Photo Plus - UK (2019-09)

The Canon Magazine 103

DSLRs vs MIRRORLESS

FEATURES

The M5 is the least impressive camera in

the whole group for dynamic range but

matches the 77D for noise

CANON EOS M5 £599/$579

Canon’s flagship M-series mirrorless camera struggles

to retain its crown against the newer pretender

VERDICT

FEATURES

BUILD & HANDLING

IMAGE QUALITY

VALUE

OVERALL

A

anon’s full-frame mirrorless EOS R and

RP camera bodies have a whole new

lens mount. It works brilliantly, with key

advantages including a large flange that’s also

relatively close to the sensor. At this stage of the

game, however, there’s not a whole lot of choice

when it comes to dedicated ‘RF’ lenses. That

shouldn’t put you off, as Canon also makes a range

of adapters that enable the use of both EF and EF-S

lenses, designed for full-frame and APS-C DSLRs.

ADAPT AND FLOURISH

Use myriad lenses with the EOS R or RP

C

giving a live preview of exposure

and white balance settings. The

same range of information is also

available, including three formats

of grid overlay, a histogram for

RYHUDOOEULJKWQHVVRUVHSDUDWH5*%

channels, an electronic level and a

variety of aspect ratios.

Both M-series cameras give

options for shooting stills in 3:2,

4:3, 16:9 and square formats.

Around the back, the M5 has a

larger, higher-resolution 3.2-inch

touchscreen with 1620k dots, but it

only has a tilt facility rather than

being fully articulated. The max

YLGHRFDSWXUHUHVROXWLRQLVS

so, as in the 77D, the 4K option of

the M50 and 250D is off-limits.

Performance

Max burst rate is a little slower

than in the M50 but still faster than

the 77D, at 7fps rising to 9fps if you

can live with AF being locked in

SODFHEHIRUHWKHÀUVWVKRWLQD

sequence. The memory buffer is

VPDOOHUWKDQWKH'HQDEOLQJ

UDWKHUWKDQVKRWVLQ5DZ,Q

-3(*WKH'·VEXIIHUHQDEOHV

unlimited shooting, whereas

there’s a 26-shot limit in the M5.

01

The Dual Pixel AF

has a limited 49

points that can be

selected by camera.

02

Connectivity

includes USB 2.0,

Wi-Fi, NFC,

Bluetooth.

03

The dedicated

+/-3EV exposure

compensation dial

is a nice addition.

04

An adapter for

mounting EF and

EF-S lenses is

available.

05

The 3.2-inch 1620k

rear screen is large

and highly detailed.

OWKRXJKVWLOORIÀFLDOO\WKH

range-topping M-series

APS-C format mirrorless

camera in Canon’s line-up,

the M5 has an image sensor and

processor that are a generation

older than those of the M50, as

well as the 250D for that matter.

At its heart, the camera has the

same imaging system as the 77D.

As in the newer M50, the M5

KDVDQ2/('YLHZÀQGHUZLWK

2360k dots and full coverage of the

image frame. Again, it’s not as

FOHDUDVDQRSWLFDOYLHZÀQGHUZKHQ

panning but has the advantage of

RAW* SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO

50

30

20

10

Si

gn

al

• t

o-

no

is

e^

ra

tio

(D

B

)

ISO100 800 1600 3200 6400 12800 2560051200

40

RAW* DYNAMIC RANGE

14

6

4

2

Dy

na

m

ic

ra

ng

e^

(E

V)

ISO100 800 1600 3200 6400 12800 2560051200

8

10

12

As well as the standard Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R, up-market alternatives

add a control ring or a facility for using drop-in variable ND or polarizing filters