canon EOS M100 review

Casual snapshooters and family documentarians take note: The Canon EOS M100 ($599 with 15-45mm lens) is a mirrorless camera that gets a lot right. It corrects the missteps that Canon made with its first mirrorless releases, delivering speedy autofocus and solid image quality. It's one of the smaller mirrorless models on the market, with a big touch LCD that will appeal to smartphone photographers. It's not our absolute favorite affordable mirrorless option—that's the Sony a6000—but it's a fine alternative for casual shooters who don't mind the absence of an EVF.

Design

The M100$549.00 at Amazon is one of the smaller mirrorless cameras out there. It measures 2.6 by 4.3 by 1.4 inches (HWD) without a lens and weighs about 10.7 ounces. The included 15-45mm zoom is well matched, coming in at 1.8 by 2.4 inches (HD) and adding just 4.6 ounces. The entire package weighs less than a pound and, while it won't fit in your pocket, it also won't take up that much room in a bag.

You can get the M100 in black or white. The black version ships with a matching lens, while the white body is paired with a silver lens. The 15-45mm is a collapsible design, about an inch shorter when retracted than when extended and ready to shoot. You'll have to fiddle with a lock-and-twist mechanism to extend it, which can be an inconvenience. But it's something you'll get used to pretty quickly.

Canon keeps it minimal when it comes to on-body controls. If you're serious about photography and want functions at your fingertips, the pricier EOS M5is a better fit within the EOS M system. It also includes a hot shoe and integrated EVF, two premium features missing from the M100.

The top plate houses the pop-up flash—it hides within the body when not in use—as well as the integrated power button and Mode switch, the shutter release and control dial, and the Record button.

The Mode switch only has three positions. Scene Intelligent Auto is marked by a green A and puts the M100 in complete control over exposure and focus. A middle option, marked by a still camera icon, gives access to Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Manual shooting modes. The final position is indicated by a movie camera icon and switches things over for video recording. You can start and stop a movie from any mode, however, using the Record button.

Rear controls are nestled in the bottom right corner, to the right of the LCD and below the thumb rest. You get Menu, Play, and Wi-Fi buttons, as well as a four-way control pad with Q/Set at its center and AE-L, EV, Flash, and Info mapped to its directional presses. On-screen controls supplement the limited physical control buttons. Tap Q and an overlay menu appears to adjust focus, drive, metering, image quality, and other commonly adjusted settings via touch. You can also tap the screen to set the focus point or identify a subject for tracking.

The LCD itself is 3 inches in size, packing 1,040k dots into its frame. It's bright and sharp, which is important as it's the only tool you have to frame and review shots. It's also mounted on a hinge. It's the style that can flip up and face all the way forward, so you can shoot selfies just as easily as shots from the hip. But it doesn't tilt down, so if you want to frame a shot with the camera over your head, you'll have to resort to holding the contraption upside-down.

Physical connections include micro HDMI and mini USB ports, and an SD card slot, all on the left side of the body. The battery lives by itself, accessible via a bottom door, and is rated for 295 images or 80 minutes of video per CIPA standards. The M100 does not support in-camera charging, so you'll need to replenish it using the included wall charger. It's compact and has a folding, integrated plug.

Lenses

The Canon EOS M system isn't as well established as other mirrorless systems, so it's important to consider what lenses are available. The included EF-M 15-45mm$299.00 at Amazon covers a solid range, wide angle to short telephoto, but at a narrow aperture. Canon also sells a compact telezoom, the 55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM, and an ultra-wide zoom, the EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM. The lenses are all quite small, and match well with the M100 body, but none are ideal for shooting in dim conditions.

There is one wide aperture prime, the EF-M 22mm f/2, which is small, sharp, and bright—it's the one you want for blurring backgrounds and shooting in tough light. Canon also has the EF-M 28mm f/3.5 Macro for close-up shots.

An all-in-one 18-150mm zoom and an 18-55mm round out the available glass. That's a pretty paltry selection compared with what you can get for a Fujifilm, Micro Four Thirds, or Sony mirrorless camera. Yes, you can use Canon SLR lenses via an adapter, but doing so makes the M100 a larger camera.