a super first mirrorless digital camera

Smartphones are undoubtedly the world’s most-used cameras, however some would argue that they don’t seem to be actual cameras in any respect. By decreasing the act of photograph 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 midnight, or at efficiently capturing something shifting quicker than a pushbike.

The Canon EOS R100 appears designed for anybody who needs to ditch their telephone, exit their point-and-snap consolation zone and embrace their inside photographer (or videographer) – and would not need to spend an excessive amount of cash doing so. At the moment out there for below $600/£600 (with a zoom lens included), it is one of many most cost-effective methods to get your arms on a brand new interchangeable lens digital camera.

However is it any good, or has Canon reduce too many corners in its effort to chop the associated fee? 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
• Principally plastic construct

The Canon EOS R100 is an affordable digital camera 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 nice 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 be plastic-built, however nonetheless contains optical picture stabilisation and near-silent autofocus.) And you’ll overlook about weatherproofing or IP ratings – this factor is constructed to be used in dry, non-dusty situations 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 basic DSLR-style form feels cozy 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 once I mounted Canon’s frankly ludicrous 85mm F1.2 portrait lens on the entrance; this enormous, hefty piece of glass and the light-weight digital camera physique felt completely unbalanced. However look: in the event you’re utilizing an virtually £3000 lens with a £600 digital camera, you are asking for hassle.

The management structure is mostly logical and user-friendly, even when the tiny dimension of a few of the buttons may pose an issue to these with girthier fingers. I might have preferred the video document cease/begin button particularly to be bigger and extra comfortably located; on this video-centric day and age I might count on it to get virtually as a lot use because the shutter button, in spite of everything. There’s additionally just one settings dial in an period the place most cameras have at the very least two, which may develop into annoying in the event you’re a shooter who likes to exert management over each side of a shot.

Connectivity and shows

• 3-inch, 1.04-million dot LCD display screen
• 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 screen dimension and show high quality are as much as snuff, however in contrast to most mirrorless screens as of late it lacks even rudimentary contact performance. What’s even worse is that it is a absolutely fastened display screen, allow to tilt, swivel or face forwards to assist within the seize of selfies or vlogs. That is verging on a digital camera crime within the yr 2023, given we’re in an period the place virtually all people needs to seize content material that includes their very own face sooner or later.

In its place for framing your pictures, there’s additionally a 2.36-million dot OLED viewfinder. It is small at 0.39 inches in dimension, 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 digital camera, which is to say it would not go above and past the fundamentals. There is a USB-C port for information switch, but it surely will not deal with battery recharging – one other main misstep on this footloose, digital-first age the place virtually each digital camera helps USB charging. No person needs to lug an precise battery charger round with them and hunt down an influence socket once they’re low on juice. For its half, although, battery life is great: it is CIPA rated for over 400 pictures and you will 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 Digicam 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 photograph 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 is predicated round a 24.1MP APS-C sensor and DIGIC picture processing engine, and its imaging efficiency is strong. That is notably true for nonetheless pictures, which have nice element and (usually for Canon) wonderful color replica straight out of the digital camera. The pictures simply look very nice, mainly – and you may also shoot in RAW if you wish to post-process your individual pictures with extra management. The pattern pictures you see right here had been all RAW recordsdata I processed in Lightroom, and I am very pleased with the outcomes; they’re actually higher trying than smartphone snaps.

The digital camera is not actually reduce out for correct low-light work (at the very least with the included package lens – a quicker lens like a 50mm F1.8 will fare higher in darker situations), and lacks in-body picture stabilisation, however that is to be anticipated in an entry-level mannequin. It might probably shoot stills at an inexpensive velocity of round 6fps too.

On the video aspect of issues it may well shoot 4K footage, however there are some restrictions: body fee is restricted to 24 or 25fps, there’s a big crop on the footage that reduces the sphere of view, and the hybrid autofocus is turned off and changed in contrast detection autofocus solely.

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

Autofocus is fairly good on the entire, nonetheless, with the digital camera supporting human eye and face recognition for its monitoring capabilities. It really works for each nonetheless pictures and video seize, and makes taking portraits, candid pictures and the like so much simpler. Sadly, it lacks a few of the wider recognition expertise of higher-end cameras, so it gained’t observe pets or automobiles.

Verdict

The Canon EOS R100 doesn’t push the envelope in any respect, and in some methods it seems like a throwback to the mirrorless and DSLR cameras of a decade or so in the past. However whereas, as an illustration, the shortage of an articulated touchscreen or USB charging is disappointing, I believe there’s a lot right here to understand – notably for these getting 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 leading edge options, however it’s inexpensive, compact and effectively made, and its photograph high quality is great.