was there originally another EOS-M3?

[rrcphoto]

let's stir up some conspiracy theories.. I forgot all about this and was thinking about it when the USA announcement happened.

the original pictures of the EOS-M3 showed a slightly different camera than what was released.

did they downgrade the M3? was there another version? did they decide it was too freaking amazing so they had the nerf the living daylights out of it?

here's the M3 from the rumors ..

Note the mode dial and the two C modes - with two C modes this was definitely more upmarket than the current one as that seems to be one of canon's differentiators.

Thoughts? Maybe this is the M4?

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The user manual does not show two C positions, and the photo is not clear enough.

As far as I can tell, the same photos, manuals, etc are used for the USA model as for the rest of the world.


Amazon listing top view.

 

[DRR]

That photo may have been a preproduction version of the M3. This is completely normal in the development of a camera - generally there are multiple preproduction models developed, manufactured, photographed/rendered, and then sent out into the field for testing.

For example, there are probably multiple models of the 1Dx in the field now for testing. They all vary slightly in specs, from FPS to firmware differences to different buffer sizes, maybe a few even have different sensors.

This also explains why different rumors with different specs pop up prior to a camera's release. They're rumors on slightly different cameras! Conflicting rumors can actually both be true.