The Big Decision: Canon M50 vs R50 - Is it Time to Upgrade??

Are you considering upgrading your camera from the Canon M50 to the R50? This video will help you make the big decision by comparing the features and benefits of both cameras. Find out if it's time to make the switch, or if you ever need too!
Canon R50 - geni.us/BHjYa -
Great, Budget, Full Frame Upgrade - geni.us/Np4JICf
or Switch Brands - geni.us/1N5IvA
* Links are affiliate links, you do not pay any extra, but I may get a small commissions. Using these links allows me to make more videos like this one.
00:00 - The R50 May Not Be Better
00:22 - Build, Handling, Buttons and Dials
01:16 - View Finder
01:45 - Screens (Important)
02:59 - Video Quality
05:09 - Lens Mount & Options
07:08 - Battery Life
07:20 - Autofocus
08:58 - Photo Quality
10:05 - Decisions Decisions

[@markwiemels]

Canon R50 - geni.us/BHjYa - Great, Budget, Full Frame Upgrade - geni.us/Np4JICf or Switch Brands - geni.us/1N5IvA * Links are affiliate links, you do not pay any extra, but I may get a small commissions. Using these links allows me to make more videos like this one.

[@firefliesandroses]

I have the Sigma trio for EF-M mount and the Canon 22mm. There is nothing like them yet for the RF/RF-S mount to convince me to "upgrade". At least not in the same price range and small size. I bought another M50 a few months ago (while already owning a perfect M6 II) and getting a good use of my kit until it dies :) While everyone is chasing the 4K, I thought I just mentioned that 89% of my viewers watch from a smartphone!!! Even the 1080 is turned into a 480/720 on a smartphone. Just USE the camera you already have.

[@andrewcrossley2448]

I use the M5 and have most of the tiny Canon lenses for it. It’s better made than either of these. I got it as the M range was being phased out. It doesn’t do 4K but is just like a mini pro camera. Build quality is high as it was a £1000 body when it came out. I’ve just got hold of a Fuji X100 mk VI but haven’t yet decided whether to use it in case I return it. It is a work of art and beautifully made. I guess I wanted it as I was brought up on older/slower/ more planned photography. The combination of its amazing 40 mp sensor, IBIS, super sharp lens and 6k video are all plus points. However for another £500 I could swap out for the technically brilliant Fuji XH-2 and the impressive 16 to 80mm pro zoom then sell off my canon stuff. Fuji lenses are excellent, many are water resistant and offer far better VFM than the equivalent Canon. Difficult decision to make.

[@firefliesandroses]

@@andrewcrossley2448 I know absolutely nothing about any Fujifilm camera. Checked them on MPB to see how much would cost to replace my kit from Canon M to either Sony or Fujifilm and their lenses are not cheap, so I stepped back and bought a "like new" M50 instead. I had my eyes on either an M5 or another M6 II for my second camera, but whent with the M50 because of the fully articulated screen alone. Never held an M5 in my hands before, but it does look well made. I prefer to use my M6 II for photography because I had it for longer and use many of its advanced features, and M50 for video work, but swap them as I go. Good luck with your decision!

[@TheOriginalLugnuts]

I have an M50 and M6 Mark II and a ton of lenses for the mount. I hope they both last at least as long as my 20 year old Nikon D90 that still works.

[@lemoon_pie]

hey! Im fairly new in the hobby which one you recommend me to get first for photoshoots to 1/6 model toys (like Barbie height)? I want a good (low) depht of field to make like a bokeh with the background. I've studied a lot, but I cant make up my mind, will be my very first lens since I bought it and Im very indesicive. Here we dont have options to rent lens and try them out, or I would do it :c

[@firefliesandroses]

@@lemoon_pie For smaller subjects you could get great bokeh even with the "pancake" 22mm f/2 lens. For portraits I prefer Sigma 56mm f/1.4

[@robp2545]

If I ever part with my M50 and M6 mk II then I’m going Fuji or Sony. The lack of RF-S and third party lenses makes the R50 a big no from me.

[@marcotravels]

I moved from M50 to Fuji xs20. I think for an APSC sensor camera, Fuji is one of the best. But Canon is the best in usability in my opinion

[@zegzbrutal]

There's RF full frame lens to use on R50/10/7 after all

[@robp2545]

@@zegzbrutal But then I'd paying full frame prices and lugging full frame lens weights around. If I wanted to do that, I'd buy a full frame camera.

[@zegzbrutal]

@@robp2545 RF non L lenses aren't that big. My RF28, RF100-400 and RF70-200/f4 always go with R50. Stop fixated on big boys like 15-35/f2.8 24-70/f2.8.

[@robp2545]

@@zegzbrutalThat's a prime lens I'd never use and 2 zooms that are too slow for me. If you can point me to something comparable to the Sigma f2.8 zooms in price and performance then I'd be interested.

[@lumberjack3008]

As Canon is fighting aggressively against 3rd party lens manufacturers, moving to the R-system is like going to jail and throwing the key away.

[@HumanClouds]

No it’s not. It’s choosing a quality ecosystem. It’s like choosing Apple over Android.

[@MusabTahaTarik]

I'm happy with my Canon R10

[@jk-qe3jj]

@@HumanCloudsI guess you could make a case for getting a full frame Canon camera. But for RF-S cameras like R-50, there's just no way it makes sense. There are currently four lenses for that system, all small aperture zooms. There's no autofocus primes, not even one. Yes you could use full frame RF lenses, but if you're gonna primarily use those, then why for the love of god would you get an RF-S camera body?

[@GungKrisna12]

Imagine if one day Canon decided to launch a campaign to attack third party lenses, or camera manufacturers that allow third party lenses Or maybe we can only hope on EU to force Canon to open their mount to third parties

[@zenscape]

@@jk-qe3jji am using an R5 and the choice of full frame RF lens is not much better. There is no RF 24, 35, 50 and 85 1.4 and no RF35 and 24 pro L lenses. If Canon is not rolling out the much requested lenses after 5 years into the R-system, they should allow third party lens manufacturers to do so. I fully agree with the statement moving to the R-system is like going to jail and restricting yourself to a small number of lenses. I am not shooting birds and sports and I am not interested in the big heavy and incredibly expensive super telephone lenses which Canon is so obsessed with.

[@likoetsvp]

I was about to jump ship from the m50 but then discovered the ef m to ef speedbooster. A photography friend of mine had 5 ef lenses she wasn't using and after transitioning to them, I feel I will get a few more years out of my m50s.

[@trevvrun1]

Right!? I recently got the viltrox speedbooster and it almost feels like a cheat code lol. All of a sudden my f1.8 let's in as much light as a f1.2 😳

[@6581punk]

I got an R50 cheap (grey import) and it's a great camera. I have a 50mm prime on it and you can stuff it in a coat pocket just like an EF-M camera.

[@bodinian]

The M50mkII with the 22mm pancake lens is a dream of portability. It's so small it can even fit in a pants pocket.

[@zegzbrutal]

R50 has the RF28

[@JangoAC]

The video I didn't know I needed. Great job! I am very much loooking forward to what the successor to the R50 will be like. For now I am sticking with my M50 :)))

[@olemissjim]

The flash situation is ridiculous for the R50. No 3rd party hot shoe adapters, and no stock of the AD-E1 !!! Insane

[@DeSireeAlicea19]

I love seeing these comparison videos. I think it’s too early to upgrade to the R50 as a B camera because the lens options for vlogging are kind of limited to the kit lens. I already am not a fan of the M50 kit lens in most situations so definitely not a fan of the darker aperture in the R50. I think eventually my M50 will be retired to just a photography camera but rn it’s still good enough. The average person doesn’t even care about 4K as much as videographers do. I have to keep reminding myself of this fact because I always seem like the crazy person in my circles talking about 4k this 4k that and none of the people in my circle upload in 4k. There are cameras with better 1080p than the M50 like the zve-10 ofc but I already have the M50 and I look at the footage next to my R7 footage sometimes and forget they are different depending on the shot. It just depends video-wise.

[@theoddpath]

I have the Sony zve10 and 1080p doesn’t look very crisp. Is canon r50 in 1080 p a better option?

[@DeSireeAlicea19]

@@theoddpathI’d look at comparison videos to see that. Sharpness is relative

[@lionheart4424]

I have just been playing with my M50's 4K video recently, and honestly with the 15-45mm kit lens it's not that bad, even considering the extra crop. It does make vlogging more difficult but since I don't to that it's not a hindrance to me. Having also a Fuji X-T5 I do miss the "easy mode" of the subject tracking tech, but at the same time it forces me to think better about I want to shoot and allows me to keep polishing my skills.

[@hedley.bradstone-unbridled]

I acquired an R50 as soon as it became available because I had always promised myself an M50 III - anticipating a faster processor, uncropped 4K video and dual pixel autofocus in 4K. I already possessed full frame EF and RF lenses, so I didn't need any APS-C ones. There's no way I'd sell the M50 and EF-M lenses - it takes good photos and notwithstanding most KZbin influencers being of the opinion that the M50's 4K was "unusable" - that was far from the truth.

[@DanaPushie]

Great comparison, thank you. As a Canon M50 Mark2 owner who shoots photos 99.9% this was a very encouraging video. Love my camera; have fallen out of love with Canon.

[@nomadictimbo9185]

I'll always appreciate what the M50 ii did for me before i moved on last year. Best beginner camera i could've had. Very easy to use and i agree with Mark on talking about it being a really nice for just photography, particularly with one of or all 3 of the Sigma trio. I had the 30mm and that was such a lovely little lens with great image quality. Definitely a great travel/portrait lens to use on the M50.

[@brianode11]

I own both the m50ii and the r50. The r50 is the better camera. But, we’re missing some lenses. The 22mm & 32mm, and the Sigma 16mm & 56mm…

[@garyolson3315]

Thanks for the comparison. To be clear, you used the video comparison with both the M50 and R50 at the same resolution, or 1080p(M50) and 4K(R50)? Thanks! PS; Canon has the refurbished Kit R50 + RF-S-18-45mm for $459.00 and the RP, full frame for $599! Both incredible bargains.

[@thommick4142]

I had both cameras and was already in Iceland with the M50 and in the Dolomites with the R50. I like both cameras because of their handling, weight and good colors. The R50 has significantly better 4k video and autofocus. Now you would think an update to the R50 makes sense. No, I'm now selling my R50 too! The RF mount is a marketing gimmick from Canon and completely unnecessary. The RF lenses are just a matching flange to RF otherwise mostly the same as the previous M mount. There are only a few third-party providers and then only manually. I love manual lenses, but there is one major drawback when it comes to filming. The only stabilization via electronics requires the focal length of the lens to function correctly. But with manual lenses, you can't manually enter the focal length on either the M50 or R50. This option is available from Olympus, Panasonic, Fuji, Nikon. In general, I've just been disappointed with Canon's product policy over the years and am definitely out of it.

[@jnhkx]

Canon 1080p before R50 4k is so bad, they just skipped line the whole frame. It's not even full 1080p. Anyway, as someone who using M50, I will only buy R50 if they make RF-S lenses smth like the holy 22mmf/2 pancake. Or make it 3rd party compatible. For now the RF-S lenses selection is just sooo bad. Canon be like, if you can't afford FF, just screw yourself out, nothing here for you to see. lol

[@Mosesybanez]

I sold the m50 and didn't even think to look at the r50 as un upgrade i went straight to the r7 and have been enjoying the large upgrade the m mount is dead and most ppl are adapting ef and efs lenses either way. I wanted the RF mount for future proofing reasons tho the rf doesnt have a huge selection of "Budget " lenses the ones they do have out are incredibly sharp and good. The rf 50 1.8 is the cheapest lens your can buy and it produces a great image... i went from the rf50 the the rf 35 1.8 and that rf35 is incredible hamds down i was satisfied with that lens for 90 percent of my photography paired with the Rf100-400mm i didnt need anything else. But aside from that the rf 24 1.8 is equallu good, theres the rf16mm rfs 10 18 just came out not to long ago. The Rfs18-150mm was a great kit lens . And if not satified with any of those your option to adapt lenses is still there with an adapter you have access to all the ef efs glass. I loved my m50markii i learned alot on that cmarra but compared to the r7 r8 r10 its lackong in technology and image processing. Sorry i get that this is a m50 to r50 but if you want a new camera might as well jump to one of the three instead of buying the same camera cuz theres bot a huge enough difference but there are great budget lenses for the rf system theres just not a multiple of the same lenses from 5 different manufacturers. How many lenses do you really need...i now own the r7 paired with the rf 24-70mm L lens and a sigma 150-600mm C lens and i dont need anyrhing else but thats my photography needs everyone has difference in preferences so to each there own.

[@ambstudios4564]

I recently upgraded from a M50 to a R7, I really miss the M50's dial😭

[@Alsayid]

The kit lens on the R50 has me bummed out. I want to go for that camera, but with the crummy kit lens, and expensive alternative lenses, I'm not sure. Then you say the photo quality between the cameras is the same?

[@HanuNL]

I was looking for more range on my m50 but since the official lens only goes to 200mm i was thinking about using a adapter or buying a new camera with all the lenses. You just saved me allot of money with this review since i only use the m50 for photography. Have my Like, you earned it

[@Daniel_Borisov]

Very important video, and a very cheeky and critical point about low light performance in video and stills. Is it the same with M6 mark ii vs R7?

[@markwiemels]

Yes, the comparison would be very similar, except the M6 II video quality holds up much better, the R7 video is still better, but not by a huge margin.

[@Daniel_Borisov]

@@markwiemels what about noise performance between M50 mark ii and M6 mark ii, in stills and video?

[@andrewmurphy2688]

I agree with it really isn’t an upgrade if you already have an M50. Autofocus upgrade is nice but there is not enough of an upgrade overall to buy an R50 body when you have an M50 already.

[@Offthebeatenpath.]

Can you compare the sony zve10 and r50 for video?

[@CountDorkula]

Mark, I'm been racking my brain on doing an upgrade just not sure if I should do this or not, I own a Canon T5i with kit lens, canon 50mm f1.8 & a canon 24mm f2.8 pancake lens. I only shoot landscape & astro / night images with my camera. I want to upgrade go mirrorless camera but I'm on a budget and can't afford an new model Canon or Sony camera, I'm interested in Canon EOS m50 II or the Sony alpha 6500 with the Sony lens will still work on the new cameras down the road when they start to get cheaper 4/5yrs from now. where the Eos - M isn't but is it really worth me changing my gear now? only reason I can see doing it now is that my gear will drop in price the longer I hold onto it as EF stuff is dropping fast right now. the EOS-M stuff has a fallowing and I would be getting into mirrorless now. So I'm looking for some guidance / advice I've been tossing this around for over a month now. one more thing I'm in the Canadian market and anything with US prices cost me over 30% more as are dollar sucks

[@WestVirginiaWildlife]

I had an m6 ii and sold it for an r10. Definitely a better camera overall lol though half a year later the r8 came out which gave me some buyers remorse. I'm waiting for an r5 ii so I can get 8k 60 video of birds at a wider angle and crop in post if need be (which is most of the time lol).

[@GrantMcWilliams]

That's an interesting perspective. The R10 has better autofocus and a built in EVF but I can't think of anything else that's better.

[@theoddpath]

Which one is better for video in 1080p? Sony zve10 or canon r50?

[@luismanuelmendoza789]

Thank you so much for this review!! Now try make one about the canon r10 pleaaaaase!!!!

[@markwiemels]

The R10 has the same sensor and image quality as the R50. The video would be almost identical, except the R10 has a few extra features.

[@solidaudioTV]

Hello Mark - I'm new to your channel. Recently I've been trying to decide between these two cameras and also the M6 MkII. I'm primarily interested in travel photography & video, and some family portraits here and there. This is the most helpful info I've seen so far. May I ask what lenses you were using in the Video Quality Tests @ 2:59? Thanks! ~David

[@markwiemels]

Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 for all the tests, because I could adapt it and use the same lens on both cameras.

[@closeshot7161]

Not without quality AF lenses. RFS lenses are clearly not a priority - how long are you willing to wait?

[@markwiemels]

It is a concern, agree. I cover that in the video.

[@closeshot7161]

​@@markwiemelsCanon should at least let anyone who had EF-M mount lenses do so for this, if they want. If all you ever want is a crop camera, Sony is probably your best bet.

[@alpercetiner949]

The kit lens of R50 is not nice at all. Over the time, I bought 16mm 28mm, 50mm primes and 100-400mm. Now I feel like I am versatile for most of the Foto ideas.

[@manningchiro]

Mark - I remember a vid you did on lens adapters. Do you have a recommendation for the best adapter for Tamron 7-17; 2.8 lens -- to --Canon M50?? I assume the Canon EF-M to EF is probably best bet (though most $)? Thanks much.

[@firefliesandroses]

I use the Viltrox simple adapter, bought it for £22 new. Never tried the Canon one, but super happy with the Viltrox. Mind Viltrox made another adapter with glass that in practice "transforms" your camera combined with EF (not EF-S) lenses into a full frame like combo, but that adapter is more expensive and I haven't tried it. People also use Mieke a lot. Just make sure that Tamron lens you mentioned works with the new mirrorless cameras

[@manningchiro]

@@firefliesandrosesExcellent. Thank you. I fool around with different looks for my chiropractic office/wellness YT channel. going to pull the trigger on the 1--70 :) Side note - I picked up an adapter from K&F for some older Minolta lenses I had. Thought I'd give it a whirl -- there doesn't seem to be a way to match up the electronics. Oh well, thanks and have an awesome day. :)

[@xedarkrunner5167]

I made a hard decision as a canon supporter.. going Sony. I started my journey with an M50, and adapting EF L glass over time to utilize the potential. But when I needed full frame and faster autofocus.. the value on canon bodies are not great. Suddenly out of nowhere I picked up a Sony a7rIII for about 900usd practically brand new visually with a shutter count of 30k. One day I wish to go back to canon with the R5 or something else coming up, but that will be double the price.

[@zegzbrutal]

You could have get R6/R/R8 and adapt EF. The performance is better than adapt on Sony

[@xedarkrunner5167]

@@zegzbrutal R8 is electronic shutter only, which is a no go for me as a motorsport photographer. R is far slower and outdated compared to A7rIII, and R6 has less MP making cropping an issue (which I do a lot).

[@zegzbrutal]

if you need cropping, you are using wrong focal length.

[@xedarkrunner5167]

@@zegzbrutal I disagree. Cropping at higher MP is equal to having a longer reach. Unless you are doing large billboard postings, having a 40+ MP sensor is a luxury, which I really enjoy. I love how I can use my canon 16-35 mk2 2.8 and just punch it into a 24-52mm with 20mp to spare. But camera gear is nothing but tools we all use differently, so we can agree to disagree on this one.

[@asgelwkyi]

You could have used speedbooster on M50 to go "virtually full frame"

[@GrantMcWilliams]

04:40 The R50 isn't just cleaner, the footage from the M50 looked jumpy like it wasn't really recording at the same rate. I'd say in this day and age the M50's video footage is not adequate for KZbin even when played at 1080 which is normally a fine resolution. It would be interesting to see the M6II recording the same footage in 4k and 1080 to see if the choppiness is limited to the M50 or all EOS-M cameras. The R50's footage looked better at 12800 ISO than the M50 did at 1600. It would have been interesting to see the M50 at even lower ISO to see if it could match the R50. This is really shocking to me as the M50's footage should be better than that. For photography the problem with both of these cameras is the lack of dials. Taking photos with one dial pretty much limits you to auto, aperture priority or shutter priority. Yes, you can manually go into the menus each and every time but it isn't practical. I have two canon digital cameras with one dial and find them frustrating to use for anything serious. The M6 II has 3 real dials allowing you to cover just about any situation. The original M6 had three programmable dials and one dedicated exposure compensation dial. I really loved the old M6. The biggest issue with all EOS-M cameras and the only reason I'd consider jumping ship is lenses. The reality is there isn't going to be any more lenses even from third parties and I don't have the lenses I want. I have the 22mm/f2, 32mm/f1.4, 56mm/f1.4, both short kit lenses and both long zooms and it isn't enough. I always wanted a fast wide angle prime, a faster short zoom and a much bigger long zoom. It's never going to happen. I will continue to use my EF-M cameras until either Canon makes a suitable replacement or I finally decide to go to the Sony 6700. If Sigma brought their 18-50mm f/2.8 to EF-M I'd hold onto all of my gear longer and just adapt a long zoom when needed. I don't think that's happening.

[@BrickedHonor]

This statement is so so biased and untrue. The m50 definitely shots great video for KZbin….

[@maureenharleen6248]

I love my m50 and have been thinking about getting the mark II for video, does the r50 still have better video?

[@TheOriginalLugnuts]

Consider getting the M6 Mark II. I have the M50 and added the M6 and use it for video. Actually I use both for photo and video. Mark did a video last year on the M6 which sold me on picking one up over the M50 Mark II.

[@asgelwkyi]

If you want to shoot 4K uncropped , then R50 might be a choice ... For 1080p (that I shoot in and is enough) , both cameras perform the same so I don't see a point for you to upgrade to R50 if 4K isn't a concern ...

[@pcoussa]

For the Australians - Crutchfield does not post to Oz.

[@HossamElramy3]

I’d compare the R50 more to the R10

[@mlhm5]

No 3rd party AF lenses available for R body Canon cameras.

[@markwiemels]

Yes, I cover this in the video.

[@zegzbrutal]

There's, Yongnuo does.

[@johnpatricklim4509]

despite the advantages of the r50...i'm still sticking with the m50...because of one reason....the availability of cheap 3rd party ef and ef-m lenses....the ef lenses can be used with the adapter so i can acquire cheap used ef lenses while the r50 and all canon r cameras have those restrictions on 3rd party lenses....

[@nbroadsman]

The number of RF and RF-S lenses is growing all of the time and you can use an EF To RF adapter on the R50 (and all of the R series Canons) in the same way to use all of the EF and EF-S lenses ever made in the last 30+ years both from Canon and all of the third party manufacturers as well so you probably have the largest lens eco system and largest number of secondhand lenses anywhere on the market available to you at prices to suit all budgets.

[@catalin-ap]

There's no big decision here: the R50 is much better than the M50 in some key aspects, and it's at least as good in all other aspects. Build-wise, it's basically the same thing, same number of buttons, same small grip, same single control wheel. But just digital flash contacts, very important to know. In video, the R50 destroys the M50 I and II, and also in the autofocus implementation. Other than that, a bigger decision would be imho between the R50 and R10. The R10 loses the very useful "auto subject detect", but in every other respect, is a much better camera to operate, especially for non-absolute-beginners: you have a joystick (which is a wow at this price point), an additional control wheel, additional buttons, the buttons can be assigned more functions and there are more customisable buttons. And a front button, and a bigger grip, not as good as the R7's, but better than the R50, and you have a normal flash mount. The M is on a dying/dead mount, which is also something good to know. And regarding cameras, the M6 mk II is an exceptional M mount camera, but not having an integrated EVF was a big downside.

[@danryanable]

M50 and any other EF-M cameras look better than these new RF/RF-S cameras.

[@JantaSaree-gl1uq]

I just bought R50 yesterday and u talking about upgrading lol 🥲