You can now become the proud owner of a Canon EOS M System camera, as they are in stock and available at Hong Kong based DigialRev. Strangely though, you cannot yet buy official UK stock versions, and Amazon are quoting the 1st November as the release date.
This puts anyone wanting to buy one in an interesting situation: you can buy an import now, such as the Canon EOS M + EF-M 18-55mm IS STM Lens, for about £630, or you can wait for an uncertain amount of time, and pay about £720 for it.
Update (22/10/12): The EOS M is now in stock at Wex and other UK shops, so you now have the choice of where to source it from.
If you should decide to buy a grey import, make sure you check the shop out before hand, and in particular find out if you will be liable for import duties or VAT.
I’ve not had a chance to get my hands on an M system camera, but I’ve been wondering how well it is really going to do. I mean, unlike buying a new SLR, you aren’t locked in to your existing SLR manufacturer due to your investment in lenses, as the system camera will take different (smaller) lenses. Sure, you can buy a mount adpater for it, and use your existing EF lenses, but why on earth would you do that? If you want to carry and use a large lens, then surely you will stick it on your SLR and get the most from it?
So, if you are not locked in to Canon by your existing lenses, then it either needs to be at least as good as the opposition, or you are just gong to be swayed by the Canon brand. As a Canon user myself, I think Canon represents one of the best quality brands for SLRs, but I don’t know about compact system cameras. Panasonic for example have been at it for ages, and been through many iterations to get to their current product range, and have many lenses available now. So the question is, will Canon’s first release be a match for other manufacturer’s fifth or tenth releases?
You can find the price comparison listings for the Canon EOS M system cameras and lenses here.
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