Both Nikon and Canon have been late to the game, and half-hearted, in their attempts to enter the mirrorless market – content up until now to protect their DSLR offerings. However, the writing is on the wall, and with the advent of phase-detect pixels and high-resolution EVFs, mirrorless is poised to take over even more of the traditional DSLR market. With the Canon EOS M5 Canon seems to have finally decided to produce a state-of-the-art mirrorless offering, able to go head to head with its own DSLRs. A 24MP APS-C model, capable of 9 fps, and sporting a 2.36MP EVF and dual pixel AF, it will be worth considering for anyone not completely addicted to an optical viewfinder.

The M5 features built-in WiFi, and Bluetooth Smart, which seems to be designed to compete with Nikon’s Snapbridge as a better way to connect to your smartphone. A fast DIGIC 7 processor and 5-axis image stabilization round out the headline features. For those who aren’t familiar with the breakthrough that dual-pixel Autofocus represents, it means that mirrorless cameras (and even some smartphones) can use the same type of very-fast phase-detect Autofocus that used to be reserved exclusively for DSLRs.

Amazingly, due in part to ditching the mirror box, the M5 weighs less than a pound. Of course there is no free lunch on lenses, so any lens you put on this APS-C mirrorless will be the same size as a similar one for a crop sensor DSLR. However, all this performance in a small size doesn’t come cheap. The Canon M5 is available for pre-order at $980 – although there is no estimate for when it will ship. That doesn’t include a lens, but you can of course use your existing Canon lenses. If nothing else, I think this will be a very popular backup camera for those with larger and heavier DSLRs.

Now, we’ll have to see if Nikon makes a similar move. It is hard to see how they can avoid it.

Full Specs:

Imaging

Lens Mount
Canon EF-M

Camera Format
APS-C (1.6x Crop Factor)

Pixels
24.2 Megapixel

Aspect Ratio
3:2

Sensor Type / Size
CMOS, 22.3 x 14.9 mm

File Formats
Still Images: JPEG, RAW
Movies: MP4

Memory Card Type
SD
SDHC
SDXC

Image Stabilization
Digital, 5-Way

AV Recording

Video Recording
Yes, NTSC/PAL

Resolution
1920 x 1080: 60 fps, 50 fps

Aspect Ratio
16:9

Video Clip Length
Up to 29 Min 59 Sec

Focus Control

Focus Type
Auto & Manual

Viewfinder/Display

Viewfinder Type
Electronic

Viewfinder Pixel Count
2,360,000

Display Screen
3.2" Rear Touchscreen Tilting  LCD (1,620,000)

Screen Coverage
100%

Exposure Control

ISO Sensitivity
Auto, 100-25600

Exposure Modes
Modes: Aperture Priority, Manual, Program, Shutter Priority

Continuous Shooting
Up to 9 fps at 24.2 MP
Up to 7 fps at 24.2 MP

Performance

Wi-Fi Capable
Yes

Power

Battery
1x LP-E17 Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery Pack, 7.2  VDC, 1040 mAh

Physical

Dimensions (WxHxD)
4.6 x 3.5 x 2.4" / 116.8 x 88.9 x 61.0 mm

Weight
15.1 oz / 428 g