Hands-On with Canon’s EOS M100 mirrorless compact

Canon’s latest compact mirrorless snapper the EOS M100 is angled as an entry level starter for casual snappers looking to step up from a camphone with better hardware and performance without a plethora of esoteric buttonry to manage. In that respect, the EOS M100 looks to be an excellent compact snapper that’s more than capable of handling all the usual scenarios expected of a camphone including the obligatory food shots, the usual snaps of sweeping scenic vistas and, naturally, selfies and wefies.

Externally the build quality looks sturdy with a compact build that allows you to cram it into a handbag or backpack in a pinch though it’s still a wee bit too large to cram into a pocket unless you detach the lenses beforehand. Its small size also makes it ideal for street photography as it looks less intimidating that pointing something the size of a howitzer at someone on the street.
At 302g including lenses, the EOS M100 weighs in on the lighter end of the scale for compact cameras and the body itself has a sturdy, even heft about it that can be had in either a shiny white or matte black finish. Large handed users may find it a bit of a challenge to grasp but the rear of the housing has a slightly raised thumb stud to facilitate one-handed use with the rest of the minimal buttons available within easy reach.

The EOS M100 one-ups many other compacts as it actually features an interchangeable lens mount that accepts EFS M lenses so there’s some degree of versatility versus a fixed lens compact. The EOS M100 comes with an Canon  EF-M 15-45mm 1:3.5-6.3 IS STM zoom lens for RM2,499. It can also come bundled with the aforementioned zoom lens and a
Canon EF-M 22mm 1:2 STM pancake lens for RM3,099.

The 24.2-MP APS-C CMOS sensor on the EOS M100 allows you to take snaps crisp snaps with a 3:2 aspect ratio in your choice of JPEG and RAW as well as videos capped at 1080/60p in the MPEG-4 codec. The camera also packs their DIGIC 7 image processor and  integrates Dual Pixel tech culled from their higher end cameras for silky smooth object tracking with 4fps continuous autofocus as well as a 6fps burst mode for fast moving action shots.

In keeping with its emphasis as a step-up phone for beginners who are stepping up from camphones, the EOS M100 minimises the amount of buttons needed to get about and has prioritises touch based controls via the rear 3-inch 1.04 million pixel touchscreen on the rear that lets you touch to focus on a subject and which can flip up 180-degrees to allow you to take selfies in a pinch as well as for low-level trick shots. A pop- up flash allows for shots in low light though the camera itself lacks a hotshoe though that’s not a downside in an entry level snapper.

Firing it up is via boldly labelled start button on the top of the chassis which has a dedicated video capture button, a shutter release and a turn dial that lets you switch between a capable auto mode, a manual exposure mode and a movie mode which automatically sets shutter speed and aperture mode for you automatically. The M100 also has an Easy Creative Assist mode that turns it into an effective point and shoot though the camera still lets you tweak the usual plethora of settings including shutter speed, ISO and the like.

The M100 also has integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for easier transfer of shots to another phone along with a pre-downloaded app, another camera, a telly with DLNA or to a Wi-Fi enabled printer with shots saved to an SD card. It also has the nifty ability to even upload shots directly to your Facebook or Instagram account though this requires quite a lengthy procedure to input all your account details in first beforehand. It even has a dedicated Wi-Fi button just beneath the thumb stud that lets you instantly fire up Wi-Fi pairing mode without having to fiddle about the settings. If you’re a Luddite, it still has a micro HDMI out and a mini USB 2.0 port to transfer shots via cable. Unfortunately, the USB port doesn’t support wired charging so you’ll have to pop out the battery and put it into a charging dock to get it juiced.


We put both the pancake and zoom lens around for a whirl in a special media preview and it served up some excellent shots with great depth of field that makes food shots and close-ups look very shareworthy indeed. Details were uniformly good on both lenses along with great colours too though your mileage will of course vary based on skill. The M100’s auto mode handles of the grunt work , allowing you to focus on getting snaps rather than having to tinker about with the settings too. The tilt display also offers quite a few creative options as well. If you’re looking to upgun the M100, you can get an optional adaptor that lets you use EF and EF-S lenses. The adaptor itself is optional and retails for RM609.

Transferring shots out was a relatively simple affair to a phone though some prep work is still needed by downloading the app first beforehand on your phone before transferring snaps. While we weren’t able to field test it at the preview, the M100 is rated for 295 shots sans flash before it drains a battery dry though you can swap them out in a pinch. The M100 comes with one battery by default though you can buy additional batteries for RM309. If you’re up for a highly capable and easy to use compact snapper, the M100 looks like quite an interesting proposition, more so as the camera will come with an additional RM100 rebate in Lazada’s Black Friday sale tomorrow which bundles in a free bag, an additional battery a 16GB SD card worth RM478. For more details swing by www.canon-asia.com.