Compact Canon cameras - the R50 and the M-50

Another post about equipment…

In my last post I talked about getting up to speed with the latest and greatest full-frame Canon body (the R5) and after another couple months of shooting I can report that it continues to live up to my expectations in almost every way. I’ve shot some middle school sports with it and done a fair amount of landscape photography as well, and the it doesn’t disappoint, from a technical standpoint. There are still some feature improvements and UI tweaks I’d propose to Canon that could make it a little better but that’s a post for another day.

Today I want to talk about my Canon M-50 and the just-announced R50, and what Canon is offering “serious” photographers looking for a compact system.

A couple years ago it became clear that Canon was abandoning the EOS-M lens mount (as well as EOS-EF and EF-S) for the unified RF mount. I’m not sure they ever really gave the M system a chance to thrive, given that they kept pushing EF-S, including releasing new Rebel cameras.

Last week Canon finally announced the R50 which is a direct replacement for the M-50. This is Canon’s way of saying “We understand there’s demand in this segment and we haven’t forgotten about you.” The best article I’ve seen so far about this (not even shipping yet) camera is at The Digital Picture here. He does a good job of comparing it directly to the M-50.

I like the idea of a unified mirrorless system for full-frame and reduced-frame (APS-C) sensors and the RF/RF-S system is probably the best way to go long term but I’m still uncomfortable with the way the transition is going, and I just invested more money in filters and accessories for my (now officially dead-end) M-50.

There are three reasons I’m grumpy here:

• I bought in for $2,000 or so, and nobody likes it when their horse loses. (I bought the body with the kit lens, the 55-200, the 11-22, some spare batteries, a set of ND filters and step-up rings, etc.) Sure, the camera still takes great photos and I plan to keep using it for a long time and maximizing that investment. But it’s sad to know that everything about it is discontinued.

• Big transitions are hard to execute! Canon product managers have a lot of competing interests to balance when deciding how to prioritize new bodies and lenses and it’ll be a while before the transition is complete.
  
  The RF mount has been out for a couple years and we’re just now getting RF-S bodies and lenses added to the lineup, and there still isn’t a direct replacement for Canon’s dSLR 1-D flagship. I love that they’re recycling EOS-M lens designs into RF-S lenses to flesh out the low-end and compact part of line quickly, but there’s still no RF-S version of my favorite EOS-M lens: the 11-22. There probably will be someday, but not today.

• Canon will never make a pro-level compact body and pro-level compact lenses. This is by far the biggest issue, and really the driver for this blog post.

I don’t think Canon will ever take the reduced frame camera line very seriously. (for bodies OR lenses) As a landscape photographer willing to pay good money for a small, light, high quality system to carry with me when I don’t want to carry the full-frame thing, will Canon ever have an offering for me?

The camera bodies have the technical basics down - they just need some refinement. Will Canon ever put a remote shutter release port on an RF-S camera body? Why not another control dial so I can change Exposure as well as Aperture without switching dial settings?

And sadly, the lenses will probably never be top-notch, because Canon seems to equate lens quality with size (physical size as well as maximum f-stop). Will they ever make an L-series RF-S lens? I’m not looking for the wide aperture but I’m willing to pay money for a nicer RF-S lens with a metal mount, solid construction, weather sealing, flourine coatings, etc.

As I said above, the M-50 still works just fine and I’ll continue to shoot with it for a long time. I’ll use the R5 when I want the highest performance and size and weight aren’t a problem and the M-50 when I’m willing to compromise. I just want a word with the Canon product management team…

Update after a long absence

It’s been 5 years since I last posted here - I’ve been busy! In addition to completely pivoting my career from being an individual contributor, to engineering management, to self-employed and volunteer startup advisor; I’ve also been through two different camera format transitions.

As things got busy with house remodels, raising kids, and doing my MBA, I stepped away from photography. I wasn’t shooting very much sports anymore and I gave up most of the studio equipment. As I transition away from “serious” photography to more casual photography I found the Canon M-series and fell in love with it. Although I never thought I was going to go back to reduced frame (APS-C) cameras, the smaller size made for a system that really fit my lifestyle at the time.

I was doing more family photography and going on trips where photography happened but wasn’t the main goal of the trip. Instead of carrying a full airport roller full of gear I was carrying a small “man purse” of camera gear and that was just fine. Way better image quality than an iPhone and more importantly, the feeling of purpose and dedication to taking a photo that I just don’t get from using the iPhone. I take photos with the iPhone because it’s often the camera I happen to have with me, but when I have a dedicated camera (even a small one) I slow down and think a little bit more about what I’m doing, and I spend more time editing the photos afterward. I enjoy the process.

I got a Canon M-50, a wide angle zoom, a telephoto zoom, and a pile of spare batteries. The entire kit, including the Think Tank Mirrorless Mover 20 bag weighs less than 3.5 pounds! I took that kit to Vietnam, Sweden, Yosemite, Montana, and lots of other places where taking a full-size camera system wouldn’t be practical, and I got some great photos out if it.

Fast forward a couple years and Canon has apparently abandoned the M-series in favor of the RF-S thing, which is maybe slightly smaller than the old digital Rebel series but still way larger than the M series. At the same time, the kids are doing more sports and my schedule allows more time for tinkering, so I’ve reentered the “big camera” world again with the Canon R-5.

I still plan to keep the M-50 and use it for travel and situations where I don’t want to carry a large camera, but the quality and usability of the R-5 is really stunning. 15 years ago digital photographers who cared about image quality were spending tons of time fretting about things like dynamic range, chromatic aberration, card size, transfer speeds, frame rates, focusing difficulties, etc. All of these things are largely solved problems now, and we can spend more time on actually doing photography.

The only downside to the RF system for me is the size/weight, especially of the lenses, but I understand there sacrifices that need to be made for the incredible image quality I’m getting from the system.

Cal Poly vs. San Jose State in the HEAT

I shot the Cal Poly/San Jose State football game on Saturday.  Cal Poly did really well, starting out with the first two scores and keeping it within 6 points into the 4th quarter, but eventually falling 34-13.

But the real story was the HEAT.  Saturday was right in the middle of a multi-day heatwave and the temperature at the 4:30 kickoff was about 107.  There was way more of a crowd than I expected and pretty good Cal Poly turnout.  They gave everyone in the stands wet towels which was a really nice gesture, and let all the fans move to the shady side of the stadium, instead of keeping the visitors and the students in the sun.

I got some good stuff, using the same pair of old Canon 1-d mk III bodies and the new-to-me-but-actually-old 300/2.8 and 70-200/2.8.  Lots of missed focus shots that make me want to upgrade to a 1-Dx, or at least re-read the camera manual on auto-focus settings.

I experimented with not using the monopod for the 300/2.8 body and instead just hung it off my BlackRapid strap and it worked out very well.  I was concerned that it would be too heavy to manage effectively or cause too much fatigue but it did very well.  Its probably worth doing it this way in the future to avoid the cumbersome monopod.

I've got a gallery here on this blog but you can see more on my flickr account.

The heat started to backoff during halftime

Older Canon cameras for sale

It's time to clear out some older cameras that don't get as much use as they could with someone else.  Both cameras are about 8 years old and come with the boxes, the original accessories, and multiple extra batteries.  They both take pictures just fine and would be good for somebody just getting into the world of digital SLR. Note:  I'm not including any lenses with these cameras, unless you want a broken 17-85 EF-S lens that does not focus.  It works (worked) well with the 40-D for a long time.

First is a Canon 40-D which is a "regular size" dSLR good for general stuff.   It takes Canon EF and EF-S lenses and shoots about 5 frames per second.  Read the DP Review of this camera here:   DP Review of Canon 40-d

Next is the Canon 1-D mk ii which shoots 8 frames per second and is great for sports!  This camera has had a lot of use and I purchased it used last year.  Read the DP Review of this camera here:  DP Review of Canon 1-D mkII

I just shot a football game this week with this camera and you can see the results on flickr in these two galleries here:

Gallery 1

Gallery 2

Let me know if you're interested in any of these cameras.  I'm making good deals, especially for friends.   Cash in person, please.

Suffer for my art

This weekend makes twice in the last year I've been painfully bitten by bugs while doing photography.

I was first bitten by a wasp last summer wile standing on a beach at Lake Tahoe at 11:00 pm. What kind of wasp bites people in the middle of the night? The resulting picture is here:

Then just this past Sunday while I was lying on my belly in a field I picked up a tick that burrowed into my torso. I was only on my belly for one photo so I'm pretty sure I know exactly which picture I was taking when I picked this guy up:

That picture was taken after expert extraction by my lovely wife.  Her comment was "are you going to pass out now?"  (I didn't)   I find it ironic that I was on a field trip for a class on shooting macro photography when I picked this up, giving me the perfect opportunity to take a picture of something very small!   The picture above is really just a snapshot taken quickly in the kitchen - not a lot of setup involved.   It's not exactly professional quality, but I wasn't really in my right frame of mind at the time.

The picture I was taking while lying on his home is here:

Also not really top-rate but I'm including it here for completeness' sake.   I guess this is all the more reason to spend $200 and pick up the Canon angle view finder attachment - because sometimes kneeing is way better than lying down on your belly...

New Canon Stuff Tomorrow

Canon is introducing a bunch of new mid-range and high-end photography gear today. Well, tomorrow really, since it's still Wednesday where I am. I'll include some links to the DP Review (owned by Amazon) press release pages. The list includes the new 60-D, a low-end L-series 70-300 variable aperture lens, a really neat looking 8 - 15 mm fisheye zoom, revamped 300 and 400 mm f/2.8 lenses, new versions of the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, and an announcement that new 500 and 600 mm f/4.0 lenses are on the way.

Here are my quick thoughts on each of these, with a bit of a Product Marketing eye:

• 60-D: It had to happen sometime. In fact, the 7-D should have been called the 60-D. After the 7-D, I guess this is now the bridge between the old 20/30/40/50 lineup and the Rebel line. SD cards. This camera might be popular, but it sure had better be a lot cheaper than the 7-D if they want to sell many of them.
• 70-300 variable aperture lens: Is this just an upgraded version of the wildly popular 70-300 series? Is this for people who want an L-lens without really investing in top-quality glass? How much will it cost?
• 8 - 15 mm fisheye zoom: Sweet. This lens is going to be really fun. I love my 15mm fisheye, which this is apparently replacing. It's obviously not as small and pocketable but it sounds like a great lens.
• revamped 300 and 400 mm f/2.8 lenses: Who was asking for this? Why do this?
• new versions of the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters: Seriously? Who asked for this?
• announcement that new 500 and 600 mm f/4.0 lenses are on the way: I sure hope they don't have any backstock of these to clear out now! Again, who's asking for this?

I think all big white glass from Canon can be divided into two categories:

1. The 200-400 mm f/4.0 zoom
2. Everything Else

Is the new 200-400/4.0 zoom out yet? You know, the one that Canon should release to match the Nikon lens that is so popular people will sell their entire Canon setup to get? Not yet? OK, well, wake me up when that comes out.