Worst of Canon 2023: It’s Unanimous

[scyrene]

It takes 30 seconds to change a battery and the camera is tied up for 3 hours with in-camera charging. I think the craze for in-camera charging stems from phones with fixed batteries that you have to charge in the phone. Can't imagine any serious camera user not having extra batteries and a charger.

I like to travel very light. The battery charger and plug is extra bulk; if I could charge from a powerbank (which I pack for emergencies anyway) that saves me a bit of space and weight. The alternatives are don't take the camera at all, or hope my batteries last the whole trip.

That is why I keep spare batteries. For a phone, it is handy to have both options. Recharge at night in phone, but a spare (or 2) for long conversations or long periods off grid. For a camera, the battery life is much shorter in high-use situations, so spare batteries are essential. The permanent in-phone battery problem has been somewhat mitigated by power banks, but now you have a brick bigger than the phone to carry around. An Olympus TG series camera is a good example of how a phone could be built. My TG6 has a removable battery that can be charged in the phone or out. It has external jacks and actual controls but will still survive (and operate) 50 ft under water.

In the twentyish years I've used a phone without a replaceable battery, I haven't missed that ability at all.

 

[EricN]

I'll go along with that for 3, but by 5 they need to learn what not to eat .

Let's hope so...

 

[David - Sydney]

It takes 30 seconds to change a battery and the camera is tied up for 3 hours with in-camera charging. I think the craze for in-camera charging stems from phones with fixed batteries that you have to charge in the phone. Can't imagine any serious camera user not having extra batteries and a charger.

True but 2 use cases I can think of can need more than one battery without changing eg time lapse and long video (essentially similar). A grip would solve the majority of situations at an extra grip cost and battery vs an external power bank which most people already have

 

[David - Sydney]

. My TG6 has a removable battery that can be charged in the phone or out. It has external jacks and actual controls but will still survive (and operate) 50 ft under water.

the battery door is a point of failure and you need to be really careful that it is clear of debris and closed properly. The door is hinged so hard to get even pressure on the gasket. One mistake and it is dead of course

 

[David - Sydney]

The problem is that the old phones don't work anymore because the phone companies keep changing the system.

If you mean closing down the 2G 2 cdma and gsm network that was originally introduced in 1991 (33 years ago) then I am not surprised… hard to imagine a phone from that era still working or least a battery still holding a charge. The main issue against closing it is for IoT devices - mostly industrial.
3G started in 2001 and still mostly available and definitely backward compatible from most phones

 

[David - Sydney]

.
In the twentyish years I've used a phone without a replaceable battery, I haven't missed that ability at all.

Power banks solve almost all problems as long as you have the right cable
Switching my R5 to airplane mode helps as well

 

[AlanF]

If you mean closing down the 2G 2 cdma and gsm network that was originally introduced in 1991 (33 years ago) then I am not surprised… hard to imagine a phone from that era still working or least a battery still holding a charge. The main issue against closing it is for IoT devices - mostly industrial.
3G started in 2001 and still mostly available and definitely backward compatible from most phones

The GPS/SatNav TomTom uses 2G as basically a free data source for some of its services. Tough for you Aussies as 2G has been mainly closed down down under, I believe, but we still have it up here for another 8 or 9 years.

 

[EOS 4 Life]

Depends where you are and when you look I suppose. Right now, R10 is $499 refurbished with the kit lens from Canon and R100 is $499 on sale new with the kit lens at a couple authorized dealers

A refurbished EOS R100 with 18-45mm Kit is now $329.00*

*The price on both cameras may change by the time you read this.

 

[esglord]

A refurbished EOS R100 with 18-45mm Kit is now $329.00*

*The price on both cameras may change by the time you read this.

Yes, I was saying a used R10 is a better value than a new R100 at a similar price. No doubt that the R100 refurbished is a good value as well.

 

[EOS 4 Life]

Well with the R100, Canon is selling the experience of taking photos like a real photographer, through the EVF.

While that is true, a touch screen would be nice for changing the camera settings.
I basically never use the touch screen while I am taking a photo.

 

[EOS 4 Life]

I agree with you and don’t value this feature at all. That said, my 3 year old’s $80 Kidamento camera has a touch screen and charges with a cable, so maybe the complainers have a point.

For long-form video, which this camera can't do, I would say it is useful because the battery never runs down.
Of course, you can always use a dummy battery,

 

[esglord]

For long-form video, which this camera can't do, I would say it is useful because the battery never runs down.
Of course, you can always use a dummy battery,

Good point. I don’t do a ton of video, but for anything lengthy, I just do 1080p which is presumably less power hungry, so I never ran into battery issues. However, for 4k, I imagine it’s a different story.

 

[EOS 4 Life]

Time will tell who’s right and who’s wrong.

It will be hard to say.
Canon might see selling more R50 cameras than R100 cameras as a good thing.
Canon is only competing with itself at those price points.

 

[EOS 4 Life]

However, those are not the people that use the M50 and M6 Mk 2. Supposedly the R100 is trying desparately to attract.

The R50 is supposed to attract the M50 people.
Hence the name.
There is nothing yet to attract M100 or M6 II people in the lineup.
I am not so sure that there will be.
I would not be shocked if Canon made a vlogging camera like the Z 30 and ZV-E10.
It would be basically an M6 II with a much bigger and better mic.

 

[EOS 4 Life]

In the twentyish years I've used a phone without a replaceable battery, I haven't missed that ability at all.

I still use a replaceable battery phone.
I swap out batteries while people are trying to find a place to plug in.
Also, extra batteries are easier to carry around than a charger.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Also, extra batteries are easier to carry around than a charger.

My extra battery just magnetically attaches to the outside of the phone case, and charges the internal battery. Convenient.

 

[BBarn]

My "Worst of 2023" would be the RF24-50. The range is simply too confining. A bit larger 24-70 or 28-85 of similar speed would have been more appealing.

 

[john1970]

Does that depend on distance?

Lastly, the softness is quite minimal and can be readily addressed in post using Topaz Photo AI software (or the equivalent). Hence, why I am probably keeping the lens as a portable, (relatively lightweight, and (relatively) inexpensive 800 mm lens.

 

[AlanF]

I still use a replaceable battery phone.
I swap out batteries while people are trying to find a place to plug in.
Also, extra batteries are easier to carry around than a charger.

I have a tiny Apple Magsafe battery pack that sticks with a magnet to the back of my iPhone and charges it wirelessly. It fits virtually instantaneously and without any interruption of use while you guys are fumbling around opening your phone and changing batteries.

Oh, by the way, apart from all the internet functions, my iPhone has the Merlin Bird ID on it that alerts me to birds I can't hear or identify with its sound ID, my Collins Bird Guide App, and Seek for identifying plants and anything else that remains still enough, and I can download to it if need be as well as control the camera. And, it takes sufficiently good photos that I carry fewer lenses.

 

[john1970]

I have a tiny Apple Magsafe battery pack that sticks with a magnet to the back of my iPhone and charges it wirelessly. It fits virtually instantaneously and without any interruption of use while you guys are fumbling around opening your phone and changing batteries.

Oh, by the way, apart from all the internet functions, my iPhone has the Merlin Bird ID on it that alerts me to birds I can't hear or identify with its sound ID, my Collins Bird Guide App, and Seek for identifying plants and anything else that remains still enough, and I can download to it if need be as well as control the camera.

Thank you for the info on the two birding apps.