Are you a beginner to the world of photography in search of a good camera that will help you hone your skills? Then take a good look at the Canon EOS R100. It’s also a great option if you’re someone on a tight budget who’s keen to upgrade to a mirrorless camera from your phone or ageing DSLR.
Thanks to Amazon‘s Prime Day sale, the Canon EOS R100 with a single lens gets a decent 23% discount, dropping to just AU$804.76 (was AU$1,049). Admittedly this isn’t the best price I’ve seen on this kit – that was AU$749 during Black Friday last year – but you do get bonus AU$100 in Amazon credit to spend on something else, which kinda makes up for this not being the lowest price yet.
Even without the discount and additional store credit, I think the EOS R100 kit is excellent value at full price, boasting good speed and autofocus performance.
The Canon EOS R100 offers quite a lot of features for an entry-level camera, whether capturing stills or video. Its 24.1 megapixel APS-C format sensor is paired with the Digic 8 processor which, while not being the fastest Canon imaging engine, is more than capable of handling anything you can throw at it.
This includes capturing 4K/24p video with a 1.55x crop, and uncropped Full HD (1080p) video that uses the full width of the sensor. Importantly, the R100 gets Canon’s tried-and-tested Dual Pixel Autofocus system with a decent 3,975 AF points that covers 143 autofocus zones. That means your single-frame images will be in focus and sharp while you’re shooting at its max burst speed of 6.5 frames per second.
It’s also the lightest RF-mount camera in Canon’s arsenal, weighing in at a mere 356g with the battery and card.
Our only gripe is that the R100’s rear LCD screen is a fixed-type with no touch functionality, but then you do get what you pay for. If an articulating rear touchscreen is important, you could consider the Canon EOS R50, which is out of stock on Amazon but available for AU$1,199 for a single-lens kit from Ted’s Cameras and you get a bonus AU$100 Ted’s gift card to spend on something else.
Despite the fixed LCD screen, I think the EOS R100 is still one of the best cameras for beginners or for those looking to make the switch from Canon’s now-discontinued M-series cameras or an older DSLR.
While we haven’t reviewed this camera on TechRadar, my colleagues and camera specialists at Digital Camera World have – calling the Canon EOS R100 “the beginner camera to beat all others”. That’s saying something, especially at this price.
You can even opt for a twin-lens kit for under a grand – the EOS R100 with the 18-55mm and 55-210mm kit lenses are down to AU$999 with additional AU$150 in Amazon credit (was AU$1,122).