Canon EOS M 18MP Mirrorless Camera Official For October

Canon has officially joined the mirrorless interchangeable lens camera crowd with the new Canon EOS M, an 18-megapixel compact with touchscreen control and sized for your pocket. Packing an APS-C CMOS sensor, ISO 100-12800 (expandable to 25600 in H mode) and Full HD video recording, the EOS-M uses the same DIGI 5 Image Processor found in Canon's DSLRs, along with a Hybrid CMOS autofocus system with 31 AF points, face detection and multi-point AF.

A stepping motor system in the pair of new lenses for the EOS M – consisting of the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM kit lens and the optional EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens – mean pretty much silent AF, Canon claims, and there's a stereo microphone integrated with 64-step user-adjustable audio. 1080p and 720p MPEG-4 AVC H.264 footage is captured.

Construction is from magnesium and stainless steel; on the back, meanwhile, is a 3-inch Clear View 1.04m dot LCD touchscreen, complete with multitouch support for pinch-zooming and swipe navigation, and finished off with an anti-smudge coating. The touchscreen is also used for the EOS M's more consumer-centric editing features, such as Picture Styles to add filters and the like to stills and video, and Video Snapshot which collates a sequence of stills into a video clip, all in-camera.

Meanwhile, Canon's existing EF and EF-S lenses can also be used with the EOS M, thanks to an optional Mount Adapter; there's also a Speedlite 90EX flash for the hotshoe, with a 30 foot range at ISO 100. It can also be controlled wirelessly.

The Canon EOS M will go on sale in October, priced at $799.99 with the EF-M 22m f/2 STM kit lens. A white version, with the same lens, will be available exclusively through Canon's own online store at the same time. Meanwhile, the new EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens will arrive at the same time, priced at $299.99, along with the $199.99 Mount Adapter EF-EOS M and $149.99 Speedlite 90EX flash.