Canon EOS M Review

Overview

By Tim Barribeau, Shawn Barnett and Mike Tomkins
Preview posted: July 23, 2012
Review posted: August 1, 2013

Canon finally entered the mirrorless camera market last year 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 its 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 EOS M. Naturally, the Canon EOS M's resolution is the standard 18-megapixels in an APS-C format that has propagated across most of Canon's consumer DSLRs.

Design and build. With a look and feel reminiscent of the Canon S100 premium pocket camera, the EOS M is sized a little larger, more on the scale of an enthusiast compact such as the Panasonic LX7 or Olympus E-PM2. But it's the camera's overall heft that's impressive. The EOS M really does feel like an EOS: Solid as a rock. The camera 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.

Imaging. The EOS M's use of an APS-C sensor will draw the attention of those wanting DSLR quality in a small camera. The new EF-M mount supports shorter back-focus lens designs, like Canon's EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens, which is available in a kit with the EOS M. If you add on the EF-EOS M mount adapter, the EOS M is also compatible with Canon EF-S and EF lenses up to 800mm -- which looks somewhat comical with all that glass attached to a relatively small body, but it's a viable pairing.

Controls. 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 nonetheless feels incongruous alongside the EOS M's lack of physical controls for aperture and shutter speed. The M relies instead on the touchscreen and a rear control ring, which may be more appealing and familiar to consumer shooters, rather than serious photographers. For a mode dial, the EOS M features a three-position ring surrounding the Shutter Release button. It's three positions are Scene Intelligent Auto, Still Photo and Movie. Program, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, and Manual 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.

Stereo microphones also appear on the top deck of the EOS M, marked by seven holes each; a stereo microphone jack is also built in, available on the camera's left side. 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 or stops Movie recording.

Touchscreen. Here's where things get unusual, relying more on the touchscreen. The Menu button obviously brings up the traditional Canon DSLR menu, and the INFO button changes among available displays. Pressing the center button, which on PowerShot-series cameras 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.

Who it's for. In some ways the Canon EOS M seems aimed clearly at the low-light, street-shooting photographer who wants something small and high quality, and who wants more than the tiny flash that can be wedged into a such a compact camera body. Features like Handheld Night Scene and HDR Backlight Control also target the savvy shooter. On the other hand, the Canon EOS M's lack of physical controls and emphasis on the touchscreen are indeed designed more for the full-auto shooter who just wants to get the shot quickly and without a lot of fuss. The camera also features a Creative Auto Mode that simplifies advanced concepts -- including depth of field -- for entry-level photographers.

In the Box

The Canon EOS M retail kit contains:

• Canon EOS M digital camera body
• EF-M 22mm f/2 STM lens or EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens (depending on the kit)
• Neck strap EM-100DB
• Battery pack LP-E12
• Battery charger LC-E12
• USB interface cable IFC-130U
• EOS Digital Solution disc, camera instruction manual, software instructional manual CD

Recommended Accessories

• EF-M 22mm f/2 STM lens or EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens
• Extra battery pack (LP-E12) for extended outings
• Large capacity SDHC/SDXC memory card. These days, 16GB is a good tradeoff between cost and capacity. Canon recommends Speed Class 6 or faster to record HD video.
• Canon Speedlite 90EX accessory flash
• EF-M lens adapter kit for Canon EF / EF-S lenses
• AC adapter kit (ACK-E12)
• Medium-size camera bag

Optics

The Canon EOS M is available body-only, or bundled with either the new Canon EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM zoom lens, or the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM prime lens. Below are the results of our optical tests with an EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens.

Kit Lens Test Results

Zoom
The Canon EF-M 18-55mm IS STM lens offers a typical zoom range , with good performance for its class.

The Canon EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM kit lens offers a typical optical zoom range of about 3.1x, with a 35mm-equivalent range of about 29-88mm. Sharpness and contrast are pretty good across most of the frame at 18mm and f/8, however there's moderate chromatic aberration and some minor softness visible in the corners. Results at full telephoto are also good at f/8, with good sharpness and contrast across much of the frame, and lower levels of chromatic aberration. Above average performance for an inexpensive kit lens.

Macro
A larger-than-average macro area with slightly soft detail.

The Canon EOS M's macro performance will of course depend entirely on the lens in use. With the 18-55mm STM lens set to 55mm, the Canon M captures a somewhat larger-than-average minimum area measuring 3.54 x 2.36 inches (90 x 60 millimeters). Details are a little soft in the center of the frame, and quite soft in the corners. (Most lenses have some softening in the corners at macro distances, so this is not unusual.)

Geometric Distortion
Higher than average barrel distortion at wide angle and moderate pincushion distortion at telephoto.

Barrel distortion at 18mm is 1.1 percent

Pincushion distortion at 55mm is 0.3 percent

The Canon EF-M 18-55mm STM lens produces images with about 1.1 percent barrel distortion at full wide angle, which is higher than average and noticeable in some shots. At the telephoto end, there is about 0.3% pincushion distortion, which is lower than average and not very noticeable. The Canon EOS M does not correct for geometric distortion in its JPEGs, as uncorrected RAW files have identical amounts. Geometric Distortion is the tendency for the lens to bend straight lines outward (like a barrel -- usually at wide-angle) or inward (like a pincushion -- usually at telephoto).

Chromatic Aberration and Corner Sharpness
Moderately high chromatic aberration at wide angle. Some softening in the corners at both wide angle and telephoto.

Aperture: Maximum
Wide, f/3.5: Upper left C.A.: Moderately high Softness: Soft	Wide, f/3.5: Center C.A.: Very little Softness: Sharp
Tele, f/5.6: Upper left C.A.: Low Softness: Soft	Tele, f/5.6: Center C.A.: Very low Softness: Sharp

Chromatic Aberration. Chromatic aberration in the corners with the Canon 18-55mm STM lens is moderate to moderately high at wide angle (18mm) when wide open, exacerbated somewhat by softness. The amount and intensity of the color fringing reduces as you move toward the center of the image, to the point where it is very low at the center. Chromatic aberration is however quite low across the frame at full telephoto (55mm). See below for how well the Canon EOS M's optional chromatic aberration correction works.

Corner Softness. The 18-55mm STM lens produces some soft corners when wide-open at maximum aperture. At full wide angle, corners on the left side of our test target are much softer than the right, though blurring doesn't extend very far into the frame, while the center of the image is quite sharp. At full telephoto, corners are sharper than at wide angle, but the ones on the left are still somewhat soft. Again, sharpness in the center is quite good at telephoto.

Vignetting. Vignetting or corner shading is not an issue in the above crops, but that's because the Canon EOS M's Peripheral Illumination Correction is enabled by default. See below for comparisons with it off.

Aperture: f/8
Wide, f/8: Upper left C.A.: Moderate Softness: Sharp	Wide, f/8: Center C.A.: Very low Softness: Sharp
Tele, f/8: Upper left C.A.: Low Softness: Somewhat soft	Tele, f/8: Center C.A.: Very low Softness: Sharp

f/8. Chromatic aberration in the corners is lower when the lens is stopped down to f/8, with colored pixels spread over a smaller area. Sharpness in the corners improved dramatically stopped down to f/8 at wide angle, however corner sharpness only improved slightly at full telephoto. As you can see, the Canon EOS M's Peripheral Illumination Correction over-corrected a bit at full telephoto, producing a slightly brighter corner crop than the center.

Chromatic Aberration Correction
The EOS M offers optional Chromatic Aberration Correction to reduce lateral C.A. with Canon lenses.

C.A. Correction Off	C.A. Correction On
Wide, f/3.5: Upper left C.A.: Moderately high	Wide, f/3.5: Upper left C.A.: Very low
Tele, f/5.6: Upper left C.A.: Low	Tele, f/5.6: Upper left C.A.: Very low

As you can see, the Canon EOS M's Chromatic Aberration Correction feature was very effective at removing almost all the lateral chromatic aberration in our 18-55mm STM lens test shots above. Bravo!

Peripheral Illumination Correction
Like other recent Canon DSLRs, the EOS M features Peripheral Illumination Correction feature to reduce vignetting or lens shading with Canon lenses.

18mm @f/3.5		55mm @f/5.6
Peripheral Illumination Correction:		On (default)	Off

The Canon EOS M provides what the company calls "Lens Peripheral Illumination Correction," which corrects for lens shading (commonly called "vignetting"), attempting to produce a more uniform exposure across the frame by compensating for the light fall-off seen with some lenses in the corners of the frame. Mouse over the Off and On links above to see the effect on the 18-55mm kit lens at wide angle and telephoto at maximum aperture. PIC is enabled by default.

Peripheral Illumination Correction and Chromatic Aberration Correction are supported for over 85 different Canon lens models, in both RAW and JPEG workflows. For JPEG shooting, the correction is made at capture time, while RAW shooters can access the function in Canon's Digital Photo Professional software. From the factory, the EOS M body ships with correction data for about 25 lens models. Canon's EOS Utility software allows correction data for lenses (including models as-yet unreleased) to be uploaded to the Canon EOS M.

Canon EOS M Viewfinder

Viewfinder Test Results

Accuracy
Excellent accuracy from the LCD in record mode.

The Canon EOS-M's LCD viewfinder was accurate, with close to 100% coverage.

The images above were taken from our standardized test shots. For a collection of more pictorial photos, see our Canon EOS M Photo Gallery .

Exposure

Color

Saturation & Hue Accuracy
Typical saturation levels with very good hue accuracy.

ISO Sensitivity
100	200	400
800	1600	3200
6400	12800	25600
In the diagram above, the squares show the original color, and the circles show the color that the camera captured. More saturated colors are located toward the periphery of the graph. Hue changes as you travel around the center. Thus, hue-accurate, highly saturated colors appear as lines radiating from the center. Mouse over the links above to compare ISOs, and click to load a larger version.

Saturation. The Canon EOS M produces images with typical saturation levels. Strong reds, orange, dark greens, dark brown and dark blues are pushed a little, while yellow and cyan are slightly muted. A mean saturation of 109.4% (9.4% oversaturated) at base ISO is typical these days, and saturation levels are quite consistent between ISO 100 and 800. Saturation rises gradually up to ISO 6,400 then falls at ISO 12,800, however the overall range is pretty good (about 107-113%) Most consumer digital cameras produce color that's more highly saturated (more intense) than found in the original subjects. This is simply because most people like their color a bit brighter than life.

Skin tones. The Canon EOS M produced pleasing, natural-looking Caucasian skin tones in our tests when using both manual and auto white balance settings. Darker skin tones show a small nudge toward orange, but good results overall. Where oversaturation is most problematic is on Caucasian skin tones, as it's very easy for these "memory colors" to be seen as too bright, too pink, too yellow, etc.

Hue. The Canon EOS M's hue accuracy is quite good, much better than average. There are the usual shifts in cyan toward blue (actually quite small), red toward orange, and orange toward yellow, but all are fairly minor. (The cyan to blue shift is very common among the digital cameras we test; we think it's a deliberate choice by camera engineers to produce better-looking sky colors.) Average "delta-C" color error after correction for saturation at base ISO is only 3.75, which is very good. Hue is "what color" the color is.

Saturation Adjustment
The Canon EOS M offers a total of nine saturation settings, four above and four below the default saturation. This covers a very wide range of saturation levels, and as it should, the Canon EOS M's saturation adjustment affects only saturation, leaving the contrast of images more or less unaltered. (In some cameras, saturation tends to affect contrast, and vice versa.) The fine steps between settings mean you can program the camera to just the level of saturation you prefer. As usual for Canon, well done.

Saturation Adjustment Examples
-4	-2	0	+2	+4

The table above shows alternate settings including the default as well as the two extreme saturation settings. Click on any thumbnail above, then click again to see the full-sized image.

Sensor

Exposure and White Balance

Indoors, incandescent lighting
Auto and Incandescent settings both struggled with household incandescent lighting, though Manual white balance worked well. Slightly higher than average exposure compensation required.

Indoors, under incandescent lighting, the Canon EOS M's Auto and Incandescent white balance settings struggled, both producing very warm red/orange color casts. Unfortunately, this is common among cameras we've tested, but disappointing nonetheless. The Manual setting produced the most accurate results, though just slightly cool overall. The EOS M doesn't offer a Kelvin temperature setting like its more expensive siblings, but like all recent Canon EOS models, you can shift color balance toward more or less green vs. magenta or blue vs. amber, using a +/-9 step grid format display. The Canon EOS M required +0.7 EV exposure compensation for this shot, which is slightly higher than the +0.3 EV average among the cameras we've tested. (Our test lighting for this shot is a mixture of 60 and 100 watt household incandescent bulbs, a pretty yellow light source, but a very common one in typical home settings here in the U.S.)

Outdoors, daylight
Color and saturation are very good, though a tendency towards slightly cool color balance and slightly high contrast under harsh lighting. Slightly below average exposure accuracy.

Outdoors, the Canon EOS M tended toward a slightly cool color balance, though overall color was generally very good. The Canon EOS M required +1.0 EV exposure compensation to keep the mannequin's face bright, a little more than the typical +0.7 EV we're accustomed to using for our "Sunlit" portrait shot. The Canon EOS M's default contrast is a little high, producing some washed-out highlights and dark shadows under the deliberately harsh lighting of our "Sunlit" portrait test shown above left, though the camera's contrast, Auto Lighting Optimizer and Highlight Tone Priority settings do help with high contrast scenes like these. See below for examples of this. The Far-field shot (above right) is a touch cool and exposure a bit dim, though the camera did a good job of avoiding blown highlights and losing shadow detail, however deep shadows are on noisy side.

See full set of test images with explanations
See thumbnails of all test and gallery images

Resolution
Very high resolution, ~2,100 ~ 2,200 lines of strong detail in JPEGs. 2,200 to 2,300 in converted RAW files.

Our laboratory resolution chart showed the Canon EOS M's images with sharp, distinct line patterns down to about 2,200 lines per picture height horizontally and about 2,100 lines vertically. Extinction of the pattern occurred just past 3,600 lines horizontally and at about 3,000 lines vertically. Adobe Camera Raw converted .CR2 files show slightly more resolution than the in-camera JPEG, perhaps an additional 100 lines or so, though complete extinction of the pattern was extended quite a bit in both directions in the converted files. While ACR was able to extract more detail, it also produced more color moire and false colors, especially in vertical lines. Use these numbers to compare with other cameras of similar resolution, or use them to see just what higher resolution can mean in terms of potential detail.

See full set of test images with explanations
See thumbnails of all test and gallery images

Sharpness & Detail
Good sharpness and loads of detail with a sharp lens. Some minor detail loss to noise reduction processing even at low ISOs.

Sharpness. The Canon EOS M's 18-megapixel sensor captures excellent image detail when coupled with a good lens, though some minor edge-enhancement artifacts are visible around high-contrast edges, as shown in the crop above left. (The above crop of our Far-field shot was taken with Canon's very sharp 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens at f/8.) Edge enhancement creates the illusion of sharpness by enhancing colors and tones right at the edge of a rapid transition in color or tone.

Detail. The crop above right shows some detail loss due to noise suppression in darker areas and in areas with low contrast, but no more than we're accustomed to seeing at these resolutions. Good performance for an 18-megapixel APS-C sensor. (The crop above of the hair taken with our very sharp Sigma 70mm f/2.8 reference lens.) Noise-suppression systems in digital cameras tend to flatten-out detail in areas of subtle contrast. The effects can often be seen in shots of human hair, where the individual strands are lost and an almost "watercolor" look appears.

Raw vs In-Camera JPEGs
As mentioned above, the Canon EOS M does an excellent job of capturing sharp, detailed JPEGs when coupled with a sharp lens, but as is usually the case, slightly more detail can be preserved by carefully processing its raw files.

Camera JPEG (Fine, default settings)	RAW via Canon DPP (default settings)	RAW via ACR (sharpened in Photoshop)

In the table above, mousing over a link at the bottom will load the corresponding crop in the area above, and clicking on the link will load the full resolution file. Examples include in-camera Fine JPEG, the matching RAW file processed through Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software using default settings, and finally, the same RAW file processed through Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), then sharpened in Photoshop using 300% unsharp masking with an 0.3 pixel radius.

Canon's DPP software produced images similar to in-camera JPEGs, perhaps with just slightly better detail. Images processed through ACR show more fine detail than the DPP conversions, but also show more noise at default settings, which is not unusual. You may want to experiment with ACR's noise reduction settings to find the detail vs noise trade-off you're looking for. Regardless, the Canon EOS M is clearly a camera that carries a lot of detail in its RAW files.

ISO & Noise Performance
Very good detail versus noise up to ISO 1,600, though detail suffers at higher ISOs.

Default High ISO Noise Reduction
ISO 100	ISO 200	ISO 400
ISO 800	ISO 1,600	ISO 3,200
ISO 6,400	ISO 12,800	ISO 25,600

The Canon EOS M's high ISO performance is pretty good, very similar to the Canon T4i's. Images are quite clean at ISOs 100 through 400, with just a tiny amount of luminance noise seen in the shadows, as well as what looks to be chroma noise in the darker strands of hair. Noise "grain" is slightly more evident at ISO 800, but detail remains very strong despite some minor blurring due to noise reduction. ISO 1,600 is of course noisier, but fine detail is still very good. At ISO 3,200 noise grain becomes coarser, blurring stronger and chroma noise more apparent, resulting in a more noticeable drop in detail. ISO 6,400 is quite grainy with obvious chroma noise, but there is some fine detail left. Noise and the effects of noise reduction working hard to keep it under control really become apparent at ISO 12,800 and especially 25,600, with strong blurring and obvious chroma blotching, along with a drop in saturation.

There are also what look to be demosaicing errors in areas of fine vertical detail and high local contrast, such as the strange horizontal bands in the strands of hair on the model's forehead at lower ISOs (see ISO 100 crop at right). We've seen these artifacts in our indoor portrait JPEG images from other Canon SLRs, as well as hints of them in JPEGs from other manufacturers, so they're not that unusual. The aberrations are very subtle to be sure, but they're something to be aware of if you plan to make very large prints of similar subject matter from JPEGs. They don't appear in raw files processed with a good converter such as Adobe Camera Raw.

Overall though, a good performance, perhaps just slightly better detail retention compared to the T4i at higher ISOs. Noise is however generally a little higher than competing models. See the Print Quality section below for our evaluation of maximum print sizes at each ISO setting.

A note about focus for this shot: We shoot this image at f/4, using one of three very sharp reference lenses (70mm Sigma f/2.8 macro for most cameras, 60mm f/2.8 Nikkor macro for Nikon bodies without a drive motor, and Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/2.0 for Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds bodies). To insure that the hair detail we use for making critical judgements about camera noise processing and detail rendering is in sharp focus at the relatively wide aperture we're shooting at, the focus target at the center of the scene is on a movable stand. This lets us compensate for front- or back-focus by different camera bodies, even those that lack micro-focus adjustments. This does mean, though, that the focus target itself may appear soft or slightly out of focus for bodies that front- or back-focused with the reference lens. If you click to view the full-size image for one of these shots and notice that the focus target is fuzzy, you don't need to email and tell us about it; we already know it. :-) The focus target position will simply have been adjusted to insure that the rest of the scene is focused properly.

Extremes: Sunlit, dynamic range and low light tests
Very high resolution with strong overall detail, but somewhat high default contrast and unremarkable dynamic range. Highlight Tone Priority and contrast adjustment options do a great job of dealing with tough lighting. Very good low-light performance.

The Canon EOS M produced moderately high contrast with some washed-out highlights and deep shadows under the deliberately harsh lighting of the test above. The mannequin's face was too dim at the +0.3 EV and +0.7 EV settings, so we preferred the image with +1.0 EV exposure compensation. This resulted in more clipped highlights in the shirt and flowers than we're used to seeing from an APS-C sensor lately, indicating mediocre dynamic range compared to the best of recent competitors. Shadow detail was however pretty good, though somewhat noisy. Bottom line: while dynamic range isn't bad, the Canon EOS M struggled a bit with this difficult shot compared to recent state-of-the-art peers.

Because digital cameras are more like slide film than negative film (in that they tend to have a more limited tonal range), we test them in the harshest situations to see how they handle scenes with bright highlights and dark shadows, as well as what kind of sensitivity they have in low light. The shot above is designed to mimic the very harsh, contrasty effect of direct noonday sunlight, a very tough challenge for most digital cameras. (You can read details of this test here. In actual shooting conditions, be sure to use fill flash in situations like the one shown here; it's better to shoot in open shade whenever possible.)

Contrast Adjustment
We really like it when a camera gives us the ability to adjust contrast and saturation to our liking. It's even better when those adjustments cover a useful range, in steps small enough to allow for precise tweaks. As was the case with its saturation adjustment, the Canon EOS M's contrast setting meets both challenges very well.

Minimum Contrast
Contrast set to lowest, +0.7 EV	Contrast set to lowest, 0 EV

At its lowest contrast setting, the Canon EOS M did an excellent job of preserving highlight detail, maintaining fairly natural-looking skin tones, and holding nice detail in the shadows. Overall, very good results here, especially when the contrast setting is tweaked.

Contrast Adjustment Examples
-4	-2	0	+2	+4

The Canon EOS M's contrast-adjustment control offers a very broad range of control in usefully fine gradations, and does a good job of adjusting contrast without affecting color saturation in the process. (As noted earlier regarding saturation adjustment, something that not all cameras manage to do.)

Face Detection
Just like most point & shoot cameras these days, the Canon EOS M has the ability to detect faces, and adjust exposure and focus accordingly.

Face Detection
Aperture Priority 0 EV	Intelligent Auto Mode 0 EV

As you can see from the examples above, it helps, as the full Auto mode image is better exposed for the face than the left image where Aperture Priority mode was employed, though this scene is still somewhat underexposed using full Auto.

Highlight Tone Priority
The Canon EOS M's Highlight Tone Priority (HTP) option usually does an excellent job of preserving highlight detail, though in our test below, the difference was subtle, because the default exposure had few clipped highlights to recover. (Mouse over the Off and On links to load the corresponding thumbnail.)

Far-field Highlight Tone Priority (0 EV)
Off	On

Both shots above were captured at the same exposure, the only difference being that HTP was enabled for the second shot which necessarily increases the ISO to 200; part of how HTP works. If you look closely at shadows however, you'll notice an increase in noise is the price you pay when ISO is boosted from 100 to 200. Except in the very deepest shadows, though, overall noise is low enough at ISO 200 that this is really a negligible trade-off for all but the most critical applications.

Automatic Lighting Optimization
Like all recent Canon DSLRs, the Canon EOS M offers three selectable levels of Automatic Lighting Optimization (ALO), plus Off. In fully automatic and Creative Auto exposure modes, ALO is automatically enabled. All four shots below were taken with the same default exposure settings. Mouse over the links below to load the associated thumbnail, and click on the links to load full resolution images.

Far-field Automatic Lighting Optimization (0 EV)
Disable	Low	Standard	High

As you can see above, ALO has the effect of boosting shadows and mid-tones, brightening shadows and indeed most of the image without clipping too many additional highlights. ISO is not boosted for ALO so increased noise is not an issue, though it may be slightly more visible in shadows that have been boosted significantly.

Dynamic Range
A key parameter in a digital camera is its Dynamic Range, the range of brightness that can be faithfully recorded. At the upper end of the tonal scale, dynamic range is dictated by the point at which the RGB data "saturates" at values of 255, 255, 255. At the lower end of the tonal scale, dynamic range is determined by the point at which there ceases to be any useful difference between adjacent tonal steps. Note the use of the qualifier "useful" in there: While it's tempting to evaluate dynamic range as the maximum number of tonal steps that can be discerned at all, that measure of dynamic range has very little relevance to real-world photography. What we care about as photographers is how much detail we can pull out of the shadows before image noise becomes too objectionable. This, of course, is a very subjective matter, and will vary with the application and even the subject matter in question. (Noise will be much more visible in subjects with large areas of flat tints and subtle shading than it would in subjects with strong, highly contrasting surface texture.)

What makes most sense then, is to specify useful dynamic range in terms of the point at which image noise reaches some agreed-upon threshold. To this end, Imatest computes a number of different dynamic range measurements, based on a variety of image noise thresholds. The noise thresholds are specified in terms of f-stops of equivalent luminance variation in the final image file, and dynamic range is computed for noise thresholds of 1.0 (low image quality), 0.5 (medium image quality), 0.25 (medium-high image quality) and 0.1 (high image quality). For most photographers and most applications, the noise thresholds of 0.5 and 0.25 f-stops are probably the most relevant to the production of acceptable-quality finished images, but many noise-sensitive shooters will insist on the 0.1 f-stop limit for their most critical work.

JPEG. The graph at right (click for a larger version) was generated using Imatest's dynamic range analysis for an in-camera Canon EOS M JPEG file with a nominally-exposed density step target (Stouffer 4110). At default camera settings and base ISO, the graph shows 12.1 f-stops of total dynamic range, with 7.46 f-stops at the "High" Quality level. These are decent numbers for a JPEG, though somewhat lower than some recent competitors. Compared to the Canon T4i which uses a similar sensor and processor, the EOS M scored essentially the same at the High Quality level (7.46 vs 7.41 f-stops), but significantly higher in total dynamic range (12.1 vs 11.1 f-stops). Note though that this measurement has a margin of error of about 1/3 f-stop, so differences of less than 0.33 can be ignored.

RAW. The graph at right is from the same Stouffer 4110 stepchart image captured as a raw (.CR2) file, processed with Adobe Camera Raw using the Auto setting. The Canon EOS M's RAW file scored 0.3 f-stop more in total dynamic range (12.4 vs 12.1 f-stops) but the score at the highest quality level increased only 0.21 f-stops from 7.46 to 7.67, which is an insignificant improvement and below average these days. Results are very similar to those of the Canon T4i at the High Quality level (7.67 vs 7.56 f-stops), though the total dynamic range score was higher like the JPEG, at 12.4 vs 11.9 f-stops. Like all recent Canon SLRs, these scores are somewhat below average for a modern APS-C sensor. As always, it's worth noting here is that ACR's default noise reduction settings reduced overall noise somewhat (see the plot in the lower left-hand corner) relative to the levels in the in-camera JPEG, which would tend to boost the dynamic range numbers for the High Quality threshold, but notice that pixel noise in darker midtones and shadows is actually higher than the JPEG. Also, the extreme highlight recovery being performed by ACR here would likely produce color errors in strong highlights of natural subjects.

	1 fc 11 lux	1/2 fc 5.5 lux	1/4 fc 2.7 lux	1/8 fc 1.3 lux	1/16 fc 0.67 lux	1/16fc No NR
ISO 100	2 s f2.8	4 s f2.8	8 s f2.8	16 s f2.8	32 s f2.8	32 s f2.8
ISO 200	1 s f2.8	2 s f2.8	4 s f2.8	8 s f2.8	16 s f2.8	16 s f2.8
ISO 400	0.5 s f2.8	1 s f2.8	2 s f2.8	4 s f2.8	8 s f2.8	8 s f2.8
ISO 800	1/4 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8	1 s f2.8	2 s f2.8	4 s f2.8	4 s f2.8
ISO 1600	1/8 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8	1 s f2.8	2 s f2.8	2 s f2.8
ISO 3200	1/16 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8	1 s f2.8	1 s f2.8
ISO 6400	1/32 s f2.8	1/16 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8	0.5 s f2.8
ISO 12800	1/64 s f2.8	1/32 s f2.8	1/16 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8	1/4 s f2.8
ISO 25600	1/128 s f2.8	1/64 s f2.8	1/32 s f2.8	1/16 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8	1/8 s f2.8

Low Light. The Canon EOS M was able to capture bright images at the lowest light level we test (1/16 foot-candle), even with the lowest sensitivity setting (ISO 100). As expected, noise increases as ISO goes up and light levels go down, but noise remains fairly low up to ISO 1,600, and performance is still pretty good up to ISO 6,400. Noise is a little high at ISOs 12,800 and 25,600, particularly when noise reduction is minimized (extreme right column in the table above), though that's to be expected.

Color balance was pretty neutral with Canon EOS M's Auto white balance setting (just a touch cool), even at high ISOs, though at lower light levels white balance took on a slightly red or magenta tint. We didn't spot any issues with hot pixels, and didn't detect any significant banding (pattern noise) or heat blooming.

The Canon EOS M's autofocus system was able to focus on our target down to just below the 1/2 foot-candle light level unassisted with an f/2.8 lens which is much worse than most DSLRs, though it was able to autofocus in complete darkness with AF assist enabled when the subject was in range. With the slower (dimmer) kit lens, at f/3.5, the EOS M really struggled to autofocus in low light, requiring more than a foot-candle to focus.

As always, keep in mind that the longer shutter speeds here demand the use of a tripod to prevent any blurring from camera movement. (A useful trick is to just prop the camera on a convenient surface, and use its self-timer to release the shutter. This avoids any jiggling from your finger pressing the shutter button, and can work quite well when you don't have a tripod handy.)

How bright is this? The one foot-candle light level that this test begins at roughly corresponds to the brightness of typical city street-lighting at night. Cameras performing well at that level should be able to snap good-looking photos of street-lit scenes.

NOTE: This low light test is conducted with a stationary subject, and the camera mounted on a sturdy tripod. Most digital cameras will fail miserably when faced with a moving subject in dim lighting. (For example, a child's ballet recital or a holiday pageant in a gymnasium.) Thanks to their phase-detect AF systems, digital SLRs tend to do much better than point & shoots, but you still shouldn't expect a quick autofocus lock with moving subjects. The EOS M uses contrast-detect autofocus (though with the assistance of phase-detect cells), as is found in most point & shoot cameras, so its low-light focusing ability is less than that of most SLRs with phase-detect systems. That said, though, the larger, more sensitive pixels of the EOS M's sensor do better under dim lighting than do the tiny pixels of most point & shoots, (A useful trick is to just prop the camera on a convenient surface, and use its self-timer to release the shutter. This avoids any jiggling from your finger pressing the shutter button, and can work quite well when you don't have a tripod handy.)

Output Quality

Print Quality
Very good 24 x 36 inch prints at ISO 100/200; ISO 1600 capable of a good 13 x 19; ISO 12,800 prints a nice 4 x 6.

ISO 100/200 images are quite nice at 24 x 36 inches, with rich detail and accurate colors. Wall display prints are possible up to 30 x 40 inches.

ISO 400 yields a nice 20 x 30 inch print, with wall display prints possible up to 24 x 36 inches.

ISO 800 prints well at 16 x 20. Minor noise becomes apparent in shadowy areas, but still produces a nice printed image.

ISO 1600 is capable of a good 13 x 19 inch print. There is a noticeable drop in contrast in our target red swatch here (typical for most cameras) and some luminance noise apparent in shadowy areas, which is also common for ISO 1600.

ISO 3200 prints a fairly good 8 x 10, albeit with similar issues as seen with the 13 x 19 at ISO 1600.

ISO 6400 makes a nice 5 x 7. Colors are no longer as vibrant, and there is some minor noise in certain areas, but not bad for this ISO.

ISO 12,800 prints a reasonable 4 x 6 with only minor apparent noise in shadowy areas.

ISO 25,600 does not print a usable 4 x 6 and is best avoided.

The Canon EOS M holds its own in the print quality department alongside its newer cousin the Canon SL1, as well as the enthusiast DSLRs T4i and T5i. If you are comparing the M to the SL1, image quality is virtually identical, so best to choose a model based on other criteria like size, feel and features. If you are considering getting one as a back-up or sidekick to your T4i or T5i, you can expect similar printed results with no loss in quality due to its smaller size. Its print sizes are also right in step with the Olympus E-PM2 and E-PL5.

Testing hundreds of digital cameras, we've found that you can only tell just so much about a camera's image quality by viewing its images on-screen. Ultimately, there's no substitute for printing a lot of images and examining them closely. For this reason, we now routinely print sample images from the cameras we test on our Canon Pro9000 Mark II studio printer, and on the Canon Pixma MP610 here in the office. (See the Canon Pixma Pro9000 Mark II review for details on that model.)

The images above were taken from our standardized test shots. For a collection of more pictorial photos, see our Canon EOS M Photo Gallery .

Not sure which camera to buy? Let your eyes be the ultimate judge! Visit our Comparometer(tm) to compare images from the Canon EOS M with those from other cameras you may be considering. The proof is in the pictures, so let your own eyes decide which you like best!

Performance

Updated 07/24/2013 with autofocus-related timing using firmware version 2.0.2.

Image Quality

Below are crops comparing the Canon EOS M with the Canon SL1, Nikon J3, Olympus E-PL5, Panasonic G6, and the Sony NEX-3N. We're starting with the base ISO to show the best each camera can do, then moving onto ISO 1600, 3200, and then finer details with ISO 6400 below.

NOTE: These images are best quality JPEGs straight out of the camera, at default settings including noise reduction.

Canon EOS M versus Canon SL1 at base ISO

Canon EOS M at ISO 100	Canon SL1 at ISO 100
We expected similar results from these two mini-Canons with 18-megapixel APS-C-type sensors, and that's what we got. Virtually identical performances from these two.

Canon EOS M versus Nikon J3 at base ISO

Canon EOS M at ISO 100	Nikon J3 at ISO 160
Nikon tends to do a great job with our difficult red leaf swatch, and the J3 is no exception. But in all other areas of these crops the EOS M far out-performs the smaller-sensored J3 in sharpness and detail. Not really in the same league as the EOS M.

Canon EOS M versus Olympus E-PL5 at base ISO

Canon EOS M at ISO 100	Olympus E-PL5 at ISO 200
The E-PL5 has a smaller Micro Four Thirds sensor and lower resolution than the EOS M, and yet clearly out-resolves it in our mosaic pattern. A close call between these two solid cameras, but a slight nod to the E-PL5 for detail and color. The EOS M does outperform the E-PL5 on the red fabric swatch, however.

Canon EOS M versus Panasonic G6 at base ISO

Canon EOS M at ISO 100	Panasonic G6 at ISO 160
The G6 also has a smaller Micro Four Thirds sensor, and yet does slightly better at resolving fine detail in these crops than the EOS M, out-performing it in most every section of the test target, including the mosaic pattern and the red leaf pattern.

Canon EOS M versus Sony NEX-3N at base ISO

Canon EOS M at ISO 100	Sony NEX-3N at ISO 200
The NEX-3N has a similarly-sized APS-C sensor, and even with 2 megapixels less resolution, still out-resolves the EOS M by a slight margin in most areas except for the pink fabric swatch.

Most digital SLRs and CSCs will produce an excellent ISO 100 shot, so we like to push them and see what they can do compared to other cameras at ISO 1600, 3200, and 6400. Recent advances in sensor technology have made ISO 1600 look a lot more like ISO 100, but there are still cameras whose quality starts to fall apart at this setting. We also choose 1600 because we like to be able to shoot at least at this level when indoors and at night.

Canon EOS M versus Canon SL1 at ISO 1600

Canon EOS M at ISO 1600	Canon SL1 at ISO 1600
Once again, very similar results between these two first cousins. A slight nod to the EOS M in the detail of the mosaic pattern perhaps, but almost identical performances.

Canon EOS M versus Nikon J3 at ISO 1600

Canon EOS M at ISO 1600	Nikon J3 at ISO 1600
The small sensor in the J3 really shows as ISO rises. Again, it's clearly not in the same league as the other cameras in our comparisons here, but it is Nikon's current entry at this price level for compact, interchangeable-lens cameras.

Canon EOS M versus Olympus E-PL5 at ISO 1600

Canon EOS M at ISO 1600	Olympus E-PL5 at ISO 1600
The E-PL5 shows more noise suppression artifacts in the bottle crop, but is far superior to the EOS M in the mosaic crop in terms of both color and detail.

Canon EOS M versus Panasonic G6 at ISO 1600

Canon EOS M at ISO 1600	Panasonic G6 at ISO 1600
Virtually identical performances from these two here. Not much to add except a slight nod to the G6 for a bit less noise in the shadows.

Canon EOS M versus Sony NEX-3N at ISO 1600

Canon EOS M at ISO 1600	Sony NEX-3N at ISO 1600
The NEX-3N also shows slightly less noise in the shadowy areas and smoother detail in the bottle, as well as a bit more contrast detail in the red fabric swatch.

Today's ISO 3200 is yesterday's ISO 1600, so below are the same crops at ISO 3200.

Canon EOS M versus Canon SL1 at ISO 3200

Canon EOS M at ISO 3200	Canon SL1 at ISO 3200
Again, very similar results between these two. Not bad for ISO 3200, and not much to say in the way of comparison.

Canon EOS M versus Nikon J3 at ISO 3200

Canon EOS M at ISO 3200	Nikon J3 at ISO 3200
The J3 is simply unable to produce any fine detail here, so clearly it's not a camera to reach for in low-light situations where higher ISOs are desired to keep shutter speeds fast.

Canon EOS M versus Olympus E-PL5 at ISO 3200

Canon EOS M at ISO 3200	Olympus E-PL5 at ISO 3200
A solid performance here from the E-PL5. There are some apparent artifacts from noise suppression and sharpening, but the images overall are generally superior to the EOS M.

Canon EOS M versus Panasonic G6 at ISO 3200

Canon EOS M at ISO 3200	Panasonic G6 at ISO 3200
You can see aggressive noise reduction going on in the bottle of the G6 crop, producing an odd and unnatural result. The G6 does look a bit better than the EOS M in the other two crops however, so a definite trade-off there.

Canon EOS M versus Sony NEX-3N at ISO 3200

Canon EOS M at ISO 3200	Sony NEX-3N at ISO 3200
Similar results in the first two crops between these two APS-C rivals, but the NEX-3N does far better at resolving some detail in the fabric swatches.

Detail: Canon EOS M versus Canon SL1, Nikon J3, Olympus E-PL5, Panasonic G6, and Sony NEX-3N

Canon EOS M ISO 100 ISO 3200 ISO 6400	Canon SL1 ISO 100 ISO 3200 ISO 6400	Nikon J3 ISO 160 ISO 3200 ISO 6400	Olympus E-PL5 ISO 200 ISO 3200 ISO 6400	Panasonic G6 ISO 160 ISO 3200 ISO 6400	Sony NEX-3N ISO 200 ISO 3200 ISO 6400
Detail comparison. This crop comparison is designed to compare high-contrast detail, and the results from these models range all across the board. The J3 with its small sensor is unable to resolve detail this fine at any sensitivity, so is the obvious trailer of the pack here. The E-PL5 turns in a stellar performance, and along with many of its PEN cousins can deliver better detail and low light performance than many other cameras in this general price range. The G6 comes in second at base ISO, doing a respectable job with the lettering, and both the G6 and the NEX-3N do a good job as ISO rises. Both of the Canon models fall towards the back of the pack in terms of fine detail and higher ISO performance, unfortunately, eclipsing only the far-outclassed J3.

Overall, very good 24 x 36 inch prints at ISO 100/200; ISO 1600 capable of a good 13 x 19; ISO 12,800 prints a nice 4 x 6.

ISO 100/200 images are quite nice at 24 x 36 inches, with rich detail and accurate colors. Wall display prints are possible up to 30 x 40 inches.

ISO 400 yields a nice 20 x 30 inch print, with wall display prints possible up to 24 x 36 inches.

ISO 800 prints well at 16 x 20. Minor noise becomes apparent in shadowy areas, but still produces a nice printed image.

ISO 1600 is capable of a good 13 x 19 inch print. There is a noticeable drop in contrast in our target red swatch here (typical for most cameras) and some luminance noise apparent in shadowy areas, which is also common for ISO 1600.

ISO 3200 prints a fairly good 8 x 10, albeit with similar issues as seen with the 13 x 19 at ISO 1600.

ISO 6400 makes a nice 5 x 7. Colors are no longer as vibrant, and there is some minor noise in certain areas, but not bad for this ISO.

ISO 12,800 prints a reasonable 4 x 6 with only minor apparent noise in shadowy areas.

ISO 25,600 does not print a usable 4 x 6 and is best avoided.

The Canon EOS M holds its own in the print quality department alongside its newer cousin the Canon SL1, as well as the enthusiast DSLRs T4i and T5i. If you are comparing the M to the SL1, image quality is virtually identical, so you'd do best to choose a model based on other criteria such as size, feel, features and performance. If you are considering getting one as a back-up or sidekick to your T4i or T5i, you can expect similar printed results with no loss in quality due to its smaller size. Its print sizes are also right in step with the Olympus E-PM2 and E-PL5.

Field Test

Too little, too late?

By Tim Barribeau · 08/01/2013

The Canon EOS M is a decidedly late arrival in the already packed world of mirrorless compact system cameras. But so am I, having spent the bulk of my digital photography experience using primarily pocket cameras and DSLRs. I thought that would make us a perfect match, and I was eager to see if Canon's prowess in both interchangeable lens cameras and point-and-shoots would translate to their first CSC. Of course, I knew about the bad buzz surrounding the EOS M, but I wanted to approach my review with an open mind.

Design and construction. My first impressions of the Canon EOS M were good ones. Despite the negativity that abounded about its dreadfully slow Hybrid CMOS AF system, I desperately wanted to like the camera. Happily, upon opening the box and getting my hands on it, I found its design to be both sleek and solid. Rather than traipse down the retro path that we've seen Olympus and Fujifilm so thoroughly embrace, the EOS M was built with sleek lines and minimal interruptions. There's definitely a link here to some of Canon's point-and-shoots, most notably the compact and minimalist designs of the S110, SX280 and their ilk.

The Canon EOS M has an immensely pleasant balance and heft, with a feeling of solidity that's encouraging. The grip, unfortunately, is on the small side, comprised of just a small raised strip on the camera's front and a thumbpad on the back. Obviously Canon was trying to keep the body as small as possible, by forgoing a more substantial grip. Fortunately, the EOS M isn't heavy enough to feel like you're going to drop it, but it does get a bit uncomfortable to hold over a long period of time -- especially with the relatively sizable 18-55mm lens attached. I can only assume that if Canon puts out a proper telephoto for the M line, it'll be even more tricky.

One small design feature I have to really give Canon credit for is the neck strap attachment points. It may seem like a minor touch, but speaks of an overall care for design. Rather than the standard loops that you have to awkwardly thread the strap through, the EOS M has small metal lugs resembling the head of a nail. The strap is simply placed over these and locked in place by rotating a bolt in place with a coin. For me, it was markedly less awkward than the usual style.

Unfortunately, as much as the design hits some rather nice highs, there are also some noticeable omissions. Primary among them is the lack of a built-in flash. Sure, full credit to Canon for including a standard hot-shoe in an entry-level system camera (and make no mistake, this is decidedly an entry level offering), but the fact that the company hasn't managed to include even a rudimentary flash is a bit bewildering. As we mentioned earlier, Canon did develop a compact accessory flash, the Speedlite 90EX, to pair with the EOS M, but it's an additional $149. Also, as of now, there's no add-on viewfinder option, which seems like a missed opportunity. More advanced photographers will have to decide if an LCD viewfinder (even an excellent one, like the EOS M's) is acceptable for their shooting needs and habits.

How good is the Canon EOS M's 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 STM kit lens?
Find out by clicking here to see our optical test results.

There's also the issue of lenses. Right now, even one year after the camera was announced, there are still only two dedicated lenses available for the Canon EOS M in the U.S. -- though they're both quite good -- an EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM and an EF-M 22mm f/2 STM (which has the smallest front element I've ever seen). (Note: There's also an EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens that's not yet available in the U.S.) Of course, you can mount other Canon EF and EF-S mount lenses with an optional adapter, but that's a pretty minute lens collection for a new, compact format.

Display, interface and menus. Much like the design, the user interface is a mix of some excellent implementations and some questionable decisions. On the positive, the fixed-position, 3-inch LCD touchscreen is one of the best I've seen on a camera. It's seriously fantastic, responsive and sharp, with 1,040K dots of resolution. And it's easily readable even in bright sunlight. Now, the multi-touch capacitive touchscreen doesn't feel quite as quick as the screen on my iPhone-- something that's most noticeable when flicking through images on playback -- but compared to pretty much every other camera touchscreen I've tested, it's fantastic.

Most of the camera's core settings can be controlled through both the touchscreen and the buttons on the back of the camera, so you can default to the method that suits you best. The graphical buttons on the touchscreen are a good size, and easy to hit, so I rarely chose the wrong setting. The ability to tap to focus on a specific area on screen is always handy. You can also assign the touchscreen to act as a shutter, if you so desire.

But there are some serious downsides here. Perhaps my biggest complaint is that the EOS M doesn't have a complete mode dial. Make no mistake, there's a Mode dial, but all it switches between are Scene Intelligent Auto, Still Photo and Movie modes. To change to Program, Priority, Manual and Scene modes, you have to use the in-camera menu system. This makes no sense to me. After all, the dial is already there. All they had to do was add a few more clicks to get full PASM, and it wouldn't have taken up any extra space.

There are also frustrating inconsistencies in the UI. Earlier I mentioned that some settings could be controlled by both button and touch, which is great. But not all of them. And there's no real way to intuitively know which controls which, except for trial and error, or getting lost deep in the owner's manual. The learning curve isn't the steepest I've seen for camera menus and controls, but it's not easy.

The other obvious issue is the small amount of buttons and other physical controls on the Canon EOS M. These are limited to just the Control Dial, a Four-Way pad, and five buttons on the rear (Q/Set, Menu, Playback, Info and Movie). For those of you not familiar with Canon controls, the four-way pad not only allows you to navigate screen menus, but also gives you instant access to settings as such: Left - AE lock; Right - Exposure compensation; Up - Drive mode; and Down - Delete.

The vast majority of settings require you to go diving into menus to tweak. Even settings as basic as white balance, ISO, and exposure mode all require using the LCD menus before you can set them. The fact that one of the few buttons is entirely devoted to recording movies -- to the point where it can't be used in other modes -- seems something of a waste to me.

Of the buttons on the Canon EOS M, there's also only one that can be customized on the camera -- the Down-arrow button on the Four-Way pad. In Record mode, this defaults to resetting the focus point to the center of the screen, although it isn't marked as such. It can, however, be repurposed to a variety of other tasks. You can also add frequently-accessed Menu settings to the My Menu. That's more handy than it is on many other Canon cameras, given the small number of physical controls -- and hence, the time you'll be spending in the menu system.

Creativity and feature set. The Canon EOS M's built-in features are a decidedly mixed bag, though there are some interesting nods towards entry-level users. For instance, you have Canon's Creative Auto Mode, which simplifies -- and renames -- some of the controls in a way that might make more sense to a newbie. For instance, rather than adjusting the aperture to control depth of field, it prompts users to change the background from blurred to sharp along a five point scale.

But Canon seems to have kept a short leash on the available exposure modes. Where some cameras will pack a few dozen, this has just the basic Program, Priority, Manual, and then eight scene modes -- your usual smattering of macro, portrait, landscape and so on. The only two of note are Handheld Night Scene, which combines four images into one -- so you have to have a steady hand -- and HDR Backlight Control which is designed to retain more detail in high-contrast scenes by merging three consecutive shots into one.

It would have been nice to see more of the fun, special effects filters that have become almost ubiquitous in other entry-level cameras slotted in here, too -- like maybe a Panorama mode. The EOS M offers fairly run of the mill Creative Filters such as Grainy B/W, Soft focus, Fish-eye effect, Art bold effect, Water painting effect, Toy camera effect and Miniature effect. They're all pretty lackluster in my opinion, but you can see a full range of them for yourself below.

Canon EOS M - Creative Effects
No effect	Art Bold
Water Painting	Toy Camera
Miniature	Grainy B/W
Soft Focus	Fisheye
Unfortunately, the Canon EOS M is rather spare on creative filters and special effects, and the ones it does offer aren't tremendously dramatic.

Much ado about AF. There's a lot to like about the Canon EOS M. Unfortunately, there was even more to dislike about it during my first shooting experiences with it. In fact, before the firmware update last month, the EOS M had a flaw so large that I couldn't in good conscience recommend it to anyone, as it was. Its autofocus speed was utterly abysmal -- truly, worryingly slow. For comparison's sake, I own a Canon SX200 point-and-shoot from 2009, and this 3-year-old point-and-shoot focused faster and more accurately than the EOS M.

And not only was the Canon EOS M sluggish to focus in bright light, but also it was an absolute mess when faced with dark shooting conditions. Low-light AF was glacial, seesawing back and forth as it struggled to find focus, and frequently downright failing to lock on anything at all. And when I shot with multiple-point autofocus on, the camera was slower still.

Even if you shot in bright sunlight, with just a single focus point, it was just barely usable. And it wouldn't catch anything fast moving. Simply put, I wasted too much time trying to get it to focus like I wanted it to. While the single focal point improved the situation, that point itself is placed by your finger on the LCD touchscreen, and so it has to be relatively large -- which makes getting pinpoint precision problematic.

But that was before the Canon fixed the AF problem. In late June 2013, Canon released a new version of the firmware, and we're happy to report the Canon EOS M's AF has been markedly improved -- in our tests we've found single-shot AF to be about a half a second faster across the board. However, we'd still only call the AF acceptable at best -- the EOS M is still not as speedy and decisive as most of its competitors. As such, its AF system remains a major shortcoming, though no longer a completely crippling one.

If the AF system still isn't fast enough for you, you can manually focus the Canon EOS M by setting it to manual focus mode and using the lens' focus ring. It's fairly easy and intuitive to use, and you can get either a 5x or 10x magnified view on the LCD touchscreen to make sure you're honed in on your target. In AF+MF focus mode, you can let the camera get close with AF and then you can turn the focus ring to get what you want razor sharp. There is, however, no focus peaking function to help you nail the point of focus.

Find out more about the Canon EOS M's autofocus and other performance stats by clicking here to see our full battery of rigorous, objective speed and operation tests conducted in the IR Lab.

Bundled with the 22mm lens, the Canon EOS M could have been an excellent street photography camera for quickly snapping shots on the go -- but the slow focusing limits that dream. In my real-world testing, I also found the manual focus mode to be nothing special, and certainly not good enough to pre-focus with enough precision to shoot from the hip. Since the EF-M lenses use STM stepper motors for focusing, you can turn the focus ring eternally in either direction, which means you can't even take a guess at manually pre-focusing before lifting your camera.

Image quality. OK, after that downer, here's some much better news. I discovered the overall image quality of the Canon EOS M to be pretty amazing for a mirrorless model. Photos are sharp and vibrant, and the 18-megapixel APS-C sensor delivers a great deal of resolution -- more than many competitors. I was lucky to hit a run of warm, sunny weather -- rare for the Bay Area! -- and captured several images that show off what the EOS M can do in near-ideal conditions.

The EOS M's low-light images surprised me. In particular, I thought the kit lens demonstrated stellar image stabilization, allowing me to be able to shoot down to one tenth of a second hand-held at night with very little blur.

I found the EOS M's dynamic range also to be decent. Maybe the small size of the camera had me thinking my shots would come out more like a point-and-shoot, but the EOS M captured the highlights and shadows I was looking for in most of my shots. I was even able to capture a street sign backlit directly by the sun and still have the image come out correctly.

View the IR Lab's in-depth Canon EOS M image quality test results by clicking here,
and see our side-by-side comparisons against the Canon EOS M's top competitors here.

Video. The Canon EOS M's Movie mode is quite fully featured. It records at Full HD (1080p) at up to 30 frames per second, and at 720p at up to 60fps. You can leave the EOS M on Movie Auto, or set it to Movie Manual for precise control over aperture and shutter speed. You can also customize a wide array of photographic settings while recording, including ISO and white balance. In Movie mode you can also enable wind noise reduction, audio attenuation, and watch the feed of audio coming through each of the stereo mics.

As I mentioned earlier, it seems a bizarre design decision that one of the few buttons on the rear of the camera is devoted solely to starting or stopping recording while in video mode. While on the positive side, it means you can shoot still images with the shutter button while you keep recording video, it also means that while in normal camera modes, one of the few physical buttons is out of commission.

One of the advantages to the focusing system that Canon instituted with the EOS M is that, paired with an STM lens, it's totally silent, so it won't interfere with your audio while filming. However, just like it is in still mode, the AF remains fairly sluggish, so you'll probably want to pre-focus whenever possible.

Wrapping it up. I wanted to like the Canon EOS M, I really did. But after my first few days shooting with it, I had given up hope. I was going to pan the camera for its slow-as-molasses autofocus system, which rendered it almost unusable. And I was going to knock it for its lack of a built-in flash, electronic viewfinder and physical exposure mode controls, not to mention its sometimes-frustrating menu and navigation quirks.

But then a June 2013 firmware update finally came from Canon and put the spotlight back on what the camera does well. First off, the EOS M takes great still pictures, thanks to its 18-megapixel APS-C-type sensor that's related to those of the Rebel T4i, T5i, and SL1. It's also a very sophisticated movie-making tool, especially in Movie Manual mode where you can change aperture, shutter speed and more. I particular loved the bright-and-sharp LCD touchscreen, though sometimes I got confused on how exactly to change settings since the touchscreen and physical dials often seemed at war with one another.

I still want to like the EOS M. But I don't think it's for me personally. There are just too many other mirrorless options out there that don't have such a notable (and once fatal) flaw. The AF speed may be better, acceptable to a point, but it's still not what you'd expect from Canon.

However, if I were a Canon DSLR owner looking to add a compact backup body that was compatible with my all my lenses (thanks to the EF-M adapter), I'd probably seriously consider the EOS M. Especially at the $400 pricetag for which it's currently selling.

Video

Despite being Canon's smallest EOS camera, with more of a resemblance to a point-and-shoot camera than an interchangeable lens one, the M still features high definition video recording capabilities to match its sibling Rebel-series cameras. The EOS M's video system is pretty capable for its price point, and includes most of the standard set of video features seen on recent Canon video-capable DSLRs like Movie Servo AF, 1080p Full HD resolution at 30 and 24 fps plus 720p60 recording formats as well as manual audio level adjustments, and an external mic input.

With the exception a few things such as aperture- or shutter-priority exposure control and the generous selection of frame rates and compression types found on some higher-end cameras, the EOS M packs a fairly healthy feature set into its diminutive body. Here's a quick rundown of its video capabilities, along with our usual selection of sample videos at the bottom.

Canon EOS M Basic Video Specs

• 1,920 x 1,080 (Full HD / 1080p) at 30 & 24 frames per second, 1,280 x 720 (720p) at 60 frames per second, and 640 x 480 (VGA) at 30 frames per second
• TTL (through the lens) matrix metering using the main image sensor
• MOV file format, with H.264/MPEG-4 AVC encoding with variable bitrates
• Autofocus can be triggered during movie recording by pressing the shutter button, or continuous AF can be enabled; Manual focus also available
• Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO sensitivity can be controlled in Manual exposure mode, both before and during recording
• ISO sensitivity can also be controlled automatically in Manual exposure mode
• Simplified Movie exposure control options: either automatic exposure or full manual exposure
• Exposure compensation can be adjusted prior to or during recording
• Video recording can be started and stopped with dedicated movie button or optional RC-6 remote control
• Seven-step LCD brightness adjustment available 
• LCD brightness must be adjusted before capture starts
• 16-bit, 48KHz, Linear PCM audio from internal stereo microphone or an optional external 3.5mm stereo jack
• Automatic or fine-grained 64-step audio sensitivity adjustment available, including level display with peak hold indication (note: the level meter is only displayed when in level setting menu screen)
• Still images can be captured while in video recording mode, but doing so pauses recording for a little over two seconds
• Must be in Movie Mode to shoot video. In stills mode, the dedicated record button is non-functional
• Movies can be "trimmed" in-camera, selecting just the portion you want and optionally saving it as a new file
• Video Snapshot feature lets you record quick video clips in 2, 4 or 8 second durations, which can be joined together in Video Snapshot Albums and be set to music
• If an attached Canon flash unit has an LED light, it can automatically enable it in low-light shooting in autoexposure mode
• Video duration limited to 29 minutes, 59 seconds maximum
• File size restricted to 4 GB maximum; automatically and seamlessly spans movie capture across a second file if needed
• If sensor temperature threshold is exceeded, shooting may stop before either limit is reached; camera warns before threshold is reached
• Single SD memory card slot. Uses SD, SDHC, SDXC cards.
• Requires minimum Class 6 SD card speed for HD video recording
• Histogram is available in manual mode, but only before capture starts
• Two grid displays (3x3, 4x6) are available, but only before capture starts
• "Clean" HDMI output not supported. Live view feed is only about 50% of screen, surrounded by black area containing readouts.

Canon EOS M Video: Image Size, Frame Rate, and Encoding

The Canon EOS M offers three different video resolutions and three frame rates. When set to NTSC mode, the combinations shown below are available:

Full HD movie. The EOS M has the standard set of video resolutions as the other current set of Canon Rebel-series cameras.

The EOS M features the standard set of video recording formats many Canon DSLRs have, all of which are progressive scan formats. It offers full 1,920 x 1,080 HD video at both 30 and 24 frames per second. The 60 frames/second frame rate available in 1,280 x 720 mode is great for capturing smooth-looking action, but won't be as good in low-light situations, because the camera can't use a shutter speed longer than 1/60 second. The 720p resolution also introduces a greater risk for moiré and aliasing, which we will get to further down.

The 24p mode is a popular mode for many filmmakers and cinematographers because 24 fps is the frame rate used for cinema, and it gives videos more of a "film look." The lower frame rate can look choppy, though, particularly when shooting in bright light with fast shutter speeds. Note that the Canon EOS M records video at 25p and 50p instead of 30p and 60p respectively when PAL video mode is selected.

The Canon EOS M saves its video files in the MOV format, using H.264/MPEG-4 encoding. Unlike more advanced, newer Canon DSLRs, the EOS M doesn't feature the higher bitrate video formats like ALL-I compression.

The Canon EOS M also features Canon's Video Snapshot feature, which lets users take quick 2-, 4- or 8-second video clips, then stitch them together and set them to music in Video Snapshot Albums, all in-camera. It's a little like quick-and-dirty video editing meets photo slideshows.

Canon EOS M Video: Image Quality

The EOS M produces nice, high quality video that looks similar to what we've seen from Canon DSLRs. Video has crisp detail and accurate color rendition. Scenes shot in bright daylight can look a bit too contrasty to our eyes, though, with shadow areas being pretty dark when using the Standard Picture Profile. Users wanting to get more dynamic range out of their clips should use a custom picture style with decreased contrast. In low-light scenes, the EOS M did a good job, with nice detail overall and decent shadow detail. While there was visible high ISO noise, particularly chroma noise, in our nighttime test videos, it wasn't severe enough to significantly degrade the image quality.

We saw a fair amount of moiré artifacts in the standard problem areas like window screens, roof shingles, and fine patterned fabrics. Moiré and aliasing were even more pronounced in 720p video, which has been the case with most Canon DSLRs we've seen in the past. Overall, moiré artifacts look very similar to those seen on Canon DSLRs (with the exception of the 5D Mark III). This isn't a deal breaker by any means, and while it could be a deciding factor for professionals or high-end video shooters, most users should just be careful where they shoot, and be on the lookout for problems with the patterns in people's clothing, etc.

Below you can see our standard array of sample videos for the EOS M:

Canon EOS M Video: Focusing

Unlike the Canon SL1, the EOS M still uses the older Hybrid CMOS AF (rather than the new Version II), which only has a small area of phase-detect sensors on the imaging sensor itself. This seems to make the continuous AF on the EOS M slower and more prone to hunting.

• 

  By default, the EOS M uses Movie-Servo AF, but you can disable this and opt for manual or single-servo autofocus instead
• Single-servo autofocus focuses when the shutter button is half-pressed; movie-servo AF focuses as the camera deems necessary during recording
• STM (all EF-M) lenses are practically silent when autofocusing
• AF area mode options:
  • Face-priority + Tracking
  • FlexiZone - Multi
  • FlexiZone - Single
• AF point can be selected by gently tapping on the touch screen, letting you subtly change focus between different subjects without moving the camera
• Movie Servo AF can be excruciatingly slow if the camera is unable to lock focus; it will slowly rack focus back and forth attempting to focus (note: tested with EF-M 22 f/2 STM lens).
• Autofocus via the shutter button can be disabled, which is useful if you want to capture still images during movie shooting without causing the camera to refocus as well
• Manual focus is also available during movie recording
  • Note: you have to half-press the shutter button an hold it down for manual focusing to work

Canon EOS M Video: Exposure Control

• 

  Exposure. The EOS M provides a much simpler choice for movie exposure control; it's either fully automatic or fully manual.

  Defaults to fully automatic exposure, but exposure compensation adjustment is available
• Changes in exposure compensation take effect gradually, avoiding abrupt jumps in brightness. (Nice when you want to change exposure while a recording is in progress.)
• Auto-ISO limit set in still capture mode doesn't affect video recording
• Simplified video exposure control with two choices: "Movie Auto Exposure" or "Movie Manual Exposure" modes
• Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO sensitivity can be adjusted before and during exposure in Manual exposure mode just like Canon's other EOS cameras
  • The three exposure variables can be adjusted through touch screen or the control dial
    • Shutter speed and aperture are controlled via the control dial (press right on the 4-way controller to toggle between shutter and aperture control).
    • ISO must be changed via the touch screen
  • Adjustments in shutter speed, aperture, or ISO sensitivity are instant and make noticeable changes in exposure level, even with auto ISO. (Here, the exposure level dims or brightens slightly, then returns to the original level.)
  • Available shutter speeds range from 1/4,000s down to 1/60s for 60p, and down to 1/30s for 30p and 24p
  • Sensitivity can be set from ISO 100 to 6,400 (or 12,800 with ISO Expansion enabled), or to Auto. The latter lets you dial in your chosen shutter speed and aperture, while letting the camera handle the exposure level by changing the ISO.
• Full range of Picture Style settings apply to movie recording. (Auto, Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, and User Defined 1 - 3), and each can be adjusted. Picture Style adjustments include sharpness and contrast, plus saturation and color tone for color styles, and filter / toning effects for monochrome.)
• AE (auto-exposure) lock is supported in video mode, both before and during recording
• Evaluative metering is always used for video recording, regardless of metering mode selected for still shooting
• If an attached Canon flash unit has an LED light, the camera can automatically enable it in low-light shooting in autoexposure mode

Canon EOS M Video: Audio Recording

• 

  Internal stereo microphone
• Defaults to automatic level control
• Manual level control available via Movie Settings menu, with 64 levels available
• VU (audio level) meter available only when adjusting recording level (no option for it on-screen before or during recording)
• External stereo mic input - use external mics for better sound quality, control over stereo effect / directionality, and to eliminate camera / lens noise
  • Thankfully, the EOS M features a touch-screen allowing for silent adjustment of camera functions during recording (exposure compensation, aperture, shutter speed, etc.)
• Audio can be disabled entirely

Canon EOS M Video: Rolling Shutter Artifacts ("Jello effect")

Pretty much every still camera on the market distorts moving objects, or the entire scene, if the camera is being panned quickly. The technical term for this is "rolling shutter artifacts," but many users simply call it the "Jello effect," because the image can jiggle and sway like Jello as the camera is moved. This occurs because the image is captured and read out line by line, so the bottom of an object may no longer be underneath the top of it by the time the camera gets around to capturing that part of the frame.

The EOS M does a nice job of controlling rolling shutter distortion. At the 1080p resolution, rolling shutter distortion was noticeable but still minimal, and even less so at 720p. Overall, the M seems evenly matched with recent Canon DSLRs in this regard, putting it well within the upper range of all DSLRs when it comes to rolling shutter. As long as you are mindful of this effect, and avoid quick pans or back-and-forth motions, particularly around objects with vertical lines like trees and buildings, you probably won't notice the rolling shutter distortion at all.

Technical Info

by Mike Tomkins

Like most of the company's recent consumer and mid-range DSLRs, 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 DSLR.	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 6400, 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 a DSLR's bulk while throwing away the advantage of an optical finder.
The size advantage to be gained in removing the DSLR'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 have been offered for the new Canon EF-M mount since launch: one prime which is 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 DSLRs. 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 DSLR...	...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 DSLRs; 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 EOS M also offers both Mini (Type C) HDMI high-definition and composite standard-definition video outputs. The latter port also doubles as a USB digital connection for data transfer. An infrared remote control is also supported.
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. The battery is CIPA-rated for 230 shots per charge, or for 90 minutes of video capture, at 73°F / 23°C. That's pretty limited battery life for its class. A dedicated LC-E12 battery charger is included in the bundle, and an optional ACK-E12 AC adapter kit is also available.

Conclusion

Late to the mirrorless camera game, the Canon EOS M wasn't a big hit at launch -- primarily due to reports of its glacial autofocus speeds. (Something we discovered here at IR immediately.) Due to what was considered a fatal flaw, the camera was mostly ignored until recently when Canon finally addressed the AF issue with a much-anticipated firmware update. We're happy to report that this update did in fact markedly improve the EOS M's speed, shaving an average of a half a second off its single-shot autofocusing times. While it's still not as fast as many other compact system cameras, it brought the Canon EOS M back to the acceptable range -- and back to life in the minds of photographers.

Up to this point, demand had been so low for the EOS M that its kit price dropped from an MSRP US$800 at launch in October 2012, down to a street price as low as US$300 in recent months. That cost certainly makes up for a lot of shortcomings, and focuses attention back to what the camera does well -- take great pictures and videos.

The Canon EOS M's 18-megapixel, APS-C-type sensor delivers images that rival those of the manufacturer's Rebel T4i/T5i/SL1 DSLRs. And the camera has some serious video skills, too, offering Full HD 1080p recording with stereo audio, and manual movie control over aperture, shutter speed, ISO and more. Meanwhile, two very good kit lenses -- a 22mm prime and an 18-55mm zoom -- both feature STM (stepping motor) AF for very silent operation while filming.

Add those positives to the EOS M's solid, compact build and sleek design -- plus the fact that the camera can be adapted to accept other Canon EF / EF-S lenses -- and it becomes a very viable option for Canon DSLR owners looking for a second, more portable body without having to change systems.

However, along with the still-slow AF come a few other missed opportunities -- most notably, the EOS M's lack of a built-in flash and electronic viewfinder, a heavier reliance on touchscreen navigation and settings selection (there are no Program, Priority, or Manual modes on the Mode dial!), and poor battery life. Potential Canon EOS M buyers will have to weigh these negatives against the positives to determine if the camera is right for them.

What do we think? Well, we're with our reviewer on this one. Such slow AF is pretty hard to swallow, especially considering the competition, and we miss some of the features (built-in flash, complete Mode dial, tilting LCD) that were omitted for the sake of size. But while we probably wouldn't buy one ourselves (OK, one of us actually did, but he's a diehard Canon guy and the deal was incredible), we'd still recommend it for the right photographer -- either a Canon shooter looking for a compact companion, or someone looking for a steal of a deal. For these reasons, the Canon EOS M squeaks in and earns a Dave's Pick.

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