Canon Surprises with New Flagship Mirrorless

2016.09.15

Just this morning, Canon unveiled a completely new member of their M-system of mirrorless cameras. The Canon EOS M5 takes a huge leap ahead of its predecessors with a new 24 MP APS-C (1.6X) Dual-Pixel CMOS sensor and DIGIC 7 processor in a completely redesigned body with unprecedented level of controls among Canon interchangeable lens digital cameras!

Having a new system allows Canon to review much of its legacy and improve ergonomics and user-interface. While this did not happen when the original EOS M was launched, the M5 unleashed today wipes everything clean with a highly ergonomic design featuring ultra-efficient controls. The Canon EOS M5 is the very first Canon ILC to offer triple control-dials and we already know it makes better use of them than the very-capable Canon Powershot G5 X. The M5 is also the very first Canon ILC to be freezeproof. It can operate down to -10°C (15°F) which no Canon DSLR can handle. Huge surprise here!

Now that we are getting over the most exciting news, let us go over the core capabilities of this mirrorless camera. Images are recorded by a 24 megapixels APS-C 1.6X-Crop CMOS sensor with Dual-Pixel AF. This sensor contains twice the number of photosites as pixels and so is able of performing Phase-Detection at every pixel. This allows the M5 to track focus and smoothly transition to follow subjects across the frame. Canon provides with M5 with a large number of focus modes, including DMF, and Touch-Focus via the rear touchscreen LCD.

The 24 MP sensor has a standard ISO 100 - 25600 sensitivity range and can capture full 1080p HD video at 60 FPS using a high-quality MPEG-4 codec. Given this is a mirrorless camera, there is no mirror mechanism but there is still a mechanical shutter which offers a standard 1/4000s to 30s shutter-speed range. Canon does not mention BULB mode for this camera, so 30 seconds is unfortunately a hard-limit.

This sensor is paired with a powerful DIGIC 7 processor that is capable of capturing full-resolution images continuously at a speedy 9 FPS. This goes slightly down to a respectable 7 FPS when performing continuous autofocus. The M5 has a buffer deep enough for 26 JPEG, although we do not know how many RAW files can fit. Naturally, the M5 can shoot JPEG, RAW or RAW+JPEG.

The M5 provides a high number of external controls. There is a traditional Mode dial, a direct Exposure-Compensation dial and the triple control-dials already mentioned, plus plenty of buttons and a standard 4-way controller with functions assigned to each cardinal direction. The control-dials are highly customizable and the upper-rear one can be set to directly control ISO. A dedicated Video mode should make this mirrorless ready to record action easily.

A 0.39" EVF with 2.4 megapixels and Eye-Start sensor is built right into the Canon EOS M5. This provides a detailed heads-up-display (HUD) to frame precisely and monitor the status of the camera. A movable AF-frame shows precisely where the camera is focusing and can be moved by touching the rear LCD. Speaking of display, the one on the M5 is quite large at 3.2" and incredibly sharp at 1.6 megapixels.

There are an unprecedented number of connectivity features on the Canon EOS M5. It offers built-in WiFi, NFC, Bluetooth, a Wired Remote terminal and a Infrared receiver. Micro USB 2.0 and HDMI out complete connectivity options.

The Canon EOS M5 is scheduled to be available this Novermber for a suggested price of $979 USD. As this is bound to be a hot item, be sure to place your preorders at Amazon, Adorama or B&H Photo.

• Digital Camera
• Photokina