This labour day weekend I took the Canon EOS M100 for a spin. To start of I really liked the size of the camera it is compact and easy to bring out. It delivers quality images that matches up to the DSLR. In a way, this camera is a baby DSLR, that has similar quality of images but is surprisingly not as user friendly.
The Canon EOS M100 comes with a 15-45mm Kit Lens, 24.2 Mega-pixels APS-C, Wifi and Bluetooth capabilities, Touch Screen LCD, Full HD 1920X1080 and Image Stabilization. It also has a detachable lens so there is an option to get a different lens later on.
The best photos are taken on Manual settings, hence this makes the camera not as easy to use as a simple point-and-shoot. There is also no User Guided Interface, so that means the user would have to figure out Aperture, Shuttle and ISO before they attempt to use the Manual settings. The photos are crisp and clear and provide a nice background blur.
The one thing that perhaps upset me the most with this camera is the inability to choose a focus point on “Food” and “Close up” Mode, compared to my DSLR and even my phone where I can press the screen or adjust the focus to be exactly where I want it to be. However, when I put the camera into “Food” and “Close up” Mode the focus is all over the place and every focus point I choose refused to focus. It just shows that these auto-settings are not the greatest.
Using the “Food” Mode (left) and “Close Up” Mode (right)
No doubt the camera’s auto-focus is great for video capture because it adapts very fast on the go. Testing it’s video capability showed that the in-camera mic and image stablization delivers nice and clean audio and footage. However, the lack of a 3.5mm stereo jack to insert an external mic, limits the camera’s ability to record audio in windy conditions. The up-ward tilting screen allows for easy vlogging and selfie taking, however because of its size it can be rather clunky to hold for long periods of time.
One Mode that I liked was the “Toy Camera” Mode. You could choose between, Cool, Warm and Original Tint. I liked this Mode because it gave off a very vintage feel to the image, like using an old camera, but yet it does not reduce the quality of the overall image.
There is also a unique feature on “Creative Assist” Mode, with the dial on video, I ended up taking both a short video and a photo. Which is quite interesting as you take a video of the few seconds before take a photo. Having both a video and a photo file was quite a happy accident because you get to capture the liveness of the moment from the video and the clear image from the photo.
The battery life on the camera is great as I used it casually to take a few photos a day for 3 days and it did not even lose one bar of battery. This means that you could likely take the camera out for the whole day without much issue with the battery life.
The grip of the camera is decent. It is not as comfortable as a curved grip of a DSLR and is not as light as a phone, it sits somewhere in between both.
My overall impression of the EOS M100 is that it is a camera that does not leave a very lasting impression. It has the ability to take good video and photos but it is not something that my DSLR and phone cannot already do.
The price of this camera range from SGD 699 (currently on sale at bestdenki.com.sg), SGD 799 (on harveynorman.com.sg) and as high as SGD 999 (on courts.com.sg). There are many other phones and cameras that can do a great job at the same, if not at a lower price. An example of a competitor is the Nikon D3400 DSLR which is currently at SGD 749, with a 18-55mm Kit Lens. Similarly, Canon’s own EOS1300D DSLR Camera with a 18-55mm Kit Lens is currently at SGD 669.
This is not a bad camera for beginners, as nearly all controls are found on the Touch Screen, using it on auto is also a straight-forward and simple experience. However, this camera is not the best mirrorless camera in the market and it is really expensive for what it is.