Canon's EOS M The First Mirrorless Camera

The new Canon EOS M is first mirrorless EOS camera. Combining the imaging quality of a DSLR with the convenience of a point and shoot, it features an 18 MP APS-C sensor, a DIGIC 5 image processor, and a 3.0" 1,040k-dot touch-screen LCD.

 The EOS M is quite the interesting beast, and sets itself apart from most of the other cameras of this type on the market. Developed concurrently with the EOS 650D, like best friends, the two cameras share almost everything. The 18-megapixel APS-C sensor is the same, so too is the Digic 5 image processor and the hybrid AF system. The 3-inch touchscreen is also identical.

The big difference is the exterior body design. It comes in three colour options (black, red or white), and is compact enough for comfortable one-handed shooting. The look-and-feel is pretty refined as well, with a smooth plastic exterior and the same sturdy buttons and dials as found on a range of Canon compacts. This camera is just 298 grams with a battery and memory card, and if you add on the 18-55mm lens, the total package is 508 grams.


Canon is targeting the EOS M towards photographers who want to be able to take high-quality images, but without the bulk and weight of an SLR. From the design of the EOS M, point and shooters will enjoy using the simple menu options. At the top of the camera is a mode switch to change between full automatic, a number of more manual modes and movie mode. The touchscreen LCD makes it easy to adjust exposure on the fly, as well.

All the additional shooting modes available in the 650D make their way over to the EOS M, including the handheld night scene mode and HDR backlight control. The EOS M can shoot at 4.3fps in continuous mode, or at 1.7fps with tracking focus using the 18-55mm lens, and 1.2fps with tracking focus and the 22mm lens.

It offers yet another lens mount (EF-M) to confuse the masses — no standardisation here — though there is an optional adapter available, which lets users mount existing EOS lenses on the camera. On the topic of lenses, the EOS M launches with two new models on its mount, the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM and 22mm f/2 STM pancake. Full HD video recording at 30, 25 and 24 frames per second (fps) is available, along with a built-in stereo microphone and 3.5mm jack. The EOS M is compatible with all regular EOS accessories, including Speedlites. There is a dedicated new flash unit for this camera to make the most of its small size, the 90 EX. Unfortunately, there's no way to attach an electronic viewfinder to the EOS M.

The EOS M will be available from October 2012.