Worth the upgrade from M3 to M50?

So I recently saved up some cash that I decided would go towards photography gear. I bought some new lenses for my M3 (Sigma 30mm f1.4 and a very old EF 100-300mm USM lens to go with the EF adapter). I also have the 22mm STM, 18-55mm kit lens and EF-S 55-250mm IS STM (only found this buried away in my mother's closet after buying the 100-300 EF and we have no idea where it came from but oh well it works).

Now i'm wondering about the final piece of the puzzle, the body. The local photography store currently has a sale on the M50 (mk 1) for about $550 while it usually goes for about $760 locally (it's probably way more expensive than in the US because almost all electronics are way more expensive in South Africa).

Obviously the M50 has some advantages over the M3, namely the EVF (haven't shot with a VF in ages but it might be fun to use on occasion in bright sunlight), higher ISO range and most importantly the Dual Pixel auto focus. The slow auto focus of the M3 is actually the main reason I want to upgrade.

My question is just whether it's worth it. The Canon R range is just a bit out of my reach at the moment and I'm not really planning to do photography professionally besides maybe doing one or two low key shoots sometime in my university career, hence why I decided to stick with the M lineup and invest in some lenses knowing that there probably won't be another M camera or native lens released. I'm just a bit hesitant as I'm not sure if the m50's auto focus is really that much better than the M3's and whether it's worth the upgrade. There are also a few other small things that bother me with the M50, such as the lack of dials on the body and just less buttons all round.

In terms of reselling the M3, the only local store that was interested in buying it offered only $290 for the M3 AND both the 22mm and 18-55mm lens which just seems very little, especially since the 22mm is quite a nice lens. So I might try and sell it on Ebay for about $200 but selling it online is a hassle due to SA's Post Office being basically unusable and courier costs coming close to the value of the camera itself. There isn't really a big local resale market for low end camera's either due to the high crime rates, which cause people to generally rather buy new than used in fear of getting robbed or scammed.

P.S. I almost only shoot photos so the video isn't too much of a concern.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

That's great to hear and quite reassuring. I don't have any experience with the M or M2 but the autofocus on the M3 definitely feels very slow, especially in low light.

I've had the M3 and now have 2 M50's. There is really no comparison. You will not be disappointed.

Alan

KVoigt wrote:

So I recently saved up some cash that I decided would go towards photography gear. I bought some new lenses for my M3 (Sigma 30mm f1.4 and a very old EF 100-300mm USM lens to go with the EF adapter). I also have the 22mm STM, 18-55mm kit lens and EF-S 55-250mm IS STM (only found this buried away in my mother's closet after buying the 100-300 EF and we have no idea where it came from but oh well it works).

I bought my M3 + 18-55mm before my last trip from Australia to South Africa in 2016. I used it as a second camera (I also had a 70D + L lenses) in Cape Town, Durban, Hluhluwe, Kruger Park etc.

The M3 worked well within it's limitations, but the lack of EVF drove me nuts. South Africa, like Australia, has lots of bright sunny days, and bright sun + LCD is not a great combo.

I replaced it with a M5 + 18-150mm in 2017, and the M5 is better than the M3 in every way (except being slightly bigger). The M50 is a more basic camera (controls-wise) than either M3 or M5 (especially M5), but the M50 does have better AF than M5.

Now i'm wondering about the final piece of the puzzle, the body. The local photography store currently has a sale on the M50 (mk 1) for about $550

Is that for body only, or body + 15-45mm kit lens ?

while it usually goes for about $760 locally (it's probably way more expensive than in the US because almost all electronics are way more expensive in South Africa).

Can you not buy internationally and ship it in (obviously insured shipping) ?

Obviously the M50 has some advantages over the M3, namely the EVF (haven't shot with a VF in ages but it might be fun to use on occasion in bright sunlight), higher ISO range

The higher ISO range is academic because IMO ISO 1600 is about the limit for any Canon APS-C sensor unless you have no choice or are happy with some noise.

and most importantly the Dual Pixel auto focus.

DPAF is good, especially for video (which you and I don't do).

The slow auto focus of the M3 is actually the main reason I want to upgrade.

I also found that my M3 did not play well with the EF 100-400L (original) I had at the time - it used to hunt badly. I don't know what it is like with the 100-300mm ?

My question is just whether it's worth it. The Canon R range is just a bit out of my reach at the moment and I'm not really planning to do photography professionally besides maybe doing one or two low key shoots sometime in my university career, hence why I decided to stick with the M lineup and invest in some lenses knowing that there probably won't be another M camera or native lens released. I'm just a bit hesitant as I'm not sure if the m50's auto focus is really that much better than the M3's and whether it's worth the upgrade. There are also a few other small things that bother me with the M50, such as the lack of dials on the body and just less buttons all round.

You have to use the LCD for a lot of controls on M50. That is why I have kept my M5 - much more user-friendly.

In terms of reselling the M3, the only local store that was interested in buying it offered only $290 for the M3 AND both the 22mm and 18-55mm lens which just seems very little, especially since the 22mm is quite a nice lens.

Realistically that probably isn't too bad. In Australia I would guess that a M3 body might only be worth $150 tops, and the lens second hand around $60-100 each at most.

Having said that, the EF-M 18-55mm I had (my daughter also has one) was actually quite a nice lens. IMO better than the vast majority of EF-M 15-45mm lenses as they are a real lottery.

So I might try and sell it on Ebay for about $200 but selling it online is a hassle due to SA's Post Office being basically unusable and courier costs coming close to the value of the camera itself. There isn't really a big local resale market for low end camera's either due to the high crime rates, which cause people to generally rather buy new than used in fear of getting robbed or scammed.

I lived there for over 30 years (fortunately got out 20 years ago), so I understand your concerns. That is why I might take the shop's offer if I were you, or at least ask them for an offer for the body only.

P.S. I almost only shoot photos so the video isn't too much of a concern.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Colin

I would just save up for the M6ii. It should be cheaper towards the end of the year when supply levels get back to normal.

Thank you so much for everyone's advice. I ended up buying the M50 today as it was just too good of a deal to miss out on and this weekend was my last chance to buy it before I go back to Uni and the deal ends.

It is currently raining so I haven't really had the chance to properly test it out, but from just playing around with it it seams really nice. The auto focus is incredibly fast compared to my M3. I'm also really enjoying the EVF and still playing around and getting used to it. Using on screen controls and having less dials for adjusting iso and shutter speed is a bit of an adjustment, but I think I'll get used to it and it isn't too big of a deal. The rapid burst shooting is also a nice to have and very fast compared to the M3.

Overall I am very happy so far and think it's definitely worth the upgrade from the M3. Still have to compare the IQ sometime though. Might even take both out for a shoot to compare sometime.

So once again thank you for all the advice and input.

~ Karl

KVoigt wrote:

Thank you so much for everyone's advice. I ended up buying the M50 today as it was just too good of a deal to miss out on and this weekend was my last chance to buy it before I go back to Uni and the deal ends.

It is currently raining so I haven't really had the chance to properly test it out, but from just playing around with it it seams really nice. The auto focus is incredibly fast compared to my M3. I'm also really enjoying the EVF and still playing around and getting used to it. Using on screen controls and having less dials for adjusting iso and shutter speed is a bit of an adjustment, but I think I'll get used to it and it isn't too big of a deal. The rapid burst shooting is also a nice to have and very fast compared to the M3.

Overall I am very happy so far and think it's definitely worth the upgrade from the M3. Still have to compare the IQ sometime though.

M50: better dynamic range.

M3: Better colors.

Might even take both out for a shoot to compare sometime.

So once again thank you for all the advice and input.

~ Karl