Canon EOS M Mirroless ILC

Canon EOS M Mirroless ILC

Canon announced its first mirrorless interchangeable lens (ILC) camera, EOS M, on July 23, 2012. It features a 18 MP APS-C (22.3x14.9mm) sensor with a Hybrid AF using contrast and phase detection.
The EOS M supports burst rate of 4.3 fps, 1920x1080/30p video capture with tracking AF, and an impressive ISO range of 100-12,800, extendable to ISO 25,600.
It comes with a 3-inch, 1040k dot touch display LCD monitor that makes it easy to navigate menus. It also supports gestures such as "pinch-to-zoom" and "swipe" to scroll between pictures.
The camera employs three AF methods for video and photos: Face Detection, Tracking AF, Multip-Point AF with 31 autofocus points as well as single-point AF.
You can engage subject recognition and tracking during video and still capture through a finger touch on the LCD panel letting the camera track accurately and focus on intended subjects with ease.
The camera has a smaller 'EF-M' lens mount than Canon DSLRs. A short flangeback places the rear lens element in the mirrorless EOS-M much closer to the surface of the sensor ensuring a compact form factor (109 x 66 x 32 mm, 298 g with battery).
Canon has introduced the first two EF-M mount lenses along with the EOS-M: a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM (35mm equivalent: 29-88mm) and the EF-M 22mm (35mm equivalent: 35mm) f/2 STM pancake lens.

Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS M. Photo Credit: Canon

Here is the big news. An adapter makes existing Canon EOS EF, EF-S lenses compatible with the EOS-M. Canons solution for compatiblity with existing brand lenses is slightly different from the one adopted by Pentax on its K-01 mirrorless introduced in February, which supports legacy Pentax lenses out of the box, something which makes it bulkier.
The EOS M bundled with the new EF-M 22mm f/2 STM kit lens will be available in October for an estimated retail price of $799.99.

EF-M 22mm f/2 STM lens. Photo Credit: Canon

A white version of the EOS M Digital Camera bundled with the new EF-M 22mm f/2 STM kit lens will be exclusively available through Canon Online store.
Canon is targeting the EOS-M at ILC beginners and emphasizing its impressive video capture capability over still capture.

Canon EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens. Photo Credit: Canon

Having taken their time jumping on the mirrorless ILC bandwagon that already has Panasonic, Olympus, Samsung, Sony, Nikon and Pentax onboard, Canaon has the advantage of having evaluated the market over a longer period.
With smartphones now featuring cameras that rival compacts targeting capture-the-moment camera buyers, Canon sees the need to move on to a new camera range that targets photography enthusiasts. A range that features DSLR like capability, but with compact form factor.