# Review - Canon EOS M3 Camera



## Canon Rumors Guy (Nov 13, 2015)

Discuss our review of the Canon EOS M3 camera body here.


----------



## Etienne (Nov 13, 2015)

Half-assed efforts like the EOS-M damage the Canon brand. They ought to know to do it well or don't do it at all. Much of the technology to make a great EOS-M already exists. Canon has DPAF for gawd's sake. By the time they make full use of it, it won't be special anymore. Got to shake my head


----------



## Hector1970 (Nov 13, 2015)

Good review Dustin.
I think the M3 is still not attractive enough for me to buy.
I'd buy one if I thought it was good allround. 
It just seems to lack a few things to be good enough.
I think they'd be as well to bundle the EVF with the camera.


----------



## dpc (Nov 13, 2015)

Good review. The camera's a bit pricey. I think they should have put an EVF in even if it meant making the camera a bit bigger. As for the rest of it, it should meet my needs admirably. I may pick one up sometime and use it for casual walking around. I have a Fujifilm X100 for that purpose at the moment. It takes great pictures and I like the style but I want something with the capacity to change lenses and I don't want to invest any further in Fuji.


----------



## AvTvM (Nov 14, 2015)

Thanks Dustin!
Your review fully confirms my decision not to upgrade from M (1) to M3. I refuse to buy, until Canon brings a fully competitive small MILC with built in EVF, regular EOS UI and excellent AF performance. Launching a truly decent EOS M body at an attractive price point should have absolute priority for Canon ... rather than less than lukewarm products like the sorry M10 (M2 rehash)!


----------



## mitchel (Nov 14, 2015)

Really, Canon? ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...


----------



## Chapman Baxter (Nov 14, 2015)

Thanks for the review, Dustin, it seems to be a very honest appraisal.

Like you, I bought into the M system during the fire sale and, putting aside the M's shortcomings for a moment, I was amazed at the build quality of the original M. As you say, it feels reassuringly dense and its all-metal construction is very apparent. I subsequently bought an M2 and, although its lighter weight has some benefit, I was disappointed that it lacked the M's hewn-from-solid feel. I was curious to know how the M3 compares in this regard and it seems to be more like the M2 than the M, which is a pity.

Again like you, the M isn't my main system so I can live with the shortcomings and simply use it for situations within its capability. One of my uses is for video work. For example, I can position my two Ms pretty much anywhere, set manually to a pre-focused spot, then leave them to capture secondary camera angles passively while the main shoot is done actively with DSLRs.

I'll probably pick up an M3 body at some point but I hope the M4 gets a DPAF sensor. I really can't understand why the M3 didn't get one.


----------



## SeppOz (Nov 14, 2015)

Excellent review Dustin!
I will be selling my M3, as I now prefer another brand's mirrorless. Will still keep my M2 to use with the 11-22, and also for video.


----------



## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Nov 14, 2015)

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I'm happy to have the M3 in my own kit, but like the M before it, it does come with some serious drawbacks that you just have to be willing to accept if you own it.


----------



## NorbR (Nov 14, 2015)

Thanks Dustin, this is another great review, and one that very much aligns with my experience with this camera. In many ways it is spectacularly good (the IQ is truly excellent, by far the best I've seen from a Canon APS-C, but I can't pretend to have tried that many), but it's plagued by many irritating things that just get on my nerves. 

The AEB frame rate, in particular, is unforgivable. I don't get why it was so to begin with, and it really should have been corrected by now. This is something that I use regularly and that 1 fps really irks me to no end ...


----------



## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Nov 15, 2015)

thetechhimself said:


> TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I'm happy to have the M3 in my own kit, but like the M before it, it does come with some serious drawbacks that you just have to be willing to accept if you own it.
> ...



I don't see so much of a focus fix via firmware, but I do think some glitches like the 1 FPS AEB could be corrected. I wouldn't be surprised to see a revised EF adapter released that will perform a lot better.

If Canon is throttling back video as you suggest in order to not cannibalize sales, that would be a very foolish decision. They don't operate in a vacuum, and most other mirrorless offerings have outstripped them in the video modes.


----------



## koenkooi (Nov 15, 2015)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> I don't see so much of a focus fix via firmware, but I do think some glitches like the 1 FPS AEB could be corrected. I wouldn't be surprised to see a revised EF adapter released that will perform a lot better.



The adapter is a straight-through passive adapter without any glass, how would they improve on that?


----------



## Etienne (Nov 15, 2015)

Chapman Baxter said:


> Thanks for the review, Dustin, it seems to be a very honest appraisal.
> 
> Like you, I bought into the M system during the fire sale and, putting aside the M's shortcomings for a moment, I was amazed at the build quality of the original M. As you say, it feels reassuringly dense and its all-metal construction is very apparent. I subsequently bought an M2 and, although its lighter weight has some benefit, I was disappointed that it lacked the M's hewn-from-solid feel. I was curious to know how the M3 compares in this regard and it seems to be more like the M2 than the M, which is a pity.
> 
> ...



I've used my EOS-M like that as well, and gotten decent results. It's just too fiddly of a camera, and for general use it is awful for video. Sometimes I give up because of the fiddliness and have to go and get my 5D3, which is intuitive and easy by comparison. I've stopped using my EOS-M because of the amount of time it has caused me to waste, and miss shots. 
Having an easy to use, not too expensive, small camera like that is really tempting and useful, but not if it causes you frustration and missed shots when the action starts. If the EOS-M4 is more pro, with DPAF I'll probably get one. Otherwise I'll likely pass again.


----------



## Etienne (Nov 15, 2015)

thetechhimself said:


> TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I'm happy to have the M3 in my own kit, but like the M before it, it does come with some serious drawbacks that you just have to be willing to accept if you own it.
> ...


Canon does add features via firmware sometimes. They did it with the 5D2, adding audio level control for video and changing the frame rates to standard 23.97 and 29.97, from 24 and 30.
I think features were added to the 5D3 as well, but I can't remember what it was (perhaps the AF for f8 lenses)


----------



## AvTvM (Nov 15, 2015)

koenkooi said:


> The adapter is a straight-through passive adapter without any glass, how would they improve on that?



But it may very well have an *electronic chip* inside. I did not research it or take my adapter apart. But knowing Canon, I am willing to bet there is some electronics in it ... if for no other reason, than at least to make life as miserable and difficult as possible for users of third-party lenses.


----------



## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Nov 15, 2015)

koenkooi said:


> TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
> 
> 
> > I don't see so much of a focus fix via firmware, but I do think some glitches like the 1 FPS AEB could be corrected. I wouldn't be surprised to see a revised EF adapter released that will perform a lot better.
> ...



It isn't passive; there are electronics inside that enable AF. It is those bits that need an update, as the existing adapter works better with the M1 than it does with the M3.


----------



## Tinky (Nov 16, 2015)

Good review, and love the Cav (I'm in the club too)

Don't quite see the context or neccessity for the 'red-haired step child' line though...

Everybody is out to shock these days it seems. It just sounds immature and hateful. In short, it lets you down.


----------



## MichaelFasani (Nov 16, 2015)

Why are Canon pushing these mirror less cameras so much?

Do people prefer them?

Can they replace the DLSR?


----------



## AvTvM (Nov 16, 2015)

MichaelFasani said:


> Why are Canon pushing these mirror less cameras so much?
> 
> Do people prefer them?
> 
> Can they replace the DLSR?



1. They don't. 
2. Many do. But only a few around here 
3. Yes they can!


----------



## Bernard (Nov 16, 2015)

MichaelFasani said:


> Why are Canon pushing these mirror less cameras so much?
> 
> Do people prefer them?
> 
> Can they replace the DLSR?



No. You need both!

SLRs have their strengths, and mirrorless cameras have their strengths. That's why I always cringe a little when reviewers attach the biggest lens they own to a mirrorless camera, and then come to the conclusion that the combination doesn't work very well. No kidding! On the other hand (literally), I can fit an M with a 22 in the palm of my hand and walk around all day without noticing the weight. Try that with a 1Dx or a 5D3.


----------



## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Nov 16, 2015)

Tinky said:


> Good review, and love the Cav (I'm in the club too)
> 
> Don't quite see the context or neccessity for the 'red-haired step child' line though...
> 
> Everybody is out to shock these days it seems. It just sounds immature and hateful. In short, it lets you down.



Sorry you were offended. I wasn't out to shock; just using a common turn of phrase that means what I intended in the context. With all due respect, we also live in an age where people love to be offended, and I wonder if our language and culture is not suffering due to everyone always trying to speak within increasingly narrow terms of political correctness.


----------



## Tinky (Nov 16, 2015)

Not offended, just felt it sullied a good review. It's the kind of thing I would expect from somebody like Jeremy Clarkson.


----------



## AvTvM (Nov 16, 2015)

Tinky said:


> Not offended, just felt it sullied a good review. It's the kind of thing I would expect from somebody like Jeremy Clarkson.



The remark was spot on. Canon is not givi g mirrorless anywhere near the attention it deserves. They are withholding good stuff from their clients. Nice customers like me just vritizice canon, while others just bsell their canon sh*t and buy a proper mirrorless sytem from fuji or sony. If canon does not want to play mirrorless, they shall go down with their mirrorslappers and i will laugh watching them fail.


----------

