Canon EOS M

At ~$300 with a choice of lenses, the EOS M is a phenomenal deal. Yes, even with the upgraded firmware, it’s slow to focus in comparison with SLRs and fast mirrorless competitors, but the image quality surpasses anything available at that price point.

If you’re often in the market for the ~S95/100/110 series or G11-like Canons and are serious about photography, give the EOS M a look.

Lenswise, the 18-55mm zoom and the 22mm F/2 prime are both a ton of fun. Get the one that suits your aspirations, and you’ll be happy. For most of what I do, the zoom is probably the right choice, but I couldn’t resist the siren call of adding the 22-mm lens too; when it hits, it’s compelling. The 18-55 is particularly nice at the long end; it takes nice portraits, even at f/5.6. The Canon adapter to the rest of the EF line is also quite inexpensive these days.

Edit (10/19/2014): Here are more lens thoughts: 

18-55 mm: great as an all-rounder. If I could only take one lens with me, it would be this one. 

22 mm: So fun. It’s like the EOS-M was made for this lens. Small, sharp, bright, and unassuming. It almost looks like a toy, but the results are anything but. This is the lens that I have mounted almost all the time when I’m in town. It’s so small and light, it’s a no-brainer to bring it along to pair with the 18-55. Perfect for up-close people portraits.

The body is light, but solid. The lenses are small and sharp. I’ll update this post when I actually get time in the snow shooting skiers. The capacitive touchscreen and slow-ish focus will require some extra planning and thought to get the most out of the camera in the winter.

I don’t intend to do a full review — there are photography blogs for that. Here are a few full-frame images, taken as jpegs straight from the camera.