Canon EOS M Hands-on Preview

by Shawn Barnett
Hands-on Preview Posted: July 23, 2012

Canon's long-awaited mirrorless camera system begins with a simple, consumer-targeted model dubbed the Canon EOS M. Named after the new EF-M mount, the Canon EOS M is best described as the Canon T4i whittled down to a compact system camera. From the new Hybrid AF system to the stepper-motor-driven STM lenses, the menus to the touchscreen and most of the special capture modes, Canon T4i owners will feel right at home with the new EOS M. Naturally the Canon EOS M's resolution is the standard 18-megapixel size in an APS-C format that's propagated across most of Canon's consumer SLRs. Carrying a fairly hefty $800 price tag with its 22mm prime lens, the Canon EOS M is not priced with the consumer in mind, despite its simple controls. Overall the Canon EOS M looks very impressive, with one potential problem in its autofocus system, which we'll get to soon.

With a look and feel reminiscent of the Canon S100 pocket premium camera, the EOS M is sized a little more like the Panasonic LX7 or Olympus E-PM1. But it's the overall heft that's impressive. The EOS M really does feel like an EOS: Solid as a stone.

The M's use of an APS-C sensor will cheer those wanting SLR quality in a small camera. The new EF-M mount supports shorter back-focus lens designs, like the new $300 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens, available separately. With the $200 EF-EOS M mount adapter, the EOS M is also compatible with Canon EF-S and EF lenses up to 600mm. The Canon EOS M has a small rubber grip in the front, and an AF-assist lamp shines out from above the infrared remote sensor, both nice features to have.

With an equivalent focal length of 35.2mm, the 22mm f/2 pancake kit lens is perfectly aimed at the recently reborn street photographer, a smart choice that's incongruous with the EOS M's lack of physical controls for aperture and shutter speed, relying instead on the touchscreen and a rear control ring. For a mode dial, the EOS M has a three-position ring surrounding the Shutter release button with three positions: Full Auto, Auto, and Movie; full PASM exposure modes are available in the Auto mode via the touchscreen. The EOS M has no built-in flash, but includes a full hot shoe, compatible with Canon's EX flashes and wireless flash system. A small accessory flash was also introduced with the EOS M, dubbed the Speedlite 90EX ($149.99; see below).

Stereo microphones also appear on the top deck, marked by seven holes each; a stereo microphone jack is also built in, available on the left side of the EOS M. A simple power button is well-placed as the top deck begins to slope toward the rear of the camera, making it easily visible and easy to press from the rear. A small LED lies behind the button.

Though the EOS M's front grip is scant, it's bolstered by the nice plastic thumbgrip on the back. A small record button, marked with the traditional red dot, appears in the upper right corner and starts and stops Movie recording.

Here's where things get unusual, relying more on the touchscreen. The Menu button obviously brings up the traditional Canon SLR menu, and the INFO button changes among available displays. Pressing the center button, which on PowerShots brings up the Function menu, now brings up the Quick Menu on the EOS M, just as the Quick Menu button does on the Rebel T4i. The Quick Menu looks almost identical to that on the T4i, making changes very easy either with a touch, or via navigation with the wheel or four-way navigator. Nothing about the interface was re-invented for the EOS M, just repurposed, mostly with a very good end result. The EOS team is said to have worked with the PowerShot team to refine the design, and the melding of thoughts is evident, if more heavily influenced by the PowerShot side.

Unique strap lugs pop out from left and right. We're told those will integrate with leather cases that Canon will sell in Asia, but Canon USA is not sure whether they'll bring them to the States. It seems obvious that there would also be a quick-release neckstrap made available for these lugs, something I'd like to see myself. I only use straps in certain occasions, so while I want them to be secure, I want a quick way to remove them when I've finally had it with their noisome utility.

Also slated to be available in an attractive white model, the Canon EOS M is a peculiar way to address a market that's long waited for Canon's take on the compact system camera. In some ways it's aimed clearly at the low-light, street-shooting photographer who wants something small and high quality, and who wants more than the small flash that can be wedged into a such a small camera body. Features like Handheld Night Scene, HDR, and Multi-shot noise reduction are also aimed at the savvy shooter. On the other hand, the Canon EOS M's lack of manual controls and emphasis on the touchscreen are indeed aimed more at the full-auto shooter who just wants to get the shot quickly and without a lot of fuss. Add the $800 entry fee, and the Canon EOS M is an odd admixture of intentions.

Comparisons. As I've mentioned, the Canon EOS M feels great to hold and use, with a great feel, good heft, and a fast interface, working just like the T4i. In fact, as we were briefed about the EOS M, "just like the T4i" was repeated often. Unfortunately, they also said that about the EOS M's Hybrid Autofocus system, introduced just a few months ago on the T4i. We've been waiting for the T4i's main kit lens to arrive, the 18-135mm STM lens, so we haven't completed our review. But the sad truth is that the T4i's Live View mode autofocus is terribly slow. Both the T4i and EOS M have a new sensor with phase-detect sites embedded near the center, as well as contrast-detection autofocus. But the Live View autofocus speed is very slow on the T4i with the 40mm STM lens, averaging more than 1.2 seconds to autofocus in single-point mode, and more than 1.7 seconds in multi-point AF mode. That's just unworkable in a modern mirrorless camera.

While the Olympus E-P1's autofocus was notoriously slow, we really weren't troubled by it at the time, back in 2009. Other reviewers found the E-P1's autofocus frustrating, but we liked the camera's positive points well enough that we could forgive the slower autofocus. It measured about 1.18 seconds to focus and capture a shot. Three years later, the latest models from Olympus, Nikon, Panasonic, and Sony now rival some of the fastest digital SLRs, down in the 0.25-0.17 second lag time range, using both pure contrast-detect and phase-detect systems. Introducing a camera system with a 1.2 to 1.7-second lag time into this market seems unwise.

I'll gladly retract all these words, returning to this preview to make all the necessary changes if Canon makes speed improvements over the T4i's Hybrid AF, but I'd be remiss not to report that if the AF system is "just like the T4i" a lot of buyers are going to be frustrated with the EOS M. I only saw a prototype EOS M, but it seemed to perform just as the T4i did with the same lenses. I used the EF-EOS M adapter trying the 40mm STM lens, and it focused about as fast as the 22mm STM kit lens. I'm hoping both cameras' Hybrid AF can be tuned before the EOS M ships in October 2012, because right now only an unaware consumer would put up with the EOS M's slow autofocus, and street shooters would find the EOS M an exercise in frustration.

 

Canon EOS M Technical Info

by Mike Tomkins

Like most of the company's recent consumer and mid-range SLRs, the Canon EOS M features at its heart an 17.9-megapixel, APS-C sized CMOS image sensor. The EOS M's image sensor offers the same 3:2 aspect ratio and maximum image dimensions of 5,184 x 3,456 pixels as that seen in its sibling, the EOS Rebel T4i digital SLR.	The 18 megapixel sensor is coupled with a DIGIC 5 image processor, a designation seen previously in the EOS-1D X and Rebel T4i. (Note that while the EOS-1Dx had twin DIGIC 5 processors plus a tertiary DIGIC 4 processor, the EOS M only includes one DIGIC 5 chip, as did the Rebel T4i.) DIGIC 5 is, says Canon, five times faster than the preceding DIGIC 4.

For still-image shooting, the Canon EOS M offers ISO sensitivity ranging from 100 to 12,800 equivalents, expandable to ISO 25,600 in H mode. The upper limits are lowered for video shooting, with the standard range peaking at ISO 6,400, and the H mode equating to ISO 12,800. A Multi-Shot Noise Reduction function is available for still imaging, enabling a reduction in noise levels for any given sensitivity, so long as your subject is relatively static.

The EOS M offers burst shooting at up to a rate of 4.3 frames per second. Note, though, that this speed is for One Shot AF, so focus is locked from the first frame. For continuous servo autofocus, the rate drops to 1.2 fps with the EF-M 22mm prime, or 1.7 fps with the EF-M 18-55mm zoom. Burst depth is 17 large/fine JPEG, six raw, or three Raw+JPEG frames at ISO 100, using a high-speed UHS-I card.	Like almost all mirrorless camera manufacturers, Canon has had to introduce a brand-new lens mount for the EOS M. (The alternative would be, like Pentax's K-01, to discard the main advantage of a mirrorless camera by retaining an SLR's bulk while throwing away the advantage of an optical finder.)
The size advantage to be gained in removing the SLR's mirror box is made clear in the two images above (shown approximately to scale.) On the left is a cutaway of the Canon EOS M, showing the lens mount (dark green), contact unit (orange), shutter unit (light green), image sensor assembly with cover glass (light blue, red, and yellow), and LCD monitor (purple). At right is a similar cutaway of the EOS Rebel T4i, one of the smaller cameras in Canon's digital SLR lineup.	As you can see, the Rebel T4i has to fit quite a lot more inside its body, and so is much thicker. At top, you can see the viewfinder prism (dark blue), in front of five lens elements for the viewfinder and metering sensor. Below the prism is the focusing screen, while the metering sensor (purple) sits above the viewfinder. In front of the shutter unit is the reflex mirror, and beneath is a secondary mirror that redirects light to the autofocus assembly (dark blue with purple sensor.)
Two lenses will be offered for the new Canon EF-M mount at launch: one prime which will be included in a kit with the camera body, and one zoom that will be sold separately. The Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM prime lens offers a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 35mm on the EF-M, while the optional EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM zoom provides 35mm-equivalent focal lengths from approximately 29 to 88mm.	Thanks to STM autofocus motors, both lenses are said to provide smooth, silent autofocusing. The zoom lens also includes Dynamic IS image stabilization, as seen previously in the EF-S mount 18-135mm STM lens. Ordinarily, the lens can offer a four stop correction, but will offer even greater stabilization capability--said to be enough for steady video when walking--via the Dynamic IS function.
Of course, an interchangeable-lens system with just two lenses would be limiting indeed, and so Canon is offering an optional mount adapter allowing use of EF and EF-S lenses on the Canon EOS M. Lenses mounted on the adapter are fully supported; autofocus, exposure metering, and stabilization work as per normal. The tripod mount bracket is removable.	The adapter will allow use of around 70 current and historic lens models from Canon's EOS SLR series on its new mirrorless model, and is said to be capable of handling anything up to a 600mm lens. Note though that older, non-STM glass is more likely to have intrusive noise and less-smooth focus, potentially making it less suitable for video capture.

Like the Canon Rebel T4i before it, the Canon EOS M offers on-chip phase detection autofocus from the main image sensor, or Hybrid CMOS AF in Canon parlance. The system, used both for still and movie capture, combines phase detection and contrast detection when the subject is near the center of the image frame, and uses only contrast detection when the subject strays outside this area. When phase detection is used, it's only to determine the focus direction and get focus in the ballpark; focus is always fine-tuned with contrast detection towards the end of AF operation.

The Canon EOS M's autofocus system operates in one of three modes: Face Detection & Tracking AF, Multi-point AF, or Single-point AF. A total of 31 autofocus points are available.

Unlike many current compact system cameras, the Canon EOS M lacks a built-in electronic viewfinder, or any way to attach an external electronic viewfinder. Presuming you can find one with the appropriate framing guidelines for your chosen lens, you could of course use a hotshoe-mounted external optical viewfinder accessory, but otherwise you'll be limited solely to framing on the LCD screen.

Thankfully, the EOS M offers up a high-resolution three-inch, 3:2 aspect LCD panel with 720 x 480 pixel resolution (~1,040,000 dots), similar to those used in recent Rebel SLRs. As in the T4i, the EOS M's display is the current-generation Clear View II type, which removes the air gap between LCD and cover glass, reducing glare. Unlike the T4i, the display is fixed in place, though, and not mounted on an articulated mechanism.	Like the T4i, the Canon EOS M's display is overlaid with a touch-sensitive overlay, allowing it to serve as a user interface element. It's a multitouch-capable glass capacitive display like those found on most smartphones these days, and so can be used for intuitive functions like pinch zoom, swiping between photos in playback mode, and for touch autofocus. Touch control is also functional for menu navigation.
Another area in which the Canon EOS M harkens back to early mirrorless models from some competitors is its lack of a built-in flash strobe. Instead, your sole option for flash is a top-mounted hot shoe, compatible with all Canon Speedlite accessories. That includes not only the radio-controlled Speedlite 600EX strobe and Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT that were announced alongside the EOS 5D Mark III SLR...	...but also a brand-new compact, lightweight Speedlite 90EX strobe that's better-suited to the EOS M's body size. The Speedlite 90EX has 24mm coverage, and a guide number of 9 meters (30 feet) at ISO 100. Thanks to its small size, it's rather weaker than the built-in strobes on Rebel-series SLRs; power comes from two AAA batteries.

In addition to the usual Program, Priority, and Manual exposure modes, the Canon EOS M also offers a variety of creative options including a Scene Intelligent Auto mode which uses scene detection to determine the scene type, and thus, the appropriate settings. There's also a Handheld Night Scene mode, an HDR Backlight Control mode, and seven Creative Filter functions, plus a variety of customizable Picture Style settings.

The Canon EOS M looks to offer a fairly comprehensive video mode, by compact system camera standards. Resolution choices vary from Full HD to standard-def, recorded using MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 compression and a .MOV container. Between NTSC and PAL modes, resolution and frame rate options include 1,920 x 1080 (1080p) at 29.97, 25, or 23.976 frames per second, 1,280 x 720 (720p) at 59.94 or 50 fps, and standard-def at 29.97 or 25 fps. It's possible to control exposure manually for video capture, and a Movie Servo AF mode which also provides a tracking function is the default autofocus mode. Note that STM lenses are required for smooth, silent autofocus during video capture; other lenses will offer varying levels of smoothness and AF drive noise. For creative effects, Canon's Picture Styles are applicable to video capture. Canon is also including a Video Snapshot mode in the EOS M, which allows you to combine a series of video clips in-camera. Clips can be cut, deleted, or rearranged using touch-screen controls.

Audio is recorded with a built-in stereo mic or via an external microphone jack. As well as both wind filter and attenuator functions, there's also a 64-step manual audio level control.	As well as the aforementioned microphone jack, the Canon EOS M also offers both HDMI high-definition and composite standard-definition video outputs. The latter port also doubles as a USB digital connection for data transfer.
The EOS M stores its data on Secure Digital cards. It's compatible with both the higher-capacity SDHC and SDXC card types, as well as the higher-speed UHS-I types. Additionally, the EOS M is compatible with Canon's GP-E2 hotshoe-mounted GPS receiver accessory. This connects to the camera body via USB, and allows the automatic tagging of images with their capture location, altitude, and direction. It also corrects the camera's clock automatically.	Power comes courtesy of a new, proprietary LP-E12 lithium ion rechargeable battery pack. Canon is predicting a battery life of some 230 shots on a charge, or about 90 minutes of video capture, at 73°F / 23°C. At the freezing point, this is predicted to fall to around 200 shots or 80 minutes of video capture. The company doesn't state if these are CIPA-compliant figures, or were determined using an in-house testing method.

The Canon EOS M compact system camera will be sold in the US market in a kit, including the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM prime lens. Two body colors will be available: either black, or white. Estimated retail pricing is set at around US$800, and the black version will be the one available at most retailers. The white version will be exclusive to Canon's own online store. The EF-M 18-55mm STM zoom lens will cost around US$300, while the EF-EOS M mount adapter will retail for about US$200. Finally, the Canon Speedlite 90EX will be sold for around US$150.

Availability for all of these products--the Canon EOS M kit, the EF-M 18-55mm STM lens, the EF-EOS M mount adapter, and the Speedlite 90EX flash strobe--is set at October 2012.

Analysis. The Canon EOS M is promising. I'm glad it has an APS-C sensor, I like the responsive capacitive touchscreen, and think it's built beautifully. I really didn't want to leave the meeting without it. I was pleased with most of the features on the EOS M, including the multi-shot modes and menus, and could live with the few controls, as I'm used to shooting with cameras with limited manual controls; but I can only hope a fix is coming for the autofocus system. Autofocus is a critical component of any camera with so few manual controls and no optical viewfinder or dedicated phase-detect system to fall back on; something easy to do with the T4i. Had Canon stuck with the contrast-detect autofocus systems built into their PowerShot cameras, they'd be far ahead of where they seem to be now. It's perplexing. But this is Canon we're talking about, and if anyone can tune an autofocus system in three months, it's that technology behemoth. As a Canon fan, I'm hopeful. As a reviewer, I suggest waiting until we can evaluate a final camera.