Experience with EOS M as a compact camera...?

[David_Manning]

I wanted to revisit shooting the Canon EOS M and 22mm LTM as a compact camera.

I'm looking for other experiences. I bought mine on a fluke after waffling over a Ricoh GR purchase. The price was too good to pass up for a 35/2 equivalent compact body.

I like mine...a lot...but I miss an onboard strobe. I wouldn't mind if it was slimmer, too, but mostly I'm lacking a quick flash...sheesh, even my iPhone has one! :bang:

Other shooters' experiences? IQ is fantastic, good Canon dSLR colors and look. A bit slow to focus, but not a deal breaker...I'm generally one to take a moment to frame anyway.

I'm considering taking it to Thanksgiving family gatherings instead of a Leica M9 just for ease of travel/laziness. Maybe I'll haul the Sony RX100 along too, since it has a flash...but then I ask myself what the hell the point is of having the EOS if the RX100 works as a compact.

Any EOS M love out there?

 

[dfatty]

i'm pretty happy with mine, esp with the pancake lens. as i've mentioned, i get along well with the user interface and touch screen, much moreso than the m43 touchscreen and smallish lcds.

that said, i'm a prime lens shooter and the lack of any other lenses is damping my enthusiasm for using the eos M as a travel cam. i have canon dslr lenses that i adapt to the eos M but the big lenses defeat the purpose of the eos M. also, at longer focal lengths, the camera begs for an IS system since you can't press it against your face for stability (well, you can, but it would be silly, lol).

so i still like it, and really like using it with the pancake lens, esp at family gatherings - it's small and people think it's cute (i got a white one), so they don't hide from it. but for me it's falling short as a complete system because of the lack of lenses and IS. if canon releases 50 efov and 85 efov pancakes, i could see being pretty happy even without IS.

i haven't tried it with flash, i generally just let the ISO wander as high as it wants and for my purposes (mostly web) i'm pretty happy with the results. i do have a small flash i bring with me (the canon 270ex), but i haven't used it yet.

i have an rx100 too and while it's good, i do prefer the output from the eos M, so i use the eos M more. i plan to mostly use the eos M during the holidays.

 

[David_Manning]

I never really bought my EOS M as a system camera...really, I bought it as an inexpensive 35mm FoV APS-C "compact." That being said, I like the image quality, and the lens is terrific. I just wish it sometimes shot like a P&S compact, and easily fit into a pocket. Perfection would be a retractable 22/2 lens, on-board strobe, and a physical aperture dial or rocker...oh, and fast no-excuses focus.

It really does phenomenal video, too.

 

[burancap]

I love mine. I love the build quality, the beautiful files, everything. I just don't use it.

 

[BlackXList]

I still haven't succumbed to the EOS M GAS that the last thread on it stirred up. Mostly because of the UK price.

For me the lack of a flash would be a plus.

I have an RX100 though, and I have to admit it really is something special.

In terms of the colour rendition the RX100 HUGELY benefits from going into the AWB option and just nudging the default towards the upper right.

 

[rolfe]

A photo from yesterday with my EOS-M, 22mm, ISO 200

Above the cathedral "Our Lady of Guadalupe", Puerto Vallarta, Mexico


Sunset, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 2013 by rolfe, on Flickr

 

[Paddy C]

I really like my EOS M. So much so that it is the only camera coming with me this Christmas holiday.

I've added the wide-angle zoom and the kit zoom to the 22 the camera came with.

The wide-angle is fantastic and, for travel photography, so useful as it is 35mm equiv at it's long end. Very high quality. I got a great camera, a great 22mm lens, a flash, and a wide angle zoom for the price it would have cost me to buy the NEX wide angle zoom. Can't argue with that.

But to answer your question, I think the EOS M sort of fits the bill as a compact but for all the reasons you mentioned. To me a compact camera is my iPhone. But in most situations the EOS M w/22 can fit into a jacket pocket or doesn't weigh a thing attached to a strap and gets out of the way so good enough to qualify as compact.

 

[Pablito]

useless to me since it has no viewfinder, or viewfinder option, sadly.

 

[Fuchs]

Love mine with the 22mm. I sold the also terrific RX100 as IQ from the EOS M was better, and its AF wasn't that much slower than the sony's. No zoom, no flash, but a mighty small camera.

 

[David_Manning]

I'm staring at my EOS M sitting beside me on my desk. It's a really good camera/sensor package and a pretty nice size.

I did, however, end up buying a Ricoh GR (my curiosity was killing me...and I wanted that damn onboard strobe!). What a neat camera that GR is. It's like the EOS' lens retracted, with a flash, but it really handles well, and it's SO much faster. I didn't understand that last part (because with small cameras my expectations are low...they are, after all, compact compromises by design) until I shot the GR for a while.

The good thing is that having both an EOS M and a GR in a small bag can get two focal lengths and APS-C quality. I know the GR can 35-crop, but the Canon 22mm is better for shooting 35mm FoV.

Just thought I'd share my impressions on my own thread 🙂

 

[dfatty]

i was curious about what would happen with your eos M. since the GR has the flash and retracting lens you were looking for i thought the eos M might be destined for the closet or the classifieds, lol.