Canon EOS-M

[Eric M]

Anyone planning to get the EOS-M? I really wanted a Canon version of the Oly OMD-E5, but the EOS-M would take my current glass and I'm guessing that all kinds of tiny, native mount glass is on the way. It would be a handy, fun camera. Kinda pricey though... Thoughts?

[herbert]

Hi Eric,

The system looks nice but not much different to other CSCs.

There may be more cameras coming, for example with an electronic viewfinder, but on announcement Canon said there were no current plans for more lenses. So you can get a 22mm pancake and a 18-55 zoom. I think Canon has played the safe card and will push further development if it becomes a commercial success.

I would wait until it is out and there are some reviews. Then you can fairly compare it to other choices.

Alex

[Eric M]

Hi Alex,

You're right, the safe bet would be to wait and see how the camera is received. The tempting thing is being able to use my Canon glass (with IS and AV control) but then you have the tiny camera/big lens combo that sound somewhat self defeating. Off camera lighting is another plus for the EOS-M because I already have Canon Speedlites. The size comments regarding use of EF glass apply to the flash units too... The OLY OMD-E5 has been tempting me. I just hate to start over with a new system.

[rpcrowe]

Anyone planning to get the EOS-M?
A quick answer...
NO, I would NEVER consider a camera which forces me to use an LCD as my only viewfinder.
I consider full time LCD viewfinders as very inefficient and difficult with which to shoot fast moving subjects especially in bright sunlight. They are also difficult, IMO, to use to shoot hand-held panos which is a common practice of mine if my lens is not wide enough. It is hard to revolve around the nodal point with the camera 12-18" from my face...
The OLY OMD-E5 has an electronic eye-level viewfinder which would put this camera a couple of steps ahead for me if I really needed to get a smaller camera. There is also, I believe, a new Panasonic offering in the 4/3 format which has an electronic eye-level viewfinder.
OTOH... I am absolutely totally content with my Canon 7D and 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens + 70-200mm f/4L IS...
If I ever wanted to change my format, I would go up to full-frame rather than down to 4/3.

[inkista]

Anyone planning to get the EOS-M? I really wanted a Canon version of the Oly OMD-E5, but the EOS-M would take my current glass and I'm guessing that all kinds of tiny, native mount glass is on the way. It would be a handy, fun camera. Kinda pricey though... Thoughts?

Not tempting in its current form, but definitely temping if the system grows with more lenses and bodies. I'm more in a wait-and-see mode, given that I already have m4/3 gear to fill the gap for now. I agree, the biggest nuisance is having to start all over again, particularly with off-camera flash gear and shutter release gear. And the high-price of the EOS-M vs. comparable (or better specced) m4/3 gear is a serious turnoff. The EOS-M is priced like an entry-level dSLR, at around $800 for the kit. I got my G3 kit used for $450 about six months after it was introduced. So, until the prices come down, the system rounds out, and they put a viewfinder on a body, I'm just not there. But with a bagful of Canon lenses and flash gear, like you, I want to be.

I will, however, tell you that the four-thirds flash hotshoe is part of the mount spec (i.e., you can mix'n'match Oly/Pany flash gear as well as lenses) and uses a near-identical pin/contact layout to Canon's. All the pins/contacts are in the same places, except that they use four pins instead of five. The upshot of this is that anything that passes through eTTL signals on Canon theoretically should do the same for m4/3 (e.g., an eTTL hotshoe-to-hotshoe sync cable, and possibly some of these newer cheap TTL radio triggers). Obviously, the electronic communication protocols are completely different, so slapping a 580EX on there isn't gonna get you HSS, and things like hypersync are unlikely to work. I haven't been able to test if my Canon eTTL cable will work yet, though, because I haven't wanted to spend $300 to get an Oly FL-600 for high-speed sync and TTL on my G3.

And, obviously, there are EOS->m4/3 adapters, but not with electronic communication (aperture control / autofocus, EXIF, etc.) There are a few adapters that have their own apertures in them, but for the most part, you're stuck at a fixed aperture (with the DoF preview button trick), or wide open. For some lenses, like the 135L, this may not be a problem. But these adapters work better if you were a manual glass adapter to EOS.


$50 tilt-adapter EOS->m4/3, stacked with OM->EOS adapter and Olympus OM-mount 50mm f/1.2 manual lens, on Panasonic G3.

But overall, I haven't purchased any manual lenses to adapt to m4/3, because the native glass is good enough for my needs, and as my eyesight gets worse/older, autofocus becomes nicer.

To me, the biggest "fault" on the EOS-M system that needs to be vastly improved before I'll consider plunking down cash is the autofocus speed. Nearly all the reviews mention how slow the camera is to focus.