The EOS M50 Mark II is a 24MP APS-C mirrorless camera that is small and easy to use. It doesn’t have a lot of new features compared to its predecessor, but the price is good, the design is good, and the image quality is good. Improvements include a better autofocus, the ability to shoot vertical videos, and the ability to livestream directly to YouTube from the camera if the Wi-Fi signal is strong enough.
As a slight update, the EOS M50 Mark II may not be Canon’s most exciting product, but it also doesn’t change much about what made the original M50 so popular. So, the M50 Mark II is a good choice for people who haven’t used a camera before. In particular, the fact that it can live-stream makes it stand out from the crowd. We’ll talk more about live-streaming at the end of this review.
The EOS M50 Mark II is now available and has a suggested retail price of $599 for the body alone, $699 with a 15-45mm F3.5-6.3 kit lens, or $929 with the 15-45mm and 55-200mm F4.5-6.3 lenses.
1. What is new?
The Dual Pixel autofocus system on the EOS M50 Mark II has been updated to include eye tracking AF for both stills and videos. This is the first change to the EOS M50 Mark II (face-detection was the only option on its predecessor). The camera can now also shoot vertical video, and if you set up an image, you can use it to livestream to YouTube.
canon account and have more than a thousand followers (more on this in the dedicated live streaming section of the review). The camera can technically take 4K/24p video, but it’s heavily cropped and you can’t use the Dual Pixel autofocus (it maxes out at Full HD for live streaming anyway).
2. Shape and How It Moves
The EOS M50 Mark II looks like a mini-DSLR, and even though it’s small, it’s easy to hold on to. The camera has almost the same controls as its predecessor. On the top right side of the camera’s body are the control dial, shutter button, record button, and M-Fn.
The rest of the camera’s controls are on the right side of the back. They’re small and close together, and it’s often easier to just use the touchscreen to change settings. This is especially true of the small video record button, which is flush with the camera’s body. The camera’s touch screen makes it much easier to record video. The menu is easy to use, and it is set up in the same way as other Canon EOS cameras.
The M50 Mark II’s touch screen is bright and easy to use. Even when we were shooting in bright light, we found it easy to move through the menus on the touch screen. It can also move in every direction, making it a flexible tool for shooting video. The 2.36M-dot EVF works as expected and is bright and clear. It’s very helpful that you can use the touchscreen to set your AF point while looking through the viewfinder.
The M50 Mark II has an eTTL pop-up flash that works well as a fill light. You can also connect a more powerful external flash to the hot shoe. The side of the camera has a 3.5mm microphone jack, a micro-HDMI port, and a USB Micro-B port. There isn’t a headphone jack, so you can’t listen to the sound while you’re recording video, but that’s pretty typical for cameras in this class.
Even though the M50 Mark II is very small and light, it is still very easy to shoot with because it has a large grip. It’s rated by CIPA to take 305 photos per charge, and if you only take photos, we found that the battery lasted well for a day or more of photo-related activities. But if you want to shoot a lot of video, you should bring a spare battery because the one you have will run out quickly. Also, don’t forget that you can’t charge it via USB (so don’t lose that charger!).
3. Picture Quality
Since the camera has the same sensor as its predecessor, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the image quality is almost exactly the same. You’ll get JPEGs with bright colors and good contrast, and most of the JPEGs right out of the camera didn’t need much more editing to be ready to share on social media. Canon’s CR3 Raw format gives you a lot more freedom when you need to edit. When we looked at Raw photos taken with the M50 Mark II at low ISOs and in bright light, we didn’t notice any problems with making shadow details brighter to a reasonable degree.
Even with changing strobes at a music venue, the camera’s auto white balance did a good job of adjusting to the light. Shooting stills and videos in Manual mode gives you the most control, and that’s how we liked to use this camera. However, the auto mode’s scene detection feature works well enough that a less experienced photographer could use this camera and still get sharp, in-focus photos.
With a prime lens like the EF-M 22mm F2 or 32mm F1.4, the M50 Mark II is a good, quiet choice for taking pictures on the street or at night. When using the 15-45mm lens that often comes with the M50 Mark II, the camera really shines at taking candid, travel, and family photos. In large part, this is because the autofocus has been made better. Because it can find people’s eyes, it can also be used to take portraits.
There is also an electronic shutter option for shooting stills, but you can only use it in a scene mode called “Silent Shooting,” which gives you no control over exposure.
Conclusion
Even though the changes to the EOS M50 Mark II might seem small at first, the improvements to the autofocus when shooting Full HD video or stills are big. This camera really shines when it comes to how fast and accurate its autofocus is. In the end, the M50 Mark II is easy to use and makes JPEGs that are bright and have good contrast right out of the camera. With built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, it will be easy to send those bright pictures to your phone.
Even though it’s a small camera, it’s still very easy to use. It would be a good choice for beginners looking for their first camera or for professionals who want something light to use when hanging out with family and friends. Even though some of the buttons are small and close together, the touchscreen is easy to use and responds quickly. We also liked that you can keep using the touchscreen even when your eye is up to the bright electronic viewfinder.
