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Canon brings it's M series of interchangeable lens cameras back to the US with the M3 but it's not the breakout model I had hoped for.
In fact, its strengths and weaknesses relative to competitors seem unchanged from 2 generations ago.
I'm Lori Grunin for CNET, and this is the Canon EOS M3.
Its design remains its strongest asset, with a somewhat heavy, but tank-like body and substantial grip.
The control layout and menus are straightforward, and it has perks like a flash that you can tilt back for better illumination quality and a flip-up touchscreen for selfies.
It also supports a very high nice hot shoe based electronic viewfinder, though that'll cost you extra, between 200 and 250 of US, UK, or Australian currencies.
Photo and vide quality also stack up well versus its strongest competitors, not better overall, but not worse either.
Unfortunately, Though it might be an improvement for its series, it's still the slowest of the pack and doesn't have any continuous shooting mode that supports continuous auto-focus or auto-exposure.
All of that limits its versatility.
The feature set is about the same as less expensive models.
And for people who care about lens options, there's only a handful of native EF-M mount lenses.
Priced at $800 for the kit with the 18-55 mm STM lens.
It's also a lot more expensive than models with similar feature sets in the US and the UK, cameras like the Samsung NX500 and the Sony A5100, which both have the same APSC size sensor, and no viewfinder.
Oddly though, the price is relatively a better in Australia.
It's a perfectly competent camera but it doesn't stand out from an increasingly crowded fied.
Read why in my review.
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