First look at the Canon EOS M

Today, Canon Philippines officially launched their new cameras including their first mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, the EOS M. Head past the break to find out more about the camera.

As we all know, it took some time before Canon released their first mirrorless camera. I’ve heard of a number of reasons behind this late adoption, but I think that Canon just waited a little while and observed how the market will respond to the MILC before they release the EOS M.

Whatever the reason may be, it’s all in the past now. The question we should be asking now is the Canon EOS M worth the wait or we’re better off with MILCs from other imaging companies? We have to wait for our full review for that, but for now let’s get acquainted with some of the basic features of the EOS M.

Design and Construction

The EOS M sports a compact and lightweight body which resembles the design of Canon point and shoots. It features a very straightforward button layout which is also similar to the company’s digicams offerings.

Looking at the front of the camera, you’ll see the lens release button together with the lamp assist LED light and rubber grip. As for the back side, it’s mainly occupied by the camera’s 3-inch touchscreen display which is accompanied by 5 buttons and a control wheel. These buttons are the video record button (top right hand corner), Menu, Play, Info and Set.

Viewing the camera from the top, you’ll see the hot shoe with a pair of stereo microphones on its left side and the power button on its right, together with the shutter button which is situated in the middle of the control dial. The dial features three modes which are Auto, Manual and Video.

The USB port, HDMI out and Microphone jack can be found on the left side of the camera while the battery compartment and SD card slot are located at the bottom.

Sample Shots

We didn’t have much time to play around with the Canon EOS M but we managed to take a handful of pictures using it. You can head on over to this link to check out these photos.

Above is the picture of the EOS M we’ve used to snap the sample shots. It has a Canon 24-70mm USM II lens attached to it via the Canon lens mount. Some people may feel a bit awkward in shooting with this kind of setup, but using a similar setup (Olympus EPL-1 w/ Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 lens) it didn’t take long for me to get the hang of it.

Canon EOS M specs:

18-megapixel CMOS sensor
APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm)
Digic 5 processor
ISO 100 to 12800 (25600 with boost)
1/4000 sec to 60s shutter speed
4.3 fps continuous shoot
Full HD 1080p video recording @ 30fps
HD 720 video @ 60fps
1.6x focal length multiplier
Canon EF-M mount
31-point autofocus system
Movie Servo AF
3-inch Clear View II TFT LCD display
SD/SDHC/SDXC card

I had a blast using the Canon EOS M; so much that I wanted to take the unit home with me (together with its USM II lens). Of course, there are a couple of things that we wish this camera had, like a built-in flash for example. We’ll tackle all of these things on our full review, so be sure to catch it in the next coming weeks or so.

The Canon EOS M is now available in the market and is being offered in three bundle options.

EOS M + 18-55mm f/3.5 – 5.6 STM lens = PhP35,998USD 613INR 52,003EUR 584CNY 4,467
EOS M + 22mm STM lens f/2 + EF Mount Adapter = PhP40,998USD 699INR 59,226EUR 665CNY 5,088
EOS M + 18-55mm f/3.5 – 5.6 STM lens + 22mm STM lens f/2 + Speedlite 90EX = PhP47,998USD 818INR 69,338EUR 779CNY 5,957