Canon makes a lot of mirrorless cameras, and the entry into this ever-growing ecosystem is the Canon EOS R100. It’s a great camera, but a very specific one aimed at a very specific audience – and it seems that some people Really I don’t understand why they would decide to badmouth the camera for really bizarre reasons.
There is a reason why I rate the Canon EOS R100 as the best camera for beginners, and the clue is right there: It is a Beginner camera. It is not an all-singing, all-dancing performance camera. It is not a camera designed to conquer YouTube. It is not intended to be a professional or mediocre camera (although you may you will achieve professional results if you know what you are doing).
No, the Canon EOS R100 is – and I don’t mean this in a derogatory way – a basic camera that has been stripped down to the essentials and is only meant to do two things: 1) be beginner-friendly and 2) be super cheap, so that even newcomers can afford it.
At least one of these two points seems to have escaped many Internet critics. They complain about the build quality, they mock the technical data, they make comparisons with other models that are both unfair and completely beside the point.
Let me make it very simple: this is a camera that currently costs $399 in the US and £399 in the UK with a lens. What other mirrorless camera on the market is this affordable? This is a direct replacement for the cheap beginner DSLRs that are no longer around – which have always been a gateway drug to get people excited about photography.
It has a great 24.1MP image sensor and a fantastic autofocus system taken directly from some of Canon’s best cameras. OK, there’s no touchscreen interface and the 4K resolution is cropped. The first point is a glaring omission in my opinion, but for heaven’s sake – that’s how you keep the price at $400.
And as for video, I firmly believe this is intended for someone as their first still camera – but as a bonus it also shoots 4K video.
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So don’t listen to the critics and naysayers. Yes, the R50 is a better deal if you can afford it – but if you’re new to photography, have never held a “real” camera before and are just getting your bearings, the Canon EOS R100 is simply the best (and most importantly, cheapest) way to get started.
