Canon EOS M200 with 15-45mm kit lens: first hands-on review
Here we go, guys, with the first review of my new camera. I received many messages, containing questions about my choice and how I feel with this camera, especially from a street photographer perspective.
In reality, it is still early to satisfy all your curiosities. The camera has only been with me for a couple of days and I still haven't used it at full capacity in a walk dedicated to street photography. In the next few days there will be time to carry out a real test. In the meantime I took the camra with me on two outings to go to eat and buy things in a barrio nearby and this first review is a way to share my first impressions with you.
What features drew you to that Canon for street? I got this question just yesterday on instagram. And i think is a good thing to answer it. And there is a story behind. When I was interviewed in August of 2020 by Zavala Photoshoot I revealed the idea that I was going to get a Canon DSLR and his video maker (you can find him as @charrosamurai on iinstagram) said that I would have done great things with Canon cameras. It was like opening a pandora box: things were no longer going well with Fujifilm and the negativity that I was carrying with me from the experience of the last year was also pouring out on the cameras that I could no longer see as before.
From a 2011 DSLR, I started pulling magic. And so I first bought a 50mm and then the 24mm. What would have been tools for my commercial photography and documentary photography also invaded my street photography more and more. Canon is digital, yet it will be the colors, a conservatism that reminds me of the early days here in Mexico, spent between readings of the cuartoscuro magazine and visits to the centro de la imagen. Canon is the camera mostly used by photojournalists. And Canon is cheaper than other brands. And its diffusion in terms of presence on the territory, even in terms of technical assistance, is superior to all the others. Earlier this year I bought a Canon Rebel T7, with both DSLRs I rediscovered the pleasure of not having to charge the batteries every day.
This year is Canon's announcement to discontinue SLR cameras by focusing everything on the mirrorless market. At that point, studying Canon's development in this area became mandatory. The last Fujifilm I had left, having sold all the others, was the XPro2, with a lens of the 50mm brand and a 7Artisans that forced me to use manual focus. The latter was an imprecise lens that often made me fail to focus. And at that point I realized that it no longer made sense to have the XPro2: at this point i have to say a thing, those Fujifilm guys paid me with that camera, which was used and which often reset itself in the settings. It was a pain in the ass when I changed the battery because many times this meant the reset and I had to configure the camera again as if it were the first use. Even in that, dishonesty and lack of professionalism can be assessed. For the focal lenght I was covered with the Canon DSLRs, and so I said to myself: OK, it's time to sell the latest Fujifilm. And at that point I was thinking of the Ricoh GR. I was very excited by the idea to have again a Ricoh camera with me. But then I watched this video from this guys on YouTube:
The Ricoh idea has vanished in the face of this. In practice it is a Ricoh for compactness and discretion, but with a real system. And this system includes a lens which is 22mm which equates in ff to 35.2mm. If in the DSLR system with the 24mm I have a lens that is a 38.4mm equivalent and Canon does not have a real 35mm in that APS-C series, my favorite focal length for the street, now I can finally get a 35 again.
This review
All the photos you see on this review are JPG straight from the camera with no crop. I just added in Adobe Lightroom with my POSITIVE FILM preset that you can purchase by clicking here.
The photos show local market situations. The red or yellow dominant is given in some photos by the presence of tarpaulins from the market itself. And these cannot be corrected even in post production.
The camera
24MP - APS-C Sensor
3" Tilting Display
ISO 100 - 25600
3840 x 2160 video
Canon EF-M Mount
299g - 108 x 67 x 35mm
Released September 2019
The camera is veri small, compact and light. Despite some photographers complain about the absence of a grip in my hand this square design fits well in my hand: with Ricoh GRD and some Fujifilm (ex. X70) the grips have an adhesive material that tends to come loose over time. The menu is intuitive despite there are a lot of features. Simply Canon has the best menu system in a digital camera since DSLR times. I consider it a real hybrid camera where the production of images and video is important the same. Maybe the position of the REC button for video very close to the finger grip in the back side of the camera can be a problem. Several ways I have already pressed accidentally the button starting the recording. But I think it's something I have to get used to. And even with the touch screen activated, sometimes I get involuntary shots and I usually photograph my feet. But I find in this camera the use of the touch screen really comfortable especially in situations like those I found myself photographing, with many people and at close range, I get more invisibility. The tilt screen is a gold feature for making videos framing yourself: I think I wull use this camera anytime I need to grab myself while the Akaso is not good for that.
The Canon M200 is a excellent option to use in Street Photography. A street photography camera giving a perfect balance of image quality (6000x4000 for me is all I need) and portability.
The lens
The Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 is STM lens is a kit lens. And like all kit lenses it is not the best to work. It is equivalent to a "24-72mm f/5.6-9.6" on full format cameras so it's slow,, but it's wider than the Canon EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 STM IS proposed on DSLR systems. Of course you already understand the lens is not a recommendation for street photography. This doesn't mean that you can't take some interesting photos on the street as well but in general it's not something to really contemplate as an everyday use for street photography. Due to the retractable design, I have to switch the lens from its transport mode into the actual working mode. And when I started it was frustrating anytime to press the block button, byut…i discovered that I can also turn off the camera leaving it at the focal length I want to work with. If in the hotos on the video I worked mostly using the ff equivalent of 24mm in the gallery you can appreciate the equivalent 28mm…but again… it is a slow lens, guys…
The lens is mostly made in plastic and the positive aspect is a very light-weight at just 130g. But i really can’t wait to have with me the 22m pancake lens to make the serious thing with this camera.
My votes
PORTABILITY 100
IMAGING 90
FEATURES 85
OVERALL 100
I am very enthusiast of the camera. Video quality is excellent and I never worked that good with a kit lens. Despite the lens is not the one I will work in future and the fact I am not so convinced about the transportation block button, with the plastic tube emerging expecially if I use the wide angle lenght, the experience is good on the street. Portability to me is superior to Ricoh GRD, Panasonic Lumix LX3 and Fujifilm X70. With the 22mm this thing will be even more evident.
Image quality is exactly whay I expected. The colors are fantastic, vibrant yet realistic, in full Canon style.
The features are OK. I love the fact is an hybrid camera, thought for creators and I feel myself more more stimulated to use the automatisms offered by the system. There is a in-built flash that I can use for some creative shots just like I love to do sometimes with my famous ghosts. I don’t mind really the abscence of the hotshoe because in this camera you don’t really need a viewfinder.
The overall look of this camera is absolutely positive. The camera is exactly what I wanted to be the companion of my Canon DSLRs. I love also the design despite you can’t believe this from an old school photographer like me. But less is more is more than a saying to me, it is a philosophy and I am going to show how good is this camera for Street Photography.
Conclusions
The Canon EOS M200 is a compact, really user-friendly interchangeable lens camera. I would recommend this camera to the ones in love with photography but coming from smartphones, to the beginners but also to open-mind experienced photographers lookinf for a small companion to make quick photos in any situation. This is a perfect travel photography camera.
About the use that I will make will be, as I said, mostly for Street Photography. And about this let me say something: guys sometimes we street photographers tend to forget what is really important on the street. If the use of zone focusing is certainly one of the most profitable techniques, and rangefinders are a pillar of the history of the genre, sometimes it is more important not to look like photographers, to count with a very fast system and to take the photo home. If we forget the competition with ourselves and we only think about the scene in front, well, I tell you that here in Mexico if I put myself in certain places (rough places) sometimes having a camera as similar as possible to a point & shoot is the best of the choices to be made.
With a good lens, like the 22mm f2, in front of that sensor, I am getting getting the same image quality as, say, a Canon EOS 80D, but in a package just a bit bigger than a pack of cards. The classic camera just like Ricoh that nobody takes seriously and you can take some serious photos with that. And even for videos is great just like the example in the video test shows.
This camera guys is the cheapest mirrorless on the market. The personal feeling that I have is the same when I did have the Leica X2 (no kidding) and the Ricoh GRD IV. Another camera I loved was the Canon G12, which looked like a miniature DSLR. As it happens it was a Canon. Wait more reviews in this blog.
