The first step to mirrorless DSLRs - ephemera, or at least a glimpse of the future?!?

Which amateur photographer has not at some time wished that his DSLR would be smaller so that you could take anywhere. Canon has made the dream come true. But what is good for the camera and it really can compete against competitors like Sony, Nikon or Olympus?!?

Processing & Services:
When unpacking it has his first Aha experience. It still relatively small for a camera with APS-C sensor. The Canon settles in size between a Leica M8 and an ordinary compact camera. The case is reminiscent of a compact camera is the 1st generation. Since the NEX 5 of Sony's slimmer. The housing is made of plastic and looks well made out.
The camera has a selector switch for the shooting modes on the upper side. On the back of the Canon are typical 4-way joystick with the noons Set button. Otherwise, you can still find the menu, Information and Play button.
The camera has an EF-M mount. and can be operated at the moment with the 22mm pancake and the 18-55mm standard zoom. Those who want to can be an adapter (130 !!) to buy to also EF and EF-S lenses can connect.
The camera has a 3 "touch screen with about 1 million. Pixels. The colors are very good and the touch screen responds quickly and accurately to. If you have not been photographed in automatic mode dependent on the screen. From there you can all parameters adjust. Even focus that runs across the screen (as in the 650D). The reproduction of photos and videos goes mainly via the touch screen. As already known from smartphones "wipes" can only through the images and can also pitch-to-zoom Use the photos to zoom. The screen is permanently installed and can not be tilted. I find that quite sad. When 650D has me much.
The EOS M unfortunately has no optical viewfinder more. Logically at a mirrorless DSLR. But already I'm missing. Especially when the sun from the display seems you miss the viewfinder. In sun can be seen hardly what. There is also the option to adjust the brightness higher but is not that the truth.
To save the images are standardly SD, SDHC / SDXC card used. According to Canon, a battery charge for 200-300 pictures should be enough. Unfortunately I could not test the whole. Once there is something new I wear after the.
The camera does not have a built-in flash. However, an attachable flash with is supplied. Because you should have ready in any case batteries. The lightning to the electricity does not bring about the camera but is powered by batteries. Unfortunately, the flash not really fit into the design of the EOS-M. It's a bit carelessly designed. Furthermore, the flash has a guide number of only 9. I would recommend buying a larger flash. If you already have a flash with it rumträgt then also one of what good is;)

Picture quality & Focus:

As mentioned before, the EOS M has built an APS-C sensor and can shoot images with 18 million pixels. The quality you can not complain. It is as usual very good. The noise keeps in limits and may even with DSLR like the 7D messen.Es are ISO value of 100-12800 or 25600 possible.
The images are very sharp with the supplied lens. The relationship between size and quality is amazing here. However, as with EF or EF-S I can not say looks lenses. Unfortunately, here the adapter I lack.
Where there is light, there is shadow. That's here in the EOS-M Unfortunately the autofocus. Despite the 31 autofocus points, the camera can not keep up with the big DSLR unfortunately. It simply takes up the focal point found was too long or often missed him even. Although the camera can shoot up to 4.3 frames per second the camera for sports photography because the AF is not. If one is sharp all the time reduces the continuous shooting even further and can shoot approximately only 1 frame per second. For small filming I find the EOS-M good turn. Namely it has the STM functionality there are not many lenses support the feature. The STM feature is intended for filming. So you can record videos at the same time make the video via touchscreen rather silently sharp. There are videos at 1080p with 30, 25 or 24fps possible and if you are down is the resolution even 50 / 60fps possible. The maximum duration of each video is about 30 minutes.

Compared to the competition:
Canon is unfortunately the last major manufacturer of mirrorless system cameras has brought to the market with APS-C sensors. Numerous manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, Olympus, etc. have on the market for longer similar cameras. Samsung, for example, has built-in Wi-Fi which allows you to wirelessly copy pictures and upload them to the Internet. Panasonic with the Four Thirds sensor is a little bit bigger but has a viewfinder and the touch panel can be swiveled and is still cheaper. For Sony, the camera is smaller. The display can be folded and can shoot up to 10 frames per second.

Positives:
++ "Small" enclosure (as opposed to the large DSLR like 650D)
++ Very good image quality (APS-C sensor)
++ STM and video function
+ 3 "Touchscreen
+ Simple and intuitive operation

Negatives:
--- Autofocus
- Few functions
- No viewfinder
- Screen is only limited usable with sun
- No adapter included

Conclusion:
I think that the camera is not really intended for DSLR users. Rather, it is a deluxe compact camera in which you do not do as much to worry about the technology and still want to have as a DSLR pretty good photos. There are more parameters to design a photograph than with a compact camera but still less than that of a full-fledged DSLR. For the DSLR user that could also be the 2nd camera can be taken anywhere with and do not always want to lug all the equipment.
I think you should wait a little longer and wait for the 2nd generation of the EOS-M. Maybe you experienced there a few innovations. But this is a super alternative to the Canon PowerShot G1X

I'm still waiting for the day where you can replace the DSLR from a system camera of these dimensions. Until then, I'll stick with my DSLR :)

From me there are 3 stars.