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My first Mirrorless Camera

I’ve never owned a REAL camera before. My smartphone and action cameras take good photos and videos. So why would I need one? But… then I saw a crazy bargain online — Canon M6 + lens for £300 ($400). I couldn’t resist, and now I own a Mirrorless Camera. How does it compare to the photos and videos coming out of my smartphone? Would I recommend you upgrade to a proper camera? All will be revealed…

TRANSCRIPT

0:00:00.640,0:00:08.000
I’m going to let you in on a secret…
This is the second time I’ve made this video.


0:00:08.000,0:00:11.700
The first time around it was 30 mins
long and full of useful details.

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Then my hard drive crashed and I lost everything!

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All the video footage, all the photos, all my notes.

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But, undeterred, I’m trying again.
I refuse to let setbacks hold me back.

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Oh, and I’ve made this video for relative beginners.


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I know there will be camera nerds who are
watching this video right now, ready to correct me.

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And I’ll tell you, I can’t stand camera nerds!

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“Oh, I’m going to leave a comment correcting
him and show off how much I know.”

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“I’m cleverer than Jay.”

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NO! No, you’re not cleverer than me!

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I’m just simplifying for the inexperienced people, OK?

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Stupid camera nerds!
Why don’t you just go f—

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Whatup nerds? I’m Jay Shareef.
And I just bought my first Mirrorless camera.

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Here’s the thing. I’ve never owned a proper camera.

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I work in marketing. So, basically, my job
is putting words and images together

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on behalf of companies and government agencies.

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So I’ve used plenty of cameras in my line of work.

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But I’ve avoided what the photography
nerds would call a “real” camera.

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And by “real cameras” they mean the ones with big sensors and interchangeable lenses.

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I’ve never wanted to own one of
those cameras, for three reasons.

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Number one: they’re heavy and cumbersome.

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Number two: the thought of carrying
around extra lenses annoys me.

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And number three: I’m lazy.

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Oh yeah… that.

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I don’t joke about disabilities.

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But I typed “lazy fat man” into a search engine.

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And THAT is the image that came up.

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Anyway, I am lazy. And I don’t want a
whole load of extra settings to worry about.

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I like to stick it in AUTO mode,
and let the camera do all the work.

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I can shoot manual. I just don’t want to.

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I’ve no interest in worrying about F-stops
and T-stops and shutter speeds and filters.

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I am NOT a camera nerd!

0:02:16.100,0:02:20.000
Oh, and one thing I really don’t care
about is blurry backgrounds.

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Camera nerds are obsessed with blurry backgrounds.

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“Oooh, it’s so cinematic.”

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“Oh, the bokeh is so beautiful!”

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I do not care about BOKEH!

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That’s what the camera nerds call the background blur.

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Personally, I need a camera for just two things:

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My kids and Youtube videos. That’s it.

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My smartphone and my action
cameras, plus my camcorder…

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that’s more than enough for me to
do the job, as far as i’m concerned.

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Also, I don’t want the background to be blurry.

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So, why would I spend more
money on a proper camera?

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But, there was a nagging voice in the back of my head.

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And it was always telling me that my
Youtube videos could look a lot better.

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So, I decided i was going to upgrade,
but not all the way to a “real” camera.

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Instead, I was going to get a
compact camera with a big sensor.

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“Big” is a relative term here, by the way.

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Basically, I had three requirements.

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Firstly, it had to have a big sensor.

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There’s no point getting a new camera
if it doesn’t give you a better picture

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than the cameras you already own.

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Secondly, it must have a microphone
input, so I can plug in my external mic.

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Audio is really, really important for YouTube videos.

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And, finally, it has to have an articulating
screen so I can see what I’m recording.

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When you’re making YouTube videos,
you’re usually doing everything yourself.

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So, being able to see what you’re
recording is really really valuable.

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After a little bit of research, I decided
to get myself a Canon G7X Mark iii.

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It has a one-inch sensor, microphone
input, and a flip-up screen.

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Love flip-up screens!

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I’d heard it was a great little camera,
but it had some teething trouble initially.

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Basically, it suffered from Godawful autofocus!

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Have a look on YouTube. Terrible autofocus!

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A lot of YouTubers ended up looking
very, very blurry in all of their videos.

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But… Canon said they’d released a new
firmware that fixed the autofocus problem.

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Canon lied to us!

0:04:31.800,0:04:36.180
The autofocus on the G7X mark iii is still terrible.

0:04:36.180,0:04:40.200
So, I sent it back and resigned
myself to waiting for the Mark iv.

0:04:40.200,0:04:48.320
Then I saw that one of the big electronics superstores
was selling a super cheap display model Canon M6.

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A £700 GBP camera available for
just £300 GBP, with a kit lens.

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That’s a no-brainer. So, obviously, I bought it.

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So, the big question now is: was it worth the money?

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And how does it compare to my
smartphone and other cameras?

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At this point I’m going to jump to the punchline for you.

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Obviously, obviously, a real camera, with
a large sensor and interchangeable lenses,

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is going to produce better photos and
video than any smartphone. Obviously.

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None of you will be surprised
by that big reveal at the end.

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But, here’s the question I’m hoping to answer for you:

0:05:26.380,0:05:31.680
Is it really worth upgrading to a real camera nowadays?

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Everybody already has a powerful
smartphone in their pocket.

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How big a difference is there between
smartphone cameras and real cameras?

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And the answer to that question,
definitely surprised me!

0:05:47.760,0:05:50.360
So, if you’ve just joined us, what I’m doing today is

0:05:50.360,0:05:54.480
comparing my smartphone camera
to my new Mirrorless camera.

0:05:54.480,0:06:00.400
I bought the Canon M6 for £300 – that’s about $400 US.

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And it’s the first real camera that I’ve ever owned.

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And here it is. Sorry, no unboxing this time around.

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I did film the unboxing, but
managed to lose all that footage.

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Anyway, this is everything I got for my $400.

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I’ve got the camera body.

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A battery and battery charger.

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A Canon branded strap. (I do like that.)

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And a 15-to-45 mm stabilized kit lens.

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Rest assured, I didn’t buy this blind.

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I’d researched it beforehand,
and knew what I was getting.

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According to the reviews, it’s a fantastic camera.

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This camera shoots HD video,
which is very important for YouTubers.

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It has a flip-up screen. Again,
very important for YouTubers.

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It’s reasonably lightweight.

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The body is less than 400 grammes.

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It has In-body Image Stabilization.
What the nerds often refer to as IBIS.

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It also has stabilized lenses available, like this one.

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You can connect an external microphone.

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It has Canon’s usual excellent
picture quality, even with the kit lenses.

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And a large APS-C sensor inside.
We’ll talk more about that later.

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And, finally, it has Canon’s excellent
Dual Pixel Autofocus, aka D.P.A.F.

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So, the Canon M6 ticks almost all by boxes.

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If they could make a version of this with
a fixed lens, and it was a bit lighter,

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that would probably be my ideal camera.

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At this point, I do have to acknowledge that most YouTubers seem to prefer the Canon M50

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to the Canon M6, and many will
claim that that camera is superior.

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The truth is they are almost identical in every way,

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except the Canon M6 is slightly
smaller and has better battery life.

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Some reviewers also claim the Canon M6
has better autofocus, as well.

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I’m aware that the Canon M50 can shoot videos in 4K.

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But, it’s a severely cropped image, and you
lose the Dual Pixel Autofocus in 4K mode.

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If your 4K footage is coming out blurry, well

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you might as well not have 4K as far as I’m concerned!

0:08:10.920,0:08:15.520
Also, and this is very much a personal
preference, the screen on the M6 flips up.

0:08:15.520,0:08:19.520
Whereas, the screen on the M50 flips out to the side.

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If you prefer your screen to flip out to
the side then definitely get the M50,

0:08:23.760,0:08:28.240
because, truthfully, they are really
very, very, very similar cameras.

0:08:28.240,0:08:33.300
Ultimately, the biggest differentiator for me was
that I could buy the M6 for a bargain price.

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The M50 would have cost at least $300 more.

0:08:37.640,0:08:41.260
So, how good is this Mirrorless camera really?

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Let me demonstrate.

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Right now, I’m filming on my Sony camcorder.

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What happens when I swap my
camcorder for my new Mirrorless camera?

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Right! I think it should be immediately pretty obvious

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that the Mirrorless camera is in a
different league to this camcorder.

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You see, while this camcorder may look big,
and it weighs more than my new camera,

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in reality it has an absolutely tiny, tiny sensor.

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In fact, there’s a good chance the sensor in your
smartphone is bigger than the one in this camera.

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This is the Sony AX53, and it has a
sensor that’s “1 over 2.5 inches” in size.

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That’s a really stupid and confusing way of saying it

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and, in all honesty, a lot of camera
jargon is stupid and confusing.

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So, let’s use some sensible metric numbers.

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The sensor in this camcorder is 25 square millimetres.

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The sensor in most high-end smartphones, and action
cameras, is usually about 29 square millimetres.

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So, not much bigger.

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The APS-C sensor in my new mirrorless camera
though is about 330 square millimetres.

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It’s more than 13 times bigger
than what’s in this camcorder.

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And that is why the image you are seeing right now
is better than the one you were seeing with my Sony.

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Generally speaking, the bigger your
sensor the better your images can be.

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But what about Megapixels, Jay?

0:10:15.820,0:10:18.399
I’m glad you asked. Let me explain…

0:10:18.399,0:10:24.200
Megapixels are bullshit, OK?
Megapixels are a marketing scam.

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More Megapixels doesn’t always mean better picture quality.

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In many situations, more Megapixels could
actually mean WORSE picture quality.

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It is a complicated subject and
I’m not going to get into it here.

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But, just take my word for it: sensor size
matters a lot more than Megapixels.

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A 10 Megapixel camera with a huge sensor, and
a decent lens, can usually do a lot more for you

0:10:46.980,0:10:50.780
than your 20 or 30 Megapixel smartphone camera.

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My new Canon camera has a bigger sensor and
it delivers a better picture than my camcorder.

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So you might be wondering:

0:10:58.720,0:11:04.320
Why the hell is this camcorder, with its tiny sensor,
so much bigger and heavier than my new camera?

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Well, a lot of that has to do with the optical
stabilization built within this camcorder.

0:11:10.700,0:11:13.519
Basically, as the camera shakes and jitters,

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the lenses and sensor inside the camera
body will move too, in the opposite direction,

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in order to reduce the shakiness of the image.

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Which is a damned clever system.

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Secondly, this camera has an enormous zoom capacity,

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and that also takes up a hell of a lot of room.

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It has 20 times zoom.

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Which is, quite frankly, astonishing.

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I do have a lot of respect for this camcorder and
what it can do. It’s an amazing piece of engineering.

0:11:42.240,0:11:46.600
And, in decent lighting, it does a really good job.

0:11:46.600,0:11:51.760
It’s just not in the same league
as my new Mirrorless camera.

0:11:51.760,0:11:56.740
By the way, just to appease the nerds, I
should explain the term “Mirrorless camera”.

0:11:56.740,0:12:00.920
In the old days, instead of electronic
sensors we had film cameras.

0:12:00.920,0:12:05.140
And there used to be a mirror
in-between the lens and the film.

0:12:05.140,0:12:09.880
The mirror would reflect the light
coming into the lens into a viewfinder.

0:12:09.880,0:12:13.700
This allowed the photographer to
see what they were about to shoot.

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If they were happy with what they saw in the viewfinder,

0:12:17.360,0:12:19.340
they’d click the shutter button.

0:12:19.340,0:12:22.940
The mirror would move out of the way
for a second or a fraction of a second.

0:12:22.940,0:12:27.560
The light coming through the lens
would hit the film and record an image.

0:12:27.560,0:12:30.240
Nowadays though, hardly anyone uses film cameras.

0:12:30.240,0:12:34.640
All our cameras are digital. So,
we don’t really need that mirror.

0:12:34.640,0:12:40.480
And, if we remove the mirror mechanism,
our cameras can be a lot smaller and lighter.

0:12:40.480,0:12:45.682
And that is why Mirrorless cameras will
soon become the norm in photography.

0:12:45.682,0:12:51.720
It’s worth mentioning that technically (technically)
most of the cameras made nowadays are mirrorless.

0:12:51.720,0:12:57.519
Including the ones you find in smartphones, in
action cameras, and in compact cameras etc.

0:12:57.519,0:13:02.000
But, when people talk about mirrorless
cameras, what they usually mean is

0:13:02.000,0:13:06.580
the ones with bigger sensors
and interchangeable lenses.

0:13:09.680,0:13:13.040
Right, so I’m once again filming on my Sony camcorder,

0:13:13.040,0:13:17.880
because I need to talk about this
wonderful new M6 that I bought.

0:13:17.880,0:13:23.260
If you know me at all, then you already know that
I definitely bought some accessories for it too.

0:13:23.260,0:13:27.340
I was good this time, though. I only
bought three-slash-four accessories.

0:13:27.340,0:13:32.800
And, I think you’ll agree, they were great choices.
(Links will be in the description below.)

0:13:32.800,0:13:40.540
The first thing I bought, obviously, is a brand new
memory card. This is a 256GB Ultima Pro by Integral.

0:13:40.540,0:13:47.380
Supposedly very, very fast. Perfect for filming HD
or taking lots of photographs in quick succession.

0:13:47.380,0:13:51.920
But, I don’t think that counts as
an accessory! So, let’s not count it.

0:13:51.920,0:13:56.120
The first accessory I bought is a
screen protector for the main screen.

0:13:56.120,0:13:58.420
Basically it’s just a thin sheet of tempered glass.

0:13:58.420,0:14:01.340
The idea being that if you accidentally drop the camera,

0:14:01.340,0:14:05.380
your screen protector will crack,
but your screen remains intact.

0:14:05.380,0:14:10.320
I’ve used these on most of my smartphones
and they work really, really well.

0:14:10.320,0:14:15.200
Also, this thing picks up fingerprints like crazy!

0:14:15.200,0:14:19.840
Secondly, I bought a dummy battery.
Although, it says “AC adapter”.

0:14:19.840,0:14:22.600
You are probably wondering:
what the hell is a dummy battery?

0:14:22.600,0:14:29.120
Well, it’s an ingenious device that connects your
camera to the main supply through the battery slot.

0:14:29.120,0:14:32.940
Which means, if you’re doing any
recording or photography indoors,

0:14:32.940,0:14:35.120
you won’t have to worry about your battery running out.

0:14:35.120,0:14:42.200
And, seeing as I hope to use this camera indoors, to film
all my YouTube videos, that’s going to be really helpful.

0:14:42.200,0:14:47.880
The third and final accessory I bought
was a silicone cover. And here it is

0:14:47.880,0:14:50.020
Yes, it is yellow!

0:14:50.020,0:14:53.760
Was that a deliberate choice?
Hell yes, it was a deliberate choice!

0:14:53.760,0:14:58.639
You might think I’ve gone insane.
But, it’s all to do with colour theory.

0:14:58.639,0:15:01.060
When I was studying to be a designer,

0:15:01.060,0:15:06.680
we learned about how different colours, and different
colour combinations, affect people psychologically.

0:15:06.680,0:15:12.360
And, by that, I don’t mean that “blue is
for sadness” and “green is for jealousy”.

0:15:12.360,0:15:16.740
That’s an artistic interpretation,
not a scientific interpretation.

0:15:16.740,0:15:25.680
Look what happens when I put this silicon cover on
my camera. I’ve now got a black and yellow device.

0:15:25.680,0:15:30.800
Ask yourself: where else have you seen
the combination of black and yellow?

0:15:30.800,0:15:34.340
Well, there’s stinging insects like bees and wasps.

0:15:34.340,0:15:37.120
Police tape is usually black and yellow.

0:15:37.120,0:15:42.280
And, hazard signs are legally
required to be black and yellow.

0:15:42.280,0:15:46.540
The combination of black and
yellow makes us think of danger.

0:15:46.540,0:15:51.440
Without us even realizing it, it’s telling us to stay away.

0:15:51.440,0:15:53.840
So, what does that mean for me and this camera?

0:15:53.840,0:15:58.820
Well, if you have a black and yellow
camera, it’s less likely to get stolen.

0:15:58.820,0:16:06.400
Because, subconsciously, it’s telling potential thieves: “This is a dangerous item. Stay away!!”

0:16:06.400,0:16:09.140
Not so crazy a choice now, is it?

0:16:09.140,0:16:14.460
And, that’s also why I put a black and
yellow case on my smartphone as well.

0:16:14.460,0:16:16.460
Never been stolen!

0:16:18.880,0:16:22.080
So, I’ve got my camera. I’ve got my accessories.

0:16:22.080,0:16:26.880
Time to test the Canon M6 against my
smartphone to see how they compare.

0:16:26.880,0:16:31.440
As usual, I’m going to judge on
the five most sensible criteria.

0:16:39.100,0:16:43.000
But, seeing as we’re not really
comparing a camera to a camera,

0:16:43.000,0:16:47.060
I’m going to go through this
much, much quicker than usual.

0:16:50.380,0:16:53.580
OK, so it’s time to do some Pixel Peeking!

0:16:53.580,0:17:00.180
I went to my local lake and took some nature photos.
Yes, we do have lakes in inner city Birmingham(!)

0:17:00.800,0:17:05.940
This image was captured by my smartphone.
I’m using the Sony Xperia XA2.

0:17:05.940,0:17:11.160
It’s a really good device, and takes some
great photos. And this is a great photo.

0:17:11.160,0:17:15.640
Now, look at the same image taken by the Canon M6.

0:17:15.640,0:17:19.600
At first, you might not think there’s
much difference between the two.

0:17:19.600,0:17:26.799
However, when we zoom into the centre of the image,
where I focused, you can start to see the differences.

0:17:26.799,0:17:30.820
As you can see, the camera image is a lot sharper.

0:17:30.820,0:17:34.860
And the image that came out of
the smartphone is pretty mushy.

0:17:34.860,0:17:38.320
You can’t really see the details on these leaves at all.

0:17:38.320,0:17:42.420
OK, so the difference there was
significant, but it wasn’t huge.

0:17:42.420,0:17:48.160
Where these dedicated cameras could
really shine is when the sun goes down.

0:17:48.160,0:17:53.039
Because the larger lenses and sensors
allow them to collect more light.

0:17:53.039,0:17:56.640
So, they perform much better in low-light situations.

0:17:56.640,0:18:00.960
Here’s an image of my local canal at about
midnight. This was taken on my smartphone.

0:18:00.960,0:18:03.680
And the image looks pitch black.

0:18:03.680,0:18:07.100
That’s because it was pitch black at the time.

0:18:07.100,0:18:14.000
I was there and, without my torch, I couldn’t
see enough to even walk along the path.

0:18:14.000,0:18:18.480
Now, here’s what the camera was
able to do at the same location.

0:18:18.480,0:18:21.040
Yes, this image is quite grainy.

0:18:21.040,0:18:28.800
But, given there was almost no light at this location,
it’s astonishing it was able to get a usable photo.

0:18:32.720,0:18:37.600
The Canon M6 can record video at
full HD up to 60 frames per second.

0:18:37.600,0:18:45.520
You’ve also got the option of switching to 50,
30, 25 and 24 frames per second, if you want.

0:18:45.520,0:18:48.060
Generally, I like shooting at 30 fps.

0:18:48.060,0:18:53.580
But, I know a lot of people prefer the
“cinematic” look of 24 frames per second.

0:18:53.580,0:18:59.200
The smartphone, meanwhile, can capture
4K videos at up to 30 frames per second.

0:18:59.200,0:19:04.480
However, I will be recording in
full HD for this particular test.

0:19:04.480,0:19:10.100
It’s worth noting that the Canon M6 has
image stabilization built into both the camera

0:19:10.100,0:19:12.240
and separately in the lens.

0:19:12.240,0:19:17.140
So, the footage we get from the
camera should be much smoother.

0:19:17.140,0:19:23.020
Also, keep in mind that both of these
devices have face tracking autofocus.

0:19:23.020,0:19:27.580
So, the image of my face should be tack sharp.

0:19:28.540,0:19:34.400
You know, photographers usually refer to this
time, just before sunset, as “golden hour”.

0:19:34.400,0:19:40.720
Because the sun is bright orange in the sky,
and it bathes everything in a golden glow.

0:19:40.720,0:19:43.840
That doesn’t really work in Birmingham a lot of the time.

0:19:43.840,0:19:47.039
Because, most of the time, it’s quite cloudy.

0:19:47.040,0:19:50.000
If this was on a GoPro, that sky would look bright blue.

0:19:50.000,0:19:51.600
But it isn’t.

0:19:51.600,0:19:56.080
So, you’re probably getting a
better representation of reality.

0:19:56.080,0:20:03.320
But, this test, this walking-talking test, is mainly to
check the sound quality of the internal microphones.

0:20:03.320,0:20:09.100
Is the smartphone sound better than
the internal microphones in the camera?

0:20:09.100,0:20:12.440
But, also, the picture stability.

0:20:12.440,0:20:21.280
The camera is supposed to have in body image
stabilization – IBIS – and a stabilized lens.

0:20:21.280,0:20:26.320
What difference is that making to this…
I suppose you’d call it a Vlogging test?

0:20:26.320,0:20:29.440
I’ve never really liked that term.
Sounds kind of pretentious to me.

0:20:29.440,0:20:33.720
I prefer to refer to myself as “an artiste”

0:20:33.720,0:20:36.240
or “a creative person”.

0:20:36.240,0:20:39.380
Never “a Vlogger”. I’m not a Vlogger.

0:20:39.380,0:20:42.100
How’s it looking? Good?

0:20:42.100,0:20:45.600
And how’s the autofocus working?

0:20:45.760,0:20:52.480
Both of them should be doing a good job. But I expect
a slightly better job is coming out of the Canon M6.

0:20:52.480,0:20:54.400
I would hope so anyway.
[WIND NOISE]

0:20:54.400,0:20:59.200
As that’s pretty much what it’s
famed for – it’s fantastic autofocus.

0:20:59.200,0:21:02.240
I think it is looking better than the smartphone.

0:21:02.240,0:21:04.840
But you’d be the judge.

0:21:04.840,0:21:15.240
[INAUDIBLE DUE TO WIND NOISE]

0:21:15.640,0:21:18.340
But, this is the boating lake. My local boating lake.

0:21:18.340,0:21:21.040
I know! Inner city Birmingham and a boating lake.

0:21:21.040,0:21:23.260
You wouldn’t expect it, but it is true.

0:21:23.260,0:21:25.160
It’s a great city…

0:21:25.160,0:21:27.360
80% of the time.

0:21:27.360,0:21:28.960
Back to the studio!

0:21:32.720,0:21:36.580
Doing sound quality tests indoors
isn’t really much of a challenge.

0:21:36.580,0:21:40.880
So, for the audio capture tests
we’re heading back outside.

0:21:40.880,0:21:45.620
You’ve already heard what the two devices
sound like with their internal microphones.

0:21:45.620,0:21:50.760
However, both of them also allow you
to plug in an external microphone.

0:21:52.000,0:21:54.940
Right, so time to test the external microphone.

0:21:54.940,0:21:59.020
I’m out in nature. There is traffic
around. There is wind noise around.

0:21:59.020,0:22:02.400
This is the microphone – the Røde mic, as you can see.

0:22:02.400,0:22:06.200
Plugged directly into my Canon M6.

0:22:06.200,0:22:08.000
Are you hearing that traffic noise?

0:22:08.000,0:22:12.260
Are you hearing the rustling in the trees?

0:22:12.260,0:22:14.040
That’s the question.

0:22:14.960,0:22:20.380
Right, so similar situation. We’ve got lots of
rustling and wind noise all over the place.

0:22:20.380,0:22:22.960
There’s traffic going by as well.

0:22:22.960,0:22:27.200
This is the same Røde microphone
plugged into my smartphone.

0:22:27.200,0:22:31.039
Not very far from me, as you can see.
It’s a quality piece of kit.

0:22:31.039,0:22:34.640
So, hopefully… oh the wind’s picking up a little now.

0:22:34.640,0:22:40.140
But, hopefully, that should make no difference
to the quality of the sound you’re hearing.

0:22:42.159,0:22:45.180
As you’d expect, both of them sounded really good,

0:22:45.180,0:22:51.420
because a unidirectional external microphone
always makes a huge difference to sound quality.

0:22:51.420,0:22:54.980
It can be a little unwieldy though, and to be honest,

0:22:54.980,0:22:59.100
I think the sound coming from the
Canon M6 internal microphones

0:22:59.100,0:23:02.400
was good enough that, in many situations,

0:23:02.400,0:23:07.380
you won’t really need an external
mic at all when using this camera.

0:23:10.720,0:23:16.520
This is a weird category to judge,
because they are such different devices.

0:23:16.520,0:23:19.120
However, if we stick to camera-related features,

0:23:19.120,0:23:23.280
hopefully, we can make a sensible comparison.

0:23:23.280,0:23:29.760
Firstly, both of these can connect wirelessly
to other devices using wi-fi and bluetooth.

0:23:29.760,0:23:32.100
So you can transfer files.

0:23:32.100,0:23:37.760
While that’s fine for photos, when it comes to
video files – which are much, much larger –

0:23:37.760,0:23:43.440
it can take a ridiculous amount of time to
transfer just 10 minutes of video footage.

0:23:43.440,0:23:47.320
One big advantage the smartphone does
have is the ability to edit your photos

0:23:47.320,0:23:53.360
and videos very quickly, on the device,
and then post them directly to social media.

0:23:53.360,0:23:56.080
Or through platforms like Whatsapp.

0:23:56.080,0:24:00.060
However, smartphones compress
the files before uploading them.

0:24:00.060,0:24:05.616
Which means that they do get uploaded
faster, but at the expense of image quality.

0:24:05.616,0:24:09.540
The camera does allow you to
apply some basic adjustments

0:24:09.540,0:24:12.380
to your photos and videos from the touch screen.

0:24:12.380,0:24:15.960
However, you can’t share directly with the internet.

0:24:15.960,0:24:23.140
You can use the Canon Camera App to download your
photos to your phone and then upload them online.

0:24:23.140,0:24:27.560
But, in all honesty, it’s much quicker
and easier to take out the SD card,

0:24:27.560,0:24:32.140
stick it in your laptop, and then upload
your photos and videos that way.

0:24:32.140,0:24:35.460
It’s worth noting that you don’t
have to shoot in AUTO mode.

0:24:35.460,0:24:39.520
You can very easily use the manual
settings in both of these devices.

0:24:39.520,0:24:44.560
But, that’s only worth doing if you actually
know what those settings actually do.

0:24:44.560,0:24:49.660
I’ve used both of them in manual and the camera
obviously has a lot more options and versatility.

0:24:49.660,0:24:52.440
However, the smartphone is no slouch

0:24:52.440,0:24:56.920
when it comes to adjusting the ISO,
shutter speed, aperture and white balance.

0:24:56.920,0:25:03.600
But, all that will depend on what camera you’re
using and what camera app you’re using as well.

0:25:03.600,0:25:09.320
One of the most useful features built into this
particular camera is the digital spirit level.

0:25:09.320,0:25:14.200
Basically, it lets you know whether
the camera is horizontal or not.

0:25:14.200,0:25:18.443
And, if you’re not, it will tell you
which side you need to adjust.

0:25:18.443,0:25:23.919
That is something that some of the better
camera apps on Android can also do for you.

0:25:23.919,0:25:28.040
Both the camera and the phone let you
make time-lapse videos, which is fantastic.

0:25:28.040,0:25:33.340
Here’s a time lapse of the iconic
Alum Rock Road, on a very cloudy day,

0:25:33.340,0:25:37.740
shot on both devices, and both
of them worked reasonably well.

0:25:39.840,0:25:43.120
And, finally, both of them have a flashlight.

0:25:43.120,0:25:47.200
But only the smartphone can
use it while shooting video.

0:25:47.200,0:25:49.040
That’s not surprising.

0:25:49.040,0:25:55.560
Using the flashlight on the camera is a huge drain on
the battery, and you’d need a hell of a lot of batteries.

0:25:59.200,0:26:04.020
When it comes to usability, the M6
has many pros and a handful of cons.

0:26:04.020,0:26:06.080
Let’s start with the good points first.

0:26:06.080,0:26:09.900
This is a Canon camera, with a working touchscreen.

0:26:09.900,0:26:14.480
Canon have the best menu system in
the market, according to most reviewers.

0:26:14.480,0:26:20.720
It’s easy to navigate, easy to understand, and gives
you access to lots of customization options too.

0:26:20.720,0:26:27.660
It’s a joy to work with and I’ll probably stick with
Canon cameras forever, just because of the usability.

0:26:27.660,0:26:34.060
The big negative with the Canon M6, for me anyway,
is the pain of carrying around a heavy camera.

0:26:34.060,0:26:37.240
And, on top of that, having separate lenses too.

0:26:37.240,0:26:40.860
Personally I don’t intend to ever own more than one lens.

0:26:40.860,0:26:46.580
The 15 to 45 mm kit lens is fine, as far
as I’m concerned, and it’s stabilized.

0:26:46.580,0:26:50.400
And I’ll just leave this one on my camera forever.

0:26:50.400,0:26:55.140
But, having said that, when taking photos
or recording videos, I have to admit

0:26:55.140,0:26:59.000
the camera is so much nicer to
hold than the smartphone.

0:26:59.000,0:27:03.220
That’s not surprising though, because the
camera companies have spent the last century

0:27:03.220,0:27:07.940
working out how to make cameras
comfortable to hold when you’re using them.

0:27:07.940,0:27:11.640
Finally, let’s talk about the most boring topic of all:

0:27:11.640,0:27:13.520
Battery Life.

0:27:13.520,0:27:19.120
I set them both to record video at full HD, in
AUTO mode, to see how long they would last.

0:27:19.120,0:27:25.560
The smartphone managed to keep shooting
for 4 hours and 15 mins before the battery died.

0:27:25.560,0:27:29.240
That was pretty impressive but not totally unexpected.

0:27:29.240,0:27:35.480
It’s only using a small sensor, and I put it into
“Airplane Mode” to maximize shooting time.

0:27:35.480,0:27:38.380
What really surprised me here was the camera.

0:27:38.380,0:27:43.500
I kept checking on it every 15 minutes,
because i didn’t expect it to last long.

0:27:43.500,0:27:46.300
After one hour it was still going.

0:27:46.300,0:27:49.280
After 90 minutes it was still going.

0:27:49.280,0:27:52.640
After two hours it was still going.

0:27:52.640,0:27:56.320
After two hours and 30 minutes it was still going.

0:27:56.320,0:27:58.960
Albeit with a battery warning light.

0:27:58.960,0:28:02.320
It finally gave up the ghost at
two hours and 40 minutes.

0:28:02.320,0:28:05.280
That’s a lot longer than I expected.

0:28:05.280,0:28:11.300
And it gives me a lot of confidence that I won’t
need a spare battery for most photo shoots.

0:28:11.300,0:28:12.900
Just to warn you though…

0:28:12.900,0:28:20.200
This camera, like most consumer cameras,
can only record for 29 minutes and 59 seconds.

0:28:20.200,0:28:22.840
That’s not a limitation of the camera.

0:28:22.840,0:28:26.760
It’s basically been deliberately
crippled by the manufacturer.

0:28:26.760,0:28:32.520
Under European Union tax laws, any camera
that records video for 30 minutes or more

0:28:32.520,0:28:34.540
is taxed at a higher rate.

0:28:34.540,0:28:38.560
So the camera companies have been
deliberately limiting their camera record times

0:28:38.560,0:28:41.620
to keep the price low for consumers.

0:28:41.620,0:28:46.920
And that is just one more reason to
hate the bureaucratic European Union.

0:28:50.559,0:28:55.660
So… should you upgrade from
a smartphone to a real camera?

0:28:55.660,0:28:58.320
No. Not really.

0:28:58.320,0:29:04.140
If you’re planning to take photos and make videos
on a regular basis, as a serious hobby for example,

0:29:04.140,0:29:10.000
then yes, absolutely, buy yourself a Mirrorless
camera like the Canon M6 or the Canon M50.

0:29:10.000,0:29:16.180
But, if all you’re doing is recording birthday
parties and documenting your holidays,

0:29:16.180,0:29:21.040
there is absolutely no reason
to upgrade to a real camera.

0:29:21.040,0:29:24.500
At a push you might want to
consider buying an action camera.

0:29:24.500,0:29:28.880
But, for most people a proper
camera just isn’t necessary.

0:29:28.880,0:29:33.040
Smartphones are just so good nowadays,

0:29:33.040,0:29:37.440
you are probably better off sticking to the
device you already have in your pocket.

0:29:37.440,0:29:40.960
So, basically, my consumer advice is:

0:29:40.960,0:29:45.520
Don’t… do… what I’ve just done.

0:29:45.520,0:29:47.440
That’s embarrassing.

0:29:47.440,0:29:49.220
Later nerds!

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