Friday, July 20, 2012

Canon's New Mirrorless Camera - EOS-M

Canon's new EOS-M?  Looks authentic. Picture comes from Xitek.

Specs and details of Canon's new mirrorless camera has been sparse and sketchy, but the latest rumored picture looks pretty real to me.  Here is my take.

The body looks pretty small, and clean with a hint of the latest G-series DNA.  The mode dial (THANKS!) has an integrated shutter release button and the hotshoe looks like it is compatible with the SpeedLite flashes.  Don't see a built-in flash, and I think this could be a negative to many people as this camera is a take anywhere device that a built-in flash should be mandatory.

I think Canon is doing the right thing by having a fast prime with the introduction of the new camera.  We are relatively sure that the sensor size will be 1.6x, which means this lens will be equivalent to a 35mm f2, which is perfect for many people, including me.  I am sure the other lens will be the venerable 18-55mm that is almost a standard lens for most new cameras.  Hopefully it will be stabilized, as I don't expect the EOS-M will have in-body stabilization.

One thing that matters a lot to us manual focus lens fanatics, is the lens to sensor register.  If it's longer than 22mm, it may pose a problem for M-mount lenses.  I hope it will be 20mm or somewhere close.

As for the image quality, I think it will be better than the current 1.6x bodies.

We will see on Monday, when this camera will be officially announced.

3 comments:

  1. I'm going to suggest to you that the sensor is the same size as the G1X, or roughly similar to a m43 camera. If this photo is actually of the real camera, one thing strongly suggests the smaller sensor size, and that is the size of the glass in the lens. It is approximately the same size as the Sigma 30mm f2.8 and the Sony 16mm f2.8, and I just don't think it would let enough light in for f2 on an APS-C sensor.
    Note that the glass area is also bigger than the m43 Olympus 17mm f2.8 and slightly smaller than the Panasonic 20mm f1.7.
    I also don't think Canon will fall into the trap of Sony and have their large sensor mirrorless pull sales away from their DSLR, or Nikons other extreme of having a sensor marginally bigger than that of a compact, thereby increasing noise and limiting shallow depth of field photography. We'll all find out Monday I guess.

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    1. It's pretty much cast in stone that the sensor will be aps-c (1.6x), judging from the leaked kit zoom lens with the 18-55mm focal length. If the sensor size is the same as the G1X, the focal length for this lens would be weird.

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  2. I guess we'll see, but a G1X sensor would put this lens at 40mm in full frame terms - a great spot to be for a prime. You're right though that an 18-55mm kit zoom would indicate a 1.6x crop sensor.

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