I'm a full time professional photographer and wanted a travel camera for my holiday that I could use my own selection of lenses. The M5 fitted the bill. The only disappointing aspect of purchasing this camera from John Lewis is that whilst I was doing some street photography in Salisbury I found the...

I purchased the Canon M5 mirrorless camera in December 2017 as a backup for my Canon 7D MkII. It was also purchased as a "travel camera" because of its small size and light weight.

Classy and capable, the EOS M5 proves that Canon is serious about mirrorless cameras

Elegant controls; Compatible with EF-S lenses (via an adapter); Versatile 18-150mm kit lens;

No 4K video; Limited number of EOS-M lenses;

It’s great to see Canon finally taking CSCs seriously, and coming up with something that competes with big-hitting rivals from Fuji, Olympus and Panasonic. This is a camera that’s more than capable of taking some very nice images, and it’s also enjoyable to use. If you’re already a Canon user, or perhaps have been in the past and are looking to downsize, it’s very tempting. Fast-moving wildlife, sports or action photography might not be its strength, but it’s still a great option if you like to photograph stationary subjects. On the other hand, if you’re not already invested in Canon, it’s hard to recommend over more established CSCs - especially at the M5’s launch price. There’s nothing truly “special” about this camera, and while it’s a good all-rounder, it could do with being a couple of hundred pounds cheaper. Hopefully that’ll be the case in a few months’ time. Buy the EOS M5 here from Cannon

Lots of quick access dials and buttons; Bright and clear viewfinder; Tilting touch-sensitive screen;

M-mount lens range limited; Screen not fully articulated; Pricey;

Nice OLED eye viewfinder; Varied connectivity options; Useful touchscreen;

No 4K video recording; Pricey;

The mirrorless camera market was long notable for what it lacked: hardware from Nikon and Canon. Technically Canon has had a mirrorless offering for about four years, the EOS M, but it was a low-end model that felt more like a token gesture than a real camera.

Small and light enough to appeal to fans of compacts; Very fast and accurate autofocus---one of the best AFs we've seen; Excellent electronic viewfinder and touchscreen for easy and comfortable compositions

Lacks fast native lenses; There's a lens adaptor, but it costs another $200; Viewfinder blackout is pronounced; No 4K video, which feels odd in 2017

Canon's foray into the mirrorless world was fraught with missteps, with its first few efforts lagging well behind the competition in focus speed. The EOS M5 ($979, body only) represents a big change-its autofocus system is speedy, and it can fire off images at a quick 8.2fps burst rate.

24MP resolution; Quick autofocus; 8.2fps continuous shooting; TIlting touch-screen LCD; Sharp EVF; Built-in flash; Canon accessory compatibility; Wi-Fi

Video limited to 1080p; Omits weather sealing; Focus can struggle in dim light

The EOS M5 finally brings DSLR-level performance to Canon's mirrorless series.

Ergonomic design; Enthusiast-friendly control layout; Fast Dual Pixel autofocus; Good still image quality; Nice wireless connectivity options

No 4K video; Lens lineup lacks enthusiast options; EIS no substitute for sensor-shift stabilization

It's fair to say we've been highly critical of Canon 's compact system camera EOS M line. For a simple reason, though: the Japanese company's mirrorless cameras simply haven't been able to stand up to the competition.

Small size; big step forward for EOS M series; fast autofocus setup (finally); decent viewfinder and touchscreen combination; access to lots of lenses (via adapter

Battery depletion issues; autofocus setup can't compete with the best mirrorless cameras out there; high ISO sensitivity shows off image noise; no 4K video; expensive compared to competition

Canon's EOS M cameras have been something of a disappointment, failing to translate the company's expertise at making DSLRs into the mirrorless camera market. But the M5 shows that Canon is getting there: This camera has many of the benefits of its larger DSLR cousins (image quality, ease of...

DSLR-like controls; Can use EF-S lenses with optional adapter; Compact size

No 4K video; Disappointing image and video quality in low light; Awkward video-shutter placement makes for bumpy video starts