Review: DPR rakes EOS M3 over the coals

[ahsanford]

Brutal review:
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-m3-review/8

Excerpt from the conclusion:

"Unfortunately, the M3 falls short in really important areas: autofocus and battery life. As mentioned above, the AF system is laggy, which resulted in blurry photos of kids and jets that were already out of the frame by the camera took the shot. Had Canon put its Dual Pixel AF system into the M3, we'd likely be singing a different tune. The camera's battery life numbers are low enough that a spare was usually in a back pocket.

Looking back at the original EOS M, you can see that Canon has made great strides with its mirrorless cameras. For now, there are many other mirrorless cameras that we'd pick off the shelf before the EOS M3, and we hope that the next 'M' is more competitive."

I generally giggle at what DPR says about Canon, but the bold bit above is dead on. Behind offering an integral viewfinder and a few EF-M lenses with USM, DPAF is probably the third most important thing that brand needs.

- A

 

[ahsanford]

Just curious looking at prices:

Rebel T6i kit with 18-55: Price dropped from $849 to $749 (11.7% drop) in the 15 months since launch.

EOS M3 kit with 18-55: Price dropped from $799 to $599 (25% drop) in the 11 months since launch. Ouch.

What's the biggest driver for that? No viewfinder? No intermediate model? No lenses? I know what I'd like to see in EOS M, but I fully recognize that I am not the market.

- A

 

[Sharlin]

Fingers crossed for that long-awaited "prosumer" M. Just put the 80D sensor in, add an integrated EVF and a beefier processor and the only big problem left is the battery life. That one might be a tougher nut to crack though.

 

[Sporgon]

No AA filter in the M3; is that right ?

 

[3kramd5]

The camera's battery life numbers are low enough that a spare was usually in a back pocket.

Heh, if battery life is so poor, one would think the spare would frequently be somewhere other than in a back pocket.

 

[privatebydesign]

I own an M and like it very much for what I got it for. I absolutely would not be interested in one with a built in viewfinder, for me, and I suspect Canon, size is the overwhelming aspect of the M's and I think the external EVF is the smartest implementation of the 'need' for one.

 

[aussielearner]

Couldn't agree more with the review. I'm extremely disappointed in the performance of my M3 (with both 22mm and 18-55mm). AF is painfully slow, as too the time it takes to write to the SD card (I have fast Lexar cards so I don't think they are holding it back).

Having replaced my M2 which my son broke with an M3, I honestly feel that it is a backwards step in ergonomics and speed.
The M2 I found was quicker to AF and a far more responsive system (menus etc).

 

[Dylan777]

I own an M and like it very much for what I got it for. I absolutely would not be interested in one with a built in viewfinder, for me, and I suspect Canon, size is the overwhelming aspect of the M's and I think the external EVF is the smartest implementation of the 'need' for one.

I have the opposite thought on M external evf.

Sony learned their lesson through rx1. I wish my a7rii and a7s have popup evf likes rx1rii.

 

[rrcphoto]

What's the biggest driver for that? No viewfinder? No intermediate model? No lenses? I know what I'd like to see in EOS M, but I fully recognize that I am not the market.

- A

that's just Canon USA being stupid.

I got my M3+EVF+18-55 from Japan for $479 at launch.