Would you recommend the M10?

You have a friend or family member that is looking for a small, easy to use camera that takes better photos than their cell phone.  They want to take photos of their kids and may add a telephoto zoom in the future.  They may also shoot a few videos.  Basically, they are looking for something easy, but with the power to handle the scenarios where their phone clearly falls short.

Would you recommend the M10 to them?

Consider some of the competing cameras that are all currently priced at $549 with a kit lens; Sony A5100, Fuji X-A2, Olympus E-PL7....

For anything moving about like kids, forget the M10. I love canon, but the M series does not cut it for moving subjects. I would recommend the EOS 100 a.k.a SL1. It is really compact for a dslr and has the same sensor as the M10 and better AF.

Absolutely with a caveat. I would find out first if they would ever use a viewfinder. Most parents Ive seen with DSLRS use liveview. If they have no plans on ever using a viewfinder  I would recommend it, if they are not afraid of a viewfinder and would actually use it I would point them to a DSLR.

I have a friend who is much as you describe and he is pleased as punch with his A5100. If the M10 proves to be as good or better as an all-round picture taker, I would say sure, why not?

I think the devil will be in the details: AF reliability, controls & menus, JPEG processing. Hard to say how all that will measure up but I certainly wouldn't rule the new Canon out just yet.

Anyone with children, entry level DSLR, and even better still, any camera with 4K and grab stills of the footage.

nnowak wrote:

You have a friend or family member that is looking for a small, easy to use camera that takes better photos than their cell phone. They want to take photos of their kids and may add a telephoto zoom in the future. They may also shoot a few videos. Basically, they are looking for something easy, but with the power to handle the scenarios where their phone clearly falls short.

Would you recommend the M10 to them?

Consider some of the competing cameras that are all currently priced at $549 with a kit lens; Sony A5100, Fuji X-A2, Olympus E-PL7....

I would recommend the A5100 over the M10.  Even though I can imagine the touch screen is implemented better on the M10 that's about the only thing it has going for it.

nnowak wrote:

You have a friend or family member that is looking for a small, easy to use camera that takes better photos than their cell phone. They want to take photos of their kids and may add a telephoto zoom in the future. They may also shoot a few videos. Basically, they are looking for something easy, but with the power to handle the scenarios where their phone clearly falls short.

Would you recommend the M10 to them?

Consider some of the competing cameras that are all currently priced at $549 with a kit lens; Sony A5100, Fuji X-A2, Olympus E-PL7....

I would also get to look at whether some of the good compact cameras with good 1" sensors and a decent zoom range might better suit their needs

meland wrote:

The moral of this tale is that non-photographers are often better not taking advice from enthusiasts. We know too much but have forgotten what it is that they actually need.

Well said.

I recently bought my niece a PowerShot SX410 IS as her introduction to a dedicated camera not her cell phone.

If it had manual controls, the answer would be no.

If she gets into photography, though, I'll be looking at an M10 or similar for her as an inexpensive alternative to a DSLR.

Except M10 has USEFUL ISO 6400 and 12800.  I would even say in a pinch that ISO 25600 would be an option.

Which means that the kit lens isn't that slow.

I think that the M10 is a product in the same category as the original Rebel, yes it was a 10D in a plastic body, but it made the DSLR into something everyone had to own.

Here are few things the 18 MP sensor is capable of:

High ISO performance:

ISO 25600 @ 10 mm, how is your 1" sensor at that?

In photography terms:

Vauxhall = Sony.

Ford = Nikon.

meland wrote:

nnowak wrote:

You have a friend or family member that is looking for a small, easy to use camera that takes better photos than their cell phone. They want to take photos of their kids and may add a telephoto zoom in the future. They may also shoot a few videos. Basically, they are looking for something easy, but with the power to handle the scenarios where their phone clearly falls short.

Would you recommend the M10 to them?

Consider some of the competing cameras that are all currently priced at $549 with a kit lens; Sony A5100, Fuji X-A2, Olympus E-PL7....

Some years ago I used to know the Editor of renowned motoring magazine.

At the time I was in the midst of an agonizing dilemma of what would be my new company car (sad I know but anyone who has studied their company car list in minute detail might know what I was going through!)

Anyway, so I asked Jim (not his real name) - "Between the Vauxhall 2.0i GLS Special Rep's Edition (and for those of you who don't know Vauxhall is the British arm of GM) and the Ford 2.0 Ghia 5 Speed Junior Management Special, which should I choose?"

"Neither" said Jim. "Get a Caterham 1.6 Supersport and take the bus to work."

And from the point of view of a motoring expert who knew that both the Vauxhall and the Ford were the automotive equivalent of white goods, he was probably right - even if his advice was completely impractical

The moral of this tale is that non-photographers are often better not taking advice from enthusiasts. We know too much but have forgotten what it is that they actually need.

meland wrote:

Tremint wrote:

Its for a small set of people who will take the pain (Its a pain) to use big lenses or people who want to use 11-22mm lens.

As long as Canon wont release good native lenses with apertures like 1.8 or 1.4, I wont recommend it.

I would recommend the Powershot G5X. Based on the functionality its a much better camera than EOS M10.

It's natural, because presumably you are one, but you're thinking just like an enthusiast. We're too focused on what we need.

The target market for this camera doesn't care about "native lenses with apertures like 1.8 or 1.4". They don't even know what those are or what they might use them for.

I don't disagree with you point that a G5X might be a more suitable camera for some people but not all and don't forget that there are a lot of people out there who would like the facility to change lenses. Even if the majority never end up doing so.

That seems a bit of a contradiction

They don't care about "apertures like 1.8 or 1.4". They don't even know what those are" but they do care about "the facility to change lenses"

If they don't know what apertures are I doubt they know much about why they would change lenses either.  If they don't know what 1.8 or 1.4 means, would they know what 15 or 45 means (and that it is nothing to do with the realized focal length) ?

More so when a compact camera can already give them all the zoom range they are likely to want.