Canon EOS M100

CANON EOS M100: full review

For a long time, Canon EOS M100 has represented the utmost effort by the company to approach the “specialized” brands in the mirrorless segment. However, it must be said that, despite the not cheap price, Canon EOS M100 is an entry level among the mirrorless models. And the first thing that catches my attention looking at it, is its aggressive and unique look.

CANON EOS M100: ergonomics and design

If you come from a reflex, it will take you a while to get used to the idea of such a small camera without grip. Yes, you’ve read right. Because in Canon EOS M100 the grip has been replaced with a milled surface. Many cameras have just a hint of grip, but in this case, Canon opted for a radical choice. Thus, the milling has become both a technical and an aesthetic feature. As a consequence, the camera body is incredibly solid, the look is very original, but you need to get used to the grip. Is the juice worth the squeeze? Personally, coming from a reflex, I was a little taken aback and I didn’t have the time to get used to it.

To compensate the grip issue, the buttons are easily reachable and the LCD display works without typing. Among the other “oddities” of Canon EOS M100, there are also the small flash placed on the left and not centrally, and the lack of electronic viewfinder, which is actually a typical feature of entry level mirrorless cameras.

From the top, Canon EOS M100 shows its extreme narrowness, as well as the flash unit, the button for video recording, the command ring with the power button in the middle. On the back, the lion’s share is for the tilt monitor with less room for other commands. There’s a milledpad for the grip, the viewfinder is absent. The frontal view is the most peculiar one in terms of design, thanks to the milling that gives a rather aggressive and solid look to the camera body. At the time of its launch, EOS M100, not tropicalized, was made in black, in grey and in white.

Technical features

The 24 megapixels sensor of Canon EOS M100 is APS-C CMOS, ISO reach up to 25,600, with digital noise issue starting from 1,600. On the other hand, it has a Digic 7 processor, the same one of 6D Mark II reflex pro. This is a really nice surprise for a camera priced less than 500 euro. It means there’s been a significant improvement of autofocus performance and lighter image processing.

The autofocus of Canon EOS M100 is the greatest strength of this mirrorless, with the hybrid system that overlaps phase on contrast detection. A big step forward in the field of mirrorless cameras. Nothing to envy to a reflex model like Nikon D5600, for example.

The video is still Full HD 1080/60p with the same Dual Pixel stabilization system of the photos. There is no output for external microphone, nor for earphones.

Burst mode is 6 fps, self-timer at 2 or 10 seconds, maximum shooting speed is 1/4000. Connectivity includes WiFi and energy-efficient bluetooth. The battery guarantees 295 shots, 410 in energy saving mode.

Taking pictures with CANON EOS M100

Needless to say, the bright LCD display of Canon EOS M100 is the heart of this camera. The lack of viewfinder is somehow softened by the tilting of the display, which I found very intuitive to get to shooting modes. Besides classic modes, Canon EOS M100 has also different pre-set options, both scenes and effects.

Canon EOS M100 has a strong social nature too, because through WiFi and Bluetooth – which is preferable since it consumes less battery – you can easily reach the different networks.

Among the other extras, I found the chance to modify RAW files directly from the camera very interesting, because it’s a very rare feature on the market. Then, Canon never fails when we talk about image quality: both Jpeg and RAW… are always very good.

If we want to make some quality comparisons, I think it’s right to take into examination similar models, launched mainly in the same period of Canon EOS M100: Fujifilm X-A3 has more or less the same technical features but it’s a little bulkier and has a more performing battery. Olympus E-PL8 has a 16 megapixels sensor, but more performing burst mode, so it’s better for sports photography.

My opinion in CANON EOS M100

To judge a product like Canon EOS M100, we cannot dismiss the longstanding issue of Reflex vs Mirroless. Above all, I’d like to distance myself from those who consider the mirrorless as the halfway between Reflex and compacts cameras. It’s not like that. It’s a limiting and one-sided opinion.

But even if we accept this stretch, Canon EOS M100 resembles more a compact than a reflex camera. In fact, it’s perfect for automatic shooting mode, using some effects or scenes. This is not a camera that will make the photography amateur happy, but it will satisfy those who simply want to take pictures, without much trouble and with a very friendly touch screen.

In other words, Canon EOS M100 is a beautiful technological toy, very good-looking but not flawless: first of all, the lack of grip and electronic viewfinder. Then, the absence of direct drives that make it less attractive to those who want to have a direct control on their shots.