If ever there was a camera that was made fit for purpose, It is the Canon EOS M50. And that purpose, I imagine, is Content creation.
When it came out in March of 2018, I doubt even the designers of the M50 knew just what a hit it would be among content creators.
My name is Dennis Ohuru, a YouTuber and content creator living in Nairobi, Kenya; And it just so happens that the Canon EOS M50 is my primary content creation camera.
Having used the M50 for 3 plus years, I can now say, without fear of contradiction that no other camera, at least at the price point of $500 to $650 (Which is the price of the Canon M50 and its older sibling the EOS M50 Mark 2) is designed with content creation in mind like the Canon EOS M50.
Here’s why.
The Canon M50 is compact and lightweight
When thinking of a camera to buy purely for content creation; One of the first things you have to seriously consider is its compactness.
How easy it is to pack up and carry around.
This is because content creation requires you to be able to move around with minimal fuss. And few cameras are as compact and lightweight as the Canon M50.
That is not to say that you can’t find a lighter camera than the M50. You will, however, be hard-pressed to find one that is lighter and more capable than the Canon EOS M50. More on its features and specs later.
The Canon M50 with its EF-M 15-45mm kit lens attached weighs only 520 grams.
Add a lightweight external microphone like the Boya BY MM1, which weighs only 86 grams and the Ulanzi MT 11 mini tripod (weighing 400 grams) and your content rig will be complete at just 1kg.
The Canon M50 is durable and hardy
I have had my Canon M50 for 3 plus years now.
In that time, I have put it to proper use, dropped it more times than I can count, and made videos in every place imaginable, dusty places, hot places and even in light rain.
I wouldn’t advise the latter as the Canon EOS M50 is not certified as waterproof.
My point is, the Canon EOS M50 is hardy and durable within reason, don’t go dropping it all over the place and just plain abusing it to find out how durable it is unless you are Jerry rig everything. (I envy that man for his money, hahaha)
But you can be assured and rest easy that if and when you accidentally drop it, the Canon EOS M50 will not shatter like so many pieces of glass.
No content creator wants to own a piece of gear that has to be babied because the content creation field is not delicate. And the Canon M50 will not let you down in that department.
The Canon M50 is cheap for all the features it comes with
I don’t think that many people realise just how much of a bargain the Canon M50 is for all the features it comes equipped with.
Cameras, in general, are very expensive equipment, mostly because they are designed to last. As opposed to say smartphones that come out every year, a good camera can serve you for decades.
Because of this, camera manufacturers like Canon tend to charge a premium for cameras because they know that once you purchase one, you may not be back to purchase another for years.
That said, finding a camera in the range of $500 to $650 with all the features of the Canon M50 is just plain impossible, at least as at today. I dare you to try.
And to make your work easier, let me just list the major specs of the Canon EOS M50;
- Full HD 1080p video at 24, 30 and 60 fps
- 4K at 30fps
- Canon’s Digic 8 processor
- Flip out screen
- Dual pixel C-MOS autofocus
- 10 fps continuous shooting
- Wifi, Bluetooth and NFC
- 24.1 Megapixel APS-C Sensor
- External Microphone port
The Canon M50 has a flip-out screen
The biggest content creation win, in my opinion, that the Canon M50 has is its flip-out screen.
You will not appreciate the importance of a flip-out screen until you are out making content with a camera that lacks one and you can’t see yourself.
You see, the noble art of vlogging requires that you speak to the audience from time to time, to let them know where you are, what you are doing, and so on.
Without a flip-out screen, it is impossible to frame yourself properly and speak to the camera, to do that, you must have someone holding the camera for you who can look at the screen and frame you.
And the truth of the matter is that content creation requires you to be versatile.
You can’t or won’t always have somebody to hold the camera for you as you make content. But with a flip-out screen, you don’t need anyone to hold the camera, you become, in essence, a one-man or woman content machine.
The Canon M50 can shoot in Full HD up to 60 fps
In today’s world, the minimum resolution requirement for many audiences around the world is at least full HD 1080p.
Technology has got so good, most smartphones now have the ability to play 1080p content on YouTube.
For this reason, any camera that can’t shoot Full HD 1080p content is not worth the hustle and certainly not worth the money you will spend acquiring it.
Fortunately, the Canon EOS M50 shoots in Full HD 1080p up to 60 frames per second. And that’s a good thing.
You can rest easy knowing that the content you make using the Canon M50 will be crispy smooth and clear.
And that 60 fps is good for another reason too, if say you are shooting content at 30 fps, you can shoot slow motion scenes at 60 fps and slow those scenes by 50% in post-production to get buttery smooth slow motion.
What’s not to like?
The Canon M50 has an external microphone port
They say that good audio makes a bad video good and bad audio makes a good video bad.
And that’s true.
The thing is, Cameras recording audio can’t tell apart wind noise or ambient noise from the sound of a voice. And so they pick up everything, and the result is very bad audio straight out of the camera.
An external microphone, on the other hand, is designed to pick up human voices only, and that is why you cannot do without one.
It is therefore very important to ensure that any camera you purchase for content creation has an external mic port. Because without that, you cannot connect it to an external microphone to level up your audio.
The Canon M50, as it happens, comes equipped with a standard 3.5 mm external microphone port, and is therefore compatible with almost all third-party microphones.
Check out this review I made of one such microphone; The Boya BY MM1.
It has WIFI, Bluetooth and NFC
The Canon M50 also comes equipped with Wifi, Bluetooth and NFC; Letting you wirelessly transfer images and video footage between the camera and your devices.
Canon M50’s WIFI, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity technologies work flawlessly and let you not only transfer footage from the Camera to your smartphone or laptop but also use your smartphone as a remote trigger to take pictures or videos.
I have used this feature several times especially when I needed to take pictures of myself and I had no one to hold the camera for me.
Just put the Canon M50 on a tripod, frame yourself using the phone, choose your desired timer and take the picture.
It has a good lens ecosystem
The Canon M50 has a good lens ecosystem; from price lenses to zoom lenses, the lens options for the Canon M50 will not limit you to one style of videography.
You can experiment with different lenses to your heart’s content. And what’s more, if the native lens options aren’t to your liking.
The Canon M50’s lens mount can be adapted using Canon’s EF-M to EF lens adapter or third-party lens adapters from companies like Viltox.
Related: The best lenses for the Canon M50
It has Canon’s outstanding Continuous Dual Pixel Autofocus
The Canon M50 comes equipped with Canon’s legendary continuous Dual Pixel C-MOS autofocus technology.
The Dual Pixel C-MOS autofocus technology allows for among other things:
- Quick and seamless focusing and tracking of subject or subjects during video shooting or photography
- Excellent image quality in still or video roles
- Better usage of light when making videos or taking photos
- A wider area of the screen is in focus eliminating hunting of focus in the margins.
In the videos I have made using the Canon M50, never once have I been out of focus, and that is something you take for granted until you try other cameras.
It’s Menu is pretty easy to understand
A menu is to camera what transmission is to a car. If you don’t know which gears to use in a car’s transmission, you can’t drive the car the way it is meant to be driven.
In the same manner, If you don’t understand a camera’s menu, you cannot use it to its full potential.
Fortunately, the Canon EOS M50’s menu is very easy to understand, it even comes with guide modes that let you know exactly what you are doing at all times. Plus, the screen is touch-enabled!
And after having the Camera for a week or two, you will know your way around the menu better than you know the way to your local shop, figuratively speaking of course.
Summary
The Canon EOS M50 is one of the best cameras to come out in recent years, especially where content creation is concerned.
As you edge closer to $ 1000, you will no doubt find better content creation cameras, but at its price point, there is no better camera that will offer you value like this small but powerful camera from Canon.
And you can take that to the bank.
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