Introduction

Ease of Use

Initial impressions of the new Canon EOS M3 are mostly favourable. Despite being one of the smaller compact system cameras currently on the block, the camera feels reassuringly solid and weighty when held in the palm (measuring 110.9 x 68.0 x 44.4 mm and weighing 366g), particularly so when the metal construction 18-55mm kit zoom is screwed into place via the EF-M mount. For a suggested total spend of a reasonable £599.99 / €799.99 for body and optic (much cheaper than the original EOS M on launch), this lens offers the 35mm equivalent focal range of 28-88mm.

Unlike a DSLR and most CSCs, we did manage to squeeze the EOS M3 with zoom attached into a jacket pocket, despite it not being particularly comfortable to do so. Our black version also had a slightly roughened non-slip feel to its surface subconsciously recalling a pro-grade DSLR. Canon have seen fit to add a proper handgrip to the EOS M3, something that was sorely missing from the original version, making it feel much more like a "proper" camera for enthusiasts.

Of course it’s what’s inside that counts and here the ‘jewel’ is an enthusiast pleasing APS-C sized sensor pumping out 24.2 megapixel images, with the choice of shooting in 14-bit Raw as well as JPEG, or both in combination. Choose any Raw option though and you miss out on the ability to automatically apply digital filter effects in camera - those options are simply de-selected on the EOS M3’s on-screen tool bar. Rival APS-C sensor incorporating CSCs include offerings from Sony, Samsung and Fujifilm.

The LCD on the back of the Canon now tilts, up 180 degrees and down 45 degrees, although it cannot be swiveled to the side. The LCD is three inches in size and boasts a high 1040K dot resolution. Furthermore it’s a touch screen, though you wouldn’t automatically know it from looks alone, as we also get the basic physical controls ranged alongside it. Otherwise the EOS M3 layout is pretty much business as normal for a consumer level compact camera.

The other obvious thing this Canon has going for it is that it is an ‘EOS’. This means in theory that users can utilize any of its manufacturer’s 70+ EF lenses and accessories, the former screwed into place with the aid of an adapter ring, albeit with a resultant ‘front heavy’ appearance. There’s also the fact that said adapter costs an additional £160. Also shared with EOS DSLRs in the Digic 6 processor that makes up the guts of the EOS M3, and the fact that sensor cleaning takes automatically place upon powering down the camera; not something typically witnessed with competing CSCs.

Front of the Canon EOS M3

There is now a pop-up flash built into the EOS M3’s body, rather than the 90EX Speedlite that shipped in some EOS M kits. The EOS M3's flash is more convenient, but only has a weak guide number of 5, along with a recycle time of 3 seconds.

From the front then, the EOS M3 more closely resembles a PowerShot camera than an EOS DSLR, rounded corners stopping it looking completely boxy and in fact going one further and imbuing it with a smidgeon of style. The form factor is compact enough that the EF-M lens mount swallows up roughly half of the faceplate, with tiny left and right stereo microphones on either side, a porthole for a self-timer/AF assist lamp located top right, and beneath that a springy and obvious lens release button.

Left of the lens is located the new chunky handgrip. Comfortably, the shutter release button, which is encircled by a control dial, is positioned both forward of the top plate and on a section that dips down and slopes slightly forward. When holding the camera in the right hand your forefinger therefore automatically slips onto these ergonomic controls. So, once the camera is powered up, your fingers are suitably positioned to immediately fire off the first shot. Alongside is the new M-Fn button, which can be usefully assigned to one of 15 different functions.

Canon have greatly expanded the options on the top-mounted shooting mode dial with 11 settings in total, no longer hiding the main PASM options away. ‘Scene Intelligent Auto’ is still the camera’s default setting which, as it sounds, is pretty much point-and-shoot all the way, the EOS M3 recognizing common scenes and subjects – which it does consistently and reliably – and optimizing the results for you. Hybrid Auto, Creative Assist, Scene modes, and a range of creative Effects round off the options for beginners.

Rear of the Canon EOS M3

The program, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual options are also now featured on the shooting mode dial, another nod to the EOS M3's attempt to appeal to more experienced photographers. There's even a new Custom option so that you can save and quickly recall your favourite camera settings. The EOS M3 also now has a new dial on top for adjusting exposure, the options running +/- 3EV.

A press of the actual ‘Q.Set’ button on the backplate, or the small ‘Q icon top right of screen in the above modes, and we’re also presented with a range of ‘Picture Style’ settings familiar from Canon DSLRs, for in-camera adjustment of shots pre-capture. The ‘Picture Style’ selection comprises Auto, Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, plus three further user definable settings. Sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone can be individually adjusted for each. White balance and metering modes can further be manually selected if the user has chosen one of the P,A,S,M modes. Metering options comprise evaluative metering, partial metering, spot metering, and centre weighted average.

As one might expect, there are several video quality selections to choose from, running the gamut from the Full HD 1920x1080 pixels at a maximum 30 frames per second, stepping down to the industry standard 25fps and 24fps as our next options, and then on to 1280x720 pixels at a cinematic 50fps as a further choice. The lowest resolution video option is a bog-standard 640x480 pixels, though again at 25fps.

A press of the top plate on/off button, which is recessed level with the bodywork, powers the camera up for action in around two seconds. Squeeze the shutter release button and the EOS M3 now focuses in under 1/2 second, much quicker than the original EOS M. Whether you’re shooting a highest resolution JPEG or JPEG and Raw in combination, there’s barely a noticeable difference in the time it takes to commit either to removable media – here an SD card of every description, sharing a compartment with the rechargeable lithium ion battery at the base.

Top of the Canon EOS M3

With the vacant flash hotshoe and embedded mono speaker rounding off the top plate features, the rest of the controls on the backplate of the EOS M3 likewise look familiar – or will do so to anyone used to a digital snapshot camera of any description.

A subtly curved thumb pad sits top right of the rear panel, whilst small video record and playback buttons rest to the right of it. The action of these is commendably stiff, so avoiding inadvertent recording or playback when you’re merely in the process of attempting to establish a firm hold of the EOS M3.

Directly beneath are AEL and Focus Area buttons, both very welcome additions that once again are designed to appeal to more experienced users. Sitting beneath we have the multi-directional control dial and surrounding scroll wheel we’ve already touched upon. Ranged around this are ISO speed, Flash, Delete and Manual Focus options. At the very centre is the ‘Q.Set’ button for implementing the various changes applied throughout the course of handling the camera, and exploring the options offered within, again as previously described above.

The EOS M3's wi-fi capabilities allow you to share images during playback via the Up button on the navigation pad. Simply enter a nickname for the camera and five more icons then appear, connecting the EOS M3 to another camera, a smartphone, a computer, a printer and the Internet respectively. Setup is relatively straight-forward for each scenario, although you'll need a basic understanding of the protocols involved. Note that you need to install the dedicated and free Canon CameraWindow app to connect the EOS M3 to an iOS or Android device.

Tilting LCD Screen

The EOS M3's wi-fi functionality is employed to tag your images with GPS data recorded by your smartphone ( latitude, longitude, altitude and shooting time) via the Canon CameraWindow app, which effectively replaces a more conventional built-in GPS system. We actually prefer having GPS built-in to the camera rather than having to sync it with an additional device, so in this regard the EOS M3 doesn't compare well with rivals that offer this feature, although it does side-step the issue of negatively affecting battery life. The EOS M3 also features NFC (Near Field Communication) technology (the same technology that's used for mobile payments), which allows you to connect it to a compatible Internet enabled device or another NFC-enabled camera by simply tapping them together.

The Info button toggles through the various display modes on the LCD screen, including a useful control panel that, as the camera is touch-sensitive, makes it easy to quickly change the key settings. The Menu button calls up the sort of screen selection and near enough the exact same layout that, unsurprisingly, one would nowadays see on a consumer level DSLR such as the 750/760D, with a series of folders covering both basic camera operation and set up; a lot of the camera options obviously doubling up on the on-screen icons and options presented when in the various shooting modes, as we’ve previously described.

With lugs for attaching a camera strap provided either side of the EOS M3, on the left hand flank – if viewing the camera from the back as the user will be doing when engaged in operation – we find not only the expected AV/USB output, but also one for supplementary microphone. Joining them is a new switch for popping-up the built-in flash, and a logo denoting the camera's NF connectivity. On the right flank is the HDMI port.

The base of the camera meanwhile features a screw thread located directly behind the lens mount for the attachment of a tripod, and, over to one edge we naturally get the compartment for media card and battery. Unlike an increasing number of compact system cameras, we do actually get a standalone mains charger with the EOS M3, so the battery can be removed and charged independently of the body. Which means that if you do sensibly invest in a spare, the camera isn’t tied up each time you need to re-charge.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 24 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 8Mb.

The Canon EOS M3 produced images of excellent quality during the review period. This camera produces noise-free JPEG images from ISO 100 all the way up to ISO 1600, with noise first appearing at ISO 3200. The faster settings of 6400 and 12800 display relatively little noise, certainly suitable for small prints and web images. The JPEG images were a little soft straight out of the camera using the default Picture Style and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera setting. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The night photograph was very good, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds and the Bulb mode allowing you to capture enough light in all situations. The different Picture Styles and the ability to create your own are a real benefit, as are the extensive range of digital filter effects, all of which can be previewed before you take the shot.

Noise

ISO sensitivity can be set between ISO 100 and ISO 12800 in full-stop increments. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting, with JPEG on the left and the RAW equivalent on the right.

JPEG	RAW
ISO 100 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)
ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 200 (100% Crop)
ISO 400 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)
ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 800 (100% Crop)
ISO 1600 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)
ISO 3200 (100% Crop)	ISO 3200 (100% Crop)
ISO 6400 (100% Crop)	ISO 6400 (100% Crop)
ISO 12800 (100% Crop)	ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

Sharpening

The out-of-camera JPEGs are quite soft and at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can also change the in-camera sharpening level to suit your tastes via the Picture Style options.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

File Quality

The Canon EOS M3 has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

16M Fine (8.48Mb) (100% Crop)	16M Normal (5.00Mb) (100% Crop)
16M RAW (32.2Mb) (100% Crop)

Flash

The flash settings on the EOS M are Auto, Manual Flash On/Off, and Red-Eye Reduction. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (29mm)	Flash On - Wide Angle (29mm)
Flash Off - Telephoto (88mm)	Flash On - Telephoto (88mm)

And here are a couple of portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On setting nor the Red-Eye Reduction option caused any amount of red-eye.

Flash On	Flash On (100% Crop)
Red-eye Reduction	Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Canon EOS M3's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds and there's a Bulb mode for even longer exposures, which is excellent news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 30 seconds ISO 100.

Night	Night (100% Crop)

Picture Styles

Canon's Picture Controls, similarly to Nikon's Picture Styles, are preset combinations of different sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone settings. The six available Picture Controls are shown below in the following series, which demonstrates the differences. There are also three User Defined styes so that you can create your own look.

Standard	Portrait
Landscape	Neutral
Faithful	Monochrome

Creative Filters

The Creative Filters shooting mode contains 8 different options to help spice up your images.

HDR	Fish-eye
Art Bold	Water Painting
Miniature	Toy Camera
Soft Focus	Grainy B/W

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Canon EOS M3 camera, which were all taken using the 24 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Canon EOS M3 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Canon RAW (CR2) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

Product Images

Front of the Canon EOS M3

Front of the Canon EOS M3

Front of the Canon EOS M3 / Pop-up Flash

Side of the Canon EOS M3

Side of the Canon EOS M3

Side of the Canon EOS M3

Side of the Canon EOS M3

Rear of the Canon EOS M3

Rear of the Canon EOS M3 / Turned On

Rear of the Canon EOS M3 / Image Displayed

Rear of the Canon EOS M3 / Quick Menu

Rear of the Canon EOS M3 / Main Menu

Tilting LCD Screen

Tilting LCD Screen

Tilting LCD Screen

Top of the Canon EOS M3

Top of the Canon EOS M3

Top of the Canon EOS M3

Bottom of the Canon EOS M3

Side of the Canon EOS M3

Side of the Canon EOS M3

Front of the Canon EOS M3

Front of the Canon EOS M3

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The new Canon EOS M3 is a much more serious compact system camera than the original EOS M that we reviewed back in 2012. It offers a raft of improvements clearly aimed at making it more enthusiast-friendly, along with a big reduction in the launch price. Still, there are some rather big flies in the ointment which mean that the EOS M3 lags behind the mirrorless competition, most notably the lack of a built-in viewfinder and the continued lack of native EF-M lenses. While the EOS M3 is undoubtedly a much better camera than the EOS M, it still seems that Canon aren't fully committed to producing a complete mirrorless system, so much so that we'd recommend you consider offerings from Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic and Olympus instead, all of whom are fully invested in compact system cameras.

Having said that, the EOS M3 is still a good camera, and if you already have a number of EOS lenses, it's a logical choice if you want to reduced the size of the overall system. With the addition of a much faster AF system, control and exposure compensation dials, bigger handgrip and a tilting LCD screen, more experienced photographers will find much to like. It really does need an integrated viewfinder, though - the days of buying an expensive EVF that takes up the flash hotshoe are long gone when all of the EOS M3's principal rivals have one built-in, in a similar body size and at the same price-point. In terms of image quality, the EOS M3 happily fits the bill, with the new 24.2 megapixel sensor delivering very pleasing images throughout the ISO range.

At £599.99 / €799.99, the EOS M3 is much cheaper than the original EOS M was when it first launched 3 years ago, but then the EOS M3's rivals have also dropped in price too. So although Canon have made the new EOS M3 much more competitive and better suited to enthusiasts, we feel that its appeal is still limited to EOS shooters with a bag of EF lenses looking for a smaller second body. Canon haven't caught up with the mirrorless competition, either in terms of the EOS M3 as a standalone camera, or the EOS M system as a whole...

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4
Ease-of-use	3.5
Image quality	4
Value for money	3.5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Canon EOS M3.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Canon EOS M3 from around the web.

Specifications

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