Hands-on with the Canon EOS M3

[vjlex]

I got a chance to play around with the M3 and EVF today at the Canon Store in downtown Osaka. First off, I'll say I really liked the LCD. And although the metal frame that it hinges on seems a bit counter-intuitive, I really like that the screen can be tilted. I can't see any reason why it couldn't be an articulated screen instead except to intentionally prevent it from infringing on Rebel and 70D territory. Even still, a tilt screen is still a nice addition.

I brought along with me my EF adapter and one of my L lens. Last week I tried this setup with both the M and M2, and didn't like how it felt- a tiny, gripless camera and a huge lens. With the M3, even with the new grip, it didn't make much of a difference. Using a large lens with this camera is not going to be a pleasant experience for me. For me, it really is just going to be a P&S upgrade with the ability to use top-quality lens.

As for the EVF, it is not something I see myself using very often. Looking through it brought me back to the days of using Sony Handycams and peeping through that EVF to see what was being recorded. I much prefer using the LCD as my viewfinder. Perhaps in some situations where the sun is too bright I might find the EVF useful, but I have my doubts about that.

Don't get me wrong, I still like it enough and plan on getting one on day one. The picture quality from what I could tell was really good. The ergonomics are probably alright if you're content to use M lenses, but not the most comfortable with other glass. And the EVF I can see being one of those accessories I throw in the bag to bring along with me just-in-case, but more often than not doesn't get used.

I'm not a professional reviewer or anything, so forgive me if this isn't completely objective and methodical. Maybe it can be useful to some though.

 

[Maximilian]

Hello shunsai!

Thank you very much for your hands-on impressions.

You gave me a good first insight. Although I was very interested in EOS M, I went a different way last fall (EOS 100D) because Canon was not improving fast enough.

It seems to me, that this body would have been the right thing for me (although not at the actual price point) but EOS M is still lacking a higher variety of dedicated lenses.

I hope you'll enjoy your new tool when you'll get it.

 

[bf]

Cool impressions Shunsai! Was the start-up time improved? How about the AF speed?

 

[vjlex]

I hope you'll enjoy your new tool when you'll get it.

Hey Maximilian, thanks! I look forward to playing with this new toy when it's released. I hope you are enjoying yours as well and getting some great shots!

Cool impressions Shunsai! Was the start-up time improved? How about the AF speed?

Hey bf, thanks. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary regarding the startup time. I didn't know it was an issue, so didn't really take note of it, but compared to my DSLR, I don't recall it being any slower or any faster. As for the autofocus, I was actually really impressed with that. I remember when using the M and M2 last week that it was pretty slow and seemed to hunt a lot. But the M3 was really fast to find focus. Again, I can't say whether it was actually the 3-6x faster statistic that I've seen somewhere, but it was very much improved. Even with the L lens (with USM) it focused very well and very quickly.

 

[bf]

Hey bf, thanks. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary regarding the startup time. I didn't know it was an issue, so didn't really take note of it, but compared to my DSLR, I don't recall it being any slower or any faster. As for the autofocus, I was actually really impressed with that. I remember when using the M and M2 last week that it was pretty slow and seemed to hunt a lot. But the M3 was really fast to find focus. Again, I can't say whether it was actually the 3-6x faster statistic that I've seen somewhere, but it was very much improved. Even with the L lens (with USM) it focused very well and very quickly.

Very nice! I wish the EVF kits become permanently available "internationally" although same as you I prefer the LCD to tiny ovfs and evfs.

 

[Rocky]

Hello shunsai!

Thank you very much for your hands-on impressions.

You gave me a good first insight. Although I was very interested in EOS M, I went a different way last fall (EOS 100D) because Canon was not improving fast enough.

It seems to me, that this body would have been the right thing for me (although not at the actual price point) but EOS M is still lacking a higher variety of dedicated lenses.

I hope you'll enjoy your new tool when you'll get it.

I think Canon view the EOS-M as a minimalist's camera. 4 lenses takes care of 95% of the situation. If you want more than that , there is always EF-EF-M adapter ($45 at Amazon) and all the EF, EF-S lenses that you have already own.

 

[KateH]

I'm curious to see if noise & DR has improved with the M3. The M has been a fantastic landscape/architecture camera for me with a shift-converted Nikkor 17-35, but I find myself having to do lots of bracketing & blending to get acceptable highlight detail & shadow noise.

Any observations on that end? I'm hoping DXO or DP Review will test it soon- if Canon managed to improve DR by at least a 1.5-2 stops vs M1 I'll buy an M3 from Japan right away, but the poor performance of even their recent FF sensors in that regard has me a bit hesitant...

 

[brad-man]

Thank you Shunsai for the first impression review. I have been satisfied with the IQ of the M, particularly in such a small size. Since I assumed that Canon would use the same sensor as the 70D, it will be interesting to see how this new 24MP sensor compares in both IQ and focus tracking. Unfortunately, I have really been waiting for some fast primes, preferably of the pancake variety, to maintain the small form factor. After reading that silly "interview" from Imaging Resource, my hopes of any real progress in Canon mirrorless land have dwindled.

 

[surapon]

Thank you, Dear Friend Mr. shunsai.
Wow, I will get one of this M3 the first batch in my home city NC. USA. and let my wife have Mi----Ha, Ha, Ha.Have a hgreat Wednesday.
Surapon

 

[iron-t]

Glad to have these insights. Still on the fence between adopting the M3 or abandoning the M system to get a xxxD second body. If Canon would release a down-scaled 17-55mm f/2.8 for M, or a couple more small, fast primes, that might make the biggest difference. Or a compact macro. Much as I like the 22mm, the 18-55 is just too slow; the 11-22 is too pricey; and the 55-200 is physically too long and way too slow (and just about useless unless AF really is worlds faster on M3).

With a tiny body that lacks a truly substantial grip, the handling of any zoom lens (other than maybe a theoretical power zoom) is going to be dicey because the torque applied to the zoom ring can be enough to destabilize your grip on the camera body--particularly when holding the camera out from your body to compose on an LCD. A stiff ring like on the Tamron 24-70mm VC makes it useless in combination with the M. Primes just handle better.

I think I may be convincing myself to bag it and just go with a Rebel T6s (760D).

 

[kphoto99]

Glad to have these insights. Still on the fence between adopting the M3 or abandoning the M system to get a xxxD second body. If Canon would release a down-scaled 17-55mm f/2.8 for M, or a couple more small, fast primes, that might make the biggest difference. Or a compact macro. Much as I like the 22mm, the 18-55 is just too slow; the 11-22 is too pricey; and the 55-200 is physically too long and way too slow (and just about useless unless AF really is worlds faster on M3).

With a tiny body that lacks a truly substantial grip, the handling of any zoom lens (other than maybe a theoretical power zoom) is going to be dicey because the torque applied to the zoom ring can be enough to destabilize your grip on the camera body--particularly when holding the camera out from your body to compose on an LCD. A stiff ring like on the Tamron 24-70mm VC makes it useless in combination with the M. Primes just handle better.

I think I may be convincing myself to bag it and just go with a Rebel T6s (760D).

I got myself this grip:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/LB-EOSM-Quick-Release-QR-Vertical-Hand-Grip-L-Plate-Bracket-for-Canon-EOS-M-/251839255741?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aa2ca14bd

It make handling the M so much better.

 

[vjlex]

I'm curious to see if noise & DR has improved with the M3. The M has been a fantastic landscape/architecture camera for me with a shift-converted Nikkor 17-35, but I find myself having to do lots of bracketing & blending to get acceptable highlight detail & shadow noise.

Any observations on that end? I'm hoping DXO or DP Review will test it soon- if Canon managed to improve DR by at least a 1.5-2 stops vs M1 I'll buy an M3 from Japan right away, but the poor performance of even their recent FF sensors in that regard has me a bit hesitant...

Sorry, noise & DR improvement I don't have the answer to. I could only use the M3 in-store and the bottom was sealed, so I couldn't put my own SD card in to take samples home with me. I didn't spend too much time with the M & M2, so can't really comment on how their noise compares, but I wouldn't expect too much improvement. The first shots I took were at ISO 3200 and I do remember noticing the noise (that's what made me realize the ISO was high; I changed it for subsequent shots).

Thank you Shunsai for the first impression review.

Thank you, Dear Friend Mr. shunsai.
Wow, I will get one of this M3 the first batch in my home city NC. USA. and let my wife have Mi----Ha, Ha, Ha.Have a hgreat Wednesday.
Surapon

@brad-man, no problem!
@surapon, my pleasure. I don't believe it's being released in the US, but there are ways to order it online. Will you order it through Amazon Japan?

I reserved one at the brick & mortar camera shop I buy my gear from here in Osaka (it was just a little cheaper than Amazon, but more importantly, I wanted to support the little guy... even if it is a little less convenient). I'm looking forward to getting one to play with soon! Hopefully some of the cherry blossoms will still be on the trees when I do.

Glad to have these insights. Still on the fence between adopting the M3 or abandoning the M system to get a xxxD second body. If Canon would release a down-scaled 17-55mm f/2.8 for M, or a couple more small, fast primes, that might make the biggest difference. Or a compact macro. Much as I like the 22mm, the 18-55 is just too slow; the 11-22 is too pricey; and the 55-200 is physically too long and way too slow (and just about useless unless AF really is worlds faster on M3).

With a tiny body that lacks a truly substantial grip, the handling of any zoom lens (other than maybe a theoretical power zoom) is going to be dicey because the torque applied to the zoom ring can be enough to destabilize your grip on the camera body--particularly when holding the camera out from your body to compose on an LCD. A stiff ring like on the Tamron 24-70mm VC makes it useless in combination with the M. Primes just handle better.

I think I may be convincing myself to bag it and just go with a Rebel T6s (760D).

@iron-t, very true about the destabilization of your grip while holding the lens barrel. It was a little dicey changing the focal length with one hand and holding onto the small body with the other (even with the built in grip). For me this is just to complement my 5D2, so I still will use that as my main camera. But personally, if it was a choice of either a DSLR or an M3, I much prefer the handle of a solid DSLR.

 

[ecka]

Glad to have these insights. Still on the fence between adopting the M3 or abandoning the M system to get a xxxD second body. If Canon would release a down-scaled 17-55mm f/2.8 for M, or a couple more small, fast primes, that might make the biggest difference. Or a compact macro. Much as I like the 22mm, the 18-55 is just too slow; the 11-22 is too pricey; and the 55-200 is physically too long and way too slow (and just about useless unless AF really is worlds faster on M3).

With a tiny body that lacks a truly substantial grip, the handling of any zoom lens (other than maybe a theoretical power zoom) is going to be dicey because the torque applied to the zoom ring can be enough to destabilize your grip on the camera body--particularly when holding the camera out from your body to compose on an LCD. A stiff ring like on the Tamron 24-70mm VC makes it useless in combination with the M. Primes just handle better.

I think I may be convincing myself to bag it and just go with a Rebel T6s (760D).

Well, it's not like Canon is "trolling" us by not making a small F2.8 zoom. I'm pretty sure it's not possible to make such a lens (not yet). Same for the "small and fast 55-200".
Some say that even Sigma 18-35/1.8Art works beautifully on EOS M with a proper grip mounted on it.

 

[Jamesy]

Thanks for your review. Was this a pre-release version? My pre-order from Amazon.co.jp says it will not ship until March 31st.

Can you comment on the pop-up flash - did the mechanism seem well built?

Thanks!

 

[docsmith]

Thanks for sharing Shunsai. Did you get any sense as to how much faster the AF was? I've read reports that it is ~6x faster than the M1 which should put the shutter lag at ~0.1-0.15 seconds.

Was the AF fast and responsive?

 

[MJ]

I got a chance to play around with the M3 and EVF today...

Hello shunsai, thank you for your feedback, it's greatly appreciated!

One thing I have wondered is whether the new M3 (or older M/M2) make any "shutter" sound or other noise when taking a photo?
Personally I'd love a camera that's completely quiet for discrete street photography in public places, without the annoying clicking my SL1 makes - even in quiet mode.

That can just ruin the whole atmosphere when you take pictures of someone completely oblivious, or skittish animals...

thanks

 

[Act444]

I got a chance to play around with the M3 and EVF today...

Hello shunsai, thank you for your feedback, it's greatly appreciated!

One thing I have wondered is whether the new M3 (or older M/M2) make any "shutter" sound or other noise when taking a photo?
Personally I'd love a camera that's completely quiet for discrete street photography in public places, without the annoying clicking my SL1 makes - even in quiet mode.

That can just ruin the whole atmosphere when you take pictures of someone completely oblivious, or skittish animals...

thanks

Can't speak for the M2 or M3 as I don't have them, but the original M definitely has a shutter sound - and it's certainly audible in a quiet room (during a presentation, while I took photos for the event, the shutter sounds had a couple people turning back towards me briefly).

I will say, though, that it is quieter than the SL1. Noticeably so.

 

[MJ]

Thank you for your reply.

Does anybody else have (different) M2/3 experience?


If it's really that noisy I guess I will have to stick to my phone for a while, for when I really want to do stealthy shots in urban environments...

 

[danski0224]

Sounds dangerously close to "stalker"...

 

[MJ]

LOL! It does! ;D

Oh my!