Canon EOS R100 Evaluation

I began my profession with a $600 DSLR. It was the one digital camera I might afford on the time, working for $10 an hour at a small newspaper whereas nonetheless attending faculty. That begin has instilled in me a respect for the essential price range digital camera, the straightforward our bodies designed to get learners hooked on pictures. As a mirrorless physique that sells for below $500, the Canon EOS R100 is a kind of price range our bodies. The query with any primary digital camera, nevertheless, is that this: is that this the type of digital camera that can get an entire novice hooked on pictures or go away a nasty style of their mouths that has them reaching again for that smartphone as an alternative?

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With an APS-C sensor and entry to Canon’s RF lenses, The Canon R100 delivers spectacular photographs for the sub-$500 price ticket. Nevertheless, Canon has slashed most of the greatest user-friendly options that function probably the most important increase to new photographers. Stabilization? None. Touchscreen? Nada. Tilt display for vlogging? Nope. Animal Eye AF? Hold dreaming. Sure, the Canon R100 is affordable — however it’s additionally slower than my iPhone. 

The Huge Image

Canon is dominating the sub-$600 mirrorless market. Go to your favourite digital camera retailer and kind in “mirrorless digital camera,” then restrict the search to $600 or much less — and many of the outcomes are going to be Canon our bodies. Canon can also be doing a fairly good job at tossing out some inexpensive prime lenses as properly. At below $500 for simply the physique and at about $600 with a lens, the Canon EOS R100 is without doubt one of the least expensive mirrorless cameras on the market. And, for the worth, the R100 takes beautiful photographs. Not like the Canon M50, the R100 helps Canon’s R lenses, that are newer and extra plentiful than the M sequence lenses.

Nevertheless, the perfect factor concerning the R100 is the worth. The shortage of a tilting touchscreen goes to frustrate the learners and vloggers that the R100 is directed at. The efficiency can also be slower than a smartphone, with a brief buffer that leaves you ready for the pictures to complete recording earlier than you possibly can take extra, view what you shot, or modify settings. Learners might additionally profit from stabilization to keep away from blurry photographs from hand shake — one other factor that this digital camera lacks. 

Entry-level cameras ought to be gateway medicine that get new photographers hooked on taking pictures. However, the consumer expertise on the R100 is missing and should go away some new photographers pissed off.  The Canon EOS R100 is sweet for affordable, high-quality snapshots, however new photographers, content material creators, and vloggers are going to outgrow this sluggish digital camera too shortly. I’m giving the Canon EOS R100 two out of 5 stars.

Professionals

• Canon’s most inexpensive mirrorless physique at $480, or $600 with a lens
• Picture high quality is nice for the worth level
• The clever auto mode is beginner-friendly
• It’s compact and light-weight 

Cons

• Digital shutter solely
• No stabilization
• Lacks a touchscreen
• Display screen additionally lacks tilt performance
• Lacks Animal Eye AF
• Sluggish buffer solely information 6 RAW frames at a time
• Older processor produces extra noise in low mild

Gear Used

I used the Canon EOS R100 with the 18-45mm equipment lens, the R 70-200mm f4, and the RF 28mm f2.8 lenses. All gear was on mortgage from Canon.

Improvements

Technically, the Canon R100 was launched in 2023. Nevertheless it’s already an getting old digital camera. That’s as a result of it’s basically the 2018 M50 with a brand new exterior and mount. It has the identical processor because the older digital camera and the identical decision — and it’s truly a bit slower than the older digital camera. The important thing distinction is that it helps Canon’s R lenses. R lenses are a greater funding than M lenses as a result of that’s the place Canon’s focus is. There are numerous extra decisions for R lenses and room to develop afterward with a extra superior physique with out changing all of the lenses.

Ergonomics 

Whereas Canon’s high-end mirrorless our bodies have ergonomics harking back to DSLRs, the R100 feels extra harking back to the Canon EOS M50. It’s a brilliant compact however plasticky digital camera physique with minimal bells and whistles.  That, sadly, reduces the scale of the grip as properly — it’s much less snug than Canon’s higher-end choices just like the R6. The low weight makes up for it some — it weighs simply .8 kilos, making it a cinch to hold round, particularly with lenses just like the RF 28mm f2.8.

Controls are minimal on the R100. The highest plate homes a mode dial, document button, single management wheel, and shutter launch. There’s a tiny pop-up flash as properly.

Behind the digital camera, photographers will discover a primary LCD display and menu shortcuts, in addition to two extra shortcut buttons close to the highest of the thumb grip. The digital viewfinder juts out from the physique a bit, so my nostril isn’t pressed into the digital camera physique a lot. The viewfinder is okay for the worth level — contemplating price range opponents just like the Nikon Z30 don’t even have one — however there’s a noticeable lag to it.

The entrance solely has a button to launch the lens; the underside has simply the battery, a single UHS-I SD card slot, and a tripod mount. The perimeters home ports for USB, HDMI, mic, and a distant set off.

The Canon R100 is a really bare-bones digital camera. That is smart contemplating the worth tag. However what doesn’t make sense is that Canon is directing this physique towards basic shoppers and vloggers. But, the LCD display is fastened and never touch-sensitive. These transferring from a smartphone to an affordable mirrorless digital camera will nonetheless need to have the ability to faucet the display to pick the main target level and take selfies — and for that, the R100 falls brief. Vlogggers, too, will need that flipping LCD display in order that they’ll truly see when recording themselves. Each are discovered within the barely dearer R50.

Construct High quality

It ought to come as no shock that the Canon R100 is a plasticky digital camera physique with out climate sealing — in spite of everything, it’s a digital camera physique below $500. That stated, a lot of the physique is clean with out a whole lot of protrusions exterior of the grip and viewfinder. In truth, a budget skinny little strap that comes with this digital camera got here undone, and it fell proper off my neck. The digital camera was simply tremendous. The 70-200mm f4 lens that was connected additionally survived, however the zoom ring is now a bit more durable to show than it initially was. Whereas it is a low cost feeling, tiny physique, the design with fewer items appears to have a minimum of allowed it to outlive dropping a number of ft to the bottom. That stated, do your self a favor and get a greater strap than the skinny little factor that comes with the digital camera.

Focusing

The R100 has Canon’s Twin Pixel autofocus system. However, it lacks the animal eye AF function. It’s unsurprising {that a} $500 digital camera isn’t arrange for wildlife pictures. However, the on a regular basis shoppers that this physique is geared toward ought to be conscious that the autofocus system gained’t robotically detect your pet’s eyes both. Sometimes, you may get fortunate and handle to seize a wildlife shot that’s in focus, however not simply.

It does, nevertheless, nonetheless have human eye AF. However, the attention AF is simply out there within the eye AF and monitoring — it’s not out there with zone or single level AF space modes. The human eye AF does okay, however it does tend to drop focus if the individual strikes in direction of the sting of the body and doesn’t lock onto eyelashes in addition to some extra superior cameras.

Judging the autofocus velocity of a digital camera that solely shoots six pictures at a time is difficult. In a sequence of 5 pictures of somebody operating towards the digital camera, the R100 solely dropped the autofocus as soon as. However, one out of 5 remains to be a 20 p.c miss fee. At any fee, a digital camera with a 6.5 fps burst velocity, and a six picture buffer isn’t a digital camera that’s made for sports activities, photographing energetic youngsters, or wildlife.

The R100 can focus indoors, however direct it on the darkest corners, and the digital camera struggles, generally failing to lock on in any respect.  The autofocus is rated to -4 EV, so there are undoubtedly higher-end cameras on the market that may lock on at the hours of darkness simpler.

Even exterior of autofocus, the R100 feels sloth-like. The max burst velocity is simply 6.5 frames per second. The digital camera can solely take six RAW pictures earlier than stopping to catch up. Whereas it’s catching up, you possibly can’t change many settings both. You must sit there and anticipate the digital camera to complete writing to the reminiscence card earlier than viewing your pictures or taking extra. My iPhone can take pictures quicker than the R100 can in RAW mode. (After all, my iPhone price greater than $500, so it’s not truthful comparability.) On JPEG-only, the digital camera can document 100 pictures in a row and feels a bit much less sluggish however nonetheless behind. Briefly — it’s not an excellent choice if you wish to {photograph} something transferring.

Ease of Use

The Canon R100 is designed for brand new photographers coming from smartphone pictures. And the straightforward management design speaks to that. There’s an clever auto mode on the mode dial and issues like explanations contained in the digital camera menu of what choices are inside that exact sub-menu. Contained in the clever auto, novices can do issues like modify the quantity of background blur with out ever realizing the phrase “aperture.”

But, on the similar time, a number of key options would have made the R100 extra newbie pleasant have been inevitably minimize to maintain the associated fee low. The digital camera lacks stabilization to assist stop blur from shaky palms. It lacks a touch-screen, so newbies have to learn to modify the main target the extra conventional means. It lacks animal eye-AF to shortly lock deal with pets. The Canon R50, whereas a little bit bit dearer, goes to be a lot simpler for learners to choose up as a result of it has a touchscreen that additionally flips ahead for selfies, plus extra clever autofocus modes to robotically lock onto pets, animals, and automobiles.

The battery life on the R100 is okay — Canon lists it at 340 pictures utilizing the viewfinder or 430 with the monitor. As per traditional, although, these numbers are sometimes grossly underestimated — I captured twice that a lot and nonetheless didn’t have to recharge.

In the end, the R100 flounders in the case of the consumer expertise. And that’s not ultimate for a digital camera geared toward learners. Cameras for learners ought to be easy — but additionally get novices hooked on pictures. That’s powerful to do when the consumer expertise falls a bit flat. I perceive that Canon’s aim with the R100 is to provide an affordable digital camera, however the photographers which can be going to purchase a digital camera like this are going to be higher served by touchscreens on the very least.

Metering

The Canon R100 does a strong job of getting the publicity proper in typical lighting eventualities, if something, erring barely darkish. Utilizing the Sunny 16 guidelines, the digital camera was in a position to take good publicity.

Picture High quality

The Canon R100 is actually a five-year-old digital camera sporting new garments. The R100 makes use of the DIGIC 8 processor, which is the one which got here out in 2018 with the Canon EOS M50. The R100 additionally has the identical variety of megapixels and the identical measurement sensor — although notably doesn’t use an optical low-pass filter just like the M50. Even a five-year-old digital camera can produce outcomes significantly better than a smartphone nevertheless, and the R100 does ship some good colours and background blur. Contemplating the worth tag, the pictures are wonderful. However, the older processor begins to point out when working in restricted mild and cranking up the ISO.

JPEG High quality

JPEGS straight from the Canon R100 have good colours, particularly in mushy mild comparable to shade or clouds. Open air, the R100 produces good clear JPEGs. Utilizing a lens just like the 28mm f2.8 with a wider aperture, the crop sensor digital camera remains to be able to producing some good mushy backgrounds as properly. Pair it with a bit nicer lens and the pictures don’t appear to be they got here from a $480 digital camera.

Excessive ISO Output

Nevertheless, the Canon R100 loses element in a short time when lighting is proscribed. At ISO 800, noise begins to be noticeable at one hundred pc. Above ISO 3200, photographs lose sufficient element that they begin to look mushy, typically missing sharpness at the focus. Nevertheless, JPEGs do an excellent job of decreasing colours noise, even when maxing out the ISO.

Translation for beginner photographers: pictures taken indoors or after sundown are going to look much less sharp. The R100 will nonetheless ship cleaner photographs than a smartphone in the identical low mild. However, that is the place the $500 digital camera begins to point out its low value level when in comparison with pricier mirrorless cameras.

RAW File Versatility

Taking pictures in RAW, I might nonetheless get well some misplaced particulars in {a partially} blown-out sky, in addition to bringing again among the darkish shadows. The information aren’t as versatile as a full-frame digital camera, and excessive changes are going to magnify any noise. However there’s sufficient wiggle room to repair primary publicity errors.

Additional Picture Samples

From day one, The Phoblographer has been big on transparency with our viewers. Nothing from this assessment is sponsored. Additional, a lot of people will submit evaluations and present a lot of enhancing within the pictures. The issue then turns into that anybody and everybody can do the identical factor. They’re not exhibiting what the lens can do. So we’ve a piece in our Additional Picture Samples space to point out edited and unedited pictures. From this, you can also make a choice for your self.

Unedited

Edited

Who Ought to Purchase It? 

The vloggers and new photographers that the Canon EOS R100 is geared toward are going to be higher served by cameras just like the Canon R50, which remains to be a bit sluggish however presents a tilting touchscreen and animal eye AF. Sure, the R50 is a little bit pricier. Nevertheless it presents options that can make studying pictures simpler for newbies. An excellent more sensible choice is the R10, which retains the newbie-friendly controls however shoots quick sufficient to {photograph} youngsters and youth sports activities. Nonetheless higher is the Canon R7, which has stabilization, so an excessive amount of espresso doesn’t translate into blurry photographs. Sure, the worth will increase with every mannequin bounce up, however every bounce up additionally decreases the probability that new photographers will outgrow the digital camera shortly.

Outdoors of the Canon R system, new photographers on a price range also needs to think about the Nikon Z30, which is quicker, weather-sealed, and nonetheless does properly in restricted lighting. The Z30, nevertheless, lacks a viewfinder and has a restricted 300-shot battery life. The Sony a6100 can also be an inexpensive beginner-friendly digital camera with a quick autofocus and burst velocity, each human and animal eye AF, good battery life, and a flip-up display. Newbies also needs to take a look at our full checklist of suggestions for the perfect cameras below $1,000.

The Canon R100 is sweet for inexpensive snapshots for shoppers which can be by no means actually going to get off of auto mode. The picture high quality to cost ratio is sort of good, however it sacrifices velocity and consumer expertise so as to get there. New photographers with the intention of going all in are going to outgrow this sluggish, primary digital camera in a short time. Smartphone photographers are additionally going to be pissed off easing into the world of mirrorless cameras with out a touchscreen. Personally, I’d wait and save a little bit bit extra and choose up the Canon R7, Sony a6100, or Nikon Z30.

Tech Specs

LensRentals lists the next specs for the Canon EOS R100:

• Model: Canon
• Digital camera Kind:  Mirrorless
• Environmental
  • Working Temperature: 32 to 104°F / 0 to 40°C (Really helpful)
  • Working Humidity: 0 to 85%
• Publicity Management
  • Shutter Kind: Digital Shutter
  • Shutter Velocity – Digital Shutter: 1/4000 As much as 30 Seconds in Bulb Mode, 1/4000 As much as 1 Second in Guide Mode
  • Bulb/Time Mode: Bulb Mode
  • ISO Sensitivity: 100 to 12,800 (Prolonged: 100 to 25,600)
  • Metering Strategies: Middle-Weighted Common, Evaluative, Partial, Spot
  • Publicity Modes: Aperture Precedence, Auto, Guide, Program, Shutter Precedence
  • Publicity Compensation: -3 to +3 EV (1/3 EV Steps)
  • Metering Vary: -2 to twenty EV
  • White-Steadiness Presets: Auto, Cloudy, Colour Temperature, Customized, Daylight, Flash, Fluorescent (White), Shade, Tungsten
• Steady Taking pictures – Digital Shutter: As much as 6.5 fps at 24.1 MP for as much as 100 Frames (JPEG) / 6 Frames (RAW)
• Interval Recording: Sure
• Self-Timer: 2/10-Second Delay
• Flash
• Flash Modes: TTL Auto
• Most Sync Velocity: 250 Second
• Flash Compensation: -2 to +2 EV (1/3 EV Steps)
• Devoted Flash System: eTTL
• Exterior Flash Connection: Sizzling Shoe
• Focusing
  • Focus Kind: Auto and Guide Focus
  • Focus Modes: Steady-Servo AF, Guide Focus, Single-Servo AF
  • Autofocus Factors – Photograph: Section Detection: 3975
  • Autofocus Factors – Video: Section Detection: 3375
  • Autofocus Sensitivity: -4 to +20 EV
• Basic
• Battery Kind: 1x LP-E17 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion
• Tripod Mounting Thread: 1x 1/4″-20 Feminine (Backside)
• Dimensions (W x H x D) – digital camera solely: 4.6 × 3.4 × 2.7″ / 116.3 × 85.5 × 68.8mm
• Weight – digital camera with battery and recording media: 0.7 lb. / 309 g
• Weight – digital camera physique solely: 0.8 lb. / 356 g
• Imaging
  • Sensor Decision
    • Precise: 25.8 Megapixel
    • Efficient: 24.1 Megapixel
  • Picture Sensor: 22.3 × 14.9mm (APS-C) CMOS
  • Crop Issue: 1.6x
  • Picture Stabilization: None
  • Constructed-In ND Filter: None
  • Seize Kind: Stills & Video
• Interface
  • Media/Reminiscence Card Slot: Single Slot: UHS-I SD/SDHC/SDXC
  • Video I/O: 1x Micro-HDMI Output
  • Audio I/O: 1x 1/8″ / 3.5mm TRS Stereo Microphone Enter on Digital camera Physique
  • Different I/O: 1x USB-C (USB 2.0) Enter/Output
• Wi-fi: 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
• Cell App Suitable: Sure: Android & iOS
  *As of Could, 2023: Examine with producer for probably the most up-to-date compatibility
• International Positioning (GPS, GLONASS, and so on.): None
• Merchandise Kind: Digital camera
• Mfr. Mannequin Quantity: 6052C002
• Monitor
  • Dimension: 3.0”
  • Decision: 1,040,000 Dot
  • Show Kind: Mounted LCD
• Mount: Canon RF
• Nonetheless Picture Seize
  • Facet Ratio: 3:2
  • Picture File Codecs: C-RAW, JPEG, RAW
  • Video Seize: Inner Recording Modes
    • H.264/MPEG-4 AVC 8-Bit
    • UHD 4K (3840 × 2160) at 23.98 fps [120 Mb/s]
    • 1920 × 1080 at 59.94 fps [60 Mb/s]
    • 1920 × 1080 at 23.98/29.97 fps [30 Mb/s]
    • 1920 × 1080 at 120 fps [52 Mb/s]
    • 1280 × 720 at 59.94 fps [26 Mb/s]
  • Exterior Recording Modes: None
• Recording Restrict: Not Specified by Producer
• Broadcast Output: NTSC/PAL
• IP Streaming: Sure
• Constructed-In Microphone Kind: Stereo
• Viewfinder Kind: Constructed-In Digital (OLED)
  • Dimension: 0.4”
  • Decision: 2,360,000 Dot
  • Eye Level: 22mm
  • Protection: 100%
  • Magnification: Approx. 0.95x
  • Diopter Adjustment: -3 to +1