Hi Folks,
I'm taking photos at student concerts, shooting from 20 feet to 50 feet away. I'm choosing between a Sony a6400 or a Canon EOS M50 - I need the mirrorless to avoid the clicking during concerts. I'm an amateur - my grandson is helping me learn to manually set the ios, f stop etc but I'm a rank beginner.

Two questions: which camera do you recommend for a beginner and which lens should I buy for the long (50 feet) shots to get a violinist for example in a portrait shot? I'm getting different advice about whether 200mm will do or will I need a 300mm lens?

Thanks in Advance!

Here's a link (below) to my live performance photos using a Sony RX10M3. The camera handled all sorts of stage action and lighting conditions with ease. With the 24-600 zoom lens, I had plenty of range to get in close or go for those wide shots. No fiddling with taking lenses off and on either, so I didn't disturb others around me or miss any of the action. The electronic shutter makes the camera totally silent. The only noise I heard was me going "wow" from having to much fun shot after shot. I've since upgraded to the RX10M4, so my autofocus is lightning fast now. You might check into maybe a used version of this camera. Good luck with your search.
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-565354-1.html

Uh huh. If you tend to shoot much music, don't
let anyone tell you a certain SLR is "quiet enuf".
You want/need a totally silent electronic shutter.

Breaking the concentration of a nervous student
musician is not the only problem. I've had a very
anal sound engineer tell me that his mic's would
pick up the electronic first curtain shutter on my
a7-II. The players were world class, unshakable
concentration-wise, and the mic's were nowhere
near the rear of the house where I would work.
But, you cannot argue a case with such types :-(

Fortunately, there was still 20 min of rehearsal
time remaining, so I got better shots than could
ever be made during the concert no matter how
quiet any camera may be :-)

Well, lets see...

The A6400 is considerably more expensive.... It sells for almost $1000 with the 16-50mm kit lens or $1300 with the 18-135mm.

In comparison, the M50 is $649 with 15-45mm kit lens or under $900 with both 15-45mm and 55-200mm lenses. There is also an EF-M 18-150mm lens, but it's not sold in kit with the M50.... so would need to be bought separately (M50 body only, $629. 18-150mm lens, $499.)

Both cameras have silent shooting mode, which seems to be of concern to you.

The M50's silent mode is limited... it's only usable as a "scene mode". Those modes are super automated, restricting many functions of the camera (exposure mode, ISO range, AF setup, and more).

The A6400's silent mode is more universally usable with other camera settings of your choice.

Although there are a lot more native lenses available for the A6400, lenses for the M50 really aren't a problem. It will work quite well with adapted EF or EF-S lenses, which means you actually have far more lenses to choose among in the Canon system, than you do in the Sony system.

Canon lenses also can be adapted for use on the Sony camera. However, I have been told the autofocus performance suffers to some extent.

If you don't mind manual focus - which is relatively easy with an electronic viewfinder that has focusing peaking - there are some impressive third party lenses for both cameras. Check out some of the Rokinon/Samyang, for example... such as 50mm f/1.2 ($449), 21mm f/1.4 ($379) and 85mm f/1.8 ($299). I don't know if it would be possible to use these lenses on the M50 in that cameras silent mode. I am pretty sure that there would be no problem doing so on the Sony.

Carefully check out any additional lenses or accessories you might want now or in the future. One system or the other might meet your needs better. Prices can vary for similar items. For example, a Sony E 20mm f/2.8 lens costs $349. Compare to a Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM lens for $229. Both manufacturers offer around 5 different flashes.... the most affordable Sony is under $150, while the least expensive Canon is $169.

Finally, I would recommend you go to a store that sells both of these models, handle their demo cameras and play around with them for a while. If at all possible, turn them on, take a few shots, check out the menus, etc. (take a couple memory cards with you). You might find one camera or the other just seems more comfortable and intuitive to work with. Beware of sales people who might get a bonus for promoting one brand or another.