Way back in 2011, Canon was the late runner in the tiny but awesome mirror less camera market. The problem was they were not only were late to the race, they didn’t even bring their running shoes. The Canon EOS M was a total flop. Nine hundred British pounds of cropped sensor mediocrity. Photographers were meh about it. Reviewers hated it. Gear heads were foaming at their forum mouths to foretell the decline of Canon as a player in the future of photography. Or whatever.

Fast forward to 2014, and a certain enigmatic, orange-haired photographer (moi) is looking for a small and cheap (read very very cheap) camera that’s barely bigger than an iPhone, shoots raw and comes with a small prime lens with a nice big aperture. Also did I mention it should be cheap.

So what sort camera does cheap get you in 2014?

Well if you are looking at mirrorles cameras, not a lot. Most entry level Sony’s, Fuji’s and Olympus’s start at the £400 mark, with a bog standard boring f5.6 something kit lens. Cool primes cost extra. Sometimes a lot extra. They are good cameras, no doubt. With the latest features and technology. But they are also expensive to someone who has spent more than they care to think about on their business camera equipment.

But lurking there at the back of the market, hidden among the discounted lens clothes and discontinued film is the EOS M. A camera that sold so horribly badly, Canon slashed and slashed the price again and again every six months until we are where we are today. A camera you can buy for £200. Yes £200.

For that price, the EOS M has a lot going for it. Small size, magnesium alloy (metal) body, 12megapixel cropped sensor similar to that found in sub £1000 DSLR’s. Image quality is decent and the ISO goes to 6400. The EOS M has a super fast and responsive menu and touchscreen system, that will be second nature to anyone who has used a canon DSLR. Despite the small size, it packs most of the buttons and wheely things you’d expect on a DSLR. Video wise the little camera has a mic input Jack and shoots full 1080p at 30fps. And has fairly good phase detection autofocus during video and things.

In the box you get the little cute brick shaped camera, a dinky clip on EX90 Speedlight, the EOS to M adaptor (more on that below) and you get an all metal 22mm f2 prime pancake lens.

Let’s start off, this little lens is awesome. 22mm on a cropped sensor becomes 35mm equivalent on full frame. And 35mm is my most favourite focal length ever. Quiet and quick to focus, the solidly built lens is decent at f2, gets amazing at 2.8 and stays that way up to f16. Plus you know, it’s small, gets in close and does bokeh and stuff.

The camera itself is really fun to use. Which I can’t say about my 5D MKIII. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not comparing these £2000 and £200 cameras. I hate it when reviewers do that. But I think sometimes buyers can confuse feature rich with fun to use. The EOS M is a fun little camera, but with a few standout features. Think compact camera with bells on, rather than mini DSLR. Just to reiterate, this will not replace a DSLR. But will totally own your compact camera.

The EOS M is fully compatible with all of the available EOS Speedlights and transmitters. And via use of the adopter included the box, you can attach any EOS lens, with full metering and autofocus. Like the 85mm f1.2. Yeah. Or a 24-70mm if you really want to.

Ok, so admittedly some of the combinations are unwieldy, but if you are using the camera on a tripod or for video, the awesome flexibility of this is too good to be seen as a just gimmick. I especially love using the 45mm TSE tilt shift on the EOS M, the combination of small size, live view and the fact that focusing is done manually on the lens is great combo.

Which brings me on to the only thing I really dislike about the EOS M. The autofocus when the camera was released was really terrible. After several major firmware updates, I can confidently say is only kinda terrible. It’s as good as a high end compact. It’s accurate, but stands no chance on things that move, like children or pets. It is not on par with any modern mirrorles camera or DSLR. For some, this might be a deal breaker. For me, it is a limitation I can live with. Especially when I remember just how damn cheap this thing was.

I just find the EOS M twice as fun as it is frustrating. As a little take-with-you-anywhere camera it does surprisingly well. I really do recommend it, especially if you are on a budget, or already own a bunch of Canon EOS lenses and flashes.It is a really awesome, little and cheap camera.

Here’s a few snaps.