Very good image quality in a small package

I have a Canon 5D3, but I’ve always looked for a compact counterpart for situations where the DSLR is just not convenient enough. I’ve owned a series of Panasonic and Sony compacts with increasing telephoto zooms. While having 20-30x in a small camera has been great, the image quality isn’t very satisfying, especially at “higher” ISOs such as 800 and above.

I was recently eyeing the Canon G3X, but when Canon announced that the M3 would be available in the US, I decided to take a close look at it. I ended up ordering one from Japan, with the EVF, and the 18-55mm and 55-200mm EF-M lenses.

I’ve been using the M3 for a few weeks, and I like it. It has replaced my previous compact (Sony HX50V) for almost all the use cases I had for it, and that was my goal. I’ve also used it in place of the 5D3 in a few cases, with satisfactory results.

Things I like:

- Very good image quality, even at higher ISOs.

- There are prominent physical buttons for setting mode and exposure compensation, and more physical buttons in general than other similarly-sized cameras. This makes interaction more efficient.

- The 24 MP resolution enables significant cropping. See http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/56548042 for heavily cropped shots from an arena rock concert, where I was sitting pretty far from the stage.

- The camera is small and light, and so are the native lenses. I was able to bring the M3 into the above-mentioned concert with the EF-M 55-200mm detached without any issues.

- Although the rated battery life is poor (250 shots), I was pleasantly surprised to get much more with the “right” settings. In my longest shoot so far I took 430+ shots and the battery indicator didn’t even drop a tick. See: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/56537185.

- Ability to use EF and EF-S lenses is a huge plus. Even my 12 year old Sigma 70-200mm EF lens worked flawlessly.

- The menu system is very familiar to users of Canon DSLRs.

- Tilting LCD display with touchscreen ability is handy in some shooting conditions. The external EVF also tilts, which provides flexibility not found with built-in EVFs.

Things I don’t like:

- The autofocus area is too big, which leads to some guessing in intricate focusing situations. Focus peaking can help in some cases, if “AF+MF” mode is enabled.

- Autofocus and shutter speeds are pretty fast, but response time for some operations, such as image display, is slower than a capable DSLR.

- The external EVF is expensive (if bought separately) and adds to the size of otherwise svelte camera.

- Having many physical buttons on such a small camera does mean the buttons are a bit small and close together. Also the On/Off button is a little too buried, but, on the positive side, this does make it hard to hit by mistake.

- Some non-EF-M lenses constantly and noisily “hunt” as you walk around with the camera on. Turns out this is due to “Continuous AF,” which is enabled by default. This setting works well with STM lenses, but not others. Turning it off addresses the constant hunting and probably helps with the battery life.

- I was disappointed to find that a brand new Tamron 150-600mm EF lens doesn’t autofocus on the M3. This kind of risk exists with third party lenses, especially when adapters are involved, but unfortunate nevertheless. A firmware update may be needed.

Lack of 1080p at 60 fps or 4K video isn’t a concern for me since I don’t use video features very often, and when I do, 1080p at 30 or 24 fps satisfies my needs.

I also don’t use the built-in flash or WiFi, so no opinions yet on those aspects. I’m glad to have WiFi, since I suspect I may end up needing it from time to time.

Some photos with a variety of lenses:

Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.2

Lens: Canon EF-M 55-200mm

Lens: Canon EF-M 55-200mm

Lens: Canon EF-M 55-200mm, using "miniature" mode

Lens: Canon EF-M 18-55mm

Very nice review. I purchased the 'M' for the same reasons as you did. My experience is spot on with yours. The M makes a nice addition to one's kit.

Ali.... A very informative review!  Well done... Thanks!  HAGD, Bob

MikeJ9116 wrote:

Nice photos and write up. I would suggest you consider getting the EF-M 22mm. I bought one recently and find it to be a great compliment to the M3.

Thanks. The EF-M 22mm is intriguing, one of the next lenses on my list to consider.

Ali

Just wanted to know if the AF is an improvement to the previous models? Does the AF speed suffer when using EF lenses? Is it quick like the competitors?

kevinplui wrote:

Just wanted to know if the AF is an improvement to the previous models? Does the AF speed suffer when using EF lenses? Is it quick like the competitors?

I didn't use the M or M2, so I can't compare. But the AF on the M3 is pretty zippy, and worked well and fast with pretty much all the EF and EF-S lenses I tried, not just Canon, but also some odd ones like the Sigma 15-30mm, Sigma 120-400mm, and even a 12 year old Sigma 70-200mm.

(One exception is my Tamron EF 150-600mm, which doesn't autofocus at all right now on the M3. I understand it works fine with a firmware upgrade.)

Ali

Ali wrote:

MikeJ9116 wrote:

Nice photos and write up. I would suggest you consider getting the EF-M 22mm. I bought one recently and find it to be a great compliment to the M3.

Thanks. The EF-M 22mm is intriguing, one of the next lenses on my list to consider.

Ali

An excellent buy.

Gesture wrote:

"- The external EVF is expensive (if bought separately) and adds to the size of otherwise svelte camera."

NICE, BALANCED REVIEW. VALUABLE FOR FORUMS. I DON'T KNOW IF IT CAN BE DONE WITH APS-C, BUT I LIKE THE WAY PANASONIC TUCKS EVFS INTO THE CORNER OF THE BACK, VERSUS A CENTER BUMP.

Actually i bought mine directly from Japan on the EOS M3 w/EVF kit and paid USD$550 including shipping fees, on June, that's a deal, and  I love the image quality, with time the image quality on all brands tend to be better, naturally, but still far from a real pentaprism viewfinder

Where / which site exactly? eBay?

4everAnoob wrote:

Where / which site exactly? eBay?

I also bought my kit from eBay from Japan, http://www.ebay.com/usr/ak-wellmart. It worked out pretty well and for a reasonable price. The M3+EVF+18-55+55-200 was $832, shipping included.  Seems like $854 now, still a pretty good price.

Ali

I have more ore less the same use profile!  I use the m3 (and before the m) in parallel to or instead of my 5d3 or 7d2.  The form factor and the very similar results (when raw developed with e.g. the same profile in DXO). make it also a perfect second body in parallel. Then mostly the 11-22 is mounted which is also very nice in touristic occasions.

Didn´t see this topic before. Wow, awesome pictures, especially the ISO3200 cat one....

I had M + 11-22mm lens, and it was unbeatable for sharpness and detail for the price. Now I´m struggling with Nikon Fx. Hoping to get back with rumored M5.