The Future of EOS M [CR1]

[dickgrafixstop]

While I've been critical of the M in past posts, I've just thought of an "improvement" that would make me
consider one - a native FD mount to be able to use legacy lenses for video. A FD adapter might fill the bill
since a native mount would not make it past the beancounters and may actually be physically required -
even canon can't change the laws of physics - but the M4/3 guys seem to do well with a variety of adpaters.

 

[infared]

I just bought one new on eBay for $340 with the 22mm lens. They are also available with the 18-55 lens for $370. I picked one up, and have been playing with it for a couple of days. It's well worth the money.

For the dude saying it looks cheap/plasticky... the shell is metal. It's a very well made, sturdy compact.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with it so far. The 3 things you should be aware of with it are:

1) It is much slower to focus than a DSLR with a viewfinder. If you want to get an idea of how slow, put your DSLR in Live View and spend some time setting your focus that way. The EOS-M behaves in the same manner. This could be sped up with a firmware update, but honestly, so long as you aren't shooting sports or wildlife, you'll be fine.

2) AEB is limited to 3 shots. I do a lot of HDR, so this is kind of a let down.

3) In my very quick test of recording video, the STM lens makes quite a bit of noise and was actually louder than the audio I was trying to record. Granted, the audio was quiet, but still, the STM noise was very loud on the recording.

Overall, for a camera of this price and size, and capability, I'm very happy. I ordered the 18-55 lens (which can be found for about $180 on ebay new as well), and will be taking this as my only kit on my trip to Tokyo later this.

It's not a 5DMIII in features, but it's a capable camera that won't require you to lug a huge bag around with you either.

Although if it drops below 400 with the prime kits lens, I'd get it to replace the P&S...
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That is why I went with MFT for my compact kit. The M just doesn't cut it in so many ways....but at least NOW (because they are not selling)...the price reflects the value.

 

[northbyten]

Simply it failed because Canon didn't market it as a successor, they awkwardly put it on the side so it wouldn't eat their DSLR sales.

I'm sure if Canon markets it as a all in one NEX competitor they'd be getting somewhere.

 

[botw]

While I've been critical of the M in past posts, I've just thought of an "improvement" that would make me
consider one - a native FD mount to be able to use legacy lenses for video. A FD adapter might fill the bill
since a native mount would not make it past the beancounters and may actually be physically required -
even canon can't change the laws of physics - but the M4/3 guys seem to do well with a variety of adpaters.

Adapters exist and work just fine (no glass required).

 

[wickidwombat]

they should give us beta testers a good trade in deal on the replacement

but in all seriousness magic lantern has made this a pretty decent little unit for certain uses
that is anything that does not involve remotely strenuous AF

 

[paul13walnut5]

but in all seriousness magic lantern has made this a pretty decent little unit for certain uses
that is anything that does not involve remotely strenuous AF

How stable is ML on the M wickid?
Does it unlock the 4GB limitation... I really want an M for discreet video, and if it can be hacked to allow longer run times (without messing with quality) then I'd be in.

 

[Marsu42]

How stable is ML on the M wickid? Does it unlock the 4GB limitation... I really want an M for discreet video, and if it can be hacked to allow longer run times (without messing with quality) then I'd be in.

ML on eos m is alpha, i.e. not nearly near production quality since it's a newer digic5-camera. Afaik they don't get around the 4gb barrier atm - you can format the card with the exFAT filesystem that allows for larger files, but the Canon fw is quite strict to enforce the 30min or 4gb limitation. However ml always had an "instant restart" so that you get consecutive clips after 30min/4gb.

Feel free to look at the dev thread and ask any specific questions there: http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=3648.0

 

[paul13walnut5]

Cheers Marsu,

I'm lazy. I'd rather speak to somebody who understands it all and can speak to me in plain lanuage. I don't do scripting or coding, and to make matters worse I'm also on a mac, I find the ML forums and wiki page just a little user unfriendly.

 

[Marsu42]

I find the ML forums and wiki page just a little user unfriendly.

I understand that and recently mentioned it to the devs, suggesting a "what does ml actually do for me?" page - they simply don't have the menpower to beef up the wiki, actually the team consists of one main dev (alex), maybe 3 people hacking and then another 3 submitting patches now and then...

... so the bottom line is that ml is great, mostly self-explanatory but you have to be willing to put some time into playing with the options. But in newer builds you can hide things you don't need so you never see them again, so in your case just enable the movie menu with the "restart recodring" option.

But installation is really easy (there seems to be a video for the mac: http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/File:HOW_TO_INSTALL_MAGIC_LANTERN_ON_A_MAC_AND_UPDATE_MAGIC_LANTERAN):
1. update the camera fw once with the ml firmware, this only sets the loader flag in the Canon fw
2. enable the boot flag on the/all cards that should have ml
3. copy the ml files - mainly autoexec.bin - to the/all cards.

 

[7enderbender]

Can't they just make it a M9 equivalent for a quarter of the price of the Leica? I still want a "full frame" range finder with manual focus, optical viewfinder and two or three small, fast standard lenses (28, 55, 90). Shouldn't be too hard and would sell like hotcakes I assume.

And they could indeed recycle their FD mount with that.

 

[paul13walnut5]

I find the ML forums and wiki page just a little user unfriendly.

I understand that and recently mentioned it to the devs, suggesting a "what does ml actually do for me?" page - they simply don't have the menpower to beef up the wiki, actually the team consists of one main dev (alex), maybe 3 people hacking and then another 3 submitting patches now and then...

... so the bottom line is that ml is great, mostly self-explanatory but you have to be willing to put some time into playing with the options. But in newer builds you can hide things you don't need so you never see them again, so in your case just enable the movie menu with the "restart recodring" option.

But installation is really easy (there seems to be a video for the mac: http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/File:HOW_TO_INSTALL_MAGIC_LANTERN_ON_A_MAC_AND_UPDATE_MAGIC_LANTERAN):
1. update the camera fw once with the ml firmware, this only sets the loader flag in the Canon fw
2. enable the boot flag on the/all cards that should have ml
3. copy the ml files - mainly autoexec.bin - to the/all cards.

Cheer Marsu, grateful for your advice as ever.

 

[Rocky]

Can't they just make it a M9 equivalent for a quarter of the price of the Leica? I still want a "full frame" range finder with manual focus, optical viewfinder and two or three small, fast standard lenses (28, 55, 90). Shouldn't be too hard and would sell like hotcakes I assume.

And they could indeed recycle their FD mount with that.

Canon was making Japanese version (even with better feature) of M4 until 1969 (?). The price difference at that time is only less than 25% or less. Now you want Canon to make a version of M9 for 1/4 of M9. That will be a very nice dream.

 

[wickidwombat]

but in all seriousness magic lantern has made this a pretty decent little unit for certain uses
that is anything that does not involve remotely strenuous AF

How stable is ML on the M wickid?
Does it unlock the 4GB limitation... I really want an M for discreet video, and if it can be hacked to allow longer run times (without messing with quality) then I'd be in.

I've been running the alpha for a while now and it still spilts vids into 4GB parts but i think thats a FAT thing isnt it? it does automatically restart so you get continuous video just in 4GB blocks.

It gets pretty hot when running for a while i havent really recorded longer than an hour continuously, i've used it with the samyang 8mm to record a few wedding ceremonies now and i'm happy with the performance.
the focus peaking and othe ML features are awesome too and it has a really nice clear screen.
I think with the recent price drops this little guy is pretty sweet light weight vid cam with ML on it
I like it how when you format the card it automatically reinstalls the ML files
I havent had any issues with the alpha ML so far

 

[Kelt0901]

Hi all, first post here. I bought this kit with an EOS adaptor, it was to replace my well used G9. I am very happy with the M, it is a vast improvement over my G9. This is used as a PS and exceeds my expectations, perhaps I am now at 67 years, easily pleased. Know the limitations and just take photos. The image quality is exceptional.
I would love a FF Mirror less and be able to use my L series lenses with it. I won’t be holding my breath waiting; it would kill a lot of DSLR sales.
I got it out of Hong Kong for about A$400.00 cheaper than the best local Australian price.
Good points It takes great photos.
Bad points Physically too small for big hands.
No viewfinder.
Slow AF but, very usable.

 

[paul13walnut5]

but in all seriousness magic lantern has made this a pretty decent little unit for certain uses
that is anything that does not involve remotely strenuous AF

How stable is ML on the M wickid?
Does it unlock the 4GB limitation... I really want an M for discreet video, and if it can be hacked to allow longer run times (without messing with quality) then I'd be in.

I've been running the alpha for a while now and it still spilts vids into 4GB parts but i think thats a FAT thing isnt it? it does automatically restart so you get continuous video just in 4GB blocks.

It gets pretty hot when running for a while i havent really recorded longer than an hour continuously, i've used it with the samyang 8mm to record a few wedding ceremonies now and i'm happy with the performance.
the focus peaking and othe ML features are awesome too and it has a really nice clear screen.
I think with the recent price drops this little guy is pretty sweet light weight vid cam with ML on it
I like it how when you format the card it automatically reinstalls the ML files
I havent had any issues with the alpha ML so far

Thanks for sharing wickid, all useful to know.
You hit the nail on the head, I knew we are stuck with fat32 limitations at the back of my head, it was the contiguous recording I tried and failed to articulate.

How instantaneous is the new clip? Do you drop any frames between clips or can they be edited together seamlessly?

Many thanks

 

[Marsu42]

I've been running the alpha for a while now and it still spilts vids into 4GB parts but i think thats a FAT thing isnt it? it does automatically restart so you get continuous video just in 4GB blocks.

No, it's a fat32 thing (fixed by formatting the card with the new exfat filesystem in windows, then you can dump 4g+ files on the card) *and* a firmware restriction to protect the "real" video cameras and for tax reasons in the european union. At least on my 60d, it stops at 4gb or 30min, whichever comes first.

How instantaneous is the new clip? Do you drop any frames between clips or can they be edited together seamlessly?

You definitely loose frames, how much may depend on the camera model - it's like having the software pressing the "record" button as fast as it can. Any you always *could* just try ml yourself and then see

 

[Sella174]

The future of EOS M ... none.

In my opinion Canon should (a) chuck the EF-M system, (b) join the m4/3 consortium, and (c) make a functional EF-to-m43 translation adapter.

 

[Hobby Shooter]

The future of EOS M ... none.

In my opinion Canon should (a) chuck the EF-M system, (b) join the m4/3 consortium, and (c) make a functional EF-to-m43 translation adapter.

You'd think that until they own the market in two years.

 

[Sella174]

You'd think that until they own the market in two years.

Which market? Mirrorless as a whole, or just m4/3?

 

[Hobby Shooter]

You'd think that until they own the market in two years.

Which market? Mirrorless as a whole, or just m4/3?

;D