An ILC that isn't very large

The EOS-M is more portable than a DSLR and takes better photos than your typical P&S. However, with any other lens besides the 22mm, this camera will not fit in your pocket. And it likely will not out dual many DSLRs.

But at sale $299 - $399 prices (July / August 2013) what should we be expecting?

For one, we can't expect the M to do anything exceptionally well.

What's bad?

It's Canon's first mirror-less attempt and first attempts aren't typically the best. There is a lot of room for improvement. Here are a few of my problems.

The camera's menu system and buttons are just... odd.

For one, you can tell that the software was developed by different teams because the digital zoom function works completely different in Live View and Review mode. A polished, well-planned, system is typically more consistent.

Also, there's no way to disable the touch screen, in a way you intuitively would want to disable it. This becomes problematic when you want to carry the camera on a neck strap or on a sling. Solutions recommended by others is to use a wrist strap, but it's strange that a body should dictate how you should carry it.

And finally, my model, and a couple of my photographer/hobbyist friends, is prone to hot-pixels (it's where you have red pixels showing up in the same spot in all your pictures). It seems that the camera may be susceptible to this when taking longer exposures or videos. You can reset this with several sensor cleans.

What's good?

The camera is easy to carry and it's usable by elderly people in your family who want to try taking pictures with it. My wife and niece also were not intimidated by the camera and intuitively knew how to use it. This camera excels at usability and works wonderfully for those who do not know how to use a typical camera.

When my niece turns 6, I will definitely think about gifting her the EOS M. It definitely has that cute factor.

The IQ is excellent, just ask anyone else. You'll love the photos and videos from this thing.

Conclusion

In the end, I find myself using the M more often that I thought I would.

But to me it's an automatic camera that makes this hobby as fun as shooting with a mobile phone. For $299 it's an impressive P&S. At $899, I'm looking for a device I can control. This is not a $899 camera. I love and hate it due to the price I paid for it. If I paid close to full retail, I would've returned it.

I think there's a lot of potential here for the M to succeed -- but please Canon, hire some more designers. Save the cutesy stuff for the Canon N.