Canon EOS M Mirrorless Camera

[sir_bazz]

Originally Posted by hlokk

Because then you can use all your existing glass when you dont need the compactness of the 'native' lenses?

Serious question....who is this camera aimed at?

If it's for existing EOS DSLR users then you pull out the DSLR when you don't need "compactness".

If it's for new users then why buy EF lenses that require an adapter? Especially when m4/3 offers a much larger lens range as of right now.

The answer may be different in 5-10 years time but as of 2012 the only people who would buy this camera are the Canon fanbois.

[Azrael]

Originally Posted by sir_bazz

The answer may be different in 5-10 years time but as of 2012 the only people who would buy this camera are the Canon fanbois.

Or if it could take EF lenses then being able to use existing stock with a portable body when you have to. Rather than investing in a whole new system to carry as well.

Personally I would like something to replace the S95, something which is small enough to carry everywhere, but has a big enough sensor that night shots don't look like they have found all the white noise from across the galaxy and deposited it on the sensor.
Mirrorless cameras fit the brief, and having compatibility with my existing range of lenses would probably sway me towards Canon.

[sir_bazz]

Originally Posted by Azrael

Or if it could take EF lenses then being able to use existing stock with a portable body when you have to. Rather than investing in a whole new system to carry as well.

Well thats the approach that Pentax took with the K-01 and that failed too.

Maybe having m4/3 as a universal mount for MILC's would've been the best approach, (Have I said I think there's too many lens mount on the market?), allowing all lens manufacturers to produce and sell lenses to a much larger userbase.

[SyN]

+1 to uninspired design

grab aps sensor from 650D
body from s100 and slap a rubber grip on it and call it a day, taking zero risks

but no doubt heaps of beginner photographers will buy it because of sensor performance

[Frozen_Hell]

Originally Posted by sir_bazz

Serious question....who is this camera aimed at?

NFI. It does seem a bit like a "me too" entrance into mirrorless, kinda disappointing really.

The answer may be different in 5-10 years time but as of 2012 the only people who would buy this camera are the Canon fanbois.

Well, if it comes out with a wide-angle pancake (~28mm equiv), then I might buy one if the price is decent (and there is nothing else wrong with it). I'm certainly not a Canon fanboy, all of my 35mm size SLRs have been Nikons.

I'm not at all interested in mounting lenses from my SLR on a mirrorless camera, so I've got no reason to buy the Nikon 1 over this camera if its better. Yeah, lets stick my 750g Zeiss 21mm + an adapter onto a 250g camera body the size of an S100.. how ridiculous would that scenario be.

[hlokk]

Originally Posted by sir_bazz

Serious question....who is this camera aimed at?

If it's for existing EOS DSLR users then you pull out the DSLR when you don't need "compactness".

If it's for new users then why buy EF lenses that require an adapter? Especially when m4/3 offers a much larger lens range as of right now.

Do you only run one body? Would you prefer to get an entire new system (at significant lense cost) in addition to your current one, or rather just buy a compact body and one extra lens? The G1X was mentioned as aimed at being a compact "backup" camera, so makes sense this new interchangeable one will fit old lenses. I suspect the EF-m mount will be like EF-s. Smaller, compatible with "larger" mounts, but not vice versa. Is this the best thing to do? Perhaps not, but then when has Canon done something revolutionary lately? (look at the last 5 lenses they announced. Upgrades for a lot of extra cost and slow primes, yay :/)

The ability to adapt old lenses also means that when a new system comes out, there are already a large range of lenses to use (and as you mentioned, that can be a concern). Even if by an adaptor (m4/3 can use 4/3 lenses with an adaptor for example). Could still do with some more m4/3 lenses though (and to have them cheaper, like the damn 12mm which is nice, but rather expensive for a compact prime, and the actual sharpness figures are good but not stellar, plus it still has distortion (which gets corrected) but want to charge $900+ )

A standardised lens mount would certainly be very nice, but camera manufacturers dont like to share. m4/3 is the only one that does, but if Canon, Nikon, Pentax, etc wanted to join that they very well could

[kingbob86]

If it has an ef adaptor it's make a compact backup camera to stick in the camera bag.

[crispy12]

Yes unfortunately it does look like the product of engineers rather than photographers. Nothing special really. If using with existing Canon glass, a Canon 550 isn't really that big given the size of the lenses. Only way I can see this going forward is if Fuji release a EF-M adapter for cross compatibility, but still NEX already covers legacy glass very well.

Looks do sell a camera, look at Olympus OMD and Fuji X series. Very good cameras in their own right, but the design pushes it that extra mile in people's minds.

[sir_bazz]

Originally Posted by hlokk

Do you only run one body? Would you prefer to get an entire new system (at significant lense cost) in addition to your current one, or rather just buy a compact body and one extra lens? The G1X was mentioned as aimed at being a compact "backup" camera, so makes sense this new interchangeable one will fit old lenses. I suspect the EF-m mount will be like EF-s. Smaller, compatible with "larger" mounts, but not vice versa. Is this the best thing to do? Perhaps not, but then when has Canon done something revolutionary lately? (look at the last 5 lenses they announced. Upgrades for a lot of extra cost and slow primes, yay :/)

The ability to adapt old lenses also means that when a new system comes out, there are already a large range of lenses to use (and as you mentioned, that can be a concern). Even if by an adaptor (m4/3 can use 4/3 lenses with an adaptor for example). Could still do with some more m4/3 lenses though (and to have them cheaper, like the damn 12mm which is nice, but rather expensive for a compact prime, and the actual sharpness figures are good but not stellar, plus it still has distortion (which gets corrected) but want to charge $900+ )

A standardised lens mount would certainly be very nice, but camera manufacturers dont like to share. m4/3 is the only one that does, but if Canon, Nikon, Pentax, etc wanted to join that they very well could

Could write a long winded reply however I agree with nearly all of that.

The only question in my mind, (if I was a Canon shooter), would be which tool would make the better backup body. One of these new mirorless bodies or a small xxxD body. And considering the xxxD has an OVF and can use EF lenses without an adapter and is also likely cheaper, it would be hard to choose the mirorless over the APS-C DSLR option.

I don't think this new mount will have native compatibility with existing EOS lenses as the registration distance required is 44mm and the body looks too thin to cover that.

[Brett]

Originally Posted by hlokk

I suspect the EF-m mount will be like EF-s. Smaller, compatible with "larger" mounts, but not vice versa. Is this the best thing to do?

White dot on the mount, same as the ef-s range? Could be indicative?

[Oryp Cainam]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say I can't wait to try it out. I've got a 20mm pancake lens that's begging to be mounted on the front of one of these for some street shots. I just hope an EF adapter is available on release, and that the system comes in at a reasonable price.

I'm not quite sure why people are surprised/disappointed in the looks etc in the Camera? It's Canon. They want to mass market this to the hordes, not please the few who want their camera to be a fashion accessory.

[switchblade327]

Originally Posted by aaaaah

Except there's that 18-55mm lens posted above, I was going to comment that I hope they surprise everyone and make it a m43 camera and release a range of m43 lenses.

That'd be a good mindfuck for everyone.

Dunno, the EF-M might be a give away - EF-S supposed means EF-SMALL, so conceivably EF-M could me EF-M(icro43) but I doubt Canon would jump into the semi-proprietary M43 format - they'd sooner create their own hybrid EF-S on a 4:3 sensor. I'm noting that the camera body in the pictures has 9 electrical contacts (EOS bodies has 8 but in the same location), whilst my rudimentary pixel counting shows the sensor to be close to 4:3..

Let's hope if it is a new mount that at least there's electrical compatibility - an adapter ain't too bad

Originally Posted by kingbob86

If it has an ef adaptor it's make a compact backup camera to stick in the camera bag.

Yup, I have a sharp 18-55 which would be a superb match

Originally Posted by Brett

White dot on the mount, same as the ef-s range? Could be indicative?

Maybe lenses could be backward compatible with EF-S mount but feature extra stuff e.g. EF-M might be EF-S + extra stuff (9 contacts on the body) ?

[FranchiseJuan]

Here is a thought, say it is indeed APS-C (which it should be cause Canon knows their biggest competitor in the high end consumer, low end DSLR market will be Sony and not Nikon going forward), and it should be the sensor from the Low end Canon EOS camera. What if they try a new concept and this is a full touch screen camera? How would you feel about that.

I have to say I owned a Panasonic G2 for a while, and I really liked the touch to focus and take a picture thing. It is more direct and since we are all pretty used to smart phones by now, it is a natural progression to go in. This is not going to be the only camera in the range I am sure. They need to put a foot in the water and see where they go from there. Canon's biggest advantage over their current greatest competitor (Nikon) is that they have their own sensor fabs and design team. And going forwards they know that this segment of the market is only going to grow. They need to find a way of getting you to buy in and then by lenses.

I have a feeling that this camera will be priced to compete with the NEX 5N (being that it will have the same resolution sensor), and at that price point, it will be a compelling product. The 5N does not have the greatest ergonomics, but it still sells really well cause you get great image quality for your money, and in reality if you can provide some kind of 18-55 kit lens and maybe a short prime, most people never get another lens. This is shown in sales figures and surveys.

So while many of us photographers might say 'who the heck is this for' in reality it is not for us. But those people who go into a chain camera store and see the Canon Badge and see EF and say to themselves 'I have hurd of that, and it is not that expensive' Those are precisely the people who will by it. Let's face it. The G1X has not been a resounding success, and Canon are probably thinking 'where do we go from here'. This may not be the end point we want, but every journey has a beginning.

[BRGMCS]

Originally Posted by switchblade327

Dunno, the EF-M might be a give away - EF-S supposed means EF-SMALL,

The 'S' in EF-S is for Short backfocus

[hlokk]

Originally Posted by FranchiseJuan

The G1X has not been a resounding success, and Canon are probably thinking 'where do we go from here'. This may not be the end point we want, but every journey has a beginning.

Realistically, the G1X was a marketing exercise. Compacts and lower end dslrs get a new model every year like clockwork. A G12 successor was due and Canon didnt have a mirrorless interchangable ready so they put a stopgap bridge solution in. They would have known where they were going before they started designing it.

I will be very surprised if this camera has a APS-C sensor. I think its much more likely (especially with Canon not giving you "quite" what you want) that it'll be the sensor from the G1X. Possibly an increase in res, but the same size and aspect ratio.