Canon EOS M - Canon's First Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera

I was invited to a media event by Canon, for they were unveiling a much-awaited, soon-to-be-released camera into the market. All was kept mum about what the launch was about and for what product. But certainly there were rumors about it as discussed online and I went to the event with heightened hope and anticipation... Reason being that the rumors mentioned that Canon would be announcing its very first Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens camera! And THAT was what I have been looking forward to!!!

For the past many Canon events which I attended, I always hoped that it would be for the release of a Canon micro four-third camera, but that wasn't the case so far until this particular event, where we were introduced to the Canon EOS M... I was ecstatic! Especially so, since I almost caved in to get an Olympus Pen Mini  (E-PM1) during PC Show 2012. BUT I hung on.... I hung onto the hope that Canon would announce that they are coming up with a micro four-third. And boy, I'm glad that I did. ;)

The event was held at Stellar @ 1-Altitude,  a fine-dining restaurant that offers a spectacular view of the city, situated 282 metres high! Indeed, it certainly matched up to the event's statement of 'A New Era of Heightened Standards'.

Before I share with you about the camera, here's some pictures of the 3-course lunch that I had! :)

*Pics taken using Canon IXUS 300HS (that's one of three Canon cameras which I have bought and using concurrently). Yes, that's how much I support Canon and my brand loyalty comes into play even before I was invited to Canon events. So, for me to ever buy a non-Canon camera, that means there is something about that camera over Canon, at that point of my purchase. But so far, nope... I have not found other camera brands/models which really attract me. I am not very price-sensitive afterall - Features and image quality are what I mainly look for in a camera.

Wild Mushroom Soup with Gruyere Toast
(I am rather picky on mushroom soup, and THIS was exceptionally nice!)

Spinach & Ricotta Stuffed Roulade with Mashed Potato, Steamed Asparagus and Porcini Sauce

Mango Mousse Sponge with Passion Fruit Coulis
(Quite sour, would prefer something sweet. So thankfully the sponge layer helped a lil)

A shot glass containing colored M&M chocolates for each of us...
Colored in the various colors that the Canon EOS M comes in! - Red, Black, White and Silver!
Totally brilliant, guys!

And now, on to the Canon EOS M!

The Canon EOS M is the very first mirrorless camera introduced by Canon. In all honesty, it has been a long wait for them to release this into the market as all other major camera manufacturers have entered into this particular market. And yes, all these years... I waited, with the high hopes that Canon will release one, that I forgo the various mirorless cameras which caught my attention. One reason why I have been waiting for a Canon mirrorless camera is because I figured out that I could easily buy the camera mount adaper to mount on my existing Canon lenses which I have been using on my Canon DSLR camera.

And yes, the EOS M shares the EOS ecosystem, thus it is fully compatible with all EF and EF-S lenses! And yes, Canon will be releasing a new mount adapter, EF-EOS M, which allows full compatibility with all EF/EF-S lenses. Of course, you may feel that it will look weird if you fix up your existing external flash or zoom/telephoto lenses onto the EOS M (see below pic, quite an amusing sight, I must say!).


And the mount adapter is of some thickness already... So I reckon getting EF-M lenses may be a good idea... But that means extra cost, especially for those who already have a collection of EF/EF-S lenses! :(

No integrated flash in the EOS M, so that's where the compact and lightweight
Canon Speedlite 90EX flashgun comes in!
It can also be used as a master unit for a wireless flash set-up.

Comes in these 4 colors, as mentioned already.

The first two lenses released for the Canon EOS M are the:

(1) EF-M 18-55mm f/3 5-5.6 IS STM (as seen in above pic) 
A versatile zoom lens well-suited for everyday usage, and can be used as defaultlens for casual users as it cap capture both wide-angle and portrait shots.


(2) EF-M 22mm f/2.0 STM (as seen in below pic)
A compact and lightweight "pancake" lens for ultra-portability.

Ok... This looks really weird. We should really get EF-M lenses. Haha!

Lovely roses! I LIKE!

The Canon EOS M is equipped with a 18.1MP APS-C CMOS sensor, DIGIC 5 imaging processor, which is the same sensor that is used in the Canon 650D DSLR camera (You can read more about the 650D in this blog post of mine - Click [HERE]). As mentioned in the press release,

The increased light sensitivity of the sensor coupled with the DIGIC 5’s improved processing speed work in tandem to produce impeccable images, and earns the EOS M its place in the EOS family. The high ISO sensitivity of up to 12800 (expandable to ISO 25600) also ensures that the EOS M is comfortably equipped to handle low light situations. The compact build of the EOS M is achieved by removing the optical viewfinder, the main mirror as well as the mirror drive systems. The EOS M body weighs a mere 265g and measures just 108.6 x 66.5 x 32.3mm in size.

And I feel two interesting features of the EOS M are these: 

When shooting in a room where bright sunlight is shining through windows, the extreme contrast in lighting makes it very difficult to capture a shot with the right exposure. The EOS M’s HDR Backlight Compensation function solves the issue by taking three images – one with normal exposure, overexposure and underexposure in rapid succession before merging and automatically aligning it within the camera. This produces an image with minimal loss of highlight and shadow detail, even in backlit conditions.

To create a smooth picture in dark environments that require high ISO noise reduction, the EOS M features a Multi Shot Noise Reduction function where four shots are taken consecutively, and then merged and aligned within the camera resulting in a cleaner final image. For the creative at heart, the EOS M also comes with seven creative filters like Grainy/Black & White, Soft Focus, Toy Camera, Miniature, Art Bold, Water Painting and Fish-eye filters.

The EOS M has an intuitive 3.0-inch widescreen touch panel LCD monitor to simplify its controls, thus sporting fewer dials and buttons. Similarly to what the 650D screen offers, the ClearView LCD II technology makes it comfortable to view images and previews even in bright environments, and an anti-smudge coating reduces fingerprints. As of now, the Canon EOS M does not have an electronic or optical viewfinder accessory. So, composing images are to be done solely via the LCD screen.

This camera also offers full HD video recording, capturing motion pictures at a high maximum ISO of 6400.  In addition,

Similar to the recently launched EOS 650D, the EOS M is equipped with a Movie Servo AF which enables continuous auto-focus during movie recording. When mounted with STM EF/EF-S lenses via the new mount adapter EF-EOS M, users get to enjoy smooth, speedy quiet Servo AF on the EOS M during movie shooting. Found commonly in Canon LEGRIA camcorders, the EOS M also comes with the Video Snapshots feature which allows users to record short video snippets (2, 4 or 8 seconds) before stitching all of them sequentially into video snapshot albums.

We  did get the opportunity to try out the EOS M... But they were pre-production models, hence I can't comment much for now on its response speed, etc. But one thing to note is that there is no integrated flash in the camera, no sure if there will be a small flashgun attachment made available in the box. Also, I was quite disappointed that the screen is fixed, unable to swivel to various angles to shoot at difficult angles... Unlike the 650D. Which kinda puzzled me... If EOS 650D and M share the same 18.1MP APS-C CMOS sensor, why not have the swivel screen in the M too? Perhaps... perhaps in future Canon mirrorless cameras? Maybe! :p

In short, key features of the Canon EOS M:

• New EF-M lens mount (optimized for APS-C sensor size)
• 18MP APS-C 'Hybrid CMOS' sensor
• Continuous autofocus in movie mode with subject tracking
• 14-bit DIGIC5 processor
• ISO 100-12800 standard, 25600 expanded
• 4.3 fps continuous shooting, 3 fps with autofocus tracking
• 1080p30 video recording, stereo sound (with 25p or 24p options)
• External microphone socket and adjustable sound recording level
• 1040k dot 3:2 touch-sensitive ClearView II LCD (capacitative type, multi-touch support)
• Standard EOS hot-shoe for external flash (no built-in flash)
• 'Creative Filters' image-processing controls, previewed live on-screen

I found the image below online and I felt it helpful... Thus I want to share it with you, so that you can have a rough idea on the EOS M's size and compare it with other DSLR and mirrorless cameras that are already in the market.

Credit to foxfoto_archives for the image.

The EOS M, EF-M lenses, EOS-EF M mount adapter and Speedlite 90EX will be available from early October at all Canon authorized dealers. Pricing will be confirmed at a later date.

After the presentation and lunch, I went up to the 63rd level, where there is the 1-Altitude's rooftop bar. I was offered a spectacular view of Singapore city and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Similarly to my liking for ocean views, I like to see sights from high heights, and thus that feeling was fabulous! Ok, I want to head up to the bar again... But at night!

Yes, we can view Marina Bay Sands (MBS) from the rooftop.
And when you thought that being at MBS rooftop is considered high, then you should check out 1-Altitude. :p

And yes, I took some pictures of the city while I was up there. But let it be for another blog post... Afterall, this is a special blog post for me, of my long-awaited Canon mirrorless camera (Finally...... After a long wait... Wheeee~). Till then, see you! :)