Canon announces the EOS R100, an inexpensive but extremely simplified mirrorless camera

Canon has unveiled the cheapest mirrorless camera in its portfolio, the EOS R100. This seems to include only the components absolutely necessary for photography, without considering the needs of a modern content creator who might also use this camera for video. Of course, the camera is capable of capturing moving images, but the lack of functionality for this will make the process more complicated. What this model has on its side, however, is the very affordable price.

Canon’s EOS R100 is coming in 2023 without a touchscreen

The Canon EOS R100 starts at US$479, making it the cheapest model in the EOS R range. It uses many components from the EOS M50 Mark II, Canon’s previous generation of mirrorless cameras, which was dropped in favor of the EOS A. Thus, we share the same 24.1 megapixel sensor and the same DIGIC 8 processor, capable of recording in 4K with a large crop.

Amazing for a camera from 2023 is that the 3” screen on the back isn’t hinged in the first place, so it can be flipped to the front for vlog-style video capture. On the other hand, this screen is devoid of any kind of touch functionality. The EOS R100 only allows interaction via a few buttons on its body, by no means enough for quick operation.

The EOS R100 does not include in-body stabilization, does not allow connecting to a PC as a webcam, and does not benefit from other special functions. What it does have though is Canon’s very capable ‘Dual Pixel Autofocus’ focusing system, just like the rest of the cameras in its portfolio. This camera also has the advantage of being the smallest and lightest EOS R format body.

The Japanese manufacturer seems to be trying to bring back models in the style of the 600D series DSLRs

The camera will launch in July and will also be available in two kit packages. One will be with an RF-S 18-45 f/4.5-6.3 IS STM lens and the other will include this lens, along with another 55-210mm f/5-7.1 IS STM zoom. These lens packages and this kind of strategy seem similar to what we were seeing 10 years ago in the photo space, when Canon was selling many units of entry-level DSLRs similar in capabilities to the new EOS R100, at the level of technology at the time.

However, in an age where smartphones are taking better and better photos and videos, and all kinds of relatively affordable dedicated devices are coming with advanced features to meet the needs of both beginning and advanced content creators, there doesn’t seem to be a need for such models as the EOS R100 anymore. Even Canon recently launched the Powershot V10 for vloggers, and the R50 and R8 models, which are significantly more expensive but not quite in the “professional” range, seem to offer more long-term advantages, even for novice content creators.

sursa: The Verge