EF Lens adapter advice for EOS M50 Mark II

[mcgray96]

Hi all! I’m looking to get my fiancé a mirrorless camera for Christmas without asking for his expertise! Forgive me if any of my descriptions are incorrect, I do not have much knowledge in this area!

I’ve bought a canon EOS M50 mark II. He has a large collection of other canon lenses and currently uses his DSLR MarkD4 and D5. This will be his first mirrorless camera. From what I have researched, he can use his canon lenses that he currently has on the mirrorless camera with an adapter. Will the Canon EF-EOS adapter successfully allow this? Or is there another adapter I should be purchasing? 

thank you!! 

[rs-eos]

Ack... if you can return the EOS M50, that'd be great.  Canon's M-series line is a dead end.  Instead, go for Canon's newer R-series cameras.

Having said that, I don't know if what "MarkD4" or "D5" is in the Canon world. Are these perhaps Nikon cameras?

Anyhow, based upon what your fiancé currently has, any information you can provide on what lenses he has, and what your budget would be, we can then provide you with recommendations.

[mcgray96]

Hi Ricky! 
thank you so much for your response. Unfortunately I got the camera used and cannot return. I’m disappointed to hear that I may have made a bad move 😞

I incorrectly typed the DSLR cameras he has. He uses a 5D mark III and a 4D mark II. Hopefully this gives a bit more clarity on an adapter I can get for the lenses. 

[rs-eos]

Not sure what a "4D" is.  But if he's used to the feature set provided by the 5D line of DSLRs, I feel he'll be quite disappointed with the M50.   The 5D series is very feature rich.

Anyhow, for adapters, you'd need Canon's EF-M Lens Adapter Kit for Canon EF/EF-S lenses.  Around $180.

[shadowsports]

I have to agree with Ricky that he will be disappointed with a M series camera if he's coming from a 5D series body.  I personally would not recommend any further investment here.  It's a wonderful thought and kind gesture but spending more money at this point will just be spending good money after bad.  

If you're set on giving this to him, don't spend any more money and let him decide what he wants to do.

[stevet1]

mcgray96,

Here is one approach:

There are vendors out there who will buy your used equipment. A company called KEH is one such company.

I won't go into all the procedures for doing so. You can contact them directly, but basically amounts to you sending the camera to them. They will examine it and make you an offer. You won t get back near what you paid for it, but it's a start.

Add the money you were considering spending on an adapter, and you are a little closer.

Go to your fiance and tell him you have saved up this much money to buy him a camera related  Christmas present, and ask him how he would like to use it.

Who knows? Maybe he would like to buy some accessory to go along with his 5D, or maybe he would like to venture into the world of mirrorless and he's had his eye on a particular model.

Your Christmas present could be a joint saving project involving the both of you working together.

Steve Thomas

[ebiggs1]

I am afraid I am in the same camp as the M50 is not a good choice. If you did not get a lens with it, none of his lenses will work without the adapter. I hope you did not spend too much on the M50 as it is a dead end. It was never really a  good camera line in the first place.

The R7 is probably the closest camera to a 5D Mk III right now. Time to cut your losses kido. Most stores like B&H or Adorama and others even Canon refurb store will take trade-ins and that is what I would advise you do at this point.

[Tronhard]

Sadly, and very regretfully, you made the fundamental mistake of not consulting with your fiancé before making the purchase - in a laudable effort to surprise and delight him, you may have got a pig in a poke.   While the M50 is a Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera (MILC), it is a very early try by Canon dating back over 10 years.  The M50 was a hybrid (stills but biased towards video) camera that has been popular amongst vloggers.  That said, unfortunately Canon recently announced that the whole M-series platform is being discontinued as they encourage the market to move to the newer and much more functional R-series MILCs.  That makes your situation somewhat challenging.
My suggestion is to try to on-sell the camera ASAP.  As Ricky suggested, going to KEH will recoup some of your outlay, although they will take a commission and the value has already been downgraded by Canon's announcement on retirement of the platform.

Given your fiancé's choice of cameras - If your description of the cameras is correct then I wonder if they are Nikon cameras?  Canon identifies their cameras in the following format #D (e.g. 5D, 6D, 7D) while Nikon reverse that (D3, D4 etc.)  The brand name is clearly marked on the front of the camera just above the lens. If it IS a Nikon, then I suggest that if you are still looking to buy him a camera a Canon may not be the best brand.

In all honesty, I would suggest that you consider something safe, like a gift card to a reputable camera store like B&H or similar.  That way, he can enjoy the process of shopping (and you can go with him, which may further delight him) and he will get what he wants or needs.

Buying specific gear without clear knowledge is an activity fraught with risk...

[krahe]

I am curious as to why you say the M series was "never really a good camera line in the first place." I haven't used any of Canon's DSLRs (I do have a few EF/EF-S lenses), but my impression is that M series cameras are at least as capable as any similarly-priced Canon DSLRs available through the same period of time the M series was produced, on top of the benefits of being mirrorless.

[krahe]

If you're going to lose a significant amount of money re-selling the M50 Mark II, I would hang onto it and let your fiance decide if he'd like to keep it as a second/alternate body or just use it as a way to see what mirrorless is like without a big investment. It's also going to be much more compact than his current camera, so he may find value in it as something he can take along more conveniently, too. Also, there are cheaper EF->EF-M adapters than Canon's that work very well (I have a Viltrox ~$40), so it wouldn't take much more of an investment to let him use all of his current lenses on it. It's also going to be ergonomically better than a similar-sized but newer R-series camera (e.g. the R50) when using his current lenses.