Canon Refurb M200 - on sale

Carl LaFong wrote:

Larry Rexley wrote:

Carl LaFong wrote:

Since I have decided to stay with M, what I am wrestling with right now is whether to get an M200 for its compact size, or put that money towards a 2nd M6 II body. Both are still available, although no screaming deals on either.

Besides my M6 II body, I also have an M5 which I got for a super discount a year ago. I like it for its built-in EVF, but what I really don’t like is that it works differently from the M6 II. When I switch between bodies, I find the differences in operation and menus to be unsatisfactory. Thus I am more inclined to put my $$$ towards the 2nd M6 II body than the M200, but still see the appeal of each.

I already have more gear than time and ability, so maybe this whole thing is a moot point.

Tough decision... I went through similar thought process.

Which is one reason why I found your well-reasoned opinion below to be very useful.

In some ways it depends on your shooting style and your use for a second body. if it is purely for 'backup' or to take out separately some days with one or 2 lenses for family events or times when you're not doing 'serious' photography, the M200 is a fun, very pocketable camera to have which gives great images.

That’s what I use my M5 for, even if not as pocketable as the M200. It seems somewhat less delicate than the M6 II because of its built-in EVF. And because it cost me a lot less, I’m less worried about damaging it.

Fair enough. I really enjoyed the Canon M6 for a few months before moving on to the M6ii. I miss the dedicated exposure compensation dial the M6i had--- that hit the sweet spot in how I use exposure comp and I wish that had carried over to the M6ii. With the m6ii somehow the doggone exp comp setting keeps getting changed somehow, probably my shirt hitting the screen or rocker buttons or something. I do use it a lot and want to keep in on one of the rocker buttons.

After upgrading to the M6ii, for a while I thought I'd made a pretty bit step up to a 'better camera'.  While the m6ii does have its additional features and definitely focuses better in very low light, and in 2-3 EV lower light overall, after shooting with the M6ii for two years now I realize that most of the time you don't really use the extra resolution, and fewer than half of the native lenses I own will truly resolve the full 32 MP res across at least half the image.  As I've mentioned, for so much shooting you get nearly the same results from the 24 MP M200 as the m6ii - which would hold true for the m6/m5 generation.

If, however, it really will function as a 'second body' for shoots... meaning you mount 2 lenses on two cameras and shoot with both, then you'd be much happier with a second m6ii and a second EVF (if you usually shoot with the EVF).

I actually do do this, because I hate changing lenses when I am outside. So your conclusion is what I think too, especially given your next paragraphs.

I tried using an M50ii as a second body with the M6ii and the differences between the cameras ended up driving me crazy and just didn't work. I just could not get used to that rear dial 'not being a dial' because normally I use it so much when shooting with the EVF.

Exactly my experience with my M5.

I ended up selling the M50ii and getting a refurb black M6ii with another EVF to go along with the silver M6ii. And I'm a very happy camper now, shooting with 2 M6ii's is seamless... I have them set up with identical custom configurations and customizations.

Shooting with two bodies really changed how I shoot... I found it very freeing, not having to constantly change lenses to get wide and tele shots in rapid sequence. I shoot moving trains, and sunsets, and like to capture the entire sky with all the colors --- but also extreme close-ups of the Sun with boats, etc.... and being near the ocean you don't want to be changing lenses with sand and salt blowing around! For shooting trains I have on one camera the 11-22, the other has the EF-S 55-250 with sometimes a 1.5x teleconverter... so I have a huge range of focal lengths available almost instantly with great sharpness across the entire range, and no shots are missed due to lens changes!

That being said, interestingly I find shooting with an M6ii and a second body being the M200, I don't have the same problem I had trying to use the M50ii as the second body. The reason is that the M200 has no EVF, so I'm forced to hold and use it differently than the M6ii with the EVF. I don't find this confusing for some reason. To me the m50ii in use with the EVF feels very similar to the M6ii.... except... it's not, and doesn't have all the same controls or options.

Using the M200 it's easier to change the settings using the rear touch-screen than to use manual controls --- and the M200 has only one dial instead of the 3 the M6ii has. To change settings you just touch the setting you want to change on the rear screen (shutter speed, aperture, ISO) then spin the one dial --- it's pretty fast, and I don't find myself missing 3 dials. So much so that if I'm shooting with the M6ii using the rear screen only --- I now use the touch screen and not the 3 dials, too!

For me, using the M200's rear screen taught me just how well thought out Canon's 'touch screen' interface and touch screen control access really is... almost any setting you want to change is no more than just few quick taps away using the 'Quick Menu.'

I see from your equipment list that you're heavily invested in native EF-M mount lenses --- with 6 Canon EF-M lenses plus 3 third party lenses, and more on your wish list! This means you're quite dependent on the body you own not 'failing' and leaving you with a large collection of lenses and no good body to mount them on. For that case I would strongly consider going with a second M6ii body, as insurance in case in years to come the first M6ii body fails. That's what I've done.

This is the killer argument for me. I had originally thought that the M5 would be my back-up body, but I’ve concluded that if my M6 II “went away,” I could not fall back on just the M5. So - I’m really going to think hard about this, while M6 II bodies are still available new (which I prefer).

Much as I like acquiring new gear, my enthusiasm for spending my money on “another” M6 II is low. But while using the money on something new is the direction indicated by emotion, getting the 2nd M6 II is the direction indicated by logic and common sense.

Understood.

You might sell/swap the older, slower-focusing M5 for a second M6ii, then even add the fast-focusing, better low-light M200 for extra insurance --- and for pocketable 'fun' shooting in different situations than you'd bring an M6ii.

I've backed up my 2 M6iis with 2 M200s (one black and one white) --- the white M200 I had converted to full-spectrum (infrared) so it really is a special-purpose camera, not part of the normal 'setup.' On days when I know I'll shoot a lot of infrared, sometimes I just take both M200s and a few lenses along, plus a lot of IR filters.

Interestingly I find that I take the black M200 with me on some days as the second body, with an M6ii, due to its smaller size and weight --- and sometimes when i go out for 'fun' light shooting I'll take just the black M200 with one lens (often the 22mm f2). The M200/22mm combo can vanish into many pockets and people have no idea you even have a camera with you, until it comes out!

For most purposes the results you get from the M200 (or M50ii) are almost indistinguishable from M6ii images. Where it starts to make a difference is in very low light, or if you need to crop your images a lot (or do extensive perspective correction), or high frame rates (> 5 fps), or 4k video (the M200 doesn't support 30 fps at 4k, and does not use dual-pixel AF for 4k video).

Stay tuned.

I apologize for turning your thread into a personal advice column for my issues, but I really appreciate the perspective you have given me.

No need to apologize, the forum is for us all to share experiences and learn from each other. So much of my knowledge of equipment and shooting decision-making was shaped by many folks on this forum, advice I've found invaluable and which has enhanced my enjoyment of photography and the Canon M system many-fold. Where else to find people that know and love the system... nobody else in my camera club shoots M, they're either Canon DSLR a few Canon R, or Nikon.