# Canon EOS M5 can't compete with competition?



## Pascal Parvex (Feb 12, 2017)

The M5 was presented in the Swiss Sunday paper "Sonntagszeitung". Two points I took away:


autofocus too slow
image quality can't hold up with competition, as there is too much noise from ISO 1600 on upwards

This is not really true, right? Right!?


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## AvTvM (Feb 12, 2017)

totally wrong. trust me. I know more than "Sonntagszeitung". ;D


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## slclick (Feb 12, 2017)

AvTvM said:


> totally wrong. trust me. I know more than "Sontagszeitung". ;D



And Canon


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## Dylan777 (Feb 12, 2017)

With today sensor, I highly doubt m5 would have "too much noise" at 1600iso, even in low light.


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## Bennymiata (Feb 12, 2017)

I find the focussing very snappy, especially in good light and find that I can pull dark images much harder than I can on my 5d3.

PLUS, it's great fun to use.


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## YuengLinger (Feb 12, 2017)

Absolutely no problem against the competition--among loyalists... :


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## bholliman (Feb 13, 2017)

I have no experience with the competition, but compared with Canon DSLR's, autofocus and IQ are very good. AF is better than my 6D, and does a very nice job for tracking quickly moving kids. IQ is terrific, including high ISO. I routinely shoot at ISO 1600-5000 and noise cleans up easily.


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## TeT (Feb 13, 2017)

How does it track compared to your 6D?


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## bholliman (Feb 14, 2017)

TeT said:


> How does it track compared to your 6D?


I can't do side-by-side testing since my 6D and 24-70 f/4 lens are with my son in Europe. But, I shot with it expensively for nearly 4 years so am very familiar with 6D capabilities.

6D's are terrific cameras, but autofocus tracking is not one of their strengths. I got to the point where I almost never used it in AI Servo mode, even for moving subjects. I got more keepers pre-focusing and using Single Shot. By contrast, I use(d) my 5D3 and 5DsR in Servo mode the vast majority of the time.

The M5 does a great job of tracking by comparison. I've used mine extensively for taking pictures of the kids (4,6,7 years old) playing when they are moving quickly and randomly, and its does a very good job of retaining focus, much better than the 6D overall. I've tried both the 6D and M5 to shoot birds in flight using my 300 f/2.8 II with extenders (eagles, herons and geese) with limited success. The M5 did a little better, but neither is going to replace my 5DsR for bird photography!

The M5 lacks the autofocus customization that is possible with the 5D and 1D series bodies - AF options are fairly limited. So, for general purpose use: family, portraits, street, landscape, etc. the M5 autofocus is very capable. For serious sports and wildlife photography, you want to use a DSLR with phase detect autofocus, designed for these uses (7DII, 5D3, 5D4, 5Ds(R), 1D series).

One other observation about the M5 vs. a 5Dx or 6D is the viewfinders. The M5's EVF is very nice and capable, but its much darker and smaller than the big, bright OVF's on the 5D's and 6D. Last weekend I was shooting birds from a blind and had my 300 mounted on a tripod with gimbal and was exchanging my M5 and 5DsR bodies on the lens. The difference in the viewfinders was really noticeable when done side by side like this. EVF technology has improved quite a bit, but still has a ways to go before it will match a good OVF in my opinion.


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## AvTvM (Feb 14, 2017)

thanks for sharing your impressions, bholliman.

re EVF brightness ... is this not adjustable? Or you were on max. setting already?


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## bholliman (Feb 15, 2017)

AvTvM said:


> thanks for sharing your impressions, bholliman.
> 
> re EVF brightness ... is this not adjustable? Or you were on max. setting already?


Good point! I didn't realize the EVF brightness is adjustable - it is! Had to check the manual. 

There are 5 settings, mine was still on the factory default #3. My bird blind experience was on a bright sunny day, so a brighter setting was called for. Now that I know how to adjust the EVF, I'll do the side by side comparison again.


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## bholliman (Feb 15, 2017)

One more comment about the M5's autofocus system. The touch and drag focus system is really terrific. I struggled a little with it a first, but once I read Dustin Abbott's review and suggestion to use just the right side of the screen, its an excellent system! Dragging the focus point with your thumb while looking through the viewfinder is easy and intuitive and allows for easy focus tracking.


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## JoFT (Feb 18, 2017)

Here is the link...
http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/digital/mobil/canons-lichtblick-bei-den-spiegellosen/story/28255274


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## JoFT (Feb 18, 2017)

I must say: this article is a bit bad! It does not fit with my conclusions: http://bit.ly/2iooJMo


The ISO comparison is in eyes hight
The speed: yes it is slower, but even dark comparable to Panasonic
What nobody talks about: Focusing confidence: this is just mind-blowing!
And last but not least: which autofocus works with a largest aperture of f11 (EF100-400mm + Extender 2x)


And the image quality of the M5 is just great.


Last but not least: The usability in combination with the image app!!!


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