Beyond the mirror

[Villi]

First of all, my apologies for mentioning non-Canon things below. I love my 60D and the lenses that go with it. I use it all the time and it will remain my main camera until I buy a full frame EOS somewhere in the future. But...

I want something a bit more portable for daily use. Something I can take with me when I'm not going out specifically to take photos or make videos. The EOS M looks interesting but all the reviews seem to suggest that it's too slow. The auto focus is all but useless.

The looks of the camera don't do much for me and it seems to suffer from a lot of "first generation" issues. The Fujifilm X-series looks fantastically retro and seems to deliver beautiful image quality. The Olympus Pen series also has that retro look and offers great image quality for a very reasonable price and is the most portable camera that I know of with switchable lenses.

My grandma's 1970s Konica and my dad's 1970s Praktica are gathering dust and I have a lot of lenses for them which I'd love to play with. Experiment with. An EOS camera won't accept the Konica lenses at all, but a mirrorless camera will with an adapter.

So I'm wondering what to do. Get the EOS M and live with a sluggish auto focus. Pay a small fortune for the Fujifilm X-series camera which looks fantastic but will have me start from scratch as I have no compatible lenses. Or get an Olympus Pen which is reasonably priced.

Or something completely different.

I wish Canon made something as pretty as the Fujifilm X-Pro 1 with the EOS M image quality and an acceptable autofocus. I'd buy it in an instant. I want to like the EOS M, but it doesn't do anything for me.

Anyone here have a compact or a system camera they love?

[tesarver]

Re: Beyond the mirror

Yes I have a compact system that I love. I use it every day and have posted images on this site almost daily from that system. I even started a 365 day blog in January, using this system exclusively. Although it it will never replace my 5DMKII on speed, I have found that this system to be very good for the style of photography I do. What I really like about this compact system is that it can even use my EF lenses, and even today I used it to take some bird pictures (which I posted) using my EF-70-300mm L with a 1.4X Tele-extender.

The System I use and love is the EOS-M

Tom

[Villi]

Re: Beyond the mirror

Refreshing to hear something positive about the EOS M. You have any problems with auto focus? How is manual focus without a viewfinder? I understand that it'll be hard in bright sunlight, but how does the system generally work?

[DrJon]

Re: Beyond the mirror

I use micro 4/3 gear as my more compact system and have a Sony RX100 for ultra-portable good quality picture taking.

The new Olympus E-P5 with its optional viewfinder would be worth a look, it has a good sensor. It'll AF way faster than an EOS-M and have quite a bit more dynamic range, but you can't hook your EF/EFS lenses on it all that well, unlike the EOS-M.

I wrote a long post on why I upgraded my GF1 m43 camera to a GH3 recently rather than upgrading my Canon body. It might be worth a read.

http://www.eos-magazine-forum.com/showthread.php?16972-6D-vs-5D-Mk2&p=142456&viewfull=1#post142456

I didn't get an EOS-M as for me the slow AF, lack of dynamic range and lack of a viewfinder meant it had no advantages over the RX100 (which has fast AF and quite a bit more dynamic range than the EOS-M). I really want a viewfinder for serious photography. Your mileage might vary. It was a no-contest for EOS-M vs. the GH3 as the m43 lenses are so much smaller and lighter.

That said as you see above some people have EOS-Ms and love them! It's a case of working out what you want from a smaller camera and seeing how it fits with various systems. Also if you mostly shoot at a single focal length that are lots of fixed lens cameras worth a look (RX1, X100S, etc.)

BTW I was very close to getting a Fuji XE1 and the (really very good quality) zoom, but the iffy AF and so-so viewfinder, plus lack of longer lenses, put me off.

[tesarver]

Re: Beyond the mirror

Hi Villi,

When using the EOS-M in bright Sunlight I use a Hoodman Loupe (Sometimes strapped, sometimes not) on the camera. Although the Auto-focus is slow, I have been able to compensate for that for the type of photography I do, knowing that if I need a faster shutter speed I bring the 5DMKII. As for Dynamic range, I shoot in RAW format, thus controlling the range myself. I also find that the lack of the view finder allows you to be more creative and if you take a look at my blog you can see that it is very capable for some serious photography IMO.

Tom

[Thndr_strck]

Re: Beyond the mirror

I just use a G15 :-P

[Muscat]

Re: Beyond the mirror

Have you considered the new 100D it may do what you want, it will take you 60D lenses, is small and light

[MX5]

Re: Beyond the mirror

Noticed an EOS-M with Zoom and Flash for under £400 (and with another £50 off via voucher that's under £350) at John Lewis today ... suggesting there's a replacement on the way (with viewfinder and fast AF ) or the 100D has killed the 'M' lineage or whatever.

The G-series Canon's are very good (I've a G10) and as Jon points out so is the RX-100 (I've one as well). But the 100D is definitely worth a look ... if you stick the 40mm pancake on the front that would be a fairly compact solution.

[DrJon]

Re: Beyond the mirror

I was handling a 100D yesterday, while umm-ing and ahh-ing about an 8-15 (then buying it). The 100D is very dinky and probably great fun, although the kit lens is huge in comparison and I think that's the problem, the lenses are really too big if you want small. You'll like it every time you pick it up though. My favorite m43 lens is the constant f2.8 70-200 equivalent, which is 3.9" long (which doesn't change when zooming) and weighs 360g. It's also scary-sharp and has really nice out-of-focus blur. Carrying the equivalent(-ish) on a 100D is trickier.

The 40mm would be very cool on a 100D, it's just a case of how you feel about the 64mm equivalent focal length, which might be a bit tight for walking around (although I've been known to go out with just an 85mm lens on FF so can't really complain). The new f2.8 24 or 28 IS would probably be more sensible, except for the price, which isn't.

BTW the Hoodman is a good idea on an EOS-M, although I think slightly less stable than using a viewfinder, still a nice big picture to look at!

I'd still stick with my original suggestion of the E-P5 being worth a look, plus the Fuji X20 might also be worth checking out, although the picture quality isn't nearly as good at 100%. Then there is the RX100, teeny but great except for the lack of a viewfinder.

[David Morison]

Re: Beyond the mirror

I use an Olympus E-M5 for most of my every day photography and a little stunner it is in terms of IQ, easily matching my 7D. In addition using it manually with the EF 400mm f5.6 L produces much crisper results than using it on the 7D and having in-body IS means it can be used on a whole mass of other-make/legacy lenses for which a huge range of adaptors are available. It's main and significant drawbacks for me is that AF locking and tracking of fast-moving objects (BIFs) is useless and it's "spot" AF is just not small enough. It's "Retro" design is a joke as well and the buttons are smaller than I'd like. I bought the 7D to alleviate the birding issues but for all other subjects the E-M5 is the main man for me!

David

[Villi]

Re: Beyond the mirror

Thanks, all! I have been looking at the various Fuji and Olympus system cameras. Looked at the M and decided this first generation thing probably wasn't my thing. I could live with a slow AF, but then I want it to have all the manual controls at my fingertips. It doesn't. Which brought me to second hand Leicas. Now, that is a dream I'll make come true one of these years.

As it stands, I'll wait to see what Canon have up their sleeves. If the new M isn't what I want, then I'll probably go for an Olympus. Or a Leica, should I suffer from a momentary lapse of reason as I come across a good deal online. There is something very cool about having a fantastic camera and attaching a 1950s lens to it.

I am fascinated by this journey. Been so fixed on SLR photography in recent years. Opening up a new world is thoroughly exciting.