Canon EOS M50 review

Design: simple pleasures

The M50 looks and feels like a cute, shrunken DSLR.

There’s a centrally placed viewfinder, which traditionalist Canon says is where it ‘should’ be, rather than pushed away into the corner like those found on rangefinder-style mirrorless cams.

The chunky grip’s textured coating makes it feel comfortable in the hand, although the rest of the camera has a slightly more plasticky finish. Still, that’s to be expected at this price point, and it’s what you’ll find on Canon’s entry-level DSLRs, too.

You can buy the M50 on its own but, unless you already happen to own any of Canon’s EF-M lenses or fancy attaching some EF/EF-S ones via an adaptor (hint: you probably don’t), you’ll need to buy one to go with it.

The 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM is available as part of a kit. Being collapsible, it’s an ideal partner for the M50 if you’re looking to keep the overall size and weight down. Another option is an 18-150mm lens, which gives you a lot more flexibility, but is also much larger.

When it comes to controls, Canon’s mirrorless cameras come in two flavours. Its more ‘serious’ models (the EOS M5 and M6) have a range of dials and buttons that will be comfortably familiar to those coming from DSLRs.