seems Canon utilizes 3 batteries. The LP-E6N for larger DSLRs and EOS-R, the LP-E17 for APS-C DSLRs, EOS-RP, and M50, and the LP-E12 for the other M bodies.

Honestly, I’d recommend the M50 over any of the APS-C DSLRs from Canon. IQ is the same so why not? Unless there are EF-S lenses you own and use all the time, the M50 is a great camera and system. This will be your best travel and hiking camera until the M6 Mark II is available.

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Pros:

  1. Articulating screen
  2. EF-M Mount
  3. Canon image quality, color, part of the M system
  4. Ergonomics – Feels great in my hands but this is very subjective. Try it out for yourself
  5. Price – Only $650 with a lens. Can be had for $450 refurbished.

Neutral:

  1. Due to small design, the battery will obviously not be that big. Just buy an extra Canon OEM battery and carry it in your camera bag.

Cons:

  1. So the Up button on the circle controller toggles the front control dial between shutter and aperture. I didn’t know this and was stuck in the field not able to set shutter speed on manual for fireworks. I switched to my M3 which has a dedicated metal front dial for shutter speed and a metal rear dial for aperture. All M’s should be set up this way. The M50 has a plastic dial controller and it’s not knurled like the metal one so you can’t spin it, only press up, down, left, right. I prefer the knurled metal dial that I can spin and adjust the aperture quickly.
  2. Can’t find a good tripod mount for it. There is not much space between the tripod screw and the battery door so the mount will be offset. Not that big a deal considering the size and weight.
  3. Battery life indicator not all that accurate. Don’t trust the battery icon. Can show full, then half, and run out in 50 shots. The battery level indicator in camera can say full when clearly the battery is not full. Take the battery off the charger when the light is still Amber and you’ll notice it says 100%. Put back in the charger and the indicator light will still be amber. This can manifest itself in the field where it will go from full to half to dead in 40-50 shots. Have a spare battery! Charge your battery until green took 2 hours to charge from totally dead

 

I recommend this over all the other Ms since it’s only $650 with a lens. The fully articulated screen is helpful. I use this when my tripod is above eye level like this shot:

Sure the tiltable will work here. 

Fixed screens are really my last choice. One reason i switched to a 6D mark II from the 5D Mark IV

M system notes:

  1. Currently the M system has only 7 lenses available. 4 zooms, 3 primes, so compared to other systems this may seem a deficiency but how many lenses do you need? A wide angle zoom 11-22mm, normal zoom 18-55mm, telephoto zoom 55-200mm, Macro lens 28mm, beyond that I really don’t need much. I have the equivalent to these lenses for my EF DSLR. Though it is true that compared to the EF or F mount system the M series has only 7 lenses, how many will you actually need, buy, and use? I wouldn’t let this dissuade you from buying into this system. I have used a 100mm Macro lens with an adaptor, but other than that have found no need for a lens that isn’t a native EF-M. I would like a fast portrait lens like a FF 85mm equivalent.
  2. The line up is a little confusing. M100, M5, M6, M50, and now the M6 Mark II. Once the M5 and M6 are discontinued and out of stock the line up will make more sense, M100, M50, M6 Mark II