Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera, RF Mount, 24.1 MP, DIGIC 8 Image Processor, Continuous Shooting, Eye Detection AF, Full HD Video, 4K, Small, Lightweight, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Content Creation

TL;DR: If you're looking into photography as a hobbyist/beginner this is an amazingly compact powerhouse. It doesn't break the bank AND allows you to save your money for lenses.This camera is addicting.It's my gateway to beginner photography and I want to take pictures of everything. I took it to my local Renaissance Faire, take daily pictures of my sister's cats, candid photos of my friends and family, flowers and shops during my wife and I's daily walks, etc.It's so light and compact that the thought of getting larger and longer lenses on this would make it look really silly. Its Continuous shooting mode is fast enough to capture some horse back riding during the Ren Faire and I captured my wife's arrow mid-flight (although blurry) at 1/4000 when we participated in archery.The GUI is so beginner friendly and explains what each mode does (Manual/Aperture Priority/etc.). It actually helped me understand what each is used for so my wife took plenty of pictures with the right settings quickly. If you dig deeper into the menus there's more granular options like Manual Focusing, Viewfinder/Display brightness, Display options, etc. There's a ton and it's a hassle to navigate through them all... Until you find out you can create your own custom quick access menus. These quickly allows me to navigate to my favorite menu options that I frequently tinker with without moving through all of the other options one by one.The body is so small that I was afraid it would easily slip out of my hands. That was not the case as the grips on the right-hand side is grippy enough that it feels like it you can hold it with a light squeeze while adjusting focus with your left hand on the lens. This kit also provides a strap that allows the camera to be hung around your body for quick access.The performance on the batteries lasts for at least a day with heavy usage so I recommend another battery just in case. Unfortunately, it does not come with a charger and the manual's "Charging the Battery" section talks about charging the battery with a charger. So buy a charger that's compatible with LP-E17 batteries.The autofocus' performance is so impressive that it's enticing my wife to get one for herself.Disclaimer: These photos are taken with the Canon RF50mm F1.8 STM Lens, Fixed Focal Length Prime Lens and NOT the lens included with this kit (Canon RF-S18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens).

Twenty-four years ago, my first serious camera was an all-manual Ricoh film camera. The only electronic feature it had was a built-in light meter for setting the exposure. Focus was achieved by aligning a split prism in the viewfinder. Today, I appreciate more convenience. When I’m on a photoshoot, I use autofocus to capture expressions quickly, but I still manually set the shutter, aperture, and ISO to ensure consistent exposure between locations, making batch processing easier.For my needs—typically portraits, small events, and traveling—when buying a new camera, my priorities are solid build quality, sharp image quality, sufficient low-light performance, fast and accurate autofocus, long battery life, RAW output, and manual controls for the exposure triangle. The Canon EOS R100 delivers on all these fronts. I don’t need an articulating screen, touch controls, joysticks, thumb wheels, or streaming capabilities. I want a camera, not an Xbox.The few drawbacks, as others have mentioned, include the camera being quite small. If you’re nearsighted, you might need to remove your glasses to see the screen, but I somehow don’t need to remove my glasses to look through the viewfinder. Additionally, manually changing ISO takes some navigating, back button focus isn’t an option, and the autofocus beep is hard to hear outside. I’ve started to just trust the camera to set the ISO automatically, with a 3200 maximum, and lock the exposure with the function button, and this has worked out surprisingly well. When I need to manually focus, focus peaking is an option, which works similarly to a split prism. How nostalgic.To the credit of those who complained about the lack of modern features, they may have been integral in encouraging Canon to lower the price of the R100. I’m thankful for that because I’d be more willing to spend $300 for this camera than $600.If you also appreciate simplicity and don’t have a regular need to record yourself, the Canon EOS R100 is an excellent buy as a primary or backup camera.A couple of final notes: For an impressive demo of the video capabilities when using an ND filter, look up “Canon R100 4K Video Test” by DSI Pictures on YouTube. Secondly, I’d advise against investing heavily in RF-S lenses; instead, opt for full-frame RF lenses in case you decide to upgrade to a full-frame camera later. Lastly, the featured photo was taken at a yoga center.

best first mirrorless camera for newbies

For starters, this is a budget camera. It should not be compared to $3,000 flagship cameras.That said, I love this thing. It has the full Canon menu. You can achieve almost any setting you desire.The RF lenses are amazing, and this camera body uses them amazingly well. You can also adapt your EF lenses to this.Because it is a budget camera, they do a lot of hand holding and the automatic functions are pretty extensive. You have to switch the menu from the simple menu to the standard one in order to get all of the stuff, but that's easy to do. You should spend a lot of time in this menu system to make sure you understand what the camera can do.This would not be suitable for professionals and you're not going to use this as a main camera if you're taking wedding photos or sports photos. But I have taken it to events and got an amazing shots.I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a high-powered budget camera with a lot of artistic options. This would probably not be suitable as a main camera for a videographer or a professional, but it would work for photo journalism.I originally bought it because I have a DSLR and I wanted to see what the mirrorless experience was like. I may buy a full size like the R8 or better one of these days, but this little camera is my favorite companion. It's great for street photography. It's great for so many things. If you're looking for a camera, you will not get anything better than this for the price.

I have to learn how to use this. I did not think there would be too much difference between my regular EOS and this one, but I am learning how much I was wrong. The camera should be a little better than it is. I get a lot of focus issues.