My wife purchased for me a used Canon M5 with 15-45 mm kit lens as a Father's Day present, and I asked if I could use it before the actual holiday. I'd been recently mentioning how I'd like to have a walk-around camera that is both smaller and lighter weight than my Dxxx series Nikon DSLRs, something that is easier to carry around and more discrete.
The difference in size, bulk & weight is quite impressive - and you end up with better images than any current smartphone is capable of producing. Since my M6 often sits on my desk, it's my preferred camera to reach for.
Since this is my first mirrorless camera, and my first interchangeable lens Canon, I can't say that I'm too familiar this particular camera, although I do have a passing acquaintance with both mirrorless cameras and contemporary Canon products. I'm not concerned about the negative rumors around the M series.
The EOS M mirrorless, and the EOS R mirrorless systems are almost identical to DSLRs in terms of function and output. Think of mirrorless as being the same as a DSLR when switched to Live View... only much faster when in this same mode. Aside from that, they're remarkably similar, minus the mirror on a DSLR. I would prefer to use a mirrorless camera over a DSLR switched to Live View and there's a lot more versatility when it comes to focus points on the touch screen. You don't need to worry about lens calibrations any more (if this was a feature your DSLRs offered) and you can use Extenders with the appropriate lenses without the penalties applied to AF.
Does anyone have general advice about using the M5? Such as atypical but very useful settings, etc.? Particular things I need to be aware of?
Does anyone have recommendations for a fast, compact, normal prime? Or is the lens's image stabilization good enough for many purposes?
Faster prime lenses usually allow for faster shutter speeds to be used so Canon often won't include Image Stabilization unless a longer or dimmer lens is involved. I've listed my preferred 4 lenses below but there's plenty more out there to choose from. it's rare to see Image Stabilization on wide lenses... with the EF-M 11-22mm lens being an interesting exception to this rule. However, the lens has an f/4-5.6 aperture so it's good they added a stabilizer.
I shot a number of JPEGs last night around sunset and dusk, and I was very impressed.
Congratulations on your new camera! The M5 is virtually the same as my M6, with the main exception being that yours has an Electronic Viewfinder whereas mine does not. Both our cameras were released together. The R5 was also the Canon Flagship cameras for the EOS M range. These take surprisingly good photographs, identical to those from DSLRs with the same sized APS-C sensors. The DPAF sensor on your camera is excellent and you ought to find the compact size a pleasure to travel with.
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Lens Suggestions
There's a few different EF-M lenses available on the market today and I bought four of them ...because they're relatively small and affordable. The four I picked are considered sharp and practical. You might have use for other lenses or longer ones. The EF-M 15-45mm lens is the Kit Lens supplied with most EOS M cameras. It can take very good pictures but it's not considered a 'specialty lens' in any way. It's wide but it's also fairly dim with a narrow aperture range. It has certainly been the subject of copy-to-copy variation so some of these lenses may not be as sharp as the owner might want them to be. I haven't heard any complaints in the last year or so and I believe Canon may have introduced a second version of the lens - based on patents lodged a few years ago. The 15-45mm lens has a tendency towards crisp shadows with strong contrast, especially with filters, and is particularly useful in brightly lit locations. One member here posted samples from his own that looked like they belonged in a travel brochure.
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Below are the four EF-M lenses I've opted to use. I like using all three and you may not have a need of any or you might prefer to use a different lens from the EF or EF-S range instead. Note that quite a few of the EF-M lenses (including three of those below) take the same 43mm filter size. This means you can buy just one C-PL filter to share between three lenses.
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The four native EF-M lenses I bought for use on my M6 are:
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* EF-M 22mm f/2 STM
* EF-M 32mm f/1.4 STM
* EF-M 28mm f/3.5 IS Macro STM
* EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM
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The 22mm is almost a no-brainer for anyone sitting on the fence because it's Canon's cheapest lens. The flat shape defines it as a "pancake" lens. It used to be supplied as the original kit lens. It's bright enough at f/2 and wide enough that it can be used handheld at night if you have moderately steady hands. The f.2 Aperture offers some subtle yet quite noticeable bokeh with defocused backgrounds. Stopped down for street photography, this lens is surprisingly sharp and it also takes lovely portraits and lansdscapes and is an excellent travel lens for museums, vacations, events etc. This lens is TINY. I find it powers up slightly slower than other lenses... which might relate to the earlier design since this was the first EF-M lens produced.
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The 32mm lens is one of the sharpest lenses Canon has made. In my opinion, it's sharper (even when open wide) than the vastly more expensive EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM lens. It's slightly more expensive than other EF-M lenses but it's worth every penny. The bokeh from the f/1.4 aperture is really nice and very smooth. The closeups possible with this lens are also worth noting. Canon claims you can fill the entire frame with a business card and they're right, you can. This closeup ability is not quite in the true Macro range but you'd be surprised at how useful it is. Great for travel and for portraits. Also terrific for low light environments or for product closeups. This lens stays on my camera all the time. *Keep the shutter speed above 1/80 to avoid any motion blur with this lens, especially if walking whilst shooting. It certainly can shoot at slower speeds but I find my M6 likes to default the shutter speed to 1/60 sec with this lens... and occasionally this is not ideal for me when I am not standing still.
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The 28mm Macro lens is a wide-angle Macro and that makes it small and unusual in this range of lens. The 28mm Macro has a ring-light on the front of the lens for highlighting subjects and even helps with AutoFocus. It also takes great landscapes and can be used to create easily stitched low-distortion panoramas. It's uniquely useful for jewellers and people selling smaller items on Ebay and I've taken architecture shots with it as well.
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The 11-22mm lens has no true equal in the realm of other lenses. It's exceptionally sharp and captures highly detailed ultra-wide angle images without being a fish-eye lens. For architecture and landscapes it excels. But zooming in to 22mm offers flattering portrait capability and a unique look that is hard to explain on paper. At 11mm it can produce some bold and novel distortions to humans and nearby subjects. At 22mm these distortions are mostly gone and the zoom, whilst short, is a practical one. Note that at 11mm this lens may produce banding with the use of a Circular Polarizer (C-PL) and you can avoid this by either turning the polarizer to "minimum" or remove it altogether if it presents a problem. The 11-22mm lens has a lens lock to prevent the lens from creeping when traveling.
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The two lenses I find to be the most useful are the 32mm and the 11-22mm lenses. These two lenses alone enable me to capture pretty much anything I need. The 22mm is also very useful because it is both wide and fairly bright. Most people tend to use one or possibly two lenses regularly. It's always tempting to buy more but you don't always get as much use out of the other lenses.
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Tripod Mount Port + Grips
One thing to be mindful of with the R5 is that there were a couple of reports from users where the tripod mounting socket produced cracks around it. Further details emerged suggested that the camera had possibly been overly tightened when fitting it to a tripod mount. One incident involved a Peak Design Clip which may have had an overly long tripod adapter screw in it. It's not an issue many people have encountered but just be mindful not to be brutally harsh when affixing a tripod mounting plate to the base of the camera... especially tiny ones that use an Allen-key to tighten them with. I also saw one example where a user gripped his M5 camera body tightly with long fingernails which cut into the rubberized grip surface. I presume my R6 has the same grip and I'm mindful to file my nails before a big day out with the camera.
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Cool White Balance?
The White Balance was said by DPreview (this website's staff reviewers) to "stray towards the cool side" so that may or may not have any influence on your photography. I don't think I've ever seen another owner mention this so it may not be an issue or perhaps it was resolved with a Firmware Fix.
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Lens Adapter Mount
The EOS R5 camera is able to use any native EF-M lens and this includes other brands which have released lenses with the EF-M mount. But you can also use any of the many EF and EF-S lenses via an affordable Canon Lens Adapter. Don't be too tempted to buy a non-Canon brand adapter because there's been issues with the non-Canon adapters not quite fitting tightly enough. The Canon brand adapters for the EOS M-System as small, lightweight but very solidly built. They also have an additional lens mount socket on the bottom for mounting tripods with the use of heavier lenses. Try to get the one with the removable "foot" on it (see picture below). This foot is very handy and can be removed by hand without tools. This is a very solidly built adapter and you can use it to attach your EOS M camera to EF/EF-S lenses ...as well as a telescope's T-Mount.
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Canon's EOS-M lens mount adapter allows EF and EF-S lenses to connect to the M body.
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SUNLIGHT:
Show a little more caution with mirrorless cameras when it comes to Lasers and Sunlight. There's a warning in most Canon manuals to be wary of pointing the camera or lens towards bright lights but mirrorless cameras have an Achilles heel in this regard. Your DSLR has a mirror that protects the sensor at all times - until the exposure takes place. Lasers can easily damage any type of camera sensor. But sunlight is a constant threat because with mirrorless cameras, the aperture of the lens may remain open slightly, even if the camera has been turned off. There's no protective mirror like there is on a DSLR. So if you leave your EOS M (or EOS R) camera on a window sill or a restaurant table - whilst in view of the sunlight, be sure to turn it away from the direct light. Be mindful of photographing sunsets and try to pick times when the sun is slightly occluded by leaves on a tree or when the sun is very close to the horizon where the light is less intense. I've taken a few lovely sunrises and sunsets with my EOS M cameras but usually only when the sun is close to the horizon - and often with a circular polarizing filter on the lens to add a little more protection. You rarely hear about sunlight damage to mirrorless cameras because it rarely happens. But just be aware that if you mount your camera on a tripod and point it at the sun for half an hour waiting for the right shot, there's a good chance something bad will happen to your sensor. This was not a consideration or concern with DSLRs due to the mirror covering the sensor.
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Hope this might be of use to you. You've got a great photographic instrument in your hands. Enjoy your photography with it and feel free to post your favorite images here.
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Regards,
Marco Nero.
