I’m a massive Canon camera fan – my very first Film SLR was a Canon (A 300V if I remember correctly), my first DSLR was a Canon 300D (Some 15 years ago!) and the camera that I still use daily in my wedding photography is a Canon. (A pair of EOS R’s)
I love the brand, I love the way their cameras handle and in a time when a lot of photographers are moving over to Sony cameras, I’m still very happy with my Canons.
(If any Canon reps are reading this looking for a new brand ambassador… Hello there…)
I often get asked to recommend Canon cameras with a flip screen, and many people ask me about the benefits it offers to photography and videography – so I thought I’d put together an article.
What is a flip screen?
Over the past few years, Canon have been adding a feature to many of their cameras that has revolutionised the way I work and that thing is a Flip screen. A flip screen is exactly what it sounds like, it’s a screen on the back of the camera that can rotate, tilt and pivot into a multitude of angles so you can see your composition wherever the camera is.
After years of working with SLR’s with ‘just’ optical viewfinders, the move over to cameras with live view and screens on the back was amazing – suddenly this little black box didn’t need to be stuck to my face to take a picture. DSLR’s were left behind by camera phones a little bit in that regard initially – I’d been able to take photos from any angle using my phone for quite a few years before DSLRs offered the feature. It was great you could hold your phone at arms length and still see the framing – so it always felt pretty archaic to go back to a Canon 5d and have to put it right up to my eye for every shot.
So when suddenly these cameras came along with live view and flip screens, I was very pleased. Honestly, the first time I got my hands on a Canon camera with a flip screen, my work was revolutionized. Being able to move the camera away from your face, or to shoot interesting compositions that you otherwise would be able to achieve is amazing.
How it helps my work as a wedding photographer?
A lot of my work is candid, documentary photography where I’m watching moments unfold. Raising the camera to your eye makes you very conspicuous and it’s super obvious that your taking a photo – so the subject will become camera aware and that will affect the way in which the moment unfolds. Not anymore – I can literally shoot from the hip. I can keep my camera close to my body and use the flip screen to frame the moment, then when that laugh or a special moment occurs – click, nail it, move on.
My Favourite Canon Camera With a Flip Screen
I’ve mentioned it in other articles, but my absolute favorite camera is the EOS R. I love this thing. It’s light, it’s reliable, the image quality is gorgeous, the low light performance is great and it makes all of my old Canon EF lenses work better than ever before.
The EOS R was one of the first ‘pro level’ DSLRs to feature a flip screen. Sure there were other DSLRs before it that had flip screens – but none of them had the build quality or performance of the EOS R. So anytime anyone asks for recommendations of Canon Camera With a Flip Screen – The EOS R is an easy one to recommend.
Brand new off the assembly lines for 2020 are the EOS R5 & the R6. A beastly duo of cameras that not only have flip screens but that pair it with incredible build quality, exceptional performance and stunning image quality. They’re expensive – but you’d be hard pressed to find a better duo of cameras.
Vlogging : Canon Vlog Camera Flip Screen
Vlogging and being a Youtuber/Instagrammer has become a huge thing over recent years and alot of the people looking to buy a camera with a flip screen will be looking to have it so they can film themselves. Be it for live streaming, vlogging and even for webcam meetings (as became the norm in 2020 when COVID reared its head).
Vlogging is all about getting your personality across and connecting with your audience, so a camera with a flip screen that can rotate to show you with the framing is like while you’re in front of the camera is invaluable. You can sit there ready to talk to the world and know your framing is perfect – your background looks great and the light looks nice. Your hair looks good and you’re ready to go.
It also helps when you’re on camera so you can see if anything you’re pointing to is in frame or if you’ve ventured out of the frame boundaries.
Our recommendation for a Canon Vlog Camera with a flip screen would be one of:
- EOS R – The most expensive on our list, but the most feature rich and packing the best image quality!
- EOS 250D – The cheapest on our list, a great entry level camera!
- Canon EOS M50 – A mirrorless offering, great balance between size, features and cost
- Powershot G7 X Mark 2 – a compact camera, perfect for taking anywhere!
Budget Options: Canon camera with flip screen cheap
The Cheapest Canon camera with a flip screen is the 250D, it’s an entry level camera and would make for an ideal camera for someone looking to get into photography as a hobby or to get into vlogging. It features:
- 24. 1-Megapixel Aps-C Sensor And Digic 8 Processor – For Superb Image Quality, Even In Low Light
- 8cm Vari-angle Flip screen / Tilt Screen
- Optical Viewfinder – See Things As They Really Are – Clear And Simple
- 24. 1Mp Photos And 4K Movies, Clear, Sharp, And Packed With Colour Even In Low Light Thanks To An Aps-C Sensor, Powerful Autofocus, Digic 8 With Digital Lens Optimizer.
- Dual Pixel Cmos Af And Vari-Angle Screen
- Guided user interface helps you learn and Creative Assist to try new looks and enhance your images
Canon Video Camera Flip Screen
If you’re more interested in shooting video than stills, or perhaps a combo of the two – I’d wholeheartedly recommend something like he EOS M50 – it’s a great little mirrorless camera, developed for video and specifically vlogging in mind. The flip screen works so well with the small footprint of the camera. We also have a few other recommendations such as:
Canon G7 X Mark 2
Another great camera for video, with a flip screen is the G7 X Mark 2, it’s small footprint and flip screen make it perfect for vlogging and keeping with you ready for when inspiration hits.
- Sensor: 20.1MP BSI 1.0
- Screen: 7.5cm Tilting Touchscreen
- AF system: Continuous AF with Face and Object Tracking31-point AF; 4-stop lens shift type IS, Intelligent IS with 5-axis Advanced Dynamic IS & Auto Level
- Max video resolution: Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 60fps
- Filter: ND filter built-in
Canon EOS R
Right now, this is my favourite camera. I use it for weddings and for products and everything in between. It does everything I need and more, it’s comfortable in my hand and the images it can produce are outstanding.
We recently filmed a wedding using the EOS R, so we can recommend that too for video enthusiasts – when you’re filming things the tilt screen really comes into its own enabling you to use your camera on all kinds of stabilization devices from gimbals to tripod and still see clearly your framing and composition.
Canon Mirrorless Camera Flip Screen
Mirrorless cameras are great, they offer all the power and quality of a bigger camera in a smaller package. They also offer incredible auto focus!
We love the canon mirrorless cameras, both their SLR level ones like the EOS R, R5 & R6 to their smaller ones like this, the wonderful Canon EOS M50.
Developed for video and specifically vlogging in mind, it’s a phenomenal camera – yet all contained in a tiny package.
- Sensor: 24.1MP APS-C format
- Screen: 8cm Vari-Angle Touchscreen
- AF system: Dual Pixel CMOS AF with Face and Object Tracking
- Max video resolution: 4K (3840 x 2160)
- Lens system: Dedicated small, lightweight EF-M lenses and EF and EF-S lens compatibility with a Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS M.
- Audio: Microphone input
Canon Camera with Flip Screen for Wedding Photographers
Well this is my speciality – having covered over 400 weddings across the past 15 years, I know everything there is to know about weddings and am in a great spot to recommend cameras for wedding photographers. Having a flip screen for a wedding is a god send, it allows you to be so much more discreet and capture moments without interrupting the flow of the day or distracting the guests.
The EOS R mentioned above is a great camera in every way, but it’s not a perfect wedding camera owing to its single card slot. You don’t want to risk losing any images to a corrupted card!!
Fortunately Canon have the answer in the form of the EOS R6 and R5 – a pair of professional work horses built with reliability, usability and image quality in mind. Both have dual card slots and both will do a tremendous job at weddings in the right hands.
The cheaper of the two and a great camera for weddings – dual slots eliminating the problem with the EOS R and a ton of new features –
- 20.1 Megapixel full-frame Sensor
- Low Light Beast – goes from ISO 100-104,200
- Super fast 20fps (Silent) 12fps (Mechnical)