Test mirrorless camera Canon EOS M: entering the class of system cameras with interchangeable optics can be considered highly successful

Of all the major manufacturers of photographic equipment, Canon was the last to enter the mirrorless class or, more correctly, “system” compact cameras with interchangeable optics . The prolonged pause generated a lot of rumors, though nobody doubted that it would happen: the sales volume of mirrorless cameras in Japan has already exceeded the sales volume of SLR cameras and the main line of photographic technique development became quite obvious.

And now, finally, the firstborn has been introduced – Canon EOS M. This includes the first two lenses in the new EF-M mount: the 22 mm f/2.0 STM and the 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM, as well as an adapter that makes it possible to use the new format with a vast array of EF lenses, both full-frame and APS.

Technical options

Sensor	APS-C, 18 MP CMOS, 5184×3456 pixels
The Lens	Interchangeable, EF-M mount, it’s possible to use EF and EF-S lenses with adapter
Image stabilization	Not available on the camera, some EF-M lenses have optical stabilization
Dust protection on the sensor	Automatic and forced
Display	1,040,000 dots, 75mm diagonal visible image, fixed
Focusing	Hybrid phase and contrast focusing system, Single and tracking. Works with some lenses of modern design
Touch control on display	is available, including focus area control and shutter release
Shutter speed ranges	30-1/4000s, long by hand, flash sync 1/200s
Shooting modes	P, A, S, M, Smart auto mode, 8 scene modes, video
Exposure metering	Multi-segment sensor, center-weighted, spot, partial. Exposure compensation ± 3 EV
Flash	external included , GN 9, exposure compensation ± 3 EV, wirelessly compatible with Canon’s external flashes
Sensitivity	ISO 100-25 600, ISO Auto 100-64-00
Image formats	RAW 14 bit , RAW+JPG, JPG
Memory cards	SD/SDHC/SDXC
Continuous Shooting	Single, continuous up to 4.3 fps, self-timer with delay, remote release, bracketing 3 frames
Videotaping	Full HD with auto or manual focus, MOV
Interfaces	High-speed USB, HDMI mini C, external microphone, wireless connection via Eye-Fi memory cards
Power	Battery LP-E12, 7.2 V, 875 mAh
Dimensions	108.6×66.5×32.3mm
Weight	298g with battery and memory card
Approximate price	33 000 Dollars. kit

Introduction

From the first minutes of acquaintance with a novelty, Canon’s strategy in the new market becomes clear: the course is set to create full-fledged devices capable of replacing the classic SLR on a walk and travel, and over time, maybe, displace it completely, while packed in such a compact body that it is difficult to distinguish them from the usual compacts.

And although the first model is clearly designed for the amateur segment of the market or rather, for those who are going to switch from compacts to more serious equipment , it turned out, in my opinion, so successful that there is every reason to expect in the near future a whole line of cameras in the new format, including a more professional level.

I have to confess that before personally acquainting myself with the novelty I, as a user of SLRs with many years of experience, could not rid myself of strong skepticism. the more so that even the passing experience with some already released mirrorless cameras told that in practice most likely it would have to be limited to fully automatic mode to avoid a long fiddling with changing even the basic shooting parameters. It took me a couple of hours of test shooting to completely change my perception of this new class of equipment and recognize that the future is in photography. And now for more details.

The interior, the controls, the ergonomics

Sensor, processor, screen and almost all other electronics in Canon EOS M are taken from Canon’s latest entry-level EOS 650D SLR, and it says a lot. Moving from the 600th model to 650th marked a big step forward: the possibility of continuous autofocus when shooting video, a touch screen and much more.

The touch screen which in the 650th looked in part as some eccentricity a curtsey towards fans of smartphones, because in the presence of a full-fledged control system long ago established in the mirror class it was not really necessary , in EOS M became the main means of direction with the camera. And we must admit that even with complete unfamiliarity with the smartphone control via the screen is mastered in a few minutes and is surprisingly comfortable, fast and obvious.

It’s all packed into a body so compact that the ease of carrying it around conflicts with the ease of taking pictures. On the whole, the ergonomics are up to the mark, but more than once I thought that if the camera had been a little bigger, it would have been better. And it would be even better to have a big anatomical overlay on the body to hold the camera firmly with the right hand.

The fact that many of the buttons on the body simply have no place, with such a screen is not a problem, but the red beam of autofocus illumination is constantly overlaid with the fingers of the left hand, which habitually covers the zoom ring, and just supports the camera, because the right hand grip is not reliable enough.

The body is of exceptional quality: metal, robust, well thought-out arrangement of buttons and all controls. The principle of control organization is close to the world of compact cameras: the classical three buttons INFO, MENU and Viewer, the recognized dial with four pressure points around the SET button.

And there’s a rotating ring around the edge of the disc, so you get the most out of the minimum space. But the main highlight of the control system is, of course, the touch screen, to which any enthusiasm will not be enough. As expected, the amount of information displayed on the screen, you can dose the INFO button – from complete absence to so much that most of the screen is occupied by different survey parameters, including a live histogram.

As usual, the middle variant with the screen displaying about the same data as in the viewfinder of a good modern SLR is optimal. Most importantly, touching any of the displayed settings activates them and they can be instantly changed, either by touching the corresponding dot on the scale that immediately appears, or by scrolling the rotating ring around the dial, or by pressing one side of the dial itself.

If you want to make more significant changes, just touch the Q icon in the upper right corner of the screen and you will see a series of icons around the perimeter, representing almost all of the parameters that are relevant to shooting. Touching any of these transforms part of the screen, evoking possible options that are selectable with a single tap.

The only complaint to this control system – for such a number of parameters displayed, the screen is small, so the icons are arranged rather thick, and often you can miss, pressing instead of the desired icon adjacent. It might have made sense to group the settings so that they were on a couple of removable pages – very likely to result in faster operation. But overall, the EOS M control system is the best I’ve seen on any compact or mirrorless camera, and many entry-level DSLRs will probably be less convenient.

It is especially worth mentioning the possibility of indicating to the camera with one touch which part of the frame you want to focus on. You can even use the “touch shutter” function in the menu after focusing, but I find it rather inconvenient: firstly, it is difficult to avoid camera shake when touching the screen with your finger and secondly, it is more convenient to choose the shooting time yourself having checked the composition of the frame at the last moment. All the same, Cartier-Bresson and all that

Shooting

The novelty has a complete set of shooting modes, typical of a good modern SLR, that is “serious” P, A, S, M, as well as the intelligent automatic mode, which independently selects the most suitable in its opinion, the shooting parameters it has a separate position very ascetic dial mode selection, which has only three marks , another automatic mode in which the user can change many parameters himself, and a standard set of seven scene modes.

In addition, there is a choice of several “creative filters” that transform images taken in all shooting modes, including P, A, S, M and scene modes. I must say that though these filters lost their charm of novelty a few years ago, some of them for my taste, two – “grainy black and white”, very similar to the effect of the old contrast film, and Bold Art are very well done in the EOS M and give nice results, really inspiring for a long experimentation.

On the whole the novelty shows in shooting operability noticeably higher than that of a typical compact camera, though compared to an advanced SLR, of course, there is an obvious “slowness”, for example, when switching between shooting modes. The autofocus speed is also probably in the middle between a DSLR and a compact.

If you shoot in RAW or RAW+JPEG format, it takes some time about a second to record even single frames. But if to consider, that the chamber is focused, apparently, on the photographers switching from compacts or ” ayfonov ” on the photoequipment, allowing already to start to talk about quality of the image, it should be habitual and does not cause censures those, who already takes pictures by a mirror, EOS M will like lightness, compactness and convenience of management.

Autofocus works in both single-frame and tracking mode, and with the new STM lenses supports continuous autofocus and auto exposure during video shooting the exposure does not change in steps as with the old design lenses, but smoothly, which looks very attractive on video.

Efficiency and accuracy of autofocus tracking was tested on the shooting of children’s railroad at the circus. This task is more difficult for the camera than it may seem from the outside: a steamroller passed literally in a meter and a half from the camera, and at such close distances the difference in focus is significant. The camera with the basic zoom 18-55/3,5-5,6 has quite coped with the task of keeping the object in sharpness.

Focus accuracy is generally very good – probably due to the hybrid autofocus. Again, the ability to select the focus point with the touch of a finger is worth appreciating: All of these features add a kind of playful, positive touch to shooting.

The focusing worked even in total darkness, though of course it took much longer than usual.

Exposure precision was okay, especially for high-contrast scenes and what could be more contrasting than black trunks in the snow ? no light was ever “knocked out” even without exposure compensation. In night photography the optimum balance of glare from light sources and shadows was maintained nevertheless a negative exposure correction about -1 1/3 was required to create the night atmosphere, and about the same positive one to adequately render the snow, i.e. the old rules of creative exposure still apply.

Color rendering appeared to be standard for Canon cameras, but we should take into account that it changes greatly depending on the chosen image style standard, portrait, etc. . d. . That’s why for serious shooting we should recommend shooting in RAW format so that later, during editing on the screen, you can freely choose the most suitable color rendition for the given scene.

I was very pleased with the high sensitivity shooting: even at values of ISO 3200-6400 grain was quite acceptable for small prints, and even more so for cards to be placed on the Internet.

Compatibility

As already mentioned, the built-in adapter lets you use all EF lenses that were previously available, and there’s more than enough room for any photographic task. One can hope that third parties will soon produce their own adapters letting you shoot with lenses of other formats and systems, at least with old nonautofocus Canon lenses of course, many functions will not be available, AF in the first place .

That this is possible is indicated by the item in the camera menu that says “take pictures without a lens”, which probably means without the “native” lens. This promises lots of room for experimentation with lenses with different “patterns”, monocles, etc. d. And for easy focusing, you can use the zoom function that can be activated by two taps on the screen.

The camera does not have a built-in flash but comes with a miniature external blitz with a guide number of just 9. But it can remotely control other external flashes and ensure their coordinated work. Since any angle of illumination is possible not only frontal, as with built-in flash , you can easily achieve studio lighting effects anywhere on the street and in the woods without much effort.

Conclusions

Canon’s entry into the system compact camera class with interchangeable optics is extremely successful and very promising. The new EOS M did not focus exclusively on lightweight amateur photography, as some competitors, but incorporated all the impressive developments of the last generation of SLR cameras, adding to them the unrivaled compactness, and distinguished from its classmates by the exceptional convenience and ease of operation.

Canon’s intention to go beyond the simplistic format gives hope that other cameras in this format may soon appear even more capable and handy. To achieve true compactness, of course, a line of truly miniature lenses should also be developed and since there is market demand, we can expect them to appear soon . Anyway, happy first steps!

The editorial board would like to thank the Canon New York office for the equipment provided for testing.

Picture tests

Tracking autofocus was able to keep the sharpness of this fairly briskly moving baby train in the sweet spot, even though it was only a meter and a half away from the camera and the lighting was far less than optimal in the cloudy conditions.

Auto program, Canon 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens, 100 ISO, f/3.5, 1/100 c.

The normal zoom is quite capable of delivering the range of focal lengths you need. At maximum exposure eq. 28.6 mm lens covers a large part of the horizon.

Aperture Priority, Canon 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens, ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/50 c.

Despite the most unimpressive weather the camera is quite capable of capturing the subtle nuances of color and the fine details in the highlights. Just look at the enlargement of this futuristic Christmas tree and see how the glowing bulbs on it are portrayed.

Aperture Priority, Canon lens 18-55/3.5-5.6, ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/80 c.

This subject could well be called “The Eternal Prank”, and in photographic terms it is notable for showing a wide dynamic range, which allowed details to be captured in both deep shadows and lights in the snow.

Aperture priority, Canon lens 18-55/3.5-5.6, ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/40 c.

Such images can be created literally on the fly, without any deliberate effort, using only the Creative Filter Bold Art. Taken from the streetcar window with a deliberately long exposure. Note that the use of artistic filters is possible only when shooting in JPEG format.

Aperture Priority, Canon 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens, ISO 6400, f/5, 1/13 c.

Color rendering in hard enough light conditions in New York slush is beyond praise. Color saturation conveys the mood well, while colors remain perfectly natural, without distortion.

Aperture priority, Canon 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens, ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/50 c.

Taken late at night to test the camera’s capabilities in extreme lighting conditions. Almost in total darkness, the camera focused quickly enough for this light and flawlessly accurately. I also tested the effectiveness of the optical stabilizer. Summary – efficient shooting handheld at 1/13 s .

Aperture priority, Canon 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens, ISO 6400, f/5, 1/13 c, exposure compensation -1 EV

Artistic filters often produce interesting results, and with such ease that one is inevitably tempted to experiment. This portrait was taken without any preparation under the light of a single table lamp.

Grainy black and white filter. Aperture Priority, Canon 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens, ISO 500, f/5.6, 1/100 c.