When we saw that the Canon EOS 650D has a hybrid AF system for improved automatic focusing in Live View and video mode we felt sure that we were seeing Canon's mirrorless technology in a DSLR.
And we were right, since inside the Canon EOS M, the company's first compact system camera (or mirrorless system camera), is exactly the same 18 million pixel APS-C format CMOS sensor.
In fact, many of the internal components of the Canon EOS M are the same as in the EOS 650D.
Lens mount
One notable difference from the Canon EOS 650D, however, is the lens mount. The Canon EOS M introduces the new Canon EF-M mount, which is closer to the sensor in the M than in Canon's APS-C format DSLRs.
This reduction in the flange depth is a key part of making the Canon M smaller than a DSLR, and it's possible because there's no mirror that could foul the end of lens.
Canon has launched two new EF-M lenses to complement the EOS M; the EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM and the EF-M 22mm f/2.0 STM. The 18-55mm is likely to be the most popular, since it's more versatile. It's noticeably smaller than the current EF-S 18-55mm lens. It also has a higher quality feel with a metal, rather than a plastic, mount.
Meanwhile, the EF-M 22mm f/2.0 pancake lens perhaps gives away Canon's aspiration to create a CSC that also appeals to enthusiast photographers, since it is these users who are more likely to appreciate the benefit of such a wide maximum aperture and a fixed focal length.
Existing Canon users may be pleased to learn that Canon has also unveiled the Mount Adapter EF-EOS M, which enables EF and EF-S lenses to be mounted onto the EOS M. This contains no optics, but has contacts to enable communication between the camera and optic.
Like Canon's APS-C format DSLRs, the Canon EOS M has a 1.6x focal length magnification factor, so the 18-55mm lens produces a view equivalent to a 28.8-88mm lens, while the 22mm optic is equivalent to a 35mm lens.
The STM in the title of the new lenses stands for Stepper Motor. These lenses are specifically designed for use when shooting video and they have a slower, smoother focusing movement than Canon's USM optics. This is generally considered desirable for video.
It will be interesting to see how fast the focusing is with STM and USM lenses mounted (via the adapter in the case of the USM optics) when we get a full production sample of the M. We found that these lenses perform well on the Canon 650D in reflex mode (that is when images are composed in the viewfinder), but the Canon M only works in live view mode.
New market
According to Canon UK's David Parry, Canon is aiming the EOS M at a new market - people who want to get a bit more from a camera than a compact model can offer them, without the complication or bulk of a DSLR. It's for people who want to take better pictures, but who don't necessarily consider themselves photographers or want to become photographers.
Parry doesn't think that the Canon EOS M will erode sales of the Canon G series of premium compact cameras, because these models have more direct controls with dials for features such as exposure compensation – which could put off inexperienced photographers.
While it may be aimed at novices, the Canon EOS M has a fair bit to offer experienced photographers too, since it has the enthusiasts' friends Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual Exposure modes, in addition to a collection of scene modes and Scene Intelligent Auto mode, which automatically selects the appropriate scene mode.
Features
Inside the EOS M, Canon has coupled the same 22.3 x 14.9mm (APS-C format) CMOS sensor and Digic 5 processor in the Canon EOS 650D to enable a native sensitivity range of ISO 100-12,800, which can be expanded to ISO 25,600.
Interestingly, despite the presence of the same sensor and processor, the Canon EOS M can't shoot continuously at quite the same maximum rate as the Canon EOS 650D. It can only manage 4.3fps instead of 5fps. We will be looking into why this is later, when we get a camera in for our full review, since you might expect the lack of mirror movement in this compact system camera to enable even faster shooting speeds, not slower ones.
Update: We have contacted Canon to find out why the EOS M isn't capable of reaching 5fps, like the 650D. David Parry from Canon UK told us: "I believe it's to do with the shutter mechanism inside. The mechanism isn't really built for speed, so it won't actually perform at the same kind of rate. Obviously you've got the same electronics inside, there's no reason why the sensor and the processor can't run at the higher speed, but I believe it's to do with the mechanism."
As with the Canon EOS 650D, there are pixels on the Canon EOS M's imaging sensor that are dedicated to the phase detection part of the 31-point hybrid AF system. This is designed to combine the speed of phase detection focusing with the accuracy of contrast detection.
It also allows full-time autofocusing while recording video.
Unlike Canon's most recently announced DSLR, the Canon EOS M has no viewfinder (either optical or electronic). This is a consequence of there being no mirror and images must be composed on the 3-inch 1,040,000-dot LCD screen using either the hybrid AF system or manual focus (with magnification if required) to get the subject sharp.
The Canon EOS 650D is the first DSLR to feature a touchscreen, and the Canon EOS M uses exactly the same device, but in a fixed rather than an articulated housing.
There's no flash built into the Canon EOS M, but a new small flashgun, the Speedlite 90EX, is included in the box with the camera and lens (or lenses, depending on which kit you buy). This can be mounted in the Canon EOS M's hotshoe, has a guide number of 9m @ ISO 100 and can be used to provide extra light or act as a master flash to trigger other guns wirelessly.
All current Canon Speedlite flashguns are compatible with the EOS M. However, we are told that the M debuts a new battery.
Build and handling
Appearance-wise the Canon EOS M is like one of Canon's Powershot mid-range compact cameras with a bigger than usual lens. It doesn't have the same number of button and dial controls as the top-end Canon G1-X and Canon G12 because it's designed to be unintimidating to novice photographers.
Thanks to its magnesium alloy and stainless steel shell the M also has a solid, high quality feel.
On the back of the camera there's a control wheel around the navigation/short-cut buttons, and these can be used for scrolling through menus and making settings adjustments.
There's no mode dial on the top-plate, but a switch around the shutter release enables you to choose between Scene Intelligent Auto (green square), camera and video mode. In camera mode, a touch of an icon on the screen brings up the various options, including Manual, Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority, as well as Creative Auto and a selection of scene modes.
Because Canon has opted to use a capacitive touchscreen, it is very responsive and easy to use, requiring just the touch of a finger rather than a press. It's quick and easy to find the shooting mode that you want.
Tapping any of the options on the Quick Menu screen enables you to adjust the settings either with a touch of the screen or using the controls on the back of the camera.
As with the Canon EOS 650D, you can pinch-to-zoom to magnify or shrink images and swipe to scroll through shots on the Canon EOS M. It's a very quick way of working and more intuitive than using the navigation button and so on.
We were only able to use the Canon EOS M indoors for this preview, and in these conditions the LCD screen provides an excellent view of the scene being composed. We had no problem focusing manually when the view was magnified, and details are clear and sharp.
However, we know that reflections are a bit of an issue with the Canon EOS 650D's screen in bright sunlight, so we can assume that the same will be true of the Canon EOS M's screen. This will not be improved by the fingerprints and smudges that are an inevitable result of using a touchscreen. We will test this fully when we get a camera in for full review.
Performance
So far we have only used pre-production samples of the Canon EOS M, and we weren't able to examine any images on a computer screen, which means we will have to wait to know for certain how good its images are. However, because it uses the same sensor and Digic 5 processing engine as the Canon EOS 650D, the early signs are very good.
While we can expect the quality of the images from the Canon EOS M to be close to those from the Canon EOS 650D at the centre of the frame, we have to factor in the new lens mount, which is closer to the CSC's sensor than on Canon DSLRs. This means that maintaining the image quality into the corners of the frame will have presented Canon's engineers with a challenge when designing the lenses.
On the plus side, both the EF-M lenses that we have seen have a high quality feel, and the 18-55mm lens particularly impresses. In addition, Canon has a lot of experience of building high quality lenses, and the PowerShot G1-X, which is a compact camera with a sensor that is close to APS-C size, was not found wanting in the image quality stakes.
Because it's a mirrorless camera, the Canon EOS M relies on its hybrid AF system full-time. First impressions on this are good, but we want to use the camera in a wide range of situations before we pass judgement. It's the same system as in the Canon EOS 650D, which works well, but without the back-up of being able to use a viewfinder and a dedicated phase detection AF sensor.
In other respects we can expect it to be business as usual for Canon, with the usual white balance and metering performance. But we won't be taking this for granted and will test the Canon EOS M fully when we get a full-production sample.
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