…and it looks better for Videographers than Photographers
Everyone had been wondering why Canon had not released a mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses until now. Sony saw great success, Nikon released the 1 J1, but it looks like Canon took its time for a good reason, the Canon EOS M looks to be the best mirrorless camera on the market.
Product Highlights
- 18.0 MP CMOS (APS-C) Sensor
- DIGIC 5 Image Processor
- Full HD 1080p Movie with Focus Tracking
- 3.0" Touch Screen LCD with 1040K-dots
- Touch AF and Multi-touch Operation
- Hybrid CMOS Auto-focus for Photo & Video
- Compatible with Canon EF and EF-S Lenses
- ISO 100-12800, Expandable to 25600 (H)
- Canon’s First Mirrorless Camera
- Includes Canon EF-M 22mm F/2 STM Lens
What makes the Canon EOS M such a great camera is Canon took a T4i DSLR and shrunk it down into a compact magnesium and stainless steel body. It has the same Live View autofocus that made the T4i so popular with videographers.
You also get the same capacitive touch screen and the same 18-megapixel APS-C image sensor and Digic 5 image processor, so you have the ability to capture great images and video in tough shooting conditions. It comes with a EF-M 22mm F/2 STM Lens, and all this will only cost you about $800.
So far the only downfall I see in the Canon EOS M is by making the body smaller you have to sacrifice some of the functionality of a DSLR. It does however make for a very light camera at only 14oz. this thing feels like a feather if you are used to a DSLR.
To start Canon is shipping the EOS M with a new EF-M 22mm f/2 STM lens, and a longer zooming EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens. You will notice there is no built-in flash, but not to worry you can get the new Speedlite 90EX, of if you already have a flash for your DSLR you can use it with the hotshoe mount, although it might seem weird that your flash is larger than your camera.
Shooting HD Video
As mentioned earlier taking the best new technology from the T4i, the EOS M employs the same second-gen touchscreen by Canon, and the only downfall with packing it into this tiny camera is it does not flip out like it does on the T4i, which seems to be a minor drawback for videographers that often shoot in low angles.
The EOS M also brings with it the new continuous autofocus found in the T4i. The sensor based autofocus uses phase and contrast detection to focus while you move from subject to subject while shooting HD video. To help achieve this the EOS M uses Canon’s new STM (stepping motor) technology which uses special AF motors to adjust silently so you don’t mess up the audio while shooting video.
Even more good news for videographers is the camera shoots 1920 x 1080p (HD for those that don’t know) video at 24, 25, and 30 frames per second. This camera might be a great option for run and gun shooters, it’s compact with almost ever function of a DSLR. It even has a built in stereo mic with an optional input for an external mic. The only downfall here is there is no headphone jack to monitor audio while you shoot.
Taking Still Photos
So far it sounds like a great camera for shooting video but how does it do shooting stills? We have shown that most of the features of the T4i for shooting video are stuffed into this tiny camera but a mirrorless camera has its drawbacks when it comes to stills.
First you will see there is no optical viewfinder, this is just not possible with a mirrorless camera. Having no mirror also means it will have to rely on its sensor based autofocus instead of the 9-point optical autofocus sensor found on the T4i, so you might find that focusing might be slower. As long as you are not shooting fast action shots it should be fine.
The EOS M stills benefits from a pro-grade DSLR image sensor, so it has the ability of shooting great still shots, and with the 22mm kit lens being able to open up to f/2.0, the aperture is wide enough to be able to capture great pics even in very low light. It should also allow you to create a very shallow depth of field for great portrait shots.
Another key feature to low light photography is the EOS M can shoot up to a standard ISO of 12800. I’d be curious to see how much noise is introduced when shooting that high. Need to shoot a lot of pics all at once? The EOS M gives you the ability to shoot 4.3 frames per second which isn’t going to hold a candle to that of the 5D Mk III, but it is respectable for a camera of this size.
Having the same sensor as the T4i still gives you all the manual controls while shooting stills, so the pros don’t have to look at the EOS M as just a fancy consumer camera cymbalta generic.
EF / EF-S Lens Adaptor
You might have been saying to yourself, "New lens type means I have to buy more lenses", well you are in luck for about $150 you can get the EF-M Lens Adapter Kit for Canon EF / EF-S Lenses. Along with giving you the ability to mount all your current DSLR lenses it also has a tripod mount built in when you put a giant EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom Lens on it. Yes it might look funny having such a big lens on a tiny camera but it doesn’t look any funnier than the people that adapt these lenses on their iPhones.
Conclusion
For most pros this will still feel like a consumer camera, but for some trying to step away from the consumer camera I think it is a great choice. It offers unmatched video shooting capability with a fair amount of features for shooting stills. So if you are already used to the functions of a DSLR it might not be for you, I would maybe consider this as a second camera because for the $800 price it packs a huge punch. Canon is set to release this camera in October and I have seen you can already pro-order it from places like B&H Photo and Amazon.