Canon is rumored to be launching a rival to the new Nikon Z30 vlogging camera soon. But what features does it need to win the battle?
The new Nikon Z30 vlogging camera has only just landed and we’re already hearing rumors that Canon’s preparing to launch its own rival, possibly called the Canon EOS R100.
Our Nikon Z30 review found that camera to be a charming effort with a great price tag and a few weakness. Which got us thinking – what features would the rumored EOS R100 need to beat the Z30 at its vlogging game?
The reliable Canon Rumors (opens in new tab) is certainly confident that a Nikon Z30-rival is en route. It recently claimed that “Canon’s next RF-mount camera is in the field” and will be announced “before November 2022”. Like the Nikon Z30, it’s expected to have an APS-C sensor be “a small form-factor vlogger” camera.
That sounds like a compelling proposition on paper, but we’ve been here before with Canon – and its more affordable APS-C cameras, like the Canon EOS M50 Mark II, have traditionally had frustrating video limitations.
So based on our time with the Nikon Z30, what’s our best-case scenario wishlist for the rumored Canon EOS R100 (if that’s what it’s ultimately called)? Here’s where we think the Z30 falls slightly short, and where Canon’s rival could trump it to win the hearts of YouTubers and vloggers.
First up is price, with the rumored EOS R100 likely to become the cheapest Canon EOS R series camera available. But it’ll need to match the Z30 and that’s a tough ask because Nikon prices all its mirrorless cameras aggressively.
The Nikon Z30 is the cheapest of its own APS-C bunch at $707 / £699 (body only). More sensibly for content creator newbies, there’s a kit with the 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens for $847 / £839 / AU$1,299, or a $995 / £879 vlogging kit that adds a tripod grip, wind muff and remote to the mix.
Given beginners aren’t known for purchasing multiple lenses, Nikon has wisely smashed it out the park with an excellent kit lens – it’s compact, collapsible, gives a wide angle of view and surprisingly sharp image quality from centre to edges.
It already looks like the wider-angle Nikon lens has the edge for vlogging over Canon’s 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 kit lens, so Canon will need to come up trumps with a vlogging kit and new ultra-wide lens, especially when most beginners are not brand loyal or might look to upgrade their smartphone instead.
One reason why the Nikon Z30 is cheaper than the Nikon Z50 and Z fc is that it doesn’t include a costly built-in viewfinder.
