I was lucky enough to spend a week with the Canon EOS R10, which is now the cheapest route to their RF mirrorless camera system. And while it's not perfect, the R10 convinced me that it should now be at the top of the novice photographer's list.
That's a big deal, because it's something we haven't been able to say about a Canon camera in a long time. Their Rebel DSLRs (known as triple-digit EOS cameras outside the US) were once the default choice for students. But in the mirrorless era, Canon floundered and let Sony, Fujifilm, and Nikon steal its budget camera lunch.
Well, it finally got its shape back with the Canon EOS R10. This $979 / £899 / AU$1,499 camera isn't what we'd traditionally call an entry-level model. It costs 50% more than a Canon Rebel SL3/EOS 250D and comes with quite advanced features and controls.
But in the age of smartphones, I think the definition of "beginner's camera" has changed. There is now little benefit to buying a standalone camera and using it as a point-and-shoot camera, as smartphone processing has closed the image quality gap.
What the best entry-level cameras need today is intelligent autofocus, creative control, powerful burst shooting, strong video skills, and a variety of lenses that allow photographers to grow. And the Canon EOS R10 ticks those boxes better than most cameras I've tested at this price in recent years.
accept dogs
The most useful camera feature for beginners is an intelligent autofocus system, and it really comes into its own on the Canon EOS R10.
Autofocus is more important on cameras than it is on phones, as the latter's small sensors and wide lenses mean most of your scene is usually in focus by default. That's why phones have "portrait modes" to digitally recreate depth of field. But when you're shooting a fast-moving subject with a bright lens on an APS-C camera, you need the help of autofocus.
The EOS R10's AF system is impressive and, above all, intuitive. Its Dual Pixel CMOS AF II setup comes from the professional Canon EOS R3. And while it doesn't quite match the performance of this camera, its fundamentals are the same.
The EOS R10 can track a wide range of subjects, including people, animals (dogs, cats, birds) and vehicles, and will follow them around the frame. It's a really useful tool, especially if you're just starting out and focusing on other things like composition.
I tried it on a wide range of animals, including cats, deer, and a speedy cockapoodle. And while the success rate was certainly not 100%, the EOS R10 was able to find eyes and lock onto them even at a distance of 5-10 meters. Unlike previous autofocus systems, this tracking is also available in most of the EOS R10's AF modes and will automatically switch to a face or body if no eyes are found.
When shooting action or sports, autofocus is only part of the equation; ideally, you also need fast burst shooting and a decent buffer. And luckily, the Canon EOS R10 also impresses here.
maximum speeds
Canon claims that the EOS R10 can shoot at an impressive 15fps with its mechanical shutter and 23fps with its electronic shutter, and my tests confirmed those claims, although the camera was unable to maintain those speeds for very long as the spec sheet indicates. Canyon.
I was able to shoot raw uncompressed files at 15fps for a second using the mechanical shutter, before the buffer slowed down to around 7fps. If you're shooting JPEGs, you can continue at 15fps for a more useful six seconds, before dropping to around 12fps.
The electronic shutter is capable of hitting the 23fps mark briefly, but is much slower in a long burst, and when shooting moving subjects can lead to distortion issues (aka rolling shutter), mechanical manufacturing is still best option in most cases. situations
Therefore, the Canon EOS R10 is not a professional sports camera. But it's fast enough to capture fleeting moments of sprinting pets, laughing humans, or crucial sporting moments, if you get the timing right. And that hasn't always been possible on entry-level cameras.
Another important feature for an entry level camera is that it is small and light. The easier it is to carry a camera with you, the more often you will use it. And while the Canon EOS R10's "mini DSLR" design means it's not the smallest mirrorless camera on the market, it weighs just 426g (about the same as two iPhones).
I also found it discreet enough for street photography, which is a great way to learn your craft.
Since the EOS R10 has dual command dials, one on the top plate behind the shutter button and the other on the back, it's easy enough to shoot manually or adjust exposure compensation for a more dramatic look.
Getting these controls, along with a dedicated AF joystick, on a beginner's camera is again quite unusual, but they give you more control over your shots and help you get shots that would be much harder to achieve on a telephone.
Sensor point of view
Another bonus for beginners is the EOS R10's scene modes, including a handy focus stacking function for macros.
This takes a series of photos (you can decide how many) with small changes in focus between them. These are then combined in-camera into a single JPEG. A panorama mode, which I couldn't test, also selects a shutter speed based on how fast you move the camera for blurry backgrounds that look fast.
Unfortunately, Canon cameras don't offer as many in-camera calculation modes as you'll find in Olympus (now OM System) cameras. But right now, there is something of a gap between older models like the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV and the professional-grade OM-1 OM system. For now, the EOS R10 and its camera stack can help you tap into your experimental side.
What is the image quality of the EOS R10? Like much of the camera, pretty good. Canon says the R10 has a new 24MP CMOS sensor, though it's possible that it's a tweaked version of what we've seen in previous cameras. Either way, it's not a state-of-the-art chip, nor is it a "stacked" design, nor is it BSI (back-illuminated).
Thanks to advances in processors and image processing, the latter is not a huge flop. And the reality is that the EOS R10 gives you a pretty generous amount of detail to capture shadows in Lightroom, should you need it. This is the result of lifting the shadows from an underexposed door.
It's possible to do basic raw in-camera edits on the EOS R10 and adjust things like white balance and noise reduction, but it's even easier to do in Lightroom or Snapseed.
Since the raw files are the full output of the sensor, making them a digital "negative", it has a wider dynamic range than with JPEG files. This can be used to correct exposure errors or sculpt light to direct the viewer's gaze to the main subject of the photo.
Are there any downsides to the EOS R10 for beginners? In my experience, none are unexpected for the price. The electronic viewfinder is quite small at 0,59x effective magnification, there's no in-body image stabilization (IBIS), and the 4K/60p video mode has a fairly large 1,56x crop (see below). But neither of these is a deal breaker.
My only real criticism is not related to the camera itself, but to its lenses. Currently, Canon has only made two native lenses for the EOS R10 and EOS R7: the RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM and the RF-S Zoom 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM. . It's pretty puny compared to Sony and Fujifilm.
Still, there are a few reasons why it's not as bad as it seems. Firstly, a wide range of lenses isn't a necessity for the most advanced cameras, which is why our Canon EOS R7 review gave this camera a harder time for the same issue. Plus, there are actually some pretty useful (and relatively affordable) full-frame lenses out there that should work well with the EOS R10.
Along with the 18-45mm kit zoom, I tested the camera with the RF 85mm f/2 macro (€550 / €670 / AU$1,049), which is quite a versatile premium. Other full frame RF lenses that should work well with the EOS R10 are the RF50mm f/1.8 (€180 / €220 / AU$340), RF 16mm f/2.8 (€299 / €320 / AU$479) and, for wild snapper, the RF600mm f/11 ($699 / £860 / AU$1399).
That said, it would still be nice to see Canon release a few more native APS-C lenses for their new small sensor cameras.
ticket for ten
The Canon EOS R10 doesn't outperform its entry-level rivals. But I think its autofocus power and ease of use, along with its useful burst shooting speeds, give it an edge over rivals Sony and Fujifilm, for now.
It's a lot of fun to use, and it's finally the mirrorless equivalent of the Canon Rebel (or triple-digit EOS) DSLRs that many have been waiting years for.
If you like a more retro-style camera and need a wide range of native lenses, the Fujifilm X-T30 II might be the best choice. Also, the older Sony A6400 has more lenses than the EOS R10 and is a more compact camera.
But despite its old-school sensor, the EOS R10's powerful processor, autofocus experience and solid control setup give beginners a great camera to start with and a pretty impressive device to grow with. Especially if Canon really backs up the promise of the R10 with a few more of those native lenses.