A new mirrorless camera on the way: Yi announces 20-megapixel Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera

Chinese technology company Yi has announced at Photokina a new mirrorless camera aimed at making the capture of high-end, professional-quality photos more user-friendly and enjoyable. You might recognize Yi's name from our coverage of its Yi 4K action camera or its recent forays into drones.

Details are scarce at the moment, but the Yi M1 is a mirrorless camera with a Micro Four Thirds lens mount, 20-megapixel Sony IMX 269 image sensor -- which is also seen in the Panasonic GX8, for example -- and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. To take advantage of its built-in connectivity, the Yi M1 is being designed hand-in-hand with an accompanying mobile application which will provide users with a distinct "Master Guide" tool, aimed at assisting photographers with taking full advantage of the camera and its features.

At launch, two lenses will be available: a 12-40mm f/3.5-5.6 and a 42.5mm f/1.8 prime. These two lenses provide 24-80mm and 85mm equivalent focal lengths.

Yi has announced that the camera has a three-inch LCD touchscreen, but we can also see in the included renders that the camera's rear is mostly devoid of buttons, having only two. This means that the touchscreen will likely be very heavily utilized. It does not appear to be capable of tilting, however.

Moving to the top of the Yi M1, we see a rear command dial, mode dial and shutter release. There's no obvious built-in flash, but there does appear to be a hot shoe. An electronic viewfinder also appears to be absent. Additionally I don't notice any function buttons on the camera body.

We don't have all of the release information on the camera, but pricing will be $499 for the camera and one lens and $699 for the camera with both lenses. In the meantime, take a look at additional renders below.