A quick and un-orthodox user impression (review) on the EOS M

[Rocky]

I finally got my M upon good advices from the members of this forum. Thanks. There are many excellent review on the M. Therefore I am trying not to repeat what has been done.

1. AF speed: This is the weak point for a few people. Coming from 40D and 20D. It is good enough for me even with the 22mm f2.0. It is definitely faster than most p & S. I do not shoot action or children anymore.
2. AF point selection: The touch screen does a better job than the dial on the 40D
3. CA correction: It tends to make the picture "less sharp". I would avoid it personally.
4. Printed owner's manual: not so good, sometimes confusing.
5. Controls (or the lack of it): I use the touch screen instead of the dial 95% of the time. After 4 days of playing around, I do not even miss the dual control dial and the joy stick on the 40D.
6. 90EX flash: small, cute, slow recycle and weak. However, when it teams up with the 22mm set at f2.0, it seems it can instant recycle at 10 ft.
7. 22mm lens: very sharp at center even wide opened. whole frome is sharp at 2.8 to 8.0
8. 18-55mm: sharp at center even wide open. corners get much better by stopping down one stop.
9. with 22mm lens, it will fit in my pants pocket and jacket pocket comfortably except the weight. I carry it with an old Rollie P& S film camera pouch on my belt. No original strap. A fabric hand strap is used for compactness.
10. Screen: may be a little bit hard to see at bright sun light. I have a Voigtlander 25mm view finder. With my glasses to force my eyes away from the view finder it gives me almost the same view as the 22mm lens on M. That helps.

It will replace my 40D with 17-40mm and 28-135mm as a travel camera. it will be a great weight saving.

 

[JohanCruyff]

Thank you.

I would add

2. AF point selection: The touch screen does a better job than the dial on the 40D

Using x5 or x10 zoom mode helps to get a more accurate focus if you want a really-shallow-depth-of-field picture: sometimes it is a bit unpredictable what part of the subject the AF will lock.

My other body is a 5D classic, so I don't know if this "issue" is M specific or live-view generic.

 

[axtstern]

Your observations match mine but before you rely on the M as a travel companion, use it under bad conditions before, that is hanging around your neck and doing 150+ pictures on two consecutive days.

One will demonstrate what havoc the touchscreen can create, the other what a fun power management with the M is.

I'm satisfied with the M now, but my first SE Asia trip with the M was quiet a learning curve

 

[Jamesy]

OP: Good review, thanks for taking the time to write it. My M c/w 22 and 18-55 is my new 'goto' travel kit leaving the 5d3 and 24-105 at home. In the past I have always tended to have 15 pounds of 'just in case' gear on my shoulder or back on vacation but I have done a couple of recent trips with only the M and have been satisfied with the outcome. The lack of EVF/OVF is an issue in bright sun and I am learning techniques to work around them...

the other what a fun power management with the M is.

Do you mean the poor battery life of the M?

 

[Zv]

BTW - Get the EF-M 11-22mm and you'll love the M even more!

Glad that the M is getting some love, it had taken a lot of bashing in the past but people seem to be warming up to it nowadays. I've seen several positive reviews about it recently. For the price it really is unbelievable! Plus with the right adaptor you can pretty much use any lens you like, and that's when the real fun stuff begins! Get some cheap vintage manual lenses and go out and shoot!

Battery life is a bit of a bummer to be really honest, as a heavy shooter I am a bit disappointed with that. However all you need is a couple of spares in the pocket and you could technically shoot all day. Though it's not that ergonomic for long term shooting.

I am shocked at how much use I'm getting from this thing simply because it's so darn useable and can come with me almost anywhere.

 

[mackguyver]

Personally I love just about everything about the M except the lack of a viewfinder. If it had that, I'd be much happier with it.

 

[Rocky]

Your observations match mine but before you rely on the M as a travel companion, use it under bad conditions before, that is hanging around your neck and doing 150+ pictures on two consecutive days.

One will demonstrate what havoc the touchscreen can create, the other what a fun power management with the M is.

I'm satisfied with the M now, but my first SE Asia trip with the M was quiet a learning curve

Thanks for the advice. No original strap is used to avoid the touch screen being set unintentionally with my body. I also try to shut off the camera more often to minimize battery drain. Will travel with two spare batteries.

 

[Zv]

Your observations match mine but before you rely on the M as a travel companion, use it under bad conditions before, that is hanging around your neck and doing 150+ pictures on two consecutive days.

One will demonstrate what havoc the touchscreen can create, the other what a fun power management with the M is.

I'm satisfied with the M now, but my first SE Asia trip with the M was quiet a learning curve

Thanks for the advice. No original strap is used to avoid the touch screen being set unintentionally with my body. I also try to shut off the camera more often to minimize battery drain. Will travel with two spare batteries.

I do that too (switch it off often when not in use) to save battery life but I wonder if constant on / off is messing with it in any way? Last time I was out and about I actually just pressed menu in between shots. My thinking was that the black menu would use a lot less battery than constant Live View. Certainly made the camera more ready to shoot but I was worried my menu settings might be bumped!

Must be a better way to black out the screen. I need to check the power saving settings again.

Random thought - you know what this camera needs? A screensaver!

 

[elkatro]

I do that too (switch it off often when not in use) to save battery life but I wonder if constant on / off is messing with it in any way? Last time I was out and about I actually just pressed menu in between shots. My thinking was that the black menu would use a lot less battery than constant Live View. Certainly made the camera more ready to shoot but I was worried my menu settings might be bumped!

Must be a better way to black out the screen. I need to check the power saving settings again.

Random thought - you know what this camera needs? A screensaver!

What I do :
- Turn off the Touch Shutter - so it will not accidently take picture
- Press the INFO button until the quick control is gone, there'll be no setting on the screen, only focus box
- Power Saving - LCD auto off as required, Camera auto off as required

 

[axtstern]

Do you mean the poor battery life of the M?

Yes.... when on trip I need 2 loaders or a propper schedule to have at least 3 batteries loaded until next morning.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Do you mean the poor battery life of the M?

Yes.... when on trip I need 2 loaders or a propper schedule to have at least 3 batteries loaded until next morning.

So I've been shooting for two days with the M, at the very end of today the battery meter dropped from full to 'getting low' (two bars remaining). I've taken a short (90 s) movie and 385 images. It's not my 1D X (I think the 1-series LP-E4N weighs as much as the whole EOS M), but it's not that bad...

EDIT: today, I shot another 120 images for a total of 505 stills and a short movie on one full battery (nearly filling the 16 GB card in the camera). I could have shot more frames, but I swapped in a fresh battery it as soon as the red-flashing battery symbol appeared.

 

[shining example]

I got my M today. Just a few quick impressions, so I'll piggyback on this thread, as I don't really have anything very useful to add:

The first thing I noticed is how incredibly dinky it looks - but it feels really nice and solid. The flash, though, actually caused me a fit of the giggles. It seems ridiculously small if you've been fiddling around with a 600EX ;D

I can see why people are unhappy with the AF, it's not exactly speedy. Then again, I've been testing indoors in fairly low light conditions, so maybe it's better outdoors/in daylight. For me personally, it's not much of an issue anyway, but I'm guessing it would annoy folks who like to take action/wildlife shots.

I had a few befuddled moments with the menus, but it's not my first Canon, and I didn't take long to figure them out and feel at home in them.

It's perhaps worth noting that you sort of have to adjust to how it's best held and operated - it felt a bit awkward at first, but I soon got used to it.

I basically bought it because it was so cheap, and wasn't entirely sure I'd keep it, but after playing around with it for a bit I think I'm going to like it, and it will suit my purposes just fine. (I have a 7D with what feels like several tons of lenses, which I really love; I also have a Digital Ixus, but I'm just not happy with that anymore since I got the 7D, nor do I enjoy taking snaps with my phone. So I'm hoping I'll get some joy out of the M on those occasions where it's just not worth lugging a backbreaking amount of gear around all day for the few shots I get around to taking when hanging out with friends who aren't avid shooters.)

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Do you mean the poor battery life of the M?

Yes.... when on trip I need 2 loaders or a propper schedule to have at least 3 batteries loaded until next morning.

So I've been shooting for two days with the M, at the very end of today the battery meter dropped from full to 'getting low' (two bars remaining). I've taken a short (90 s) movie and 385 images. It's not my 1D X (I think the 1-series LP-E4N weighs as much as the whole EOS M), but it's not that bad...

EDIT: today, I shot another 120 images for a total of 505 stills and a short movie on one full battery (nearly filling the 16 GB card in the camera). I could have shot more frames, but I swapped in a fresh battery it as soon as the red-flashing battery symbol appeared.

I'd expect that's pretty typical. I can take a thousand shots with my 5D MK III in one sitting and still have a half charge. Its when I shoot a few shots a day over a long period that I tend to get fewer shots. The CIPA tests do seem to give results for occasional usage rather than a one or two day shoot.

 

[bf]

On battery: I suggest setting the auto lcd turn off option for a short time like 15s. It turns off the lcd while the camera is standby. Turn-off continues focusing. Buy one or a few cheap Opteka backup batteries from Amazon. I am happy with one backup!