Thoughts and observations on M

An unexpected trip out into a larger city allowed my to check out what's happening in the larger bricks and mortar camera shops here in Thailand, which usually mirrors what's happening in most of SE Asia. Checked out about 15 shops in total.

Canon - typically strong showing, everything from 1D's to M10s to the latest Gs, and big selection of lenses, taking the lions share of displays and shelf space. M3 and M10 featuring high in visibility and poster displays.

Nikon - Pretty weak, certainly still following a downward trend. Many Nikon displays totally empty and gathering dust. Only found 1 shop selling Nikon 1 J5  and some older J models. V series unavailable. Bigger cameras available but in much lower numbers, also older stock and only in the bigger stores. Smaller stores tended to have lenses rather than bodies.

Olympus - impressively strong showing. Number 2 behind Canon and certainly ahead Nikon. Pretty much every medium and large shop selling EM-5s and EM-10s (both mk1 and mk2 versions). Good selection of lenses, from the pro range to entry level. Well coordinated shelf space and lots of it.

Panasonic - like Nikon, a downward trend, though not quite as severe, it probably looked smaller due to Olympus growth. Three years ago was neck and neck with Olympus, but now fallen behind, not sure if it's shrinkage or lack of growth. Still enough places to buy bodies and lenses, just much lower display and shelf space than Olympus.

Fujifilm - Steady. No obvious growth or shrinkage. Main noticeable change from a few years back was less emphasis on X-Pro 1 and more on the smaller cameras. Great deals on the older series X-mount lenses, some of which are excellent, for example down from $600 to $200. I almost considered buying some, even though I don't have a Fujifilm ILC !

Sony - Sony is just Sony, hard to know what's really happening as they have a lot of their own shops. In general body choice probably moved slightly to the lower end. Saw some A7 bodies but not everywhere, saw no R1s (just as well as had my credit card with me) and only 1 original RX10, not the newer ones. But RX100s mk2, mk3 and mk4 were everywhere, probably the most popular camera in terms of the number of shops selling it.

It all got me thinking about the state of mirrorless and Canon in general. Having got to hold it, the M3 is a really nice body. Very good grip, comfortable and secure to hold. Twin control dials for hassle free shooting experience, and now up to 24mp. I could be tempted.

Looking at the DPR review negatives, very few are that important to me.

• Sluggish autofocus speeds
• Mediocre depth and subject tracking

High performance AF would be nice one day, but not a top priority for how I'd use this type of camera. Disappointing but not a deal breaker

• Very poor battery life

I always carry spares, can live with that.

• Buffer fills up very quickly in burst mode
• Burst rate slows to ~1.5 fps when using Continuous (Servo) AF

Like the AF, not looking for an action cam, so can live with this.

• Unsophisticated sharpening and noise reduction smudge away JPEG detail
• High ISO performance behind competition in terms of both noise (Raw) and noise reduction (JPEG)
• Raw dynamic range lower than peers

But still well ahead of Nikon 1 and M43 and still highly usable in a wide range of lighting scenarios.

• Basic Auto ISO functionality

No excuse, bad Canon.

• No 1080/60p support
• Movie and playback buttons are poorly placed and are too flush with body
• In-camera Raw conversion would've been nice

Meh.

• Limited Canon EF-M lens lineup

This is currently why I didn't opt to buy. I feel it needs at least two more good quality lenses    to give it enough versatility. I like all the current lens choices in terms of focal lengths, but not the Aperture especially the end of the range, they all seem a stop or two too small. For example a 11-22 F/2.8- F/4 or even constant F4 would be very nice to shoot with. Likewise  the zooms that end at F/6.3, F/6.3 on APS-C already!

• No USB charging option

No excuse, bad bad Canon. As a traveller, this is Canons most unforgivable decision. Travellers like small cameras. Travellers don't like to carry 20 different power chargers. Nearly all my portable devices power from USB which means they can be charged from an external battery and/or my solar charger. Even if they make the lenses, I may still pass on the principle of this alone. I'm serious, it's 2016, get with the program.

Despite that last rant, I do think Canon are actually in a strong position. Their retail infrastructure and brand loyalty (in Asia at least) is so strong they could, even at this late stage, let EOS-M off the reigns and probably dominate Mirorless ILC in a matter of months. Maybe.