a perfect first mirrorless digicam

Smartphones are undoubtedly the world’s most-used cameras, however some would argue that they are not actual cameras in any respect. By decreasing the act of picture and video seize to mere level and shoot, they take a lot of the thought and course of out of it. Plus, let’s face it, they’re fairly ineffective at nighttime, or at efficiently capturing something transferring sooner than a pushbike.

The Canon EOS R100 appears designed for anybody who desires to ditch their telephone, exit their point-and-snap consolation zone and embrace their inside photographer (or videographer) – and does not wish to spend an excessive amount of cash doing so. At present obtainable for beneath $600/£600 (with a zoom lens included), it is one of many most cost-effective methods to get your fingers on a brand new interchangeable lens digicam.

However is it any good, or has Canon minimize too many corners in its effort to chop the price? After per week of snapping and filming with it, I am able to ship my verdict.

Design

• Weight: 356g
• Dimensions: 116.3 x 85.5 x 68.8mm
• Largely plastic construct

The Canon EOS R100 is an affordable digicam by Canon requirements, and it does appear and feel like one. That is to not say the design and construct high quality is shoddy or under par – actually it is completely superb for an entry-level mannequin. It is simply very light-weight and made mainly of plastic relatively than the magnesium alloy you see on pricier EOS R models. (The included RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM zoom lens can also be plastic-built, however nonetheless consists of optical picture stabilisation and near-silent autofocus.) And you’ll neglect about weatherproofing or IP ratings – this factor is constructed to be used in dry, non-dusty circumstances solely.

It is small too, even by mirrorless requirements, and with a compact lens mounted (the package lens retracts to a low-profile form when not in use, so it counts as one) takes up little or no house in a bag. That being stated, its traditional DSLR-style form feels comfortable within the hand – which is not at all times the case with compact, light-weight mirrorless cameras. The one time I discovered the EOS R100 awkward to make use of was after I mounted Canon’s frankly ludicrous 85mm F1.2 portrait lens on the entrance; this large, hefty piece of glass and the light-weight digicam physique felt completely unbalanced. However look: should you’re utilizing an nearly £3000 lens with a £600 digicam, you are asking for hassle.

The management format is mostly logical and user-friendly, even when the tiny measurement of a number of the buttons may pose an issue to these with girthier fingers. I would have appreciated the video report cease/begin button particularly to be bigger and extra comfortably located; on this video-centric day and age I would count on it to get nearly as a lot use because the shutter button, in any case. There’s additionally just one settings dial in an period the place most cameras have no less than two, which may change into annoying should you’re a shooter who likes to exert management over each facet of a shot.

Connectivity and shows

• 3-inch, 1.04-million dot LCD display
• USB-C, Micro HDMI and three.5mm mic sockets
• 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2

The show is the primary space the place the EOS R100 comes up a bit quick. The display measurement and show high quality are as much as snuff, however not like most mirrorless screens as of late it lacks even rudimentary contact performance. What’s even worse is that it is a totally mounted display, allow to tilt, swivel or face forwards to assist within the seize of selfies or vlogs. That is verging on a digicam crime within the yr 2023, given we’re in an period the place nearly all people desires to seize content material that includes their very own face in some unspecified time in the future.

As a substitute for framing your photographs, there’s additionally a 2.36-million dot OLED viewfinder. It is small at 0.39 inches in measurement, however actually helpful to have – particularly on vivid, sunny days when glare could make the LCD troublesome to see.

Connectivity is just about what you’d count on from an entry-level mirrorless digicam, which is to say it does not go above and past the fundamentals. There is a USB-C port for knowledge switch, but it surely will not deal with battery recharging – one other main misstep on this footloose, digital-first age the place nearly each digicam helps USB charging. No person desires to lug an precise battery charger round with them and search out an influence socket once they’re low on juice. For its half, although, battery life is superb: it is CIPA rated for over 400 photographs and you may possible get extra out of it than that.

You do not get a headphone port for audio monitoring, however there’s a 3.5mm mic socket and a micro HDMI output (that does not help exterior recording – it is merely for exterior show functions). Storage comes courtesy of a single UHS-I SD card slot, positioned on the underside of the physique subsequent to the battery.

The EOS R100 does help wi-fi picture switch and printing through its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Set up Canon’s Digital camera Join app in your smartphone and you can use it as a wi-fi distant management or seize pictures instantly to share on social media.

Video and picture efficiency

• 24.1MP APS-C CMOS sensor
• ISO 100 to 12800 (25600 prolonged)
• 8-bit 4K/25 or 1080/60 video recording

The EOS R100 relies round a 24.1MP APS-C sensor and DIGIC picture processing engine, and its imaging efficiency is strong. That is significantly true for nonetheless images, which have superb element and (sometimes for Canon) wonderful color replica straight out of the digicam. The pictures simply look very nice, mainly – and it’s also possible to shoot in RAW if you wish to post-process your personal images with extra management. The pattern pictures you see right here have been all RAW information I processed in Lightroom, and I am very proud of the outcomes; they’re actually higher wanting than smartphone snaps.

The digicam is not actually minimize out for correct low-light work (no less than with the included package lens – a sooner lens like a 50mm F1.8 will fare higher in darker circumstances), and lacks in-body picture stabilisation, however that is to be anticipated in an entry-level mannequin. It will possibly shoot stills at an affordable pace of round 6fps too.

On the video facet of issues it may shoot 4K footage, however there are some restrictions: body price is proscribed to 24 or 25fps, there’s a big crop on the footage that reduces the sector of view, and the hybrid autofocus is turned off and changed against this detection autofocus solely.

Whereas this is not a very highly effective instrument for Extremely HD video seize, it fares higher with 1080p, dropping the crop, partaking the total suite of autofocus capabilities and supporting a body price of as much as 60fps. When you think about the EOS R100 is basically competing towards smartphones that may report 4K at 60fps, although, having to drop down in decision to realize that body price is a little bit of a disappointment.

Autofocus is fairly good on the entire, nevertheless, with the digicam supporting human eye and face recognition for its monitoring capabilities. It really works for each nonetheless images and video seize, and makes taking portraits, candid photographs and the like loads simpler. Sadly, it lacks a number of the wider recognition expertise of higher-end cameras, so it received’t monitor pets or autos.

Verdict

The Canon EOS R100 doesn’t push the envelope in any respect, and in some methods it looks like a throwback to the mirrorless and DSLR cameras of a decade or so in the past. However whereas, as an example, the shortage of an articulated touchscreen or USB charging is disappointing, I feel there’s loads right here to understand – significantly for these coming into the world of devoted cameras for the primary time. The EOS R100 may not be very thrilling, and it actually doesn’t work as a showcase for the newest innovative options, however it’s reasonably priced, compact and properly made, and its picture high quality is superb.