Autofocus speed on Canon EOS M

Today I played with Canon M with a standard zoom lens. With centered focus point the autofocus speed was acceptable. Nothing exiting, but acceptable. Handling was comfortable despite a small size of the camera.

Macro with Canon M

I came across a post on the DPReview forum containing several amazing "macro" photos taken with Canon M and 90mm Tamron (link).

More discounts: Canon M

The camera sales are going down, and the competition between companies is tough. Some companies release cameras with very short "lifespan", with the replacement models coming in quick succession. New models got all new things but in many cases the difference in image quality or/and specs is not huge. In meantime "old models" are sold with heavy discounts. Right now Canon M camera with  EF-M18-55mm IS STM lens are available on Amazon for ~$350. Well, a new mirrorless Canon camera is expected. Obviously, new model will be better and faster, but the price will be significantly higher. The latest firmware improved the autofocus speed on Canon M. The only drawback of Canon M is lack of lenses but the company recently announced very interesting wide angle zoom, a very attractive option for any mirrorless camera. At the time of writing Canon M one of the most popular digital cameras on Amazon.

Canon M goes on steroids

Remember time when Canon handicapped their entry-level DSLRs by disabling some features though software? Hopefully these things are in the past now. The competition is severe in camera world in these days.

Back to the topic. One of the major issues for Canon M CSC was a slow autofocus. Slow is relative term. Actually, the camera is not that slow for a general use as it is generally portrayed, but it is not as fast as in competing models. However, recently Canon released a new firmware for Canon M, and it seems the autofocus is significantly faster after the update.  

Canon M kits are selling at fairly low price now (new Canon M model is rumored). Canon recently announced a very compact wide angle zoom for the M mount, Canon EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM (preview here). Its weight is just 220g and the focal length is equal to 18-35mm on full-frame body. Suddenly the M system became an attractive option for people who like to hike with small and light camera. I would be more than happy to carry Canon M with the 11-22mm on my bushwalking trips to local rainforest because my current setup (28mm eqv) is a bit restrictive on wide angle. Cameras such as Ricoh GR or Nikon A might be more compact but Canon M with the wide-angle zoom is just more versatile. The wide-angle zoom for Fuji X mount is planned for release only at the end of this year. Fujinon FX10-24mm F4 would be a slightly wider lens (equal to 15-36mm on full-frame bodies). It will be bigger, too. But right now Canon M is a very attractive offering, with DSLR-like image quality in compact package and very interesting wide zoom.

Autofocus: Canon M vs Sony NEX

One of my friends decided to try several mirrorless cameras. Obviously, he read thing or two on the web before going to the shop. He tried Canon M first, and was surprised with the autofocus. According to his words, it was not instant but not slow. He tried Sony NEX-5(something) and was blown away with the autofocus. It was nearly instant. Obviously, the autofocus speed on mirrorless cameras is smaller comparing to DSLR, but for static or slow moving objects it probably would be more than acceptable for many people. Obviously, different people have different requirements for a camera, so for some the autofocus speed on CSC might not be sufficient. The only solution: go to the shop and try the camera yourself.

Sample images from Canon EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM

Canon UK has several sample photos taken with the recently announced wide-angle M mount lens, Canon EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM.  The focal length is equal to 18-38mm (35mm film eqv). The lens weight is just 220g. DPReview site posted a brief preview of the lens. The lens represent the most compact wide-angle lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras. Canon M, the only (first) mirrorless camera from Canon, is selling under $600 USD at places like B&H, and this is price for the kit with either a standard zoom or 22mm f2 pancake. In addition, Canon will release a new software that should improve the autofocus speed on the camera. Very attractive development of Canon M system...

Reviews on CameraLab

Nikon P7700 vs Canon G15

Nearly all major camera makers updated their advanced compact model this year. Both Nikon and Canon upgraded lenses on their models, Coolpix P7700 and G15. Nikon has very attractive zoom range, 28-200 mm eqv and fairly bright  F2-4 max aperture which is similar to old Minolta Dimage A1/A2 cameras. Canon put 28-140 mm eqv F1.8 - F2.8 lens. Both cameras have 1/1.7" 12MP sensors. Both are less pocketable than Olympus XZ-2. CameraLab posted a review of P7700 with comparison shots against Canon G15. I like approach of the real-life shots used by this site.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Canon M

The site also has Olympus PEN E-PL5 review with shots against the first Canon mirrorless camera, Canon M. It seems that at the setting used for high iso shots, Olympus E-PL5 has certain edge over Canon M (see iso 800 or 1600 shots). Probably with careful RAW processing it would be possible to have different outcome but nevertheless this comparison demonstrates how good is the sensor and JPEG / image processing in Olympus E-PL5 and OM-D E-M5 (both cameras share the same sensor and image processing).

If someone interested in comparison between Olympus E-PL5 and Sony NEX-6, read this post by David Taylor-Hughes

Canon EOS M

Finally Canon came out with a mirrorless camera, EOS M. The camera has APS-C sensor and can shoot movies at HD. It has a new mount,  EF-M, compatible with EF-* lenses through a adapter. No viewfinder, no build-in flash, fixed screen, few buttons. However, the screen is touch-sensitive. Canon also released two lemses, 20mm  f/2.0 pancake and standard 18-55mm IS zoom. 

Ken Rockwell named it as "the world's first serious mirrorless camera" but other people are less enthusiastic about it. It does look like an entry-level camera. It might be attractive for current owners of Canon lenses but as stand alone product the camera at least on paper looks very similar to entry-level models from other manufacturers such as Sony or Samsung, and I would say Olympus and Panasonic.

For some compact camera users cameras with bigger sensor and fixed (non-removable) lens would be more attractive than camera with pancake. Sony proved that it is possible to make a small camera with a relatively big sensor (Sony RX100). While it is nice to be able to change the lens, some people prefer to have a compact camera.