Canon EOS M Review

December 17, 2012 | Gavin Stoker | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Introduction

The Canon EOS M is the very first compact system camera from Canon, who are the last major manufacturer to release a mirrorless model. The EOS M has an 18-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, new EOS M lens mount, a touch-screen interface, Full 1080p HD Movie mode, ISO 100-12800 (expandable to ISO 25600), a 3-inch 1,040,000-dot LCD monitor, and a flash hot-shoe. The Canon EOS M is available in four different colours (black, silver, white and red) with the new EF-M 22mm f/2 STM kit lens for $799.99 / £879.99 / €1,049.99, with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens for £769.99 / €909.99, and a two-lens kit for £949.99 / €1,129.99. All kits will ship with the new Speedlite 90EX flash as standard.

Ease of Use

Considering Panasonic launched the first ever mirror-less compact system camera (CSC) in the Lumix DMC-G1 in September 2008 – back when we were still referring to such models as ‘hybrids’ – and even Nikon is on its second generation ‘1’ system cameras now, Canon has taken an absolute age in a fast-changing market to come up with its (so far) single response in the equally mirror-less EOS M.

Is this camera, which more obviously resembles one of Canon’s Power-shots than an EOS DSLR from which it borrows at least part of its name, too little too late? Or, going by the metal-bodied solid-feel chassis we currently hold in our hand, has the company cleverly bided its time and delivered a product that in one fell swoop will blow the increasingly fierce competition out of the water?

Perhaps sensibly, given a level of expectation that has been building over four long years since Panasonic started the mirror-less ball rolling, the EOS M arrived to very little initial fanfare from its maker. Certainly its launch here in the UK was very low-key compared to the pan European and pan-global unveilings its rivals afforded their own CSC debuts. So is this because Canon wanted to lower our expectations and then leave us pleasantly surprised, or because – as is the case when movie studios suspect they have a dud on their hands – did the lack of early preview samples signal that the EOS M wasn’t something to get overly excited about?

Thankfully now that we have finally got one to play with, initial impressions are mostly favourable – at least as regards the black version we were sent. Despite being one of the smallest compact system cameras currently on the block, and comparable in that respect to the Nikon J2, the camera feels reassuringly solid and weighty when held in the palm – and particularly so when the metal construction 18-55mm kit zoom is crewed into place via the new EF-M mount. For a suggested total spend of a pricey £769.99 for body and optic, this lens offers the 35mm equivalent focal range of 28-88mm, plus there is additionally a 22mm ‘pancake’ optic available for those wanting to maintain the most slender profile possible.

Unlike a DSLR and most CSCs, we did manages to squeeze the EOS M 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. This is a bonus as there is not otherwise much in the way of what could be termed a handgrip on the EOS M, save for a narrow raised strip at the front which doesn’t even extend the height of the faceplate.

Of course it’s what’s inside that counts and here the ‘jewel’ is an enthusiast pleasing APS-C sized sensor pumping out 18 megapixel images, with the choice of shooting in 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 M’s on-screen tool bar. Rival APS-C sensor incorporating CSCs of course include Sony’s NEX range, the Samsung NX family and the Fuji X series (in the X-Pro1 and X-E1) to name but three.

Olympus mju 9000 Olympus mju 9000
Front Rear

It’s also worth mentioning that while the LCD on the back of the Canon is fixed, so unfortunately cannot be swiveled or tilted as we’d have ideally liked in the absence of an optical or electronic viewfinder, it is both three inches in size and boasts a massive 1040K dot resolution which has the benefit of making any shot look immediately amazing.

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. Apart from just three choices being offered on the shooting mode dial, otherwise the EOS M 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 – bringing total spend in just shy of £1000. Of course alternatively you could buy an EOS 650D and a couple of lenses for that outlay, and still have change. Also shared with EOS DSLRs in the Digic 5 processor that makes up the guts of the EOS M, and the fact that sensor cleaning takes automatically place upon powering down the camera; not something typically witnessed with competing CSCs.

There is no flash built into the EOS M’s body however. Instead a plastic clip-on variety – the 90EX Speedlite – that is admittedly of higher build quality than alternative supplementary flashes provided with competing Sony NEX or Olympus Pen models, is bundled in the box of the £769.99 kit version. This slides deftly into position on the vacant hotshoe, with a locking mechanism provided on the unit itself. The cool-looking 90EX also comes with its own on/off button and integral battery, and charges up almost immediately it’s summoned into action.

From the front then, the EOS M 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 new EF-M lens mount swallows up roughly half of the faceplate, with a porthole for a self-timer/AF assist lamp located top right, and beneath that a springy and obvious lens release button. Underneath this again we have a low-key black-on-black EOS logo.

Top left of the lens and beneath the hand painted Canon logo is located that narrow raised leather-effect sliver of rubber masquerading as a handgrip. Comfortably, the shutter release button, which is encircled by the shooting mode 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.

Olympus mju 9000 Olympus mju 9000
Flash Top

Rather than cram this shooting mode dial with eight or 10 settings, Canon has pared it back to what can barely be described as the ‘essentials’. There are three settings – two for stills, and one for video – and that’s it. The two photo settings are, firstly, for ‘Scene Intelligent Auto’ – the camera’s default setting which, as it sounds, is pretty much point-and-shoot all the way, the EOS M recognizing common scenes and subjects – which it does consistently and reliably – and optimizing the results for you. The second setting on the dial, manual controls looking conspicuously absent at this stage, is for ‘Creative Auto’.

This mode is actually where the program, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual options are ‘hidden’, though the first thing we’re presented with on selecting Creative Auto is a range of digital filter effects. It seems that, with the EOS M, Canon is really attempting to ensnare the mass consumer market and those trading up from a pocket snapshot or a smartphone wanting better quality shots, rather than its photo enthusiast heartland per se. At first glance the EOS looks and feels unthreatening, and that is deliberately so.

Indeed, press the four-way control pad at the rear of the camera, or spin the scroll wheel that surrounds it, and it would appear at first that Creative Auto doesn’t actually offer as much ‘creativity’ as one might expect for a camera in the region of £700.

However don’t walk away just yet. Press the ‘Q Set’ button at the centre of this backplate pad and via the on-screen options you can choose the AF method – either face recognition/subject tracking, multi zone or single point AF – and select image quality and compression level. The latter ranges from Large compression level, full resolution JPEG through to Small 720x480 pixels JPEG, along with Raw and JPEG plus Raw capture options. You can also select the flash options, though these are limited to auto flash, forced fill-in flash, or off. There’s additionally the ability to blur the background of a shot selectively using an incremental four stage on-screen slider to determine the degree of de-focusing.

Next up at the bottom of the same on-screen toolbar are the seven creative filters, which admittedly are fun and effective in smaller doses. Provided here are a grainy B&W option, the self-explanatory soft focus, the perspective warping fish eye effect, a vivid ‘art bold’ effect, a washed out ‘water painting’ effect that is rather insipid, a ‘toy camera’ Lomo-like vignetting effect, and the ubiquitous tilt and shift lens ape-ing miniature effect, which provides a narrow band within which the image is sharply focused. Users can shift this focus area selector up or down the screen, thereby biasing a particular portion of the shot.

It’s only after playing with the camera for a little while that it becomes apparent that a finger tap of the ‘CA’ mode icon in the top left of the LCD screen reveals a hidden cornucopia of further shooting modes.

At first those revealed are rather uninspiring scene mode-type icons for portrait or landscape shots, close up images, sports, night portrait, handheld night scene, plus a backlight adjustment/HDR feature which takes three consecutive shots to even up otherwise tricky exposures. It’s only when you come to the end of tabbing through these options with successive finger prods that the hands-on quartet of manual, aperture priority, shutter priority and program finally reveal themselves. Apart from the obvious, it’s only in these modes that we appear to be able to manually adjust the likes of ISO, and again this is with a finger tap of an on-screen icon rather than the press of any ‘hard’ control. Here light sensitivity runs incrementally from ISO100 through to ISO12800, which isn’t a bad range by any consumer camera standards.There's even a faster boosted setting of ISO 25600 buried deep within the menu system.

Olympus mju 9000 Olympus mju 9000
Side Side

In the above modes we’re also entrusted with an on-screen slider 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.

Flick the shooting mode dial around to the video option meanwhile and access to exposure compensation is provided here too, whilst likewise carried over to the moving image are manual white balance and Picture Style settings. As with Canon point and shoots, its maker has also provided a ‘video snapshot’ feature here that, when enabled, shoots four second bursts of video and no longer. As with any touch screen device, it’s easy to accidentally adjust certain settings just in the process of handling the camera. Thus we found ourselves scratching our heads on one occasion as to why our video clip recordings were suddenly cutting out prematurely, until we twigged that ‘video snapshot’ had erroneously been turned on.

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 25 frames per second, stepping down to the industry standard 24fps as our next option, 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.

It’s worth obviously mentioning in all of this that 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 there’s a second or so whilst the EOS M focuses, image momentarily blurring as relayed to the LCD before finally snapping into focus. As other reviewers have remarked, this response could be quicker – and certainly it’s no match for one of Canon’s own DSLRs, despite the inclusion of the Digic 5 processor. 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.

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

Olympus mju 9000 Olympus mju 9000
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

A subtly curved thumb pad sits top right of the rear panel, whilst a small video record button rests to the right of it. The action of this is commendably stiff, so avoiding inadvertent recording when you’re merely in the process of attempting to establish a firm hold of the EOS M.

Directly beneath the video record button are self-explanatory menu and playback buttons. ‘Menu’ 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 550D, 600D or 650D, 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.

Sitting beneath Menu and playback buttons we have the multi-directional control dial and surrounding scroll wheel we’ve also already touched upon. Ranged around this are self-timer and continuous shooting options, plus exposure compensation and image deletion controls. At the very centre is of course that ‘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 very bottom of the EOS M’s backplate is where we find a button marked ‘info’ – which is basically the display button. A press of this either selectively removes on-screen icons, should you want a clearer, unimpeded view of your photographic quarry, and replaces them with a subsequent press.

With lugs for attaching a camera strap provided either side of the EOS M, 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 separate AV/USB output and HDMI ports, but also one for supplementary microphone. 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 M, 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.

Though it takes time to find where everything is on the EOS M, and the more point and shoot aspects of the camera seem to have been pushed to the fore at the expense of the more obvious ‘enthusiast’ attributes, both are present and correct.

The menu system blends point and shoot style accessibility with the more labyrinthine choices afforded to DSLR users, so perhaps it was never going to be a totally happy and quirk-free marriage. However, once you have familiarized yourself with this unusual blend, then the riches of the EOS M begin to reveal themselves. Can the same be said of the images and videos it delivers though? Things look good on paper thanks to that APS-C sensor, but how does it strut its stuff in practice? Click forward to our next section to find out…

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 18 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 6Mb.

Using the 18-55mm kit zoom in the main on the EOS M we were very impressed with the quality achievable at various focal lengths, with consistently pin sharp results and some lovely DSLR-like shallow depth of field effects achievable, even without resorting to dragging on-screen toolbar icons left or right to achieve similar. We were playing with the EOS M at the same time as Sony’s equally new (and similarly priced) NEX-6 with 16-50mm power zoom and the Canon would seem to have the edge for crispness of detail.

With detail retained reasonably well into the corners at maximum wide angle – if our white wall test shots do reveal a very slight fish eye effect - inevitably familiar compact camera bugbears such as purple pixel fringing rear their head between areas of high contrast in an image, but as this is to be expected it is hardly a deal breaker. And, on default ‘Standard’ picture setting the Canon EOS M delivers some lovely colour tones that are pleasantly warm-ish without being unrealistically so. It’s worth remembering that the picture effects can only be used when shooting JPEGs, not Raw files, either singularly or in combination with JPEGs.

In terms of low light shots, though the top whack setting of ISO25600 produces very gritty looking images, detail is fairly well maintained and the tell-tale watercolour look usually seen at higher ISOs is well avoided. Indeed the appearance of shots at this setting are better than many cheaper compacts can manage at the lower ISO1600, with the larger sensor here obviously strutting its stuff. At ISO1600 on the Canon, the appearance is similar to what smaller sized compacts manage at ISO800, so this is the setting to go for if you want the best compromise between noise and low light detail. Not a bad result for a compact camera of any description.

Noise

ISO sensitivity can be set between ISO 100 and ISO 12800 in full-stop increments, and a boosted setting of ISO 25600 is also available. 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)

   

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

ISO 25600 (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)

   

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)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (88mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (88mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

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 M'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 1/2 seconds ISO 6400.

Night

Night (100% Crop)

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Canon EOS M camera, which were all taken using the 18 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 M 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

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 25 frames per second. Please note that this 33 second movie is 180Mb in size.

Product Images

Canon EOS 650D

Front of the Camera

 
Canon EOS 650D

Front of the Camera / Flash Attached

 
Canon EOS 650D

Front of the Camera

 
Canon EOS 650D

Front of the Camera

 
Canon EOS 650D

Isometric View

 
Canon EOS 650D

Isometric View

 
Canon EOS 650D

Top of the Camera

 
Canon EOS 650D

Bottom of the Camera

 
Canon EOS 650D

Side of the Camera

 
Canon EOS 650D

Side of the Camera

 
Canon EOS 650D

Front of the Camera

 
Canon EOS 650D

Rear of the Camera

 
Canon EOS 650D

Top of the Camera

 
Canon EOS 650D

Memory Card Slot

 
Canon EOS 650D

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

Canon’s debut take on a compact system camera in the EOS M was always going to generate big interest, even if its own manufacturer’s introduction of it has seemed oddly muted and lacking in fanfare to date. Is the reason obvious because Canon simply wants to avoid cannibalising sales of its own DSLRs and the likes of the PowerShot G15 with the EOS M, or will a bigger promotional push come early in the New Year?

Whatever the backroom thought processes, we are left with a reasonably successful if slightly quirky blending of a Canon PowerShot camera with one of its newer consumer DSLRs, such as the 650D. Perhaps that is what any CSC from Canon was always going to be, in spite of the long wait we suffered before its arrival. For what we get the EOS M still feels pricey though, particularly when a similar outlay will get you a Wi-Fi equipped model possibly with an integral viewfinder from one of the competitors.

In conclusion it is the picture quality that counts however, and we were pleasantly surprised and impressed with the output from the EOS M. If you want EOS quality, yet from a smaller form factor, whilst not perfect in every single regard (and which ‘first attempt’ ever is?), this camera can deliver.

4 stars

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

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Canon EOS M from around the web.

techradar.com »

Canon hasn't exactly been quick out of the blocks in the race to launch compact system cameras and its first, the EOS M, comes four years after Panasonic kicked-off the whole shebang back in September 2008 with the launch of the Lumix G1.
Read the full review »

trustedreviews.com »

The compact system camera market has, by some distance, been the fastest growing segment within the digital camera market in the past few years, and while most of the major manufacturers have rushed to get on board and share the spoils the one notable exception has been Canon. That changed earlier in the year when the company announced it was planning to launch the EOS M. From the beginning Canon has made it quite clear that the EOS M isn’t targeted at traditional or existing Canon DSLR users, but rather at attracting new users into the EOS system, with the camera primarily aimed at novice, first-time users.
Read the full review »

cameralabs.com »

The EOS M is Canon's long-awaited entry into the mirror-less compact system camera market. Announced in July 2012 it employs an 18 Megapixel APS-C sensor and a new EF-M lens mount with a 1.6x field-reduction factor. Canon launched the format with two native M-mount lenses, a 22mm f2 pancake prime (35mm equivalent) and an 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 stabilized zoom (29-88mm equivalent), both of which feature STM stepper motors for quick and quiet movie AF. Meanwhile, the entire Canon EF and EF-S lens catalogue is supported with autofocus and auto exposure using the optional EF-EOS M adapter.
Read the full review »

petapixel.com »

Canon made its loyal customers wait quite a long time before it finally joined the mirrorless camera revolution, announcing the Canon EOS M back in June. The camera comes nearly four years after Panasonic kicked things off by “friending” Olympus - forming the Micro Four Thirds alliance - and introducing the Lumix DMC-G1, making Canon the last major DSLR maker to join the fray.
Read the full review »

Specifications

IMAGE SENSOR

Type 22.3 x 14.9mm CMOS
Effective Pixels Approx. 18.0 megapixels
Total Pixels Approx. 18.5 megapixels
Aspect Ratio 3:2
Low-Pass Filter Built-in/Fixed
Sensor Cleaning EOS integrated cleaning system
Colour Filter Type Primary Colour

IMAGE PROCESSOR

Type DIGIC 5

LENS

Lens Mount EF-M (EF and EF-S lenses compatible via Mount adapter EF-EOS M)
Focal Length Equivalent to 1.6x the focal length of the lens

FOCUSING

Type Hybrid CMOS AF System. Phase detection pixels built onto imaging sensor
AF System/ Points 31 AF points (Maximum)
AF Working Range EV 1-18 (at 23°C & ISO 100)
AF Modes One-Shot AF and Servo AF
AF Point Selection Automatic selection (Face detection and Tracking AF, FlexiZone-Multi, FlexiZone-Single), Manual selection
Selected AF Point Display Indicated on LCD monitor
Predictive AF -
AF Lock Locked when shutter button is pressed half way
AF Assist Beam Yes LED
Manual Focus Select on camera menu AF (Auto), MF (Manual), or AF+MF (Manual focus after One-Shot)

EXPOSURE CONTROL

Metering Modes Real-time metering from the image sensor
(1) Evaluative metering
(2) Partial metering at center
(3) Spot metering
(4) Center weighted average metering
Metering Range EV 1-20 (at 23°C with EF-M 22mm f/2 STM ISO100)
AE Lock Auto: In One-shot AF mode with evaluative metering exposure is locked when focus is achieved.
Manual: By AE lock button in creative zone modes.
Exposure Compensation '+/-3 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments (can be combined with AEB).
AEB '3 shots +/- 2 EV, 1/2 or 1/3-stop increments
ISO Sensitivity* AUTO(100-6400), 100-12800 in 1-stop increments
ISO can be expandable to H: 25600)

SHUTTER

Type Electronic first curtain and mechanical second curtain shutter
Speed 30-1/4000 sec (1/2 or 1/3 stop increments), Bulb (Total shutter speed range. Available range varies by shooting mode)

WHITE BALANCE

Type Auto white balance with the imaging sensor
Settings AWB, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, White
Fluorescent light, Flash, Custom.
White balance compensation:
1. Blue/Amber +/-9
2. Magenta/ Green +/-9.
Custom White Balance Yes, 1 setting can be registered
WB Bracketing '+/-3 levels in single level increments
3 bracketed images per shutter release.
Selectable Blue/Amber bias or Magenta/ Green bias.

LCD MONITOR

Type Touch screen 7.7cm (3.0") 3:2 Clear View LCD II, approx. 1040K dots
Coverage Approx. 100%
Viewing Angle (Horizontally/Vertically) Approx 170°
Coating Anti smudge
Brightness Adjustment Adjustable to one of seven levels
Display Options (1) Quick Control Screen
(2) Liveview image no information
(3) Liveview image full info
(4) Liveview image basic info

FLASH

Built-in Flash GN (ISO 100, meters) None
X-Sync 1/200sec
Flash Exposure Compensation '+/- 2EV in 1/2 or 1/3 increments
Flash Exposure Bracketing Yes, with compatible External Flash
Flash Exposure Lock Yes
Second Curtain Synchronisation Yes
HotShoe/ PC Terminal Yes/ No
External Flash Compatibility E-TTL II with EX series Speedlites, wireless multi-flash support
External Flash Control Via camera menu screen

SHOOTING

Modes Scene Intelligent Auto mode
Still mode (Creative Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up,
Sports, Night Portrait, Handheld Night Scene,
HDR Backlight Control, Program AE , Shutter
priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual)Movie mode
(Auto exposure mode, Manual exposure mode)
Picture Styles Auto, Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful,
Monochrome, User Defined (x3)
Colour Space sRGB and Adobe RGB
Image Processing Highlight Tone Priority
Auto Lighting Optimizer (4 settings)
Long exposure noise reduction
High ISO speed noise reduction (4 settings)
Multi Shot Noise Reduction
Auto Correction of Lens Peripheral illumination
and Chromatic aberration
Basic+ (Shoot by ambience selection, Shoot by
lighting or scene type)
Creative filters (Art Bold, Water painting, Grainy B/W,
Soft focus, Toy camera, Miniature effect, Fish-eye)
Drive Modes Single, Continuous, Self timer (2s, 10s+remote, 10s +
continuous shots 2-10)
Continuous Shooting Max. Approx. 4.3fps for approx. 17 JPEG images¹, 6 images RAW²³

FILE TYPE

Still Image Type JPEG: Fine, Normal (Exif 2.30 compliant) / Design rule for Camera
File system (2.0),
RAW: RAW (14bit, Canon original RAW 2nd edition),
Digital Print Order Format [DPOF] Version 1.1 compliant
RAW+JPEG Simultaneous Recording Yes, RAW + Large JPEG
Image Size JPEG 3:2: (L) 5184x3456, (M) 3456x2304, (S1) 2592x1728, (S2) 1920x1280, (S3) 720x480
JPEG 4:3: (L) 4608x3456, (M) 3072x2304, (S1) 2304x1728, (S2) 1696x1280, (S3) 640x480
JPEG 16:9: (L) 5184x2912, (M) 3456x1944, (S1) 2592x1456 (S2) 1920x1080, (S3) 720x400
JPEG 1:1: (L) 3456x3456, (M) 2304x2304, (S1) 1728x1728, (S2) 1280x1280, (S3) 480x480
RAW: (RAW) 5184x3456
Movie Type MOV (Video: H.264, Sound: Linear PCM, recording level can be manually adjusted by user)
Movie Size 1920 x 1080 (29.97, 25, 23.976 fps)
1280 x 720 (59.94, 50 fps)
640 x 480 (30, 25 fps)
Movie Length Max duration 29min 59sec, Max file size 4GB
Folders New folders can be manually created and selected
File Numbering (1) Consecutive numbering
(2) Auto reset
(3) Manual reset

OTHER FEATURES

Custom Functions 7 Custom Functions with 19 settings
Metadata Tag User copyright information (can be set in camera)
Image rating (0-5 stars)
Intelligent Orientation Sensor Yes
Playback Zoom 1.5x - 10x enabled in 15 steps
Display Formats (1) Single image
(2) Single image with information (3 levels)
(3) 4 image index
(4) 9 image index
(5) Jump Display
Slide Show Image selection: All images, by Date, by Folder, Movies, Stills or by Rating
Playback time: 1/2/3/5/10/20 seconds
Repeat: On/Off
Transition Effects: Off, Slide (2 types), Fade (3 tyupes)
Bagkground Music: Off, On
Histogram Brightness: Yes
RGB: Yes
Highlight Alert Yes
Image Erase/Protection Erase: Single image, All images in folder, Checkmarked images, unprotected images
Protection: Erase protection of one image at a time
Menu Categories (1) Shooting menu (x5)
(2) Playback menu (x2)
(3) Setup menu (x4)
(4) My Menu
Menu Languages 25 Languages
English, German, French, Dutch, Danish,
Portuguese, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish,
Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian,
Romanian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Arabic, Thai,
Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean
and Japanese
Firmware Update Update possible by the user.

INTERFACE

Computer Hi-Speed USB
Other Video output (PAL/ NTSC) (integrated with USB terminal),
HDMI mini output (HDMI-CEC compatible), External
microphone (3.5mm Stereo mini jack)

DIRECT PRINT

Canon Printers Canon Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers
supporting PictBridge
PictBridge Yes

STORAGE

Type SD, SDHC or SDXC (UHS-I)card

SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEM

PC & Macintosh Windows XP inc SP3 / Vista inc SP1 and SP2 (excl.
Starter Edition) / 7 (excl. Starter Edition)
OS X v10.6-10.7 (Intel processor required)

SOFTWARE

Browsing & Printing ImageBrowser EX
Image Processing Digital Photo Professional
Other PhotoStitch, EOS Utility,
Picture Style Editor

POWER SOURCE

Batteries 1 x Rechargeable Li-ion Battery LP-E12
Battery Life Approx. 230 (at 23°C, AE 50%, FE 50%)¹
Approx. 200 (at 0°C, AE 50%, FE 50%)
Battery Indicator 4 levels
Power Saving LCD monitor turns off after 15 sec, 30sec or 1, 3, 5, 10 or 30mins.
Power turns off after 0, 30sec or 1, 3, 5, 10mins and disabled
Power Supply & Battery Chargers AC Adapter Kit ACK-E12, Battery charger LC-E12

PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Body Materials Stainless Steel, magnesium alloy, polycarbonate resin with glass fiber
Operating Environment 0 – 40 °C, 85% or less humidity
Dimensions (WxHxD) 108.6 x 66.5 x 32.3 mm
Weight (Body Only) Approx. 298g (CIPA testing standard, including
battery and memory card)

ACCESSORIES

Case EH23-CJ
Wireless File Transmitter Compatible with Eye-Fi cards
Lenses EF-M (EF and EF-S lenses compatible via Mount adapter EF-EOS M)
Flash Canon Speedlites (90EX, 220EX, 270EX, 270EX II, 320EX, 420EX, 430EX, 430EX II, 550EX, 580EX, 580EX II, 600EX, 600EX-RT, Macro-Ring-Lite, MR-14EX, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX, Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2, Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT)
Remote Controller/ Switch Remote Controller RC-6
Other GP-E2

 

Continuous Shooting ¹ Large/Fine(Quality 8) resolution
² Based on Canon's testing conditions, JPEG, ISO 100, Standard Picture Style. Varies depending on the subject, memory card brand and capacity, image recording quality, ISO speed, drive mode, Picture Style, Custom functions etc.
³ Maximum fps and buffer capacity may be reduced depending on the cameras settings and light level
Battery Life ¹ Based on the CIPA Standard and using the batteries and memory card format supplied with the camera, except where indicated
  • *Recommended Exposure Index
  • All data is based on Canon standard testing methods except where indicated.
  • Subject to change without notice.

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