Canon finally joins compact system camera market

After what feels like years of hype, Canon has finally joined the compact system market, with its Canon M camera.

Coming just a few weeks before Photokina in September, the EOS M features exactly the same sensor as the recently launched EOS 650D, one of the company's entry level DSLRs.

Therefore, that means it has an 18 million pixel effective APS-C CMOS sensor with hybrid autofocusing. Also on board is a Digic 5 processor, the company's latest engine which is found in the likes of the Canon EOS 1DX.

A 7.7cm (3 inch) Clear View LCD II touch-screen can be found on the back, which can be used to set various controls as well as selecting autofocus points.

Lenses

A new lens mount has been created for the Canon M, the EF-M. At the moment, two lenses have been launched, an EF-M18-55mm zoom lens and an EF-M 22mm fixed length pancake lens. Owners of any existing Canon lens can attach them to the camera via the EF-EOS M adapter.

Full HD video recording is available, with high speed AF in movie mode and stereo sound.

There's no flash on the body of the camera, but an external Speedlite 90EX flash unit will come packaged in the box as standard. It comes with a Guide Number of 9, and supports wide-angle lenses.

A hotshoe on top of the camera is compatible with Canon's range of EX Speedlite flash units.

The Canon EOS M price will be around £769.99 (approx $1,203) with the 18-55mm kit lens. A release date of around September is expected.