Canon EOS M100 Review

For photographers who want to step up from a smartphone or compact point and shoot camera, Canon hopes that the new EOS M100 will fit the bill. The M100 replaces the roughly two-year-old M10 in Canon's mirrorless EOS lineup. The M100 is the new "entry-level" model and offers the versatility of an interchangeable lens camera without the large size of a DSLR and without eliminating the user-friendliness that you find in your smartphone.

There are many new features in the M100 compared to the M10, so let's dig into the new Canon EOS M100 and see what it offers.

Canon M10 Key Features and Specifications

• Compact interchangeable lens camera
• Touchscreen-centric interface
• Creative Assist function
• 24.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
• Native ISO range of 100 to 25,600
• DIGIC 7 image processor
• Dual Pixel CMOS AF
• Continuous shooting at 6.1fps (One-Shot AF)
• Full HD video recording at up to 60 frames per second
• Built-in Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth

The Canon EOS M100 is a compact ILC with a touchscreen user interface

The Canon EOS M100 looks quite similar to the M10, but there are a few differences to point out. The M100 has a gripped surface across its front, replacing the smooth plastic surface of the EOS M10. On the rear of the M100, we find the same tilting 3-inch touchscreen with 1.04 million dots of resolution, but the M100 now includes a dedicated wireless button on the rear of the camera.

The M100 does not include an electronic viewfinder nor a hot shoe to attach an optional one (or an external flash). The M100 does have a built-in flash, however, and its guide number is 16.4 feet (5 meters) at ISO 100 with a maximum flash sync of 1/200s.

Alongside the similar appearance, the M100 is the same size as the M10 in terms of dimensions and weight. The M100 has dimensions of 4.3 x 2.6 x 1.4 inches (108.2 x 67.1 x 35.1 millimeters) and weighs 10.7 ounces (302 grams) with the battery and memory card inserted. We found that the M10 was a fairly sturdy-feeling, comfortable camera for its price point and the M100 looks to continue in that tradition.

User Interface and Creative Assist functionality

The 3-inch touchscreen on the EOS M100 is an important part of the camera's design and overall philosophy. The user interface is new and touch-based, which while not necessarily ideal for all situations, is likely a great way to ease a new photographer into a more advanced camera than their smartphone. The user interface is not just touch-based, but it is also customizable. You can toggle on and off different menu items to simplify or cater the user experience to your own knowledge level and preferences.

The simplified and revamped user interface also comes with Canon's Creative Assist functionality. With Creative Assist, you can select certain looks, such as capturing motion or blurring a background or brightening your image, without necessarily having the technical knowledge to change shooting settings manually. You select your desired look and then the camera adjusts settings as needed, letting you know what is happening. Canon hopes that the function will not only allow beginner photographers to capture their desired shots more easily, but also help them learn how the camera operates such that they can perform more settings on their own as they built their photographic skills. Further, you can save customized Creative Assist settings. In total, Creative Assist allows the user to select from blurred-sharp, dark-light, low-high contrast, neutral-vivid saturation, blue-amber color tone, magenta-green color tone and monochrome image parameters.

The Canon M100 gains a new sensor, going from 18MP to 24MP

The Canon EOS M100 may share the same entry-level status as its predecessor, but it does not share the same image sensor. Whereas the M10 had an 18-megapixel APS-C sensor, the M100 gets the same 24.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor found in the Canon EOS M5 and M6 cameras. This sensor records 14-bit RAW files and includes self-cleaning capabilities.

The new sensor packs not only more megapixels, but it also has a wider native ISO range, going from 100 to 25,600. The M10, on the other hand, had a native ISO which topped out at 12,800, although it could be expanded to ISO 25,600.

Dual Pixel CMOS AF: EOS M100 shares the same AF system as the M5 & M6

With Dual Pixel CMOS AF, the Canon EOS M100 shares the same autofocus system as the M5 and M6. While the M10 used Hybrid CMOS AF II autofocus, both the M100 and the M10 offer 49 user-selectable autofocus points. The Dual Pixel CMOS AF is rated to work from -1 to 18 EV, and the M100 includes a built-in AF assist LED lamp for focusing in dim conditions.

Autofocus modes on the M100 include single-point AF, zone AF, automatic selection and Face+Tracking AF. The camera offers One-Shot AF and Servo AF modes as well. You can use the touchscreen to move the autofocus point when working with compatible modes, like single-point and group AF.

Canon's Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology has impressed us in the M5 and M6 cameras, so we expect more of the same from the M100, although we will need to use the camera in the real world to verify performance.

Dual Pixel CMOS AF: EOS M100 shares the same AF system as the M5 & M6

With Dual Pixel CMOS AF, the Canon EOS M100 shares the same autofocus system as the M5 and M6. While the M10 used Hybrid CMOS AF II autofocus, both the M100 and the M10 offer 49 user-selectable autofocus points. The Dual Pixel CMOS AF is rated to work from -1 to 18 EV, and the M100 includes a built-in AF assist LED lamp for focusing in dim conditions.

Autofocus modes on the M100 include single-point AF, zone AF, automatic selection and Face+Tracking AF. The camera offers One-Shot AF and Servo AF modes as well. You can use the touchscreen to move the autofocus point when working with compatible modes, like single-point and group AF.

Canon's Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology has impressed us in the M5 and M6 cameras, so we expect more of the same from the M100, although we will need to use the camera in the real world to verify performance.

Better performance from latest DIGIC 7 processor

As an entry-level mirrorless camera, you do have to temper your expectations for the camera's speed to some extent. With that said, the M100 includes Canon's latest DIGIC 7 processor and, according to Canon, this leads to improved shooting speeds over its predecessor despite having more megapixels. The M100 can capture images with Servo AF at up to 4 frames per second and with One-Shot AF at just over 6 fps, per Canon's specifications. Canon says that the maximum burst for continuous highest-quality JPEG images is 89, and for RAW the buffer is 21 frames. We will have to test the camera in the lab to verify these numbers, of course.

Shooting Modes

The EOS M100 includes numerous creative shooting modes and advanced filters, such as HDR shooting, a self-portrait mode and more. Further, the M100 also offers in-camera RAW processing.

The M100 includes the following Picture Style options: Auto, Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Fine Detail, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, Smooth Skin, Self Portrait and three user-defined settings. Creative filters include: Grainy B/W, Soft focus, Fish-eye effect, Art bold effect, Water painting effect, Toy camera effect and Miniature effect.

Metering modes available on the Canon M100 include evaluative, partial, spot metering and center-weighted average. The metering system is rated for EV 1-20 for stills and 2-20 for recording video. Exposure control is available in Program, Shutter-priority (Tv), Aperture-priority (Av) and full Manual modes. The M100's shutter speed ranges from 30 seconds to 1/4000s, although bulb mode is also available, which was not the case with the EOS M10.

Video: Canon M100 offers up to 1080/60p, but still no 4K

The ease of use for still image capture carries over to video on the M100, as the camera allows for single button video recording via the dedicated movie record button as well as a dedicated video mode. For users who want control, the M100 offers that as well, allowing for manual video recording as is found on both the M5 and M6 mirrorless cameras.

Full HD (1920 x 1080) video is recorded at up to 60 frames per second, twice as fast as the top Full HD recording speed on the M10, with stereo audio. Although like the M5 and M6, the M100 does not offer 4K video recording. Considering its price point, that would be a particularly noteworthy inclusion, so it is not surprising to see it omitted.

The M100 has 3-axis image stabilization built-in and also has a time-lapse movie mode. Additional movie features include a Hybrid Auto recording mode that lets you extract still frames from video recordings. Maximum video recording time with the EOS M100 is 29 minutes and 59 seconds and maximum quality 1080p video at 60p is recorded at a 35 Mbps bit rate. The M100 does not offer a headphone jack nor an external microphone input.

Ports, Power and Connectivity

The Canon EOS M100 relies upon SD media (UHS-I compatible) and includes HDMI and USB ports on its left side. The camera uses an LP-E 12 lithium-ion battery, like its predecessor, but offers improved battery life. The M100 is CIPA-rated for 295 shots (or 410 in Eco Mode) or up 125 minutes of movie recording time (CIPA testing for video topped-out at approximately 80 minutes). This is 40 more shots in regular mode than the M10 and around twice the movie recording time.

With built-in Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth, the M100 has been designed to allow for easy connectivity and sharing of your images and videos. When connected to a compatible smartphone using Canon's Camera Connect App (available on Android and iOS), you can remotely transfer and capture images. You can also get GPS information via your phone and use a separate Bluetooth remote to trigger image capture.

The Canon EOS M100 versus the Canon EOS M10

• Image sensor: The Canon EOS M100 uses a 24.2-megapixel APS-C image sensor. This is over six more megapixels than the sensor found in the EOS M10. In addition to offering more megapixels, the M100's sensor has a wider native ISO range of 100-25,600 versus 100-12,800.
• Autofocus: Dual Pixel CMOS AF has impressed us in the EOS M5 and M6 and the M100 uses the same autofocus system. This is a more advanced 49-point system than that found in the EOS M10.
• Processor: With Canon's latest DIGIC 7 image processor, the M100 is more powerful than the DIGIC 6-equipped M10. The M10 topped out at just over 4 frames per second, while the M100 is said to shoot at 6 frames per second (with One Shot AF).
• User Interface: The M100 has a new, revamped user interface and Canon's Creative Assist functionality, meaning it should be a more user-friendly camera.
• Video: With Full HD video at up to 60 frames per second, the M100 is a more capable video camera than the M10, which had 1920x1080/30p video. Further, the M100 shares its video functionality with the EOS M5 and M6 cameras.
• Connectivity: The EOS M100 has built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC. The M10 had only Wi-Fi.