Canon hasn’t had much of a presence in the mirrorless Compact System Camera space with the sole exception of the EOS M, instead choosing to evolve its mirrored DSLR cameras. But the company just came out with a follow-up, the EOS M2, for the Japanese market. Earlier rumors had suggested a firmware upgrade to the existing M, but this is a brand new camera. Although it’s smaller, the M2 looks identical to its predecessor. But it’s the inside guts that have improved, most importantly the autofocusing system.
The slow autofocusing has been the original M’s Achilles’ heel, with nearly every reviewing citing it as the biggest drawback. The M2 adopts the hybrid CMOS AF II system from the EOS SL1 (with phase detection covering 80 percent of the viewfinder window), which Canon says is 2.3x faster. The M2 has Wi-Fi and a new mode dial.
As for price, the M2 body will cost ¥64,800 ($630). It’s available as a kit with an 18-55mm lens and Speedlite 90EX flash for ¥84,800 ($826); throw in a an EF mount adapter (for use with other Canon lenses) to that kit and the price jumps to ¥104800 ($1,020), or ¥134,800 ($1,313) for a third lens, the 11-22mm.
So far there’s no indication of it being sold anywhere outside Japan. Until Canon U.S.A. officially announces it, don’t expect to see it stateside. Check out the video (in Japanese) here.
(Via Pop Photo)
