The Canon EOS M50 Mark II is a light refresh of the Canon EOS M50. It's very similar to its predecessor but comes with minor quality-of-life upgrades, including support for clean HDMI output, eye tracking AF in video, and slightly better battery life. Like the original, it's an entry-level APS-C camera that's relatively compact and portable, and it feels comfortable to use. Canon's menu system is also very intuitive, and it includes a guide mode to walk new users through settings and features. It delivers great image quality, with good dynamic range and photos that stay relatively noise-free at higher ISO levels, making it suitable for low light. It's okay for shooting 1080p video, but its 4k video features are underwhelming, with disappointing video quality, poor autofocus performance, and an inability to record at frame rates higher than 24 fps, which also incurs a severe 1.5x crop.
Our Verdict
The Canon EOS M50 Mark II is decent for travel photography. It's very portable for travel with its included kit lens and can fit into most small camera bags. It delivers great image quality and has a good autofocus system, which does a decent job of tracking moving subjects. Unfortunately, its battery life is disappointing, though this can vary drastically with real-world usage habits.
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Lightweight and portable.
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Great image quality.
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Disappointing battery life.
The Canon EOS M50 Mark II is decent for landscape photography. It has good RAW dynamic range to bring out a more detail in high-contrast landscape shots, and it has good noise handling capability at higher ISO levels, which is great when shooting in more dimly-lit conditions. It's also quite portable, with a relatively compact design that makes it easier to take to remote shooting locations. Unfortunately, its battery life is disappointing, though this depends on settings and usage habits.
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Lightweight and portable.
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Great image quality.
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Disappointing battery life.
The Canon EOS M50 Mark II is decent for sport and wildlife photography. It has great image quality, with good noise handling capability at higher ISO levels. It's also relatively compact. However, its shooting speed is just passable. It has an okay high-speed continuous shooting speed, but its buffer is very small, so you may fill it up quickly when trying to capture fleeting moments. It also lacks a silent continuous shooting mode, meaning it may scare off wildlife.
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Lightweight and portable.
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Great image quality.
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Mediocre shooting speed.
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No silent continuous shooting.
The Canon EOS M50 Mark II is good for vlogging. It's portable and lightweight, making it easy to carry around while vlogging. It also has a fully articulated screen so you can easily frame yourself and monitor the recording. Unfortunately, it lacks in-body image stabilization, but it does have a digital stabilization feature, although enabling it incurs a greater crop. With its kit lens, the camera does a good job smoothing out camera shake in FHD. It also has good autofocus performance in FHD, but image stabilization and autofocus perform significantly worse in 4k. Video quality overall is mediocre in FHD and disappointing in 4k. On the upside, it has a built-in livestream function, although it comes with some limitations.
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Lightweight and portable.
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Fully articulated screen.
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Built-in livestream function.
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Good FHD video stabilization.
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Lackluster 4k video features.
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Disappointing battery life.
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Disappointing video quality.
The Canon EOS M50 Mark II is okay for studio video. It has an array of inputs, including a microphone jack and micro HDMI port. It supports clean HDMI output, which is helpful when using an external recorder when you don't want any overlays. Its menu system is also easy to navigate, with settings and video features laid out nicely. That said, its overall video quality is disappointing, and its 4k video capability and features are especially lacking.
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Lightweight and portable.
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Supports clean HDMI output.
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Menu is very easy to use.
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Lackluster 4k video features.
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Disappointing video quality.
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Poor autofocus in 4k.
The Canon EOS M50 Mark II isn't suitable for action video. It's portable relative to other interchangeable-lens cameras, but it's not designed for mouting on a helmet or chest rig. It isn't waterproof either. Video quality in FHD isn't bad, and it does a decent job smoothing out camera shake in that resolution. However, its 4k video quality, frame rates, and video stabilization leave a lot to be desired.
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Lightweight and portable.
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Lackluster 4k video features.
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Limited frame rate options.
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Disappointing battery life.
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Disappointing video quality.
- 7.6 Travel Photography
- 7.6 Landscape Photography
- 7.2 Sport & Wildlife Photography
- 8.3 Vlogging
- 7.4 Studio Video
- 4.0 Action Video
- Updated Jun 09, 2023: Added a link to the Nikon Z 30 in the '4k Video Frame Rate' section.
- Updated Dec 15, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.12.
- Updated Nov 21, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.11.
- Updated Sep 16, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.10.
- Updated Aug 17, 2022: After running into issues with RawTherapee during retesting for Test Bench 0.9, we decided to process the 'Photo RAW Dynamic Range' test scene in Lightroom instead. The test scene photo has been reuploaded.
- Updated Jul 29, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.9.
- Updated Apr 22, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.
- Updated Aug 04, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Jul 29, 2021: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Canon EOS M50 Mark II comes in two color variants: Black and White. We tested the Black version with the Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM kit lens, but you can also purchase the camera without a lens.
If you come across a different variant or your Canon EOS M50 Mark II doesn't correspond to our review, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update the review.
You can see our unit's label here.
Compared To Other Cameras
The Sony ZV-E10 is a little better than the Canon EOS M50 Mark II. Unlike the Canon camera, the Sony has an unlimited recording time limit. It also has a better battery life and supports USB charging. It's a much better option for 4k recording as well since it offers more frame rates, and it can shoot 4k / 24p video without a crop, whereas the Canon can only record 4k / 24p with a severe 1.5x crop. Finally, the Sony camera has a more reliable autofocus system.
The Canon EOS M50 Mark II is better than the Canon EOS Rebel T7 / EOS 2000D, though they use different camera technologies. The M50 Mark II is a mirrorless camera, so it's a lot more portable than the T7, and its electronic viewfinder lets you see image adjustments in real-time. It also has a better sensor and processor, a better autofocus system, and additional features like 4k video capability.
The Nikon Z 30 is better overall than the Canon EOS M50 Mark II, though both are great beginner cameras. Thanks to its viewfinder, the Canon is a little more versatile for photography. It's also a bit more portable. However, the Nikon is more capable for 4k video recording since it can record in 4k at up to 30 fps without a crop. In contrast, the Canon imposes a severe crop in 4k that impacts its AF and video quality. Lens options are still somewhat limited for Nikon's Z-mount at the time of writing. However, it's still a better long-term system to invest in if you want to expand beyond the kit lens, as Canon has stopped support and development for its EF-M mount.
The Canon EOS M50 Mark II and the Sony α6000 are both solid beginner mirrorless cameras. Even though it's older, the Sony holds its own against the Canon, with a faster max burst rate, better battery life, and a wider range of available lenses. However, the Canon offers 4k video recording (albeit with a severe crop and limited frame rates), a more reliable autofocus system, a higher-resolution viewfinder, and a much easier-to-use menu system.
The Sony ZV-1 and the Canon EOS M50 Mark II are different camera types. The Sony is a compact small-sensor camera, while the Canon is an interchangeable lens mirrorless camera with a larger APS-C sensor. The Canon is more versatile for photography since you can use different lenses. It also has an electronic viewfinder and a more intuitive menu and control scheme. That said, it can only shoot 4k video with a severe 1.5x crop and has fewer high-speed frame rate options than the Sony, though it has a slightly better battery life and doesn't suffer from overheating issues.
The Sony α6600 is better overall than the Canon EOS M50 Mark II. Though both are mirrorless cameras with APS-C sensors, the Sony camera has a more effective autofocus system, better image quality and RAW noise handling, in-body image stabilization, and longer battery life. However, it isn't as portable as the Canon and has a more confusing menu system.
Test Results
- Body is made of hard plastic but feels cheap
- Dials feel good and provide great tactile feedback
- Buttons are okay but a bit loose-fitting, and some lack proper physical feedback when pressing them
- Screen hinge feels a little delicate
- Inputs are covered by rubber flaps
- Canon EOS M50 Mark II camera body
- Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM lens
- Lens caps
- Sensor cap
- Shoulder strap
- 1x Canon LP-E12 battery
- Battery charger
- User manual
- Touchscreen interface gives you access to most essential functions, freeing up your thumb since you don't have to rely on physical buttons
- Grip is fairly small, which may cause larger hands to cramp up during longer shooting sessions
- Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connection button is located near the natural resting point of your right palm, making it very easy to press unintentionally
- Not a lot of room on the backside of the camera, and it's easy to accidentally touch the screen
- Menu navigation is intuitive with physical and touch controls
- Functions related to autofocus, image quality, video quality, and menu customization are readily accessible
- Graphics clearly indicate the functions found in each category
- Guide mode helps walk novice users through the camera's features
Note: There's an extended high ISO setting simply labeled 'H' in the menu. Canon advertises it to be equivalent to ISO 51200.
If you're looking for a beginner camera with a better battery life and USB charging support, take a look at the Sony α6000.
Note: ISO 52100 is an extended high and may not be fully comparable to other cameras we've tested that can shoot at ISO 52100 natively.
Note: The mic level display doesn't show up on the screen during live feed mode. You have to press the 'Info' button to get to the regular screen to see the audio levels.
If you're looking for a camera with more frame rate options, check out the Nikon Z 30.
