Canon EOS M with 18-55mm lens £260 / $380
A CSC that’s cheap at less than half the price
ince its launch a couple of years ago, Canon’s EOS M kit with EF-M 18-55mm IS STM lens has shed nearly two thirds of its selling price. This is despite an upturn in performance, which we’ll come to later. The body is available in black, white, silver or red, although the 18-55mm lens is only made in black.
SIt’s pretty minimalist but very effective Unlike Nikon, Canon has maintained the fitment of a relatively large (APS-C format) sensor in the EOS M, its only compact system camera. Typical of Canon from a couple of years ago, it’s an 18MP CMOS sensor. However, it’s coupled with a relatively recent Digic 5 image processor. Benefits include a greater sensitivity range, which stretches the equivalent of one stop higher in both standard and expanded modes, reaching ISO 12,800 and ISO 25,600 respectively.
There’s no pop-up flash, but the design features a hotshoe, and some kits include the Canon Speedlite 90EX flashgun. It’s worth checking the contents of the kit you’re considering purchasing, as the 90EX costs up to £120 if you need to buy it separately. Around the back of the camera, there’s a well-implemented touchscreen, which makes Canon’s typically intuitive Quick menu a breeze to use. Only four lenses are available in EF-M fitment, but Canon also sells an EF-EOS M mount adaptor for around £100, enabling you to add SLR-based EF and EF-S lenses should you wish.
Performance
Image quality is impressive in all respects. Both the Scene Intelligent Auto mode and the Auto Picture Style settings work particularly well, even in tricky shooting conditions.
Our only original complaint with the EOS M was that its hybrid phase/ contrast autofocus system was painfully slow, but this gets a big boost in speed thanks to Canon’s V2 firmware update.