Keep my EOS R100 or switch to the EOS R50?

[suniokera]

I just bought my first camera, the R100, but I have seen a lot of people saying I should change to the R50. Should I listen to them, or should I keep my R100 until I learn a bit more and then upgrade?

[SignifDigits]

No one here, in my opinion, can be telling you what you SHOULD do.  Only you can decide that.  Our role is to assist in YOUR decision.

Ken Rockwell does a good job comparing the Canon APS-C cameras at https://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/eos-r/compared/r7-r10-r50-r100-compared.htm

The R100 can take the same photos as the R50 via the exact same same sensor.  Controls are quite simple and if you're starting out and going to be using Automatic or Program for your shots it's a great value camera proposition.  

Some of the limitations to the camera compared to the R50:

1. Battery has to be charged outside of the camera
2. LCD doesn't swivel (useful for taking photos from high and low perspectives) and is not a touch screen (sometimes used to change the focal point)
3. Lower frame rates (useful if you are shooting action), on the other hand the R50 only has electronic shutter and some might see this as a disadvantage over the R100's mechanical shutter
4. Lower ISOs (but still quite high and should be adequate)

As far as I know, those are the primary limitations for photos.  The R100 has a couple potential advantages over the R50 (mechanical shutter and non-Canon flash 5-pin hot shoe compatibility).

For video, the R50 offers superior 4K video.

Only you can decide if those features are worth ~$200 to you.  The same would be true for ~$300 more for the R10 over the R50.

One piece of advice I would offer you as you move forward into photography is is to direct your money on getting better lenses, rather than better cameras.

[stevet1]

snickers,

Here is a website you can use to do a side-by-side comparison between the R100 and the R50.

https://cameradecision.com/

Since this is your first camera, i would stick with what you're got for a little while until you really learn how cameras work.

Camera upgrades should really be based on features that you would really like to have, but that your current camera doesn't have. Sure, the R50 has some features that the R100 doesn't have, but it's also almost twice the cost. Look at it as a cost benefit analysis. Are those benefits worth the extra cost to you?

If they are, then save up for it while you learn the mechanics of taking good photographs with the camera you currently have.

Steve Thomas

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

Follow my colleagues advice in regards to your lens choices.  Lenses are the real investment in photography, body's come and go.

The r100 is a nice camera, but you'll probably outgrow it as your photography skill increases.  For all of the things that @SignifDigits pointed out.  Some related to function and control and others for mere convenience.  The deal breakers for me are the non-articulating LCD and lack of touch functions.  You'll immediately notice the first time you try to shoot from a low or high vantage point and can't tilt the screen.  That feature (convenience ) alone makes the $200+ cost difference worthy in my opinion.  Second to this will be improved low light performance. However, if you just starting out you'll do fine for a while.  Both cameras take beautiful photos.

[wq9nsc]

As others noted, put money into lenses because they make a huge difference and you will use them for years.  The EF 70-200 f2.8 I bought in 2005 is still doing backup duty to my new version and I continue to use the 24-70 f2.8 I bought at the same time.

The time to upgrade camera bodies is when you really want or need to do something that your current camera body can't provide.  Otherwise, keep using and learning with your current body and when you get ready to make the switch:

1.  There will be newer versions of the current models

2.  You may decide that you really enjoy photography and want to increase what you can do causing you to move up several levels instead of just one level.

When my daughter wanted to learn photography 10 years ago, I started her with my Canon film SLR to learn the basics along with the discipline that comes from learning with a limited resource (film).  After a couple of months, I gave her the 1DX body I had used earlier but I had retired for a pair of 1DX II bodies. Later when she left for college, she "stole" my little Canon M6 Mark II that I bought specifically for casual travel and that little camera will travel with her to England in the fall when she starts her PhD program.  It can't do what the 1DX can, but she learned photography and editing with the 1DX and she has done some cool stuff with the little "baby" camera.

Get in the habit of learning how to get the most out of the gear that you currently have so that when you move on to new gear, you will take that maximizing spirit with you.  A lot of high end mirrorless and DSLR bodies are sold to people who treat them as "shelf queens" rarely using them and never taking them out of full auto mode with the files saved as jpg.  A skilled photographer with an entry level body will capture images that the "trophy owner" never could because no matter how simple or sophisticated the camera system, what is created is the result of a partnership between the camera and the user.

Rodger