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If you’ve read my thoughts on the Canon EOS M50, then you’ll know how much I love this camera and how it’s allowed me to really up my travel photography game.
When I was looking into purchasing one, I had the choice of getting just the camera body and separate lenses, or the EOS M50 with the EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 kit lens.
As the Canon EOS M50 only takes EF-M lenses – unless you spend more money on a Canon adapter – I wanted to save myself the hassle and purchase the kit lens.
At this point I had my new camera and my first lens, but I kept reading about the EF-M 22mm lens and how great it was for travel. So I picked that up too (read my review).
Because of how compact and brilliant it was, I actually didn’t pick up the EF-M 15-45mm lens until March 2020 when I travelled to Slovenia. It came on trips to New York City, Barcelona and Sri Lanka – yet I stuck with the 22mm because it felt safe.
In hindsight, I really should have taken it for a test run sooner because I’ve been loving it since.
Related: Canon EOS M50 Camera Review
What you need to know about the EF-M 15-45mm lens
“Ideal for stills or movies, you can capture everything from dramatic landscapes and beautiful portraits to fast paced action using this small, versatile and easy-to-carry 15 – 45mm zoom lens. The perfect companion for EOS M users.”
This is how Canon describe their lens – and I think they’ve summed it up perfectly. With this lens, I’m able to shoot both landscapes and portraits without difficulty.
For the type of travel photography that I shoot – which I must remind you is amateur! – I am really impressed with the amount of zoom that I can get from this lens without sacrificing too much quality.
See the full Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 Lens specification.
Photos taken with the EF-M 15-45mm lens
To give you an idea of what this lens can shoot, I took it for a spin in our pre-summer British heatwave to see what it could really do.
Adding just a little zoom to the shots, I was able to capture a range of photos with a good focus, and a nice depth of field.
As I mentioned, I also used this lens for part of my trip to Slovenia and I was over the moon with how my photos turned out.
Here are a few examples:
Lastly, I took some comparison shots with no editing to show you the difference in zoom. The left photo was taken at 15mm and the right at 45mm.
Note: I had to adjust the shutter speed to replace the brightness lost from the automatic change in aperture.
Thoughts on the EF-M 15-45mm lens
What I love:
As I’ve highlighted already, I love that I can capture such a wide range of shots with this lens. From distant islands to blooming flowers, this lens doesn’t limit to a particular type of photography. I find that it’s best with portrait shots, but it is more than capable of capturing landscapes too.
I also like that whilst it’s not as compact as the 22mm lens, it’s still a great size and weight for those of us who love to travel. It fits nicely in my camera bag and is small enough that it’s not a faff when swapping lenses.
The f/3.5 aperture is also really great for anyone who wants to shoot crisp focal points with blurred backgrounds.
What I don’t love:
I’ve found that shooting indoors in low-light and shooting at night haven’t been too easy with this lens. Luckily most of my photography is outdoors with good lighting, but for those who shoot indoors or love low-light photography, it might be more of a struggle.
The aperture also changes from f/3.5 to f/6.3 when you’re shooting at the full 45mm range. I love a blurred background for a lot of my shots, so this loses that effect slightly if I’m having to zoom to 45mm.
Lastly, when you’re shooting at 45mm the quality of the shot is softer. When comparing a photo taken at 15mm vs 45mm, I find that the detail is much sharper on the 15mm shot.
Overall, I absolutely love this lens and it’ll be coming with me on all my future trips around the world!
Shop the post
Purchase the Canon EOS M50 Camera with the EF-M 15-45mm kit lens
Purchase the Canon EOS M50 Camera (body only)
Purchase the Canon EF-M 22mm lens
What camera do you use? Do you have any other lens recommendations for this camera?
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