Mirrorless Tiptoes Canon EOS M3 Review

Canon EOS M3

Three and a half years after the launch of the original Canon EOS M, the system has only trudged along at a slow pace, with very few updates that do not seem to have taken the bar forward.

Of course, the M’s embarassingly lacklustre AF was improved by a small degree via fi rmware, and the  M2 further improved things in that department. But at a time when other manufacturers are have launched several generations of mirrorless cameras, the giant manufacturer’s steps into this world have seemed almost like afterthoughts.

Features

Canon EOS M3

The Canon EOS M3 aims to change that, as a mere glance tells us that this is the company’s most serious mirrorless offering yet. Unlike the M and M2, the M3 does not look like a toy. It has a decent amount of external control possible, with a mode dial and an Exposure Compensation dial, a little reminiscent of the newer G series cameras. There is also a relatively deep and pronounced handgrip, which gives the otherwise small camera a sturdy heft.

The most crucial change in the M3 is the new 24MP APS-C sensor, instead of the ageing 18MP one. One can guess that this is a sensor similar to the one present in the 760D. It also comes equipped with a Hybrid CMOS III AF system, and an ISO range of up to 12,800. 

The touchscreen has been upgraded with a 1.04 million-dot 3-inch tilting display, that fl ips out to 45° downwards and 180° upwards, much like a frontfacing camera.

The camera allows you to mount an external EVF onto the camera’s hot shoe. But the viewfi nder is not built-in and needs to be bought separately (and is quite expensive). That is a disappointment, considering that the similarly priced Sony Alpha 6000 has an EVF as a part of the camera body. 

The M3 has a bunch of features that may seem commonplace in mirrorless technology today, but are new to the M series. There is an electronic fi rst-curtain shutter, automatic lens corrections, focus peaking, WiFi, NFC, 14-bit RAW and also, a built-in fl ash.

The M3 shoots 1080p Full HD video at 24, 25 or 30fps, with manual control over exposure and a microphone input. The inclusion of the mic makes it a device that a lot of video bloggers would appreciate. The video bar has moved ahead, but Canon, though with limited features, does offer pleasing video footage with effi cient AF tracking. Another limitation of the M series is the system itself, with merely fi ve lenses into the fourth year, including just one prime.

The inconspicuousness of the camera, along with the aid of the tilting lcD, allowed me to photograph
the young girls without drawing their attention towards me.
Exposure: 1/320sec at f/5.6 (ISO 400)

Handling

The M3’s body is largely made of stainless steel, magnesium alloy and polycarbonate, and feels quite sturdy. The kit lens seems a little big though, considering that most other manufacturers have moved to collapsible lens designs that are much smaller. The collapsible design also allows motorised zoom, which makes much more sense for video shooting, so this is defi nitely a drawback. 

The inclusion of a dedicated Exposure Compensation dial must be applauded, but its implementation could have been better. The dial is too fl ushed into the body and it gets annoyingly diffi cult to change settings, especially when you are concentrating on the composition and moment. 

The tilting touchscreen (the predecessor’s screen was fi xed) is well implemented, and this is one area where  canon is showing its competition how to do things right. The screen real estate can be customised, and overall operation and use becomes quite fast with the use of the touchscreen.

Even in tricky lighting conditions, the camera managed to expose correctly for the various regions in the scene
Exposure: 1/80sec at f/3.5 (ISO 5000)

Performance

The autofocus of the M3 is a huge improvement over the M and M2, and the inclusion of the new sensor with its CMOS AF III has probably a lot to do with that. That said, it’s not as fast as the Sony,
Olympus, Panasonic and Nikon mirrorless cameras in this price range. The AF can be an irritant if you shoot a lot in low light, but in good light, it’s usable enough. 

Image quality is similar to that of the 760D, which is largely pleasing. There is noise visible from ISO 800 onwards, but if you get exposures right, ISO 6400 can produce usable, albeit slightly grainy results. The headroom in the RAW files isn’t as good though, but again, it’s a defi nite improvement from the old 18MP sensor. The JPEG engine is one of the nicer points about the camera, where the images are pleasing crisp, without being overcooked. 

The kit lens of the camera is nice and sharp, and has excellent colour rendition, Battery life, however, is quite poor.

Conclusion

Almost every aspect about the M3, from its body design to on-fi eld handling and image quality, has got a major upheaval. But at the same time, one cannot ignore the fact that while that makes the M3 the company’s fi rst serious mirrorless contender, the competition is a fair distance ahead. The Sony Alpha 6000, particularly, offers marginally better quality, a lot more features, better battery life, faster AF and an inbuilt EVF, for a similar price.

For those who want a small camera, the M3 does not excite. Instead, the company’s G5 X (smaller sensor, but much faster lens and EVF at the same price) and G7 X (smaller sensor, but much faster lens, no EVF) are far more worthwhile options (aside from the Sony). That said, the M3 is a tentative, but important step in the right direction and hopefully augurs well for the company’s tiptoeing journey into mirrorless.

FINAL RATINGS

Features
No EVF, tilting LCD, pop-up fl ash, exposure compensation dial, Wifi and NFC.   14/20

Performance
Great image rendering in JPEGs, sluggish AF in low light, poor battery life.   27/35

Build Quality
Magnesium alloy body, sleek and sturdy.   23/25

Ergonomics
Good grip, inconvenient Exposure Comp. dial.   11/15

Warranty & support
Wide service network.    4/5

Shop Related Products

camera Canon Canon Camera Review 7:51 AM