EOS M5 One Year and > 6000 Photos: Experience Review of an Awesome Piece of GearIntroductionEnd of December 2016 I bought my EOS M5. I added some native lenses to this Camera - there are not so many but those are pretty good ones. And since that I literally stopped shooting with my µ43 gear and the EOSM5 became my "always with me" gear. And one more thing: When i take my EOS 5DMkIV with me - the M5 was the APS-C body and not the 7D MkII....
I am pretty happy to see that some other reviewers start to identify this camera as that what it really is: an awesome peace of gear - and definitely a really great camera. What did I do with the M5First of all: a lot of traveling as well as product photography. Additionally I used the camera on family events like weddings... The M5 has seen quite a bit of the planet:
Most of the trips came along with my regular business, but some of the trips had been with the family. I do want to share some of the Very best photos from all these trips here....
This Photo was shot in San Francisco with the Zeiss Milvus 50mm f1.4. The amazing part of this Selfie was: It was really cold....
Shanghai... Top of Shanghai... Shot with the Samyang 12mm f2
Tokyo... this time at the harbor.... Again the Samyang 12mm f2.
Rome... St Peter. Again: the 12mm f2....
This is a product shot: Thin Disks for Thin Disk Lasers... This time the lens is the EF-M 28mm f3.5 macro STM
This 3 girls I shot with the EF 35mm f1.4L USM MkII
The Magic Calanques close to Cassis in the Provence, France. A panoramic shot with the EF-M 22mm f2.0
Again the EF 35mm f1.4L USM MkII - on another wedding.....
This shot I do love due to the color rendering. Not much processing... It was shot during a test period of the brand new Zeiss Milvus 35mm f1.4... More about this lens in my review. Location: Marstal, Denmark...
Hongkong.... Victoria Peak. Shot with the Samyang 12mm f2
The Latvian Ethnological Open Air Museum in Riga.... here a little baby swing... this photo shows the dynamic range of the M5... The lens in this case: the EF-M 22mm f2.0
A little bit of a fun shot... The Moose in front of the fence.... shot with the EF 200mm f2.8.... in Jackson
London, Princess Ann at the Graduation of the University College of Ostheopathy... shot with the EF-M 22mm f2...
Newcastle in Northern Ireland. Lens: EF-M 22mm f2
Christmas Cookie preparation... The EF-M 28mm f3.5 macro delivers shots you cannot perform otherwise....
With the EF 85mm f1.4 IS USM I added another really great lens to the portfolio - this portrait show the nice and beautiful bokeh of that lens....
Night shots... Even in this discipline the M5 delivers... The lens: the Samyang 12mm f2.0...
And finally: San Francisco again. This view is just amazing. Shot with the EF 50mm f1.4.... Panoramic shotsI do live panorama shots. I do own a couple of panorama heads - depending on the tripod size. The good thing on the M% I can use the lightest tripod for traveling: my Gitzo...
HDR Panorama on Shanghai with the Samyang 12mm f2... Focal length distributionWhen I look at all the photos I shot with my M5 and put in the "Best of M5" folder for this review It is maybe interesting which focal range I do prefer:
Interestingly is the distribution of the 50mm shots -which represents my preferences. The majority is shot with the Milvus followed by the EF 1.4. The reason is pretty simple: the bokeh of the f1.4 is more pleasant....
The M5 as Travel Camera: What's with my Travel BagIf you think the title is wrong - it is not. Because it starts with the bag itself. I do travel a lot - more than 1/3 of the year I am traveling- mostly to conferences and trade shows all over the world. And I always do have my travel gear with me.... I do use a Thule Crossover Daypack. Here I have my business gear with me - My notebook, iPad, documents, sunglasses, power supplies etc. And in this backpack I do carry my camera gear. Additionally. In the time to the µ43 cameras I carried the camera in the sunglass compartment and the lenses in little Manfrotto poaches. With the EOS M5 I changed the system. I added a Tenba "Tools BYOB"/"Packlite Flatback Bundle 13" to my bag portfolio. And this fits into my Thule backpack.
What's in this bag?
Quite a lot - and all needed. The camera itself has the EFM 22mm f2.0 mounted and it is unprotected above the Tenba bag in the same compartment that the Tenba.
During the time of usage I do had some changes....
And there is another setup possible.... Carrying to bodies in the Thule back. Than I used the 5D4 with the 35mm f 1.4 L USM MkII, skipped the 50mm lens and added the 200mm f2.8 L USM instead: yes - this fits in the little Thule Corossover and the Tenba as well!!!
And bleibe it or not all this stuff goes into the Thule Backpack:
In the backpack is a 15" Macbook pro as well as an iPad (meanwhile sometimes the bigger one as well) and all the stuff I need to run my Stuff like chargers, adapters etc... What I cary separately: The tripods. I do use 2 different steps here: my tiny Gitzo or in some cases the bigger and more sturdy Triopod from Novoflex. But this comparison I will do in a separate blog post. In some cases - like being in Rome my setup was even simpler: the M5 on me, and 2 little Manfrotto poaches - on for the 12mm Samyang and one for the 50mm lens with adapter... for shooting in environment like Rome: what do you really need more? Shooting ExperienceAfter so many photos in so different environments I still stoked obey this camera. The size and weight make this camera to a perfect companion. The rating IQ to weight is hard to top. But that's not all. There are a couple of other things which makes this camera outstanding. AutofocusThe Autofocus of this camera is one of its greatest assets. The technology Canon uses is called "Dual Pixel AF". A brief description of the technology you find in Canon´s Professional Network site CPN and how it works Canon USA has a pretty nice Article how DPAF works. What amazes me here is shooting sport and wildlife... even birds in flight works pretty well....
Manual Focusing with MF LensesYou may wonder why I choose this topic. I do own a variety of Zeiss Milvus lenses. Which are awesome. In comparison with my DSLR´s shooting with the M5 the accuracy of focusing is mach better and the process is much easier. Especially shooting through the EVF. There is a special feature which allows you to magnify the viewfinder and moving the area of interest just with the finger on the touch screen of the camera. Amazingly you can choose which area you want to use to do so. I use my left eye when I look through the EVF. Therefore the upper left corner of the screen is suitable for me. For people using the right eye the right corner will be better...
The photo above was shot in a restaurant in Tokyo (Shibuya station - for the insiders...) actually under the rails.. an amazing place... The light: pretty low - ISO 2000, f 2.0 and 1/50s... You are so much more confident shooting manually than with autofocus.... Dynamic rangeThe starting point of buying the M5 was the dynamic range of the 7DMkII - especially in comparison to the 5DMkIV - which was a big step up closing the gap to the Sony sensors for Sony themselves and for Nikon.
Specialties of the EOS-M lens portfolio...There not much in that portfolio. Not many 3rd parties support that mount - what I do not understand. I would expect at least Sigma to show up with there nice DN Art lenses - which I do own for µ43 and I do like very much. But the Touits from Zeiss as well as the Loxias would fit as well. Samyang did a great Job with the awesome 12mm f2.0... If it comes to prime lenses: Canon just offers 2 native EOS-M Mount lenses: the 22 and the 28 macro. Both are awesome! They are very light, very compact and they deliver en excellent performance.
A very special shot with the EF-M
A very interesting lens is the EF-M 28mm f3.5 macro IS STM which I reviewed earlier... A lens which delivers very special photos - which you cannot get with any other camera on the market....
There are a couple of native EOS M zoom lenses. They are slow - but pretty good performers. I tested them here and there in camera stores. For people who don not have the highest need for fast glass will have very good options. When it comes to fast glass: the only choice so fare are the full format lenses - either from Canon or others...
The adapters are a story of its own. Using Canon´s L-glass - this is a bit rediculous. Do you agree? The issue here is: This combo delivers outstanding results - and with the Milvus 35mm f1.4 the combo looks even more crazy.... But the result is really outstanding. And than we should admit: what is the difference using this glass on the M5 instead of the 7DMkII or an 80D etc... The advantages are still there: the light body, the zoom in the EVF etc.... What do I like?There is a lot to say.... The quality of a camera is not represented by adding up specs and data. It is much more about handling, ease of use, how the camera feels in your hand, software issues as well the menu structure and functionalities the camera as well as the support you get f.i. from the applications in computer and apps on smartphone and tablet - in my case iOS devices. But there is more...
Another topic is drag and touch release. I do lie this feature on the 5DMkiV but the implementation here is even better. What is really bad with the M5First of all: not much. But a there are things which are hard to digest. For instance:
And the other critique points I mentioned in my earlier review is still valid: lot of space for improvement, Canon.... I just repeat what said there:
PLEASE CANON: IMPROVE!!!VerdictThe EOS M5 is a camera I like to shoot with. It is not only the form factor I like - it is the way how I can work with the camera. The great points are
Interestingly: since I have the M5 I used my µ43 gear just for video - and here it is really helpful... But for photography the M5 is the preferred one. MiscellaneousI do have to places for the photos in this review, The sample shots of the EOS M5 are in the link and the photos of the M5 you find here. The product shots typically are made with the EOS 5DMkIV... And one topic I do have to admit: Yes: this camera is used mainly with awesome glass as well - which I love to use and which has an influence to the results as well
Comments
I agree with your assessment of the M5. A while back, I purchased an M3 as a smaller, easier to carry camera when I did not need to carry my 5DM3. The biggest missing element was a built-in viewfinder although I had the optional EVF. When the M5 came along, I purchased it with a kit lens and an EF lens adaptor. I am very pleased and quite surprised at the quality of the images the kit lens produces. Last October when we visited Istanbul, I used it as my only camera and then gave it as a gift before returning home. The first thing upon coming home was to order a replacement kit. Believe it or not, I bought a second body to replace my infrared camera! I pull out my 5DM4 only for special projects. Most of my neighborhood photographs and the travel ones come from my M5. I will explore a couple of lenses you mentioned in the review too.
I enjoyed your Istanbul panoramas, you have a nice view of the Hagia Sophia which I came intimately close a few years back when I was given access to its dome from inside.
No comments posted.
Loading...
|
