RPaul3rd Loc: Arlington VA and Sarasota FL

I have a Canon 5D Mark III but do not take it on holidays overseas because of its weight. My main camera for traveling is a Canon SL2 which is lightweight and gives me what I want. Post-processing does the rest. I am thinking about buying a Canon mirrorless M50 as a backup. Can you offer some insight on the M50. I know Canon makes a converter for DSLR lenses. Thanks. PW/Sarasota FL

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

If you use your 5D3 lenses on the M50, you’re not going to save a bunch of weight and you may find the balance is a bit uncomfortable with a small, light body with a big, heavy lens. Perhaps use the m series lenses even though the selection is a bit limited.

As painful as it is to start a second system and lenses, when I reached this point, I bought a Fuji which is half the size and weight and equivalent IQ of the best Canon lenses (and kept the FF Canon).

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I considered the M50 when I got my wife a camera but at the time I went for a T6s with 4 lenses on Ebay for the same price. I was amazed that the M50 and both kit lenses would fit in the cargo pocket of my old Army field jacket I was wearing.
The manager of the camera store showed me some amazing drag racing photos he took with his M50 (printed at 16x20) - he kept it in the center counsel of his car. Then later that day I was talking with the Canon Rep who was there for a promotional event and found out he also owned one that lived in his car or was his "hiking" camera. And he either owned or could use any Canon product he wanted. Both of them loved their M50.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Btw, if you haven’t noticed, there is an M50 and two lenses for sale right now in the Buy/Sell section today.

RPaul3rd Loc: Arlington VA and Sarasota FL

Thanks for the information. The M50, if I buy one, would be for my APS-C lenses.

RPaul3rd Loc: Arlington VA and Sarasota FL

Will take a look. Thx

warzone

I have an M50 and use all my EF and EF-S lenses. Frankly, the ability to use all my lenses with the M50 was a deciding factor. There is no doubt that the M series lens makes everything lighter but I am very happy with it using the E lenses. The only thing I make sure of when using a longer lens (e.g. 70-200) is that I support the lens and not put undue stress on the camera or adapter. I went from a Canon T5i to the M50 and never looked back.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I did a trial run of the M50. I also had the 5D MIII, 7D MII and three L lenses. I found the camera was too light(for me) when attaching the adapter and L lenses. I returned the M50 and lenses and opted for the Sony RX10 IV. (In 2018). I love the Sony and now use it exclusively. Sold all my Canon gear.
Mark

RolandDieter

I have the M50 as my main travel camera. It is so lightweight that I have three bodies each with an M-mount zoom lens so I never have to change lenses. Changing can be a very major inconvenience when traveling (weather, fast moving tour groups, etc.). I recommend this approach highly.

Jack B Loc: Mount Pleasant, SC

I purchased the M50 with the two kit lenses several years ago. The camera with the two kit lenses has been a pleasure to use: light weight with good lenses. Purchased the EF-M 18-150mm zoom from KEN last year. A really great lens. Also have the adapter for EF lenses. My recommendation for the camera/lenses is most positive. Also shoot with the T6i.
Jack B

rcarol

Why not purchase another SL2 for backup since it gives you all that you want?

gouldopfl

You might want to look at the EOS RP. You can use all of your existing lenses. This is a very feature filled low cost full frame camera. Since the R mount is where Canon has moved, I doubt you will see new M series lenses. In some cases the R mount lenses are a bit heavier than the EF lenses.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

First let me say that the M50 is a fine little camera. It's very popular among vloggers, in particular. It was (maybe still is) #1 seller in Japan for some time. But also has a lot of fans worldwide.

However, you would see very little reduction in weight or size compared to your SL2.

Current model M50 Mk II vs current Canon SL3:

3.87 grams versus 449 grams (incl. battery & memory card)

4.6 x 3.5 x 2.3" versus 4.8 x 3.65 x 2.75" (W x H x D}

To put that in perspective, the 62 grams saved is just over 2 oz... or roughly equal to 15 standard paper clips.

To see very significant reduction in weight you would also need to use native EF-M lenses on the M50 camera.

EF-S 18-55mm IS STM lens 215 grams (7.6 oz.)
EF-M 15-45mm IS STM lens 130 grams (4.6 oz.)

EF-S 55-250mm IS STM lens 375 grams (13.2 oz.)
EF-M 55-200mm IS STM lens 260 grams (9.2 oz.)

Adapting EF or EF-S lenses for use on the M50 you actually end up heavier than just using those lenses directly on your SL2. The adapter isn't heavy, but it's more than the 2 oz. you saved with the M50II camera body.

There also is very limited EF-M lens selection. Canon only makes 8 (compared to 60+ EF and EF-S lenses). There are also only a few autofocus capable third party lenses for the M-series cameras: Sigma and Viltrox each make three, Tamron makes one. AFAIK, all EF-M mount lenses use STM focus drive (stepper motor... quiet and reasonably quick, but not quite as fast as USM).

I shoot with Canon DSLRs, all fitted with grips (mostly 7DII, 7D, 5DII). I also wanted a compact, lighter weight camera and ended up buying an M5 (different control layout than M50). I use it with four prime lenses: 12mm f/2.8, 22mm f/2, 56mm f/1.4 and 90mm f/2.5 macro. (The 12mm and 90mm are manual focus, manual aperture.) The entire kit weighs about the same as one of my DSLRs fitted with a moderate size lens such as a 24-70/2.8 or 70-200/2.8.

However, I didn't already have an SL2 (which is the 2n smallest DSLRs anyone has ever made.... only the original SL1, which is very stripped down in features, is lighter by a few grams).

Another thing, with M50 you'll probably end up carrying more spare batteries. It uses an LP-E12 that's smaller than the LP-E17 used by your SL2 (and my M5). 875 mAh versus 1070 mAh. The M50 with it's electronic viewfinder also is less efficient than your SL2. Where CIPA ratings say you should get about 650 shots per charge with your SL2, you should expect less than half that with the M50II... It's rated to give 305 shots per charge. If you end up having to carry around twice as many batteries, there goes the slight weight savings.

I'm not knocking the M50II. It's a nice little camera. That power hungry electronic viewfinder is cool in some other ways: It has more full coverage than your SL2's and the EVF can show exposure simulation, display a live histogram or level, has manual focus assist features and more. The M50II also has a more sophisticated AF system, though I don't know that it would be appreciably faster than yours (because you can use fast focusing USM lenses on your camera, while there are no USM lenses made for direct fit to the M50II).

The M-series cameras also use on-board software that seems more closely related to Canon's Powershot point n shoot cameras, than to the firmware in their DLSRs. So the menus are a bit different. More "beginner oriented", I suppose. I sometimes think Canon approached the M-series as "Powershots with interchangeable lenses" and was reluctant to make them "too good" in order to avoid competing with their own DSLRs.

I bought my M5 and it's lenses for travel, street photography and some candid portraiture. For other purposes, I continue to use my DLSRs and will either upgrade them with other DSLRs or with R-series mirrorless eventually.

I gotta tell you, I've found it a bit challenging getting accustomed to the small size of the M5. I've added an L-bracket to it and that makes it a little more comfortable (I avoid L-brackets on my DSLRs... too bulky).

User ID

The tiny SLs are not bad. I have an SL1 with a 15-85 hanging by the door. But when I encounter an M50, with adapter, selling dirt cheap, it will replace the SL. After all, an SL is almost an SLR ;-)

It would never enter my mind to “back up” a camera thaz due for replacement with another similar model. I’m hoping there’s an RP-II in the near future with IBIS and silent mode.

RolandDieter

True, there are not many lenses for the M50, but if the object is to keep things lightweight and simple you don't want many. The range of M lenses is more than adequate for travel and general use, especially when using zooms. Like others, I'm confident that there will be few, if any, new M mount lenses ... especially since doing so would kinda defeat the purpose of the system.