# EOS-M kicking butt in Japan



## unfocused (Nov 2, 2012)

BCN Ranking, via Photo Rumors, reports that Canon's EOS-M is in the #3 slot in Mirrorless Camera Sales in Japan for the first nine months of the year. That's pretty incredible considering the camera wasn't even announced until July. 

Just goes to show how out of touch many on this forum are. And, I admit, I was (and still am) underwhelmed by the EOS-M. But, once again, Canon proves they knows how to sell them cameras.


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## RLPhoto (Nov 2, 2012)

I like the EOS-M. Its a friendly looking camera with Great IQ.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 2, 2012)

The camera is aimed at women, and lots of women in Japan are enthusiastic photographers, so I'd expect it to be doing well in Japan. Its about time that a high end camera was created that takes into account features that women want.


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## dr croubie (Nov 2, 2012)

See my comment on the original PR post. Unfortunately, PRGuy got it wrong, those are the top 10 sales figures for 01-22 October only (and there's always going to be a big rush upon launch).
Still, nice to see that it's doing well (although there's some weird things in there, like the Pentax Q sells well, and the NEX-7 doesn't, and there's no Fuji anything or OM-D in there)


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## unfocused (Nov 2, 2012)

dr croubie said:


> See my comment on the original PR post. Unfortunately, PRGuy got it wrong, those are the top 10 sales figures for 01-22 October only (and there's always going to be a big rush upon launch).
> Still, nice to see that it's doing well (although there's some weird things in there, like the Pentax Q sells well, and the NEX-7 doesn't, and there's no Fuji anything or OM-D in there)



In the immortal words of Emily Litella: "Never Mind." (Although I suppose those are still pretty good numbers and certainly beating Nikon)


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## Zv (Nov 4, 2012)

A few reasons it's doing so well in Japan (based on living here) -

1. Canon's advertising a marketing campaigns are effective, when somethin new comes out you know all about it! 
2. Japanese people love new gadgets, especially cameras. 
3. It's small - they love small and cute things that come in multiple colors. 
4. People stick to brands they know, Loyalty is everything. 
5. OM-D and Sony NEX-7 not advertised as much and costs more. 

I don't agree entirely with the aimed at women thing. I think Canon is going for the young party goers and weekend hobbyists, male or female. Though it would be interesting to see the demographic breakdown of sales! 

I would be interested in EOS-M for things like Karaoke, nightclubs, bars, restaurants, camping trips, hiking and any other situation where my 5D mk II and lens collection are overkill / less than ideal.


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## V8Beast (Nov 4, 2012)

unfocused said:


> Just goes to show how out of touch many on this forum are. And, I admit, I was (and still am) underwhelmed by the EOS-M. But, once again, Canon proves they knows how to sell them cameras.



Well said. I stand by my prior assessment that the EOS-M is a gimmicky product that doesn't suit any of my needs, so I will therefore never own. That said, maybe, just maybe, companies like Canon conduct extensive market research to determine the demand for future products before bringing them to market? If message board tech heads were the real experts, than Canon would be on the verge of bankruptcy due to its stagnation in DR improvements.


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## Act444 (Nov 4, 2012)

The appeal of this camera for me is quite simple: I'm all about image quality. And the M takes DSLR quality and stuffs it into a P&S body. It has a non-intimidating appearance (with the 22mm), which matters in certain environments. The SD950IS I currently use as my compact camera is no longer cutting it, since the gap in IQ has widened considerably since making DSLR lens upgrades...and if I can't bring the DSLR (for whatever reason) I still want good quality shots. This is where the EOS M comes in.

I was underwhelmed with some test photos I saw online...but changed my mind as soon as I got one and took some pics. The (test) photos I've taken so far with the EOS M - I can't tell a difference between them and my 60D pics. They look like they came out of a DSLR. It's actually more of a testament to the surprisingly good quality of the 22mm kit lens than it is the camera itself given that its sensor is identical to the T4i (and therefore you'd expect high quality given a good lens). 

My 270EX II fits the M quite well - it is maybe a little on the large side compared to the tiny 90EX, but it is far more powerful, it can tilt and bounce - and it is the same price. No-brainer for me (plus it's a great pocket flash for the 5DIII as well). 

What I like:

- Size & weight: 

With the 22mm it's small, JUST shy of being pocket-size.

When the situation matters, it doesn't draw attention/suspicion like a big DSLR would but is still able to deliver on quality.


- Ease of use: The camera is really fun to use. It's straightforward and intuitive - for the most part.

- High image quality: Photos are basically indistinguishable from my 60D shots...and I use L lenses, too.

- AF Points: Plenty of AF points (31) means more freedom of composition, and less cropping afterward (if you can get close enough).

What I don't like:

- AF Speed: The speed of AF seems to depend on what mode the camera is in. While it is adequate in single focus, center point mode, in other modes it will hunt on occasion...and when it hunts, it can sometimes take several seconds. So basically, this is not an action/sports camera at all. It is fine for still subjects and portraits. Having said that, it is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be given how hard many folks on the internet were knocking it. It really is no worse than a Powershot camera if you're using the "FlexiZone-Single" focus mode.

- Lack of customization (compared to Canon's DSLRs): It would be nice to be able to customize the camera a little more- assign more buttons to functions (and not just the trash one). Perhaps change the layout of the touch screen based on how you use the camera. 

Bottom Line:

I really like this camera so far. I'm still amazed at how a camera less than half the size of my 60D is able to match it in IQ. Of course, when it comes to photographing anything moving, faraway subjects, or low-light photography the DSLR will win every time. Can't wait to use it in a real-world situation (which will be in a couple of weeks).


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## Hillsilly (Nov 4, 2012)

They’re not perfect for everyone, but they fit the bill for a lot of people. It offers a reasonable level of capabilities and image quality. It is significantly better than phones and most point and shoots. In that price range, excluding DSLRs, it is difficult to say that anything else is “better”. And, if you already have some Canon lenses, it would be the logical choice for a small camera. But personally, I’m holding off until version 2 with the EVF, improved battery life and bundled EF to EF-M adapter. 

I noticed that someone said they were designed for women. Well, they do make up half of the population. But what's next - a camera designed for left handers? The whole camera universe would implode.


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## Rocky (Nov 4, 2012)

Hillsilly said:


> But what's next - a camera designed for left handers?
> 
> 
> > Get an Exakta. It is all left handed, including the film winder. :=)


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## Dylan777 (Nov 4, 2012)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> The camera is aimed at women, and lots of women in Japan are enthusiastic photographers, so I'd expect it to be doing well in Japan. Its about time that a high end camera was created that takes into account features that women want.



-1....Count me in when Canon has FF mirrorless. Hope they will have some decent pancake lenses. I DO NOT wish to mount my 24-70 or 70-200 on that mirrorless body.


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## pwp (Nov 4, 2012)

I'm glad it's doing so well; that's likely to inspire Canon to expand its mirrorless range sooner rather than later. Call me old fashioned, but I wouldn't contemplate serious photography on a camera without a proper viewfinder. And I'm perfectly happy if that happens to be a quality EVF. 

When Canon deliver the mirrorless with EVF and snappin' AF I'm on board! In a heartbeat...

-PW


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## sandymandy (Nov 4, 2012)

Hm i was wrong then i guess  Why cant canon make a rangefinder?


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## Ricku (Nov 4, 2012)

Very sad news.

I was hoping that people would ignore this camera, because it isn't full frame.

The EOS M is just another _"I can too!"_


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## traveller (Nov 4, 2012)

dr croubie said:


> See my comment on the original PR post. Unfortunately, PRGuy got it wrong, those are the top 10 sales figures for 01-22 October only (and there's always going to be a big rush upon launch).
> Still, nice to see that it's doing well (although there's some weird things in there, like the Pentax Q sells well, and the NEX-7 doesn't, and there's no Fuji anything or OM-D in there)



That's exactly it, the Japanese especially love new things. 

Continuing the discussion ( ) - quite a number of people seem to want full frame. I wonder how keen they'd be when they saw the size and price of the lenses! Really, this boils down to what you want the camera for and what compromises you are willing to accept. If you're looking for a smaller, yet still very capable camera system to _supplement_ your DSLR, then I'd suggest that you _don't_ want full frame, as it adds size and cost whilst duplicating capabilities you already have. 

In some ways, this mirrors (pun noted!) the currently available systems. I would suggest that Fuji's X-system is very much orientated at those who are looking to change from a DSLR based set-up to something more compact, rather than those who seek to supplement their DSLR with something smaller. Hence why the X-series are physically larger and amongst the most expensive of the mirrorless cameras. 

DSLR DSLR supplement point and shoot upgraders
replacement 
X-Pro1 ------------- NEX-7, OMD EM5 ---------- GX-1, EP3 ----------- EPLx, GFx, Nikon 1

I'm not trying to suggest that there are any clear cut boundaries (nor was I trying to be comprehensive), just that there is a vague spectrum, upon which different cameras exist. As you move further to the left on my spectrum, the more niche the product becomes. Might I therefore also suggest that the further to the left a camera is, the less attractive it becomes to the mainstream manufacturers like Canon and Nikon.


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## Zv (Nov 4, 2012)

Had a play about with one today at a camera store. I have to admit it's quite addictive! Here's some things I like / don't like about it -

Like - the touchscreen. You can select an AF point (area?) just by touching the screen. Cool. Also the Playback zoom is super easy with the pinch and grab movements. 
It's small, with the 22mm it could fit in a coat pocket, not in your jeans pocket though. 
The IQ of the 22mm was pretty good too, slightly better than the 18-55mm.

Dislike - AF was slow. I'll try and be specific here. Even when the subject is already close to being in focus it still hunts back and forth once or twice and then locks. Average time to lock on was between 1 to 2 seconds. Lighting conditions were average. You will not be able to take a quick snap with this thing.
The EF adapter is pretty heavy. Probably weighs more than my 50mm f/1.8 II.

But overall I still think it has potential if they can fix the AF with a firmware.


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## brad-man (Nov 4, 2012)

Ricku said:


> Very sad news.
> 
> I was hoping that people would ignore this camera, because it isn't full frame.
> 
> The EOS M is just another _"I can too!"_




This is a very odd sentiment. Did you expect Canon's first mirrorless would be full frame? It is already a full size APS-C. I am hoping the camera will be a success, thereby prompting Canon to expand the line with more features and lenses worthy of a "real" system. This, in turn, will eventually lead to a full frame version...


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## Nishi Drew (Nov 4, 2012)

Here in Japan, I visited a photo gallery, and one of the gentlemen who's work was at the exhibition was toying with his M, attached to it was a massive (or with the small body looked that much larger) telephoto. He was taking pictures of me and a few others with it having some fun. For people with a wealth of EF lenses it would be tempting, but man, it doesn't stand out any less, is now awkwardly front heavy, and less controls + no VF would mean slower operation anyways... yeah basically what everyone's been saying, but I saw it happening in the wild!


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## weixing (Nov 4, 2012)

Hi,
If you do the calculation, Canon G1X sensor has similar pixel size with 7D, 60D, 650D and EOS M... at around 4.3um.

So, you want a camera with good IQ, you can have the following choice:
1) P&S: Canon G1X 
2) Mirrorless: EOS M
3) General Purpose DSLR: 650D
4) Mid level DSLR: 60D
5) Sport/Wildlife DSLR: 7D

WOW! Canon cover all the range with one sensor design.

Have a nice day.


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## DB (Nov 4, 2012)

It is good that Canon is enjoying some success with their new mirror-less APS-C offering, but I fear that it could put more pressure on Canon to make smaller and lighter bodies, that in turn may result in smaller & lighter EF lenses (just look at how much weight they shaved off the 24-70 II by using more plastic).


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## Act444 (Nov 4, 2012)

Zv said:


> The IQ of the 22mm was pretty good too, slightly better than the 18-55mm.



How was the 18-55? They didn't have it in store, and they don't sell a 18-55 kit in the US so I just got it with the stock 22 (which exceeded my expectations). 



> Dislike - AF was slow. I'll try and be specific here. Even when the subject is already close to being in focus it still hunts back and forth once or twice and then locks. Average time to lock on was between 1 to 2 seconds. Lighting conditions were average. You will not be able to take a quick snap with this thing.



1-2 seconds? My experience is usually about 1 second, maybe a little faster. When using the outer focus points near the corners, I agree, 1-2 sec is more common but center point is quite fast actually (assuming your subject is not vastly out of focus- even then, it's not too bad). That said, when I tested it in "rush mode" I did notice a shutter lag (delay between confirmed focus and pic taken) which I hope they can address, perhaps in firmware.

Where it REALLY slowed down was when I switched to the FlexiZone-Multi mode and the face detection. If your scene is OOF and there are a lot of near and far subjects in your shot...be prepared to wait several seconds, especially in low light.



> The EF adapter is pretty heavy. Probably weighs more than my 50mm f/1.8 II.



Interesting...they didn't have the adapter on hand either but I'd love to try it with my 40 2.8. Seems like it would fit well...



> Here in Japan, I visited a photo gallery, and one of the gentlemen who's work was at the exhibition was toying with his M, attached to it was a massive (or with the small body looked that much larger) telephoto. He was taking pictures of me and a few others with it having some fun. For people with a wealth of EF lenses it would be tempting, but man, it doesn't stand out any less, is now awkwardly front heavy, and less controls + no VF would mean slower operation anyways... yeah basically what everyone's been saying, but I saw it happening in the wild!



No point in attaching a big lens to this camera. Defeats its purpose! May as well be using a DSLR.


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## bycostello (Nov 5, 2012)

i need hands on with it to decide f i stick with canon.. slow AF killing it for me


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## dr croubie (Nov 5, 2012)

Act444 said:


> Nishi Drew said:
> 
> 
> > Here in Japan, I visited a photo gallery, and one of the gentlemen who's work was at the exhibition was toying with his M, attached to it was a massive (or with the small body looked that much larger) telephoto. He was taking pictures of me and a few others with it having some fun. For people with a wealth of EF lenses it would be tempting, but man, it doesn't stand out any less, is now awkwardly front heavy, and less controls + no VF would mean slower operation anyways... yeah basically what everyone's been saying, but I saw it happening in the wild!
> ...



Well here's the thing. When i've got my 70-300L on my 7D, I'm holding the camera in my right hand all the time (usually with the neck-strap wound around my wrist, I know i should buy a wrist-strap). When I want to take a photo, I raise it up to my eye, my left hand grabs the zoom ring, zoom to where i want, then kinda hold it there, the weight is distributed between my right and left hands evenly.

So yes, you put that lens on an M, it's going to be useless, i can't zoom *and* keep it steady with only my left hand, and taking the lens-weight by holding the camera is no good, you'll snap the mount off in no time.

But I think if you attach a prime lens (especially one with a foot, like the 180 macro, 200/2 or any of the smaller Big Whites), then you can support the entire combo in your left hand, your right hand just has to hold a tiny bit of the camera's weight and press the shutter. It will probably take a bit of getting used to, but i reckon it wouldn't be so bad.

So yeah, long (especially heavy) zooms are out. Long primes maybe, and wide-angle primes would be the best match for the M imho.


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## Act444 (Nov 5, 2012)

I can imagine only the smallest of the EF lenses being usable - i.e. the 40 2.8, 50 1.8, the 60 EF-S macro, etc. which are all fixed-length lenses. The one zoom lens that might work is the old 24-85mm (no longer in production)- it's the size of the 60 EF-S Macro with a little more weight. I picked up an old one- however the "zoom creep" on it is quite bad...


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## verysimplejason (Nov 5, 2012)

I find the EOS-M + 22mm somewhat around the size of a G1X possibly as small as a G12 and lighter. If it can just be a little bit cheaper, I think lots of G series users and updater will prefer the EOS M. Also if I'm gonna have a backup camera, I'd definitely take this more than an RX100 or G1X. It won't add so much weight to my DSLR.


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## Act444 (Nov 5, 2012)

At the store, I handled both the G1X and the EOS M. The M (with the 22mm) is the smaller of the two.

The G1X has a lot of dials (and a grip) so it "feels" much more like a miniaturized DSLR. Controls are basically the same and it has a flipscreen and built-in flash. But there was one thing that bugged the heck out of me when I tried it- its complete inability to focus close. Also, there isn't nearly as much background blur (perhaps sensor size coming into play here).

The M, on the contrary, feels more like a fancy, new-age Powershot with its touch-screen and minimalist factor. But its IQ is simply amazing for such a small camera (provided you stay at f2.8 or smaller). The lack of flash of viewfinder may be a deal-breaker for some but I can deal with it. Surprisingly despite its size, there is still a bit of heft to it, so you know you are holding something.


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## wickidwombat (Nov 6, 2012)

Well I Finally got my EOS-M a few days ago

Why did I get an EOS-M ? I hear you ask. (Especially considering the loathing I have for the poorly performing 18MP APS-C sensors) 

Well quite simply this. I had a Fuji X10 that went back to Fuji about 5 times with them either not fixing the problems and or breaking other stuff in the process in the end the store I bought it from said put it back in the box and bring it back and we'll give you a new one so I said "I'm done with crap Fuji service just put the value towards a preorder on the EOS-M (AT least Canon have good service!)
I just had to pay the difference. I went with the whole shebang and got the full kit EOS-M, 22mm, 18-55, EX90 and the EF adapter

So what do I think of it?
Well to be honest I have very mixed feelings about the little guy I'll go through a few things
I've taken a bunch of test images which I may post if I can be bothered I've been quite busy of late

First I will address the AF that seems to be getting hammered in reviews

Is it really slower than the average politician’s brain? Well yes... yes it is
However that is if you use the shutter button it... is... pain... fully... dog... slow and focuses on random S___ you had no intention of focusing on. The shutter button on this camera is nearly close to useless.

Wow that’s a pretty big smack down you say?

Yeah sure is, however then I discovered the touch operated shutter mode and face recognition and tracking
Quite frankly this is seriously good it makes the AF maybe 10 times faster than the ponderous shutter button with wierd crappy focus selection mode. 

How to describe it?
It’s kind of like spot focus... so you tap the screen on the thing you want to shoot and bam the camera focuses on that thing and takes the shot at the same time. Fast. Not as fast as say a 1D, 5Dmk3 or probably even a 7D
But it's quick, and a very usable quick at that. Now the face tracking thing if you have the continuous AF enabled with the face tracky gizmo then it’s even faster since it’s already tracking faces and is basically nearly there you you tap the face and it shoots even if you tap something else it’s still faster.

THE LENSES
The 22mm f2 is really nice, it’s very compact 43mm filter thread smaller than even the 40mm pancake well built, and really quite sharp even wide open (sharp relative to the APS-C sensor that is) I can see this lens spending the most time on this thing it’s pretty damn good and very compact.

The 18-55 its well-made too same build quality as the 22mm, quite compact with a smooth zoom extension and smooth manual focus ring no zoom creep that I noticed but it weighs next to nothing so I would not expect creep in this lens. But its slow, uninspiring and well, it’s a kit lens. Stopped down it seems sharp enough but next to the 22mm it looks bad. Since its STM though its continuous AF is quite smooth and silent compared to USM lenses with the adaptor which make a lot of noise and the sound gives me a bad feeling about putting un needed wear on the lens so I turned off the continuous AF when using the EF adapter and all the other lenses. 

What other lenses did I try out?
Well after having a brief go with the 18-55 and feeling very underwhelmed I thought I would throw on the 16-35 f2.8L II once I turned off the continuous AF I no longer felt like my poor L lens was going to explode and it was a reasonable snappy focuser and super sharp. The balance was actually pretty reasonable holding the lens in my left hand using my left thumb to zoom a shooting with my right fore finger on the touch screen. And corner to corner sharp even at f2.8

I’ll add here that the USM lenses seem to focus quite a bit slower when they have to rack from end to end if you try to focus on something near and something far I would put the AF speed in a similar range to the 85f1.2L II on a 5Dmk2 say for AF speed using the 16-35 f2.8L II so pretty sluggish but useable.
On real DSLRs this lens as very fast AF 

The next lens I whacked on was the 70-200 f2.8L IS II… it was well not very comfortable to hold I would say you would need to use a monopod for this to be remotely effective, however its AF was very quick (remembering that I’ve basically given up on ever using that silly shutter button ever again an I’m doing everything by the touch screen) AF speed increases too if you use the focus limiter switch on the lens and shot farther away than 2.5m again continuous AF does not make sounds that I want to hear from such an expensive lens so it went off.
Then I couldn’t resist it any longer I wanted to see what it was like on the 600 f4.5 FD so I popped it on and well since this is a manual lens I ran into my first massive disappointment with this camera… aside from the useless shutter button (at least that has a work around)
No live view magnification = weak sauce. Seriously Canon give yourselves an upper cut for that one… jackasses 
Hopefully this can be fixed by the wonderful people at magic lantern but in real life since you are shooting in live view all the time not having the magnification ability is just dumb. I’ll have to try tethered shooting using the android chainfire app, and see if it will work with the control over HDMI
(that’s a mission for another day)
Anyway focused the 600 as best I could and it produces some pretty decent images, I was reasonably impressed, next I grabbed a 12mm extension tube (since I still have the aperture lever on the lens I needed to space it away so I could use my teleconverters)
Popped on the kenko 1.4 300DGX and it worked perfectly by the way the AF confirm chip from the edmika adapter worked perfectly on the EOS-M took a few shots wide open and then stopped down and yeah stopped down IQ didn’t degrade too badly at all. NICE!
Next up the Canon 2x mk III and well it didn’t play nice and refused to work so I thought I’d try stacking them and what da ya know with the kenko between the 2x and the EF adapter the camera worked for a total equivalent full frame focal length of 2688mm YAY! Ok yeah there was a fair bit of image degradation doing this but you didn’t really expect anything else did you? Still it’s probably better optically than most telescopes anyway even though I was shooting on a tripod on solid floor with solid gimbal and using the 10 second timer It was taking a long time for the shake just from taking the shot to die down probably an IR trigger would work best.
I also popped on the sigma 50mm f1.4 and its AF sounded like it was going to have an epileptic fit so it didn’t stay on for very long. The Sigma 85 f1.4 went on and worked pretty well though it was much slower to achieve focus than the 70-200 was but still not too bad
NEXT UP was playing with the flashes
The little ex90 is not a bad little guy and provides enough light for on camera flash in doors at a reasonable distance even though it’s not massively powerful. It’s very compact, takes 2 AAA batteries and has an on off button and a lock (quite disappointed they didn’t make it articulated so you could bounce with it though… again bad Canon bad dog) while I was playing with the ex90 I found in the custom options you can program the rubbish bin button while in shooting mode to bring up the flash exposure compensation this is excellent as it makes it very accessible very quickly (good Canon… good dog) so in AV mode the right d pad controls normal EC and the down d pad controls flash exposure compensation. Not bad at all so it’s just as fast as dialing in flash exposure on the back of a 580.
Next on went an Odin controller and popped a 580 on a receiver and it all worked perfectly no issues
Mind you the odin controller is almost the same size as the camera!

Now onto the sensor, well It is 18 MP APS-C at iso 100 has about the same noise as the 5Dmk3 at iso 800  but given its super compact size its ok as in average. After playing with some high iso samples in lightroom I feel that at iso 1600 this sensor needs takes the same level of lightroom 4.2 Noise reduction that a 5Dmk3 file takes at 16,000. No exaggeration either. ISO 3200 is probably the upper limit it does not hold up even as well as the 1Dmk3 holds up at 3200 so for real use 1600 about my tolerance level on this where I have 3200 on the 1Dmk3 3200 to 6400 at a pinch on the 5Dmk2 and 16,000 on the 5Dmk3
Pattern noise shows up very early on the eos-m sensor and get real aggressive real quick (I will never understand why APS-C fans still defend this format so vigorously)

I felt the camera metered consistently underexposing by a stop or more in AV mode or using auto ISO not really surprising given auto ISO on all the other cameras is somewhat lacking anyway. It would still be nice to be able to be in M mode and have EC apply to the iso but in M mode the EC button has no effect (I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting any earth shattering kabooms here but it would be nice if Canon one day decided to make their cameras function this way with a firmware update )

I did not try out and most like never will try any creative modes and lame stuff like in camera HDR etc
AV is about at automated as I like to get and even then it does my head in sometimes.

I did play with the video a little it looks ok the stm auto focus in video would be better if it stopped hunting after it locked onto its subject however it just hunts in and out of focus constantly, not sure if this can be fixed with firmware. One would think if the face detection was enabled once it had acquired the selected subject it would stay acquired but it still hunts.

So My Brief summary
PROS
•	Very compact size
•	Nice build quality
•	Great screen
•	Touch interface works well
•	Interface is really quite intuitive and works well with reasonably easy access to most settings
•	Touch to shoot saves the AF despite the lame shutter button at ruining the camera
•	Touch to shoot is REALLY good so it gets mentioned twice
•	22mm Lens is awesome and very sharp wide open
•	EF adapter is great and works well
•	Big sensor for such a little camera

CONS
•	AF using shutter button is a total joke (must have been developed on April 1st)
•	No zoom in live view shooting given you only have live view shooting as an option this is stupid
•	Some lenses perform significantly better than others using the EF adapter and not necessarily the same as they would on a DSLR
•	Underexposure when you trust the camera to meter for you I found the best way to use this camera is in AV with +1 EC dialed in and auto ISO unless you specifically want iso 100 or it will select iso 400 as a minimum for some weird reason. Then if using flash you can dial in some flash EC too as needed after configuring the rubbish bin to be flash EC in custom settings
•	No chance of using this camera for street photography or shooting from the hip with the shutter button. To have it focus properly any subject is definitely gonna know they are having their picture taken
•	Not many custom options
•	AEB only 3 shots like on a rebel
•	Limited iso step selections (full stops only up on high)
•	Video auto focus is not very good and could do with a fix to improve consistency.


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## dolina (Nov 6, 2012)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> The camera is aimed at women, and lots of women in Japan are enthusiastic photographers, so I'd expect it to be doing well in Japan. Its about time that a high end camera was created that takes into account features that women want.


Not necessarily. Even us men want a smaller camera. I just wish it was full frame and had a range finder feel.


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## aj1575 (Nov 6, 2012)

Nice to hear that the EOS-M is doing well in Japan. If it does well in other places this raises the chance that we will see more EOS-M stuff; more bodies with more features, more lenses and so on.

I for my part will not buy the first EOS-M, but I will very likely buy one in the future. The main reason is, that a completly new model is not refined at first, it takes one or two generations until they reach a certain level. With the EOS-M it looks like the AF is the main problem, that will certainly improve in the future. (The second reason is, that I'm looking to replace my old EOS 350D with something new like a 6D, 70D 7DII or whatever comes next, and it would cost me too much to do all at the same time).
I was thinking of keeping my EOS 350D and add a EOS-M, but the slow AF is a killer for me at the moment.


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## sambafan (Nov 6, 2012)

My dad gave me the single best piece of car-shopping advice in my teens: "Never buy the first model of anything". 
My life experience has borne this out repeatedly. Those few times I went against it were all mistakes, e.g. the fact that I am a former X100 owner (thankfully I sold it before the resale value went to crap).

So, perhaps EOS-M ii but not now. Intriguing format... sometimes a small, stealthy tool does the trick. No sense missing a great shot just because you're not lugging your FF at the moment!


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 6, 2012)

Zv said:


> I don't agree entirely with the aimed at women thing. I think Canon is going for the young party goers and weekend hobbyists, male or female. Though it would be interesting to see the demographic breakdown of sales!


Just repeating what Canon has publicly stated, that the target demographic was women.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/08/16/canons-eos-m-designed-for-purses-not-for-pros


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## bycostello (Nov 7, 2012)

great review thanks...


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## wickidwombat (Nov 7, 2012)

bycostello said:


> great review thanks...




thanks I posted it in the EOS-M section to make it easier to find, and I'll try update that one with some images on the weekend


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## expatinasia (Nov 9, 2012)

Zv said:


> A few reasons it's doing so well in Japan (based on living here) -
> 
> 1. Canon's advertising a marketing campaigns are effective, when somethin new comes out you know all about it!
> 2. Japanese people love new gadgets, especially cameras.
> 3. It's small - they love small and cute things that come in multiple colors.



Exactly. Small powerful, trendy and great marketing behind it. I am sure it will do well in other parts of Asia as well. 

I won't be getting one, and I do find it funny when I see pros sticking it on super tele zooms like the 500, 600 etc. I think they were just playing with it. At least I hope they were. And as for the AF it is slow even when using the viewfinder, as someone already described it hunts, focuses, goes hunting again and then locks.


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## bycostello (Nov 19, 2012)

just bought a fuji ex1... voted with my visa card... AF was just not good enough...


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## wickidwombat (Nov 22, 2012)

bycostello said:


> just bought a fuji ex1... voted with my visa card... AF was just not good enough...



pray you never have a problem with it and have to send it back to fuji for dis-service


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