This is my review

I have a large amount of DSLR kit, ranging from 16mm lenses up to 400mm with bodies to match. I shoot sport, weddings, bands, stage productions; in fact if it moves, I tend to shoot it.

My wife, whilst happy with the photos I show her, won't let me anywhere near a holiday suitcase with any of this kit. I therefore, had to go and look for a small, compact but capable camera to take on holiday or away for the day.

Enter the M series of cameras by Canon.

I started with an M3 which is a more than capable camera and the results were excellent for such a small device. Shoots RAW, great image quality and colour rendition, as with most Canon cameras, was very good. The big drawback (for me) was the lack of the viewfinder. It's great being able to see the scene at the back of the camera but I'm old school and like to see through the viewfinder. I appreciate this is a matter of taste, however.

I looked into buying the optional viewfinder, however, the cost was fairly prohibitive.

So I checked out my favourite website, MPB and they had a Canon M5 for sale; the best of the current M series line up of Canon mirrorless cameras. I sent my M3 off for a quote and surprise surprise, they offered me a good deal to swap for an M50. I am not in any way connected with that website and am only offering my personal opinion, having dealt with them for a number of years now.

A short time later the M5 arrived and it really is a great little camera. I find the lenses are a bit plasticky compared to the rest of my kit but this is a small price to pay. I can fit my camera and two small M series lenses into a case not much bigger than a make up bag (which is how I compare and explain it to my Wife!) and take it wherever we go.

I have a viewfinder and this makes such a difference to me.

Again, I shoot RAW, do very little editing outside the camera as the colours are rendered very well. I tend to stop the lenses down from fully open apertures but as they are used mainly in bright conditions, this isn't a problem. I am extremely happy with this camera.

Battery Life:

I have two batteries for the camera and always carry them together, just in case the one becomes flat. I have not yet had any reason to swap them out during a photo session (around 3-400 images).

I did buy the EF-adapter when I bought the original M3 so all of my L series lenses will fit on it but I haven't yet had the time (or need) to try one on it.

Bad points:

As I said , the lenses tend to feel plasticky (especially the 18-55 kit lens). Some of the buttons can be a bit cumbersome when switching, e.g. the knurled circular switch underneath the shutter is used to change shutter/aperture etc (depending on the mode selected) and this can be awkward to use, especially if you have large fingers.

Whilst I have never had one fail, the lack of a second card slot is a bit of a worry for me so I often change the make and size of the card used and change them daily on a holiday to avoid losing any images. I have invested in a hard drive with an SD slot now which I use to upload each days photos to help me.

I will soon put up a link to my website with some sample images which may help you make a decision to buy one of these.

I come from a completely different background, but also got the M5 and like it.

i moved up from “point and shoot” (most recently a G15) to a M6II which I really like, but *afterwards* got the M5 as my frequently-grabbed camera because of its built-in EVF.

Even though the M5 has inferior specs to the M6II and older Digic, I still really like it.  My main complaints are that it does not have Fv mode, and the differences in the menu system between it and the M6II drive me to despair.

Some have complained about the plastic body and cracks around the tripod mount, but I’m using the M5 body plate from RRS that provides a lot of protection as well as a QD attachment point that is my favorite carry method.  I wish they made a plate for the M6II.