Canon has launched the EOS M50 Mark II, an
update of its EOS M50 mirrorless camera from two years ago. The update is
relatively minor for a two year old body and largely focuses on two things. The
first change is the addition of eye tracking autofocus for stills and videos.
This will allow the existing Dual Pixel autofocus system to track subjects and
lock focus more accurately than on the previous model.
The other change is the option to record
vertical videos. As sacrilegious as it might sound, a lot of people record
vertical videos these days for social media, especially since certain
applications like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok require vertical video for
their vertically oriented UI. For videographers making vertical videos for
their own or their client's social media, this will now let them shoot a higher
quality video and upload it with minimal hassle.
The other changes are less significant.
You now get a video record button and a self timer for videos. You can also use
the screen to autofocus while looking through the EVF. A webcam mode has been
added to use the camera with Canon's EOS Webcam Utility software or clean HDMI
output. And finally, the camera supports live streaming directly to YouTube.
Aside from that, you are still getting the
same 24.1MP APS-C sensor with the Canon EF-M mount, which really hasn't seen
much native glass since the original EOS M50 launched. The camera also has
fairly limited video features for 2020, with the highest recording option being
4K at 24fps with only contrast-based autofocus and 1.5x crop. If you want the
Dual Pixel autofocus and higher frame rates, you will have to shoot in 1080p.
The camera's relatively limited features are especially at odds with this
update, which is almost entirely about video recording.
The EOS M50 Mark II is priced at $600
body-only and $700 with the EF-M 15-45mm f3.5-6.3 kit lens.