Canon launches the EOS M5 mirrorless camera in Malaysia!

Canon hasn’t had the best time competing in the mirrorless segment of the camera market. Their previous EOS M devices have all felt a little lackluster, most commonly plagued with autofocus problems. However, at Photokina this year, the company launched their best mirrorless camera yet — the EOS M5.

Now, Canon is officially launching this “mirrorless EOS 80D” here in Malaysia and you can pick one up for yourself at the end of December.

Canon’s EOS M5 brings a number of advancements to the EOS M lineup. The sensor, for example, is new and looks to be a significant upgrade from the EOS M3 it succeeds. This new 24.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor comes equipped with a Dual Pixel CMOS AF — an autofocusing system that you’d find on Canon’s flagship EOS 1DX Mark II.

This new AF system utilises phase-difference detection to quickly and accurately focus on your subjects. This makes the EOS M5 the fastest autofocusing camera in the EOS M lineup. From my brief hands-on, the AF is definitely quick, but I’m not sure if it’s as fast as some of Canon’s other competitors in this segment.

Another worrying trend for the EOS M5 is that the camera is only capable of recording up to Full HD video at 60fps. In the mirrorless segment, this is a pretty big letdown, considering many can shoot 4K video, especially when you have a nice touch screen for focusing.

Other new features in the EOS M5 include an Electronic Viewfinder or EVF with 2.36 million dots. In the past if you wanted an EVF on the EOS M range, you would have to splurge for a hotshoe mounted add-on, but now it comes built-in, The EVF is pretty crisp and nice to look at, and you don’t get too much of a delay when you quickly pan the camera.

However, this EVF does create some limitations for the EOS M5’s tilting screen. On the previous EOS M3, the screen tilts upwards so you can use it for selfies and vlogs even on a tripod. But because the EVF is now obstructing the top of the camera, the M5’s screen now tilts downwards which means if you want to monitor yourself in the camera, the screen will be blocked by the tripod. Speaking of the screen, the camera comes with a 3.2-inch LCD panel with approximately 1.62 million dots.

As far as build is concerned, the camera feels rather good. The construction is solid and you’ve also got a nice secure grip to shoot with. This camera comes with Canon’s EOS M mount so it’ll take all the old lenses from Canon’s mirrorless lineup too. If you want to use Canon’s DSLR lenses, you can do so with an adapter.

As far as connectivity goes, the EOS M5 comes with Wi-Fi, NFC and Bbluetooth connectivity.

To me, the EOS M5 is definitely a significant upgrade from the EOS M cameras of old. They definitely fixed what I thought was one of the system’s biggest drawbacks — the AF — and that actually makes it a rather tempting purchase now. However, the lack of 4K video recording, audio monitoring and a fully articulating screen may turn videographers off this particular camera.

Alongside the new camera, Canon Malaysia also launched an EF-M lens, the EF-M 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM zoom lens. With a focal range of 18-150mm, this lens packs a lot of versatility and can be used with all EF-M mount cameras.

The Canon EOS M5 will be available for purchase both in retail stores (Canon Image Square, EOS Boutique, Canon Authorised Dealers) and online through Canon Malaysia’s new partnership with e-commerce website Lazada. Here’s what the pricing looks like:

Canon EOS M5 (body only) — RM4,699 — Available End December
Canon EOS M5 with EF-M 15-45mm — RM5,199 — Available End December
Canon EOS M5 with EF-M 18-150mm — RM6399 — Available Mid January

If you pre-order the camera between now until the 12th of December 2016, Canon Malaysia will throw in a free 16GB SD card, an EM-E2 neck strap, a messenger bag and an EF-EOS M mount adapter (without the tripod collar).

To commemorate the collaboration with Lazada, Canon Malaysia will also have a special promotion that will be held between the 8th of December 2016 and the 7th of January 2017. Customers who buy any of the three SKUs related to the new Canon EOS M5 will receive 2x rewards on Air Asia BIG Points. The offer is valid for the first 50 customers throughout the promotion period.

For more information on the product, you can head here. You can also visit Canon’s official Lazada store for more pricing information.