Canon Just for grins: Canon EOS-M speed tests, and sensor compare to EP1 and X100

wt21

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Canon sent me another check, so I feel obligated to publish some more EOS-M information :) (I'm kidding!)

For those with a morbid curiosity, here is a poorly done video I did showing EOS-M AF speed with EF-M lenses, EF lenses, operation speed and shot-to-shot speed.

IMO, the challenge for the M is more in the shot to shot speed than the AF speed.


<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/81509180" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p>EOS-M Speed Tests from W T on Vimeo.</p>

Also, I was thinking the M is kind of like my old EP1, but it certainly has a better sensor. Just for giggles, I compared the M sensor to both the EP1 (scored much better) and also to the Fuji X100, a highly respected APS-C sensor. Once you got past base ISO, the M and the X100 are pretty close! I can also see why (looking at the DR graph), the EP1 would turn so "crunchy" at higher ISO, and the EOS-M can still be managed to smooth output in post.


Some DXO screen grabs from DXOMark below:

Screen_Shot_2013-12-10_at_11_03_26_AM.jpg


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Having said all this, I still can't get the Sony a7 out of my head, but I'd have to sell the 6D and all my EOS-M stuff to get it. Don't think I'm ready for that yet!
 
It could have been a nice camera if it was released 5 years ago...

Canon has been releasing excellent lenses, but the sensor lags behind the current competition. They are more concerned about the video performance of their dslrs. Here is one of the posts in 86 pages of A7(R) posts in FM Canon forum that compares noise/dynamic range of 5D3 to A7R:

Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses
 
Canon has been releasing excellent lenses, but the sensor lags behind the current competition. They are more concerned about the video performance of their dslrs. Here is one of the posts in 86 pages of A7(R) posts in FM Canon forum that compares noise/dynamic range of 5D3 to A7R:

On a number of levels I agree, and it is quite strange that virtually every sensor manufacturer EXCEPT Canon has cracked the dynamic range code, but with the following exception. The Canon G1X uses a cut down, 4:3 aspect version of the current APS-C sensor but measures slightly worse again in DxO testing. Now there are definitely situations where the lack of dynamic range is hard to work around, but the payback is that the G1X delivers a clarity that is hard to replicate with other cameras. I don't know if the same applies to the EOS M and I am already well and truly served by enough cameras that I don't need to buy one to find out, but is something that consider enough of a point of difference to totally write off Canon as a sensor (and camera!) manufacturer.
 
It could have been a nice camera if it was released 5 years ago...

Canon has been releasing excellent lenses, but the sensor lags behind the current competition. They are more concerned about the video performance of their dslrs. Here is one of the posts in 86 pages of A7(R) posts in FM Canon forum that compares noise/dynamic range of 5D3 to A7R:

Sony A7 and A7r Full Frame with Canon Lenses


OK, Canon is behind in sensors, but let's not overstate it.

btw -- The 6D has a better sensor than the 5Diii and is, frankly, a more appropriate comparison to the a7 (smaller, similar price, etc.)

You are really talking 1 EV better at low ISO (talking the M vs. other APS-C), and the advantage is lost by ISO 400 or 800, depending on exactly which you are comparing. At least according to DXO, and they don't have the XTrans tested, so that one can't be compared.

In the 6D vs. a7, it is 2 EV at lowest ISO, 1 EV at ISO200 and 1/2 EV at ISO400, but the DR evens out by 800, and the 6D pulls ahead at high ISO.
 

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While I don't love the autofocus points of the 6D, i really enjoy making images with it. Best of all, it was less than half the cost of the latest and greatest and I have an ample amount of glass to put behind it. Putting the 40mm pancake lens on the 6D makes it a pretty serious compact :)

Compact Camera Meter

Pretty much sums up EXACTLY how I feel about it -- includ AF points, images, cost, and glass. The one thing I would add is I also like to do some on-cam flash work, and it's nice to have a big DSLR to carry a proper flash head.
 
In the 6D vs. a7, it is 2 EV at lowest ISO, 1 EV at ISO200 and 1/2 EV at ISO400, but the DR evens out by 800, and the 6D pulls ahead at high ISO.

This is very typical of a Canon vs Sony dynamic range comparison. The other sensor that exhibits a similar shape to the typical Canon curve is the D4/Df Nikon sensor which also holds most of it's peak dynamic range until about ISO 800 or 1600. Sonys are typically a straight line from lowest to highest ISO but starting at a higher peak.
 
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