EOS M6 announced

Angled front view of the Canon EOS M6 with the EF-M 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM zoom lens and EVF-DC2 Electronic Viewfinder. (Source: Canon.)

 

 Front view of the EOS M6 without the EVF attached but sporting the EF-M 55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM telephoto zoom lens. (Source: Canon.)

Definitely not a camera for serious photo enthusiasts, the EOS M6 lacks a built-in viewfinder and appears to be set up to offer similar features to Canon’s mid-range EOS DSLR models but simplified for regular users of social media. A new EVF-DC2 Electronic Viewfinder, also announced today, is available as an optional accessory. Features that suggest the camera is designed for avid users of YouTube and Instagram and other blogging and vlogging services include the 180 degree upwards-tilting LCD screen,  touch AutoFocus and  Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity. Integrated Bluetooth supports a constant connection between the EOS M6 and the user’s smartphone, enabling them to view recently-captured photographs without taking the camera from their bag. Bluetooth can also be used to remotely capture group shots or selfies or photograph wildlife remotely without disturbing the subject.  
 

 Top view of the EOS M6 with the EF-M 55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM telephoto zoom lens. (Source: Canon.)

The new EOS M6 shares many features with the EOS 77D and EOS 800D, which are also announced today. It has the same 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor and DiG!C 7 processor. It also sports the same Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 45 cross-type AF points arranged in a 7 x 7 grid and auto or manual point selection. The touch screen monitor is the same size and has the same 1,040,000-dot resolution as the new DSLRs’ screens. It can be tilted up through 180 degrees or down by 45 degrees.
 

 Angled rear view of the EOS M6 with the EVF attached. (Source: Canon.)

Exposure determination is at a lower level, with a 384-zone evaluative meter plus partial metering of 10% of the Live View screen, spot metering of 2% and centre-weighted averaging patterns available. Exposure compensation ranges from +/-3EV in 1/3EV steps. The built-in flash has a GN of 5 (ISO100/metres), recycles tome of three seconds and X-synch at 1/200 second. The standard flash modes are supported. Continuous shooting is supported at up to 9 fps with a buffer capacity of 26 JPEGs or 17 CR2.RAW files.

Shooting modes, Picture Styles, Creative Assist settings and Creative Filters are essentially that same as offered by the EOS 77D and EOS 800D. Unlike those cameras, the EOS M6 is restricted to the sRGB colour space and, while it offers raw file capture, it doesn’t support the smaller M-RAW and S-RAW image sizes. Movie settings are also restricted to full HD resolution, with a maximum frame rate of 50 fps for the PAL system. HD and VGA resolutions are supported but there’s no option to choose between intra- and inter-frame compression modes.

Power is supplied by a LP-E17E battery, which is CIPA rated for approximately 295 shots/charge with the camera as sold or 290 shots/charge with the optional EVF. Using the ECO mode extends the battery life to approximately 425  shots/charge. The EOS M6’s body is made from polycarbonate plastic. It measures 112.0 x 68.0 x 44.5 mm and weighs approximately 390 grams with battery and SD card installed.

The new EVF-DC2 Electronic Viewfinder has a 0.39-inch ‘type’ screen with a resolution of 2.36 million dots and 100% frame coverage. Its refresh rate of up to 120 fps makes is easy to track subject movement and see the scene as it will be recorded. Users can swap between screen and viewfinder shooting simply by raising the camera to the eye. Weighing just 29 grams, it is compatible with EOS M cameras plus a range of PowerShot models.

The EOS M6 and EVF-DC2 will be available from the end of March 2017. Prices will be set at dealers’ discretion. For more information, visit www.canon.com.au.