The entry level vlogging/content creator market is looking very, very crowded right now. Camera companies aren’t just competing with each other, but with cameras in their own line-ups. And the Canon EOS R50 V seems a prime example, taking some things away from an existing model, adding some new things and creating an even more confusing set of choices than ever. It might be a great camera, of course, so let’s run through the specs to try to see what’s going on.
Essentially, it looks as if Canon has taken its next-from-bottom EOS R50 APS-C mirrorless camera and lopped off the electronic viewfinder to call it a ‘vlogging’ or ‘creator’ camera. There seems to be this idea going around camera brands that people who film video don’t need or want a viewfinder, but we’ll let that pass.
The fact is, though, that the EOS R50 V is rather more than that. So much so, that you wonder why Canon named it after such a basic model. This new camera is, in fact, rather better at video than the model it’s named after.
For a start, it captures 4K video at 30p, oversampled from the 24MP sensor output. That’s good. Also good is that it can record 4K 60p footage, too, which the regular EOS R50 can’t do. There is a crop, but the fact is that it can do it.
You also get Canon Log 3 10-bit recording, so you’ll have a lot more headroom when color grading your images. This is something else the regular EOS R50 V doesn’t have, or even the EOS R10 above it. What strikes me as strange about this, though, is that Log profiles and color grading are not beginner territory. The EOS R50 V seems to be pitched at relatively inexperienced filmmakers, but Log profiles are a pretty serious feature. They only make sense if you are using professional video editing software, as Canon Log 3 footage is not suitable for use straight from the camera.
Canon does say that the EOS R50 V is aimed at creators who want to push their content further, and there’s plenty in this new camera that does that. On a practical level there’s a front-facing record button for easy access when you’re presenting to the camera, 4K livestreaming versus the usual 2K, and a second tripod socket for mounting the camera vertically for ‘social’ video. There’s also 4-channel audio recording (via the accessory shoe) and a rocker switch for power zoom lenses like the new Canon RF-S 14-30mm F4-6.3 IS STM PZ it’s sold with as a kit.
All of that is fine, but there are two things missing that surely would have made more difference than log profiles and button placement. The first is in-body stabilisation. The EOS R50 V doesn’t have it, so this feels much more like a tripod camera than a vlogging camera. The RF-S 14-30mm F4-6.3 IS STM PZ does have IS, and there’s always the camera’s digital IS, but it’s not the same.
And then there’s the screen. If you’re going to lose the EVF, then surely the least you can do is provide a bigger, better LCD display, especially for the demands of filmmaking. The 3-inch display is small enough when you’re holding the camera normally, but when you’re presenting to the camera from a couple of metres away, it’s smaller still. Isn’t it about time camera makers followed the example of Blackmagic’s Pocket Cinema cameras and actually put proper-sized screens on their cameras?
The new Canon RF-S 14-30mm F4-6.3 IS STM PZ
This is an interesting new kit lens introduced alongside the EOS R50 V. In full frame terms it’s equivalent to a 22-48mm zoom, so it’s a pretty wide optic that could be handy for self-filming on a gimbal or a handle while capturing the background too – though not in 4K 60p, where there’s a heavy crop.
This is a power zoom PZ lens, so you can change the zoom setting as you film via the rocker switch on the camera. It’s not a huge zoom range, but that could still be useful. The maximum aperture does drop sharply as you zoom, so you’ll need to factor that in to your iris and exposure settings. This lens does have image stabilisation, which helps to offset the fact that the camera body does not. All in all, it does seem a decent and well-judged kit lens for the EOS R50 V.
But what do we make of the EOS R50 V itself? To be fair, it’s probably a better camera than I’m making it sound. The lack of IBIS and the cropped 4K 60p capture isn’t great, but it has improved AF subject recognition, oversampled 4K 30p video and, should you want it, Canon C Log 3. The EOS R50 V and 14-30mm lens kit will cost $849/£959, so it’s like a decent ‘amateur’ cine camera at a pretty reasonable price. The trouble is, there are just too many other good vlogging/content cameras out there to see any particular reason to recommend this one.