EOS M4 wish list

[DRR]

I sold my M(1) last month. Just wasn't getting used enough.

The m3 is very intriguing but still not enough to make me buy. So here is my M4 wish list (it is really wishful thinking but anyway...)

1) Same basic form factor/size as M3
2) Integrated EVF
3) Smaller LCD with no touchscreen. I know it'll never happen but you need to make room for the EVF and....
4) A larger, better thumb wheel. That tiny one is impossible to turn, and you end up hitting a function button when you try to turn
5) Better AF
6) 55mm f/1.4 to go with it.

What's your wish list?

 

[HaroldC3]

Slap an EF-M mount on the A6000 and call it good.

 

[Luds34]

I sold my M(1) last month. Just wasn't getting used enough.

The m3 is very intriguing but still not enough to make me buy. So here is my M4 wish list (it is really wishful thinking but anyway...)

1) Same basic form factor/size as M3
2) Integrated EVF
3) Smaller LCD with no touchscreen. I know it'll never happen but you need to make room for the EVF and....
4) A larger, better thumb wheel. That tiny one is impossible to turn, and you end up hitting a function button when you try to turn
5) Better AF
6) 55mm f/1.4 to go with it.

What's your wish list?

#2, #5, and #6.

Integrated EVF and faster focus is what the body itself needs. A fast 85mm (full frame equiv) prime is the top of my list for the next EOS-M lens.

 

[dcm]

I sold my M(1) last month. Just wasn't getting used enough.

The m3 is very intriguing but still not enough to make me buy. So here is my M4 wish list (it is really wishful thinking but anyway...)

1) Same basic form factor/size as M3
2) Integrated EVF
3) Smaller LCD with no touchscreen. I know it'll never happen but you need to make room for the EVF and....
4) A larger, better thumb wheel. That tiny one is impossible to turn, and you end up hitting a function button when you try to turn
5) Better AF
6) 55mm f/1.4 to go with it.

What's your wish list?

You might want to try an M3 and update your list. These are my initial impressions after 2 days and 500+ images with the M3.

1) Check
2) EVF - check. Hotshoe EVF works fine and provides necessary relief for facial features. It really improves daylight shooting. The built-in tilt is a bonus. Someday they may squeeze it into the body but I personally like having both VF and display.
3) When I use the screen, I want a large screen. And I favor touchscreens over button navigation. As does all of the next generation. Eliminating buttons elminates mechanical elements, making it cheaper to produce, less likely to fail, and improves water resistance. Just like phones and tablets, I expect cameras to head in that direction over time.
4) Check. The M thumbwheel annoyed me sometimes, clicking instead of rotating. The M3 thumbwheel feels a bit different and no inadvertant clicks yet. I think they got it right this time.
5) Check. Purely subjective so far, but the new autofocus system is working fine for me, on par with my 6D. No annoying lags or hunting so far, even with an EF 100-400 II mounted. It did slow a bit with the EF 2X III extender but that was expected, it happens on my 6D as well.
6) Agreed, but this isn't the fault of the M3. A couple more fast primes with IS would be welcome for low light situations. In the meantime I'm using the 50 f/1.8 and 85 f/1.8 with the adapter.

As you can guess, I'm a glass half full kinda person. I considered the 750D/760D but am glad I stuck with the M system. The M3 shares a lot of the same components so I'd expect it to perform comparably in many respects. It will never be comparable to a professional FF dSLR, but it easily outperforms my old T2i and isn't that far behind my 6D IMO.

As a bonus I now have zoom and focus peaking in the viewfinder with the M3. Wonder when that will appear in a dSLR The M3 also has several more mexapixels, expanded ISO range, a multi axis (pitch, roll) electronic level, wifi, and a few more programmable buttons. And I'm not done exploring it. All in all it seems like a substantial upgrade to the M and I'm glad I imported it. Too bad this wasn't the first version Canon released.

 

[bf]

I agree with you dcm! The M is for someone who likes to shoot from screen. The screen needs to be large, bright and responsive!
Sony went to FF mirrorlesses and you can see the lenses are huge for a compact system. I think for classic viewfinder shooters DSLRs are the best solution to go.
On the other hand, as I said several time earlier, M line does need compact nice primes as the adopter is not an acceptable option! We are compromising over several features to have a compact system and an adopter will take the size benefit away and pushes the real mirrorless users to other stems!

 

[Haydn1971]

Point of note, it currently appears difficult to buy the M3 in the UK as a body only - I'd like to see that option in any new M camera

 

[dolina]

Larger sensor.

 

[twagn]

Slap an EF-M mount on the A6000 and call it good.

Is their such a thing? I see plenty of EF mount adaptor to Sony E mount but no EF M adaptors

 

[ecka]

Well, EOS M3 is not the camera I really want and the M4 will continue that tradition, but here is my list:
1) FF
2) EVF
3) bigger grip and battery
4) 4K
5) under $1500
6) native primes
7) built-in RT
8 ) at least 5fps
9) good manual focus assist (peaking, pip magnifying, etc)
0) released in my lifetime (or before everyone else makes one)

As an APS-C alternative to that, it could have a Speedbooster-like optics built-in ant fully utilize all the existing EF lenses.

 

[HaroldC3]

Slap an EF-M mount on the A6000 and call it good.

Is their such a thing? I see plenty of EF mount adaptor to Sony E mount but no EF M adaptors

I should have said an EF-M mount and a Canon logo, not an adapter.

 

[Luds34]

We are compromising over several features to have a compact system and an adopter will take the size benefit away and pushes the real mirrorless users to other stems!

Well that and Canon has not made good focal length primes for EF-S either so even with an adapter you can't get "24mm", "35mm", "50mm", "85mm" primes. Of course an actual 85mm FL gives almost an almost exact "135mm" so at least that is covered!

Just look at micro 4/3 or Fuji and how they have come out with glass that maintains the popular (equivalent) focal lengths (aka FOV) many people are use to seeing from their old 35mm camera days.

The 22mm pancake was the first crop lens from Canon to do this. It gives me hope that there will be more like it.

 

[ecka]

The 22mm pancake was the first crop lens from Canon to do this. It gives me hope that there will be more like it.

Which was born 3.5 years ago and no more primes since?
EF-M 55/1.4 would be nice though .

 

[Tinky]

Canon translated the EF 40mm f2.8 to APS-C by means of the EF-s 24mm f2.8. M users get the 22mm which is as near as dammit, but with a stop brighter max aperture, which is also very usable wide open.

I'm going to go against the grain.

I would like to see another M pancake. Maybe a collapsable 50mm (80mm equivalent) but then with the new nifty fifty apparently on its way... do we need it...

I think what we absolutely 100% need is a cheaper adaptor. Canon should either subsidise the metal one, or make a plastic one which can take the weight of EF lenses without a tripod ring, or make it EF-s only.

The greatest strength of the x0D and rebel series, and now the M, is the gateway.

I think m users are a tiny minority. I think making lenses exclusively for them is a waste of time, unless you are going to make them all pancakes / collapsable.

I look at the ef-m 55-200 and think, why would you want that on an M.... or if you really did why wouldn't you buy the adaptor, the Ef-s 55-250 and a half decent meal for you and the wife instead?

So my wishlist for the M...

Think small or not at all.

It has to be small.

The Ef-m 22mm is a brilliant statement of intent, a promising precedent.

In terms of body specs. You are doing fine. People can bang on about panasonics, alphas, fujis whatever. Do you want a retro trinket or access to the best lens system available?

But most of all, please let some reviewers fail to read the manual, fail to understand the af modes and give any new M a crap review. Not used to these prices.

 

[neuroanatomist]

The 22mm pancake was the first crop lens from Canon to do this. It gives me hope that there will be more like it.

Which was born 3.5 years ago and no more primes since?

The EOS M is a consumer camera, the typical consumer prefers zooms over primes. The selling point of the 22/2 is its small physical size, resulting from the 'pancake' design (which is easiest at certain focal lengths relative to the image circle size).

I look at the ef-m 55-200 and think, why would you want that on an M.... or if you really did why wouldn't you buy the adaptor, the Ef-s 55-250 and a half decent meal for you and the wife instead?

Compared to the adapted EF-S 55-250 STM, the M55-200 is >35% (~2") shorter, smaller in diameter, >40% lighter, and can share filters with the M18-55. So...that's why.

 

[Vivid Color]

My M4 wish list:

1. I would like it to be sold in the United States. And as another poster noted, please keep it small. Personally, I love the size of my M1.

2. I would like all the EF-M lenses to be sold in the United States.

3. A native EF-M macro lens would be nice.

4. A significant price cut on the EVF would be really nice.

I think the EOS M is a brilliant idea. You can use it as a very compact and lightweight standalone system, which I recently did on a trip where I wanted nice photos but knew that I did not need my DSLR to achieve them. Since I bought my M1, I have not used my canon s100. I either use the M1 or my iPhone. And with the EF-M to EF adapter, you can use lenses and speedlites that no other mirrorless system has and it can function as a back up body, which will take almost no weight or space in your bag.

I can understand why Canon doesn't market the M widely in the United States but I don't understand why you can't get it and the lenses through the Canon direct store or through some select stores such as the big three: Amazon, Adorama, and B&H. When my friends see my M1, they all love it, and when they see the quality of photos you can get from it, they want to know where they can get one. When I tell them they have to go through eBay, or pick one up when they're in Europe or Canada, it's a turnoff.

 

[Tanispyre]

My EOS M4 wish list is very simple:

For sale in the USA.

 

[Tanispyre]

And please don't let it get any bigger.

 

[HaroldC3]

I look at the ef-m 55-200 and think, why would you want that on an M.... or if you really did why wouldn't you buy the adaptor, the Ef-s 55-250 and a half decent meal for you and the wife instead?

I think the attached picture says all that needs to be said.

That being the case, I still decided t keep the 55-250mm STM lens as the performance can't be beat and the extra 50mm is very handy.

 

[dcm]

I look at the ef-m 55-200 and think, why would you want that on an M.... or if you really did why wouldn't you buy the adaptor, the Ef-s 55-250 and a half decent meal for you and the wife instead?

I think the attached picture says all that needs to be said.

That being the case, I still decided t keep the 55-250mm STM lens as the performance can't be beat and the extra 50mm is very handy.

Agreed - the picture says it all. Had them both as well. Preferred the 55-200 for size and weight - just wasn't using the larger lens. The extra 50 didn't matter as much to me. I preferred the extra 400 on my Tamron if I really wanted reach. For performance I'll use my FF. Gave away the 55-250 STM with my T2i to a deserving couple.

Another benefit of the EF-M lenses that is noticeable with the M3 is manual focus. The AF/MF switch is on the body, the camera controls the focus mode which makes it more usable with focus peaking. While using the EVF, I can compose, auto focus (BBF), and touch MF button to turn on focus peaking to verify and fine tune focus without taking my eye away from the EVF or the screen. The EF/EF-S lenses must be switched manually on the lens to change modes - they can't be switched electronically.

 

[Tinky]

The picture says one thing to me:

Neither is going to fit in your pocket.

Thanks for the very patronising explainations. Which totally missed the obvious point, contexualised if you'd read the whole frigging post. You might be 40% lighter and 35% smaller, but you are still negating the very advantage of a csc camera. Add a telezoom and folks are really no better served than with a compact DSLR.

So, do you spend double the money on a lens you can only use on your M, or do you spend half the money on a lens that will also work on your rebel or your 7D?

I think if you fit anything other than a pancake to an M and you've lost the size benefit. Thats why I see the real strength of the M as being a gateway to the EF system, and why canon shouldn't invest too much in duplication of focal lengths that already exist. Perhaps the exception would be collapsable standard and telephoto primes.

The M22 doesn't exist in any other format and is playing to the strengths of the CSC concept. I would argue that none of their other current EF-m lenses are. And that is a big part of the reason the system hasn't set the world alight.

Exisiting EOS users don't want another lens system. Canons marketing has been so abysmal that I don't think anybody else is buying them. Other than on the basis of the fire price tickets.

And I say all of this as a great fan of the camera from a design, user & iq point of view.