Whether you’re planning to get a new mirrorless camera or find yourself a DSLR, deciding is no easy task. In this article, we look at what the Canon market has to offer to find the best Canon Cameras.
We’ve selected something for everyone, whether you’re a beginner or a more seasoned photographer.
Many of these cameras have been firm favorites for a while now, and we don’t see that changing anytime soon!
- Canon EOS M50 (Best Entry-Level Mirrorless)
- Canon EOS Rebel SL3 (Best Entry Level DSLR)
- Canon EOS 7D Mark II (Best Crop-Sensor Camera)
- Canon EOS RP (Best in Budget Full-frame)
- Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (Best in Mid-range Full-Frame)
- Canon EOS-1D X Mark III (Best in Professional)
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1. Canon EOS M50
The EOS M50 comes with a bundle of features that suits someone who does vlogging.
The EOS M50 is a great entry-level mirrorless camera system. A versatile shooter capable of producing great quality stills as well as exceptional quality videos for your vlogs. It is packed with features that isolate it from the rest of the pack as a favorite camera for beginning photographers and videographers.
Canon’s M50 offers a lightweight, compact body, perfect for people looking for an easy-to-carry solution. Travel and street photographers are going to love this camera for that one reason alone.
The EF-M lenses on offer are pretty numerous, which means you shouldn’t find yourself struggling to find the perfect lens for your camera. And if you’re looking to buy used or get a specialist lens not currently available for this mount the EF-M lens adapter will allow you to use Canon’s EF and EF-S lenses.
The EOS M50 offers an effective resolution of 24.1 megapixels producing large fine JPEGs and RAW files of the size 6000 pixels by 4000 pixels. A DIGIC-8 image-processing engine completes the setup. It also comes with built-in electronic image stabilization. The five-axis image stabilization helps capture steady videos that vloggers love. The camera’s continuous shooting speed is reasonable. You can shoot at 10 fps but for a maximum of 10 RAW files or 33 JPEG frames before the buffer overruns.
A couple of the reasons the EOS M50 is so highly regarded by vloggers are the vari-angle screen and the Touch and Drag AF features. The vari-angle screen can rotate 360-degrees to a forward-facing position, allowing you to see what you are recording while sitting facing the camera. Touch and Drag AF functionality allows you to lock focus via the LCD screen using touch. This is definitely a whole lot more efficient compared to something like having to turn the focusing ring without a reference.
Three aspects of the camera’s shooting features that will definitely benefit you are dual-pixel CMOS auto-focusing, Eye-AF, and C-Raw.
That said, the only catch is that Dual-pixel CMOS auto-focusing is not available in 4K/UHD mode. Leaving you with only contrast-detection AF in the higher resolution video mode.
The second feature is Eye-AF, whose primary purpose is to simply lock on to the eye closest to the lens. This is a really useful feature that will really help in capturing better quality portraits. Unfortunately, Eye-AF doesn’t seem to work when shooting videos. This may cause problems when you are vlogging because the camera may not lock on to the eyes of the subject.
The third feature is C-RAW. This is a new proprietary CR3 Raw format that uses a new compression algorithm to compress the video files keeping the full resolution intact (unlike some of the older formats).
In terms of communications, the EOS M50 is loaded with a number of communication options. You have both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in allowing you to use a compatible device for controlling basic camera operations. At the same time you can also transfer images to a device wirelessly.
2. Canon EOS Rebel SL3
Combines some of the best features and most of the sought after ones by first time buyers
The best entry-level Canon DSLR camera is a surprise package. First, because of the sheer number of features that Canon has packed into it. And second, because of its price point.
There are a number of things going for the EOS Rebel SL3. For starters, it is powered by a 24.1 (Effective) megapixel sensor. The sensor is paired with a DIGIC-8 image processor. The superb mix of a reasonably high-resolution sensor and a fast image processing engine ensures that the camera is capable of shooting beautiful stills and videos. Dual Pixel CMOS auto-focusing is built-in. This certainly is a big help when focusing in live view mode and especially when shooting videos.
But expectantly, Canon has stuck to its very old 9-point phase-detection auto-focusing system for shooting via the viewfinder. 9 AF points do not give a whole lot of convenience when shooting off-center compositions. It also does not give a lot of freedom when shooting sports or action photography.
When it comes to video shooting, the large 1.04-m dots 3-inch LCD monitor at the back of the camera is a big plus. The fact that it has touch capabilities makes it even sweeter. And finally, for vloggers, the vari-angle nature of the screen allows you to confirm whether you are in focus while recording. Still on the subject of video recording, the EOS SL3 shoots crisp 4K videos at 24p. It has movie-servo auto-focus with this (which works together with the dual-pixel CMOS auto-focusing technology mentioned earlier).
Overall, we shall rate this as one of the best Canon cameras in the budget/entry-level segment.
Check Price of Canon Rebel SL3
3. Canon EOS 7D Mark II
The camera combines a fast continuous shooting speed with great focusing accuracy. Ideally suitable for birding and sports.
The 7D Mark II is a favorite for birding, sports and action photographers. Thanks to the superior continuous shooting speed.
Related Post: Best Cameras for Bird Photography
It shoots at 10 fps which automatically makes it one of the best cameras for fast action and sports. And the remaining features make it one of the best Canon cameras out there.
The fastest Shutter Speed of the EOS 7D Mark II is 1/8000 sec. A fast shutter speed allows you to use fast wide lenses in broad daylight without the need for ND filters.
What we would have liked is an extended bulb mode where we don’t have to use a remote trigger to hold the shutter open beyond 30 seconds.
One area where the 7D Mark II shines is in the area of auto-focusing points. The EOS 7D Mark II has a 65-point AF system (all cross-type). A large number of AF points help you to get a better lock-on for photographing moving subjects.
Where the EOS 7D Mark II loses out is in the area of video shooting. For a start, the 7D Mark II can only shoot full-HD. And full HD does not cut it these days. Especially, if you are shooting videos on your dream holiday.
And this is probably one reason why you would want something like the 90D rather than the 7D Mark II. But if stills are your thing then you will love the 7D Mark II.
Check Price of Canon EOS 7D II
4. Canon EOS RP
This is the cheapest full-frame camera with 4K/UHD and touchscreen options
For someone migrating from a smartphone to an interchangeable lens camera system, a full-frame body is usually a long way off. The same goes for someone migrating from a point and shoot camera to the interchangeable lens platform. When the EOS RP was launched it was by far the most affordable full-frame camera in the market.
The sensor boasts of a resolution of 26.2 megapixels. The sensor closely resembles that of the one in the EOS 6D Mark II. Image processing is powered by a DIGIC-8 image processor. Together, this is a formidable combination for someone looking to explore the benefits of using an interchangeable lens camera.
The native ISO range of the camera is 100-40000. The continuous shooting frame rate is 5 fps without continuous auto-focusing. With continuous auto-focusing, the frame rate drops down to 4 fps.
The 2.36M dots OLED viewfinder ensures that you have a wonderful view of the frame you are composing. On the plus side, the 1.04m dot touchscreen at the back of the camera is fully articulated. Articulated screens allow you to capture images and videos from an angle that is otherwise difficult to capture using the viewfinder.
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The EOS RP isn’t actually great in terms of video shooting. But it holds on to a decent performance when shooting stills. Even when the subject is moving around. Dual Pixel CMOS auto-focusing on the camera performs admirably well.
The Canon EOS RP isn’t the absolute best full-frame camera in the business. It does not have many of the premium features that the other upmarket cameras discussed here have. That said, if you are looking for a camera with a large sensor, or perhaps a second backup camera for your first camera, it serves that purpose well. And that is the primary reason we have included it in this list of the best Canon cameras.
5. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Best full-frame camera for a wide range of photography genres
The EOS 5D Mark IV is an exceptional camera. Not only because it has excellent auto-focusing mechanism and dual pixel CMOS auto-focusing. Something that combines well with some of Canon’s latest STM lenses. But because it has bits of every good feature that the Canon lineup has and then combines them together to produce a formidable piece of kit.
The 5D Mark IV carries forward the reputation created by the formidable cameras that came before it in this series. The sensor of the camera offers a resolution of 30.4 megapixels. It is also paired with the DIGIC-6+ image processing engine.
The native ISO range of the camera is 100-32000 and it has built a reputation for shooting great images in almost every kind of lighting conditions.
The 5D Mark IV is capable of producing 4K DCI (4096 x 2160) videos at a frame rate of 30 fps max. But that is not all. The camera can also record at 4:2:2 internally at 8-bit color. If you prefer recording full-HD you have the option to record at a higher frame rate. That allows you to play it back at normal speed and achieve a slow-motion effect during playback. 4K recording does not allow you to take advantage of the entire frame. So there is no supersampling using the entire frame area. You record at 1:1 using a 4096 x 2160 area. When recording in Full HD, however, the entire frame is used.
The other features of the camera include a 61-point AF system, out of which 41 are cross-type, Dual-pixel RAW, 7 fps continuous shooting speed (but for a maximum of about 7 RAW frames only) and a 3.2-inch touchscreen LCD monitor.
It is the perfect sort of camera that will not look out of place in any situation. Be it weddings, landscape photography scenarios, portraits, or even a sporting event. Needless to say, it is one of the best Canon cameras and we don’t expect this to change anytime soon.
Check Price of Canon EOS 5D IV
6. Canon EOS-1D X Mark III
If you are a professional photographer shooting sports or wildlife for a living this is the camera that you should look to get.
The 1DX Mark III is a professional’s choice, and one that comes with a professional’s price tag, too!
This is specialist sports and action photography camera. Resolution-wise this full-frame camera offers only a 20.1-megapixel sensor. However, for fast-action photography, 20.1 megapixels is enough. A compromise with a greater focus on a larger number of continuous frames with full autofocus and auto-exposure has been achieved.
The continuous shooting speed of the camera is 16 fps. When using LiveView that goes up to 20 fps. But what is phenomenal is the 1000-shot buffer when shooting RAW+JPEG. To a large extent that speed is due to the DIGIC-X processor inside the camera.
The native ISO range of the camera is 100-102400.
On the subject of auto-focusing and continuous shooting speed, the 1dx Mark III comes with a 191-point iTR AF X AF system. 155 of which are cross-type. And all of those points working till f/8. This system has a superior face detection mechanism which is useful for tracking sportspersons, animals in motion, etc. Canon calls it Face Tracking and Head Detection AF. Canon has also implemented their Dual-Pixel CMOS auto-focusing technology in the 1D X Mark III. This technology takes care of precision auto-focusing when the camera is switched to live-view.
Besides phenomenal stills capabilities, the EOS-1D X Mark III comes with great movie shooting features as well. It can shoot and record at 4:2:2 10-bit DCI/4K both internally and well as externally at 60p. You have the option to use either the full sensor or a crop of the whole frame for recording DCI/4K. To go with that you also have C-Log for greater flexibility when color grading your footages. However, the main video feature is that you can also shoot 12-bit RAW at 60p internally. Very few DSLRs can show RAW footages, this is one of the few.
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