One important feature missing from the R50 is an electronic viewfinder. This is also the case with the ZV-E10 II, but its absence can make shooting in bright sunlight difficult. In addition, the screen on the back has a low resolution and is not particularly bright. For vloggers, however, it is fully articulated and vice versa.
Designed for touchscreen operation, the R50 V has fewer manual controls than other Canon mirrorless models. It has dials on the top, back, and back to adjust key functions like aperture and shutter speed. However, you have to use both with your thumb, which makes using them a bit complicated.
The front rocker switch is used to control the zoom on compatible Canon lenses, such as the new 14-30mm f/4-6.4 IS STM PZ, released alongside this camera. It also offers live streaming and colored buttons for creators, as well as a mode button with six different video settings.
The menu system is typically Canon, with color-coded pages for each category (video settings, autofocus, etc.). However, you can also adjust important settings while vlogging via the quick menu (Q) on the touch screen. Of course, the functions in this menu can be reprogrammed as desired.
The R50 V has microphone and headphone inputs, as well as microHDMI and USB-C ports. It uses Canon’s smaller EP-17 battery, which allows for an hour of video recording or 300 images on a single charge, both significantly less than the ZV-E10 II (113 minutes and 600 images). It only has one SD card slot, but thankfully it’s the faster UHS-II type. Finally, there’s another useful feature for content creators: a tripod port on the side that allows solo vloggers to easily create vertical videos.
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Videos and vlogs are the main selling point of the R50 V over the R50. It can record upsampled 4K video at 30 fps and 4K video at 60 fps with C-Log3 and 10-bit quality. However, the 4K 60fps setting requires a large crop of 1.56x, which reduces both quality and bokeh. In contrast, Sony’s ZV-E10 II only requires a 1.1x crop for 4K video at 60 fps.
The Z50 V also lacks internal stabilization. This means that the R50 V relies solely on optical vibration reduction or electronic stabilization. To be fair, it must be admitted that this is normal in this price range and that the ZV-E10 II also lacks internal stabilization. The electronic system does a good job of eliminating the jerkiness of portable video and can even make walking easier if you’re trying to move smoothly. However, excessive movement can make images look soft. The “enhanced” electronic mode, which applies a slight crop, is designed to make it look like you’re using a tripod when shooting handheld.
The background blur and product overview buttons are also missing compared to the ZV E10 II. That’s a shame, because creators often use these features to quickly focus on objects or blur the background behind a subject; Without this, you will be forced to manually adjust these elements.
Shutter distortion is clearly visible on this camera, with a scan speed of around 30ms, compared to just 16ms on the ZV-E10 II. This means that sudden movements or vibrations can cause a “frozen” video. Video autofocus works quickly and reliably, even if your subject is moving. AI-powered facial and eye recognition locks securely and can also reliably track animals and vehicles.
Inspired by Panasonic and Fujifilm, Canon added a color button to the R50 V. This allows you to quickly select shooting modes such as BT.709, C-Log, HLG and PQ. Another setting offers a cinematic look with modes like Portrait, Fine Detail, Natural and Monochrome. And the final “Color Filter” mode results in colorful videos with hues like teal and peach, although I found the results a bit bland.
With a built-in cooling fan, the R50 V is more resistant to overheating than most small cameras. Recording in standard 4K at 30 frames per second allowed me to shoot for 60 minutes without any signs of overheating. The problem doesn’t even occur in 4K 60p, as that mode uses a smaller portion of the sensor.
Canon EOS R50 V Review Report
Overall, video quality is a plus, with crisp detail in the 4K upsampling mode at 30 fps. Colors are rich and accurate, and skin tones are pleasing with a touch of warmth that Canon is known for. 10-bit C-Log3 film retains extra detail in highlights and shadows and provides excellent dynamic range for such an affordable camera. However, 4K 60p videos are noticeably softer and the Ultra Slo-Mo 1080p 120fps setting lacks sharpness, even at HD standards. Low-light capability is average for an APS-C camera, with noise clearly visible at ISO 3200 or 6400. It also becomes intrusive and harder to remove with noise reduction tools.
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Although it is not the job of this camera to take pictures reason for existenceThe R50 V works well in this regard. For a small camera, it can shoot quite quickly, with burst speeds of 15fps with the electronic shutter or 12fps with the mechanical shutter. However, this speed cannot be sustained for long due to the small buffer that only contains 36 RAW images.
Autofocus is again a strong point, making it easy to track subjects and guaranteeing sharp images. As with videos, AI-based face and eye recognition of people, animals and vehicles is fast and reliable. Rolling shutter mode is problematic in both stills and video, but since the R50 V has a mechanical shutter on the front, electronic mode is only necessary for stills when silence is required. The lack of internal stabilization means you’ll need a steady hand to take sharp shots at slow shutter speeds, or you’ll want to buy lenses with optical stabilization if that’s an issue.
Photo quality is identical to that of the R50 as it has the same sensor. During normal shooting, I saw color-fast images with reasonably warm skin tones, which is typical of Canon’s color science. JPEG files provide a good balance between sharpness and noise reduction, while RAW files provide enough room to optimize the image. As with video, low-light performance isn’t great, so I wouldn’t go above ISO 6400 unless it’s too dark to film.
Summary
The Canon R50 V is a great first attempt at a vlogging camera and scores in key areas such as video quality and ease of use. However, Sony’s rival, the ZV-E10 II, surpasses it in almost every area, offering even better video quality, higher photo resolution, faster autofocus, smoother electronic stabilization and interesting features that the R50 V lacks, such as product presentation.
Canon is targeting a more price-conscious buyer, however, as the R50 V costs just $700 (body only), compared to $1,100 for the ZV-E10 II. Vloggers on a budget will still benefit from a great camera that far surpasses a smartphone in terms of end product. But if you want to spend $400 more, I’d recommend the ZV-E10 II.
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