Fujiflim and Hasselblad's Bid for the Medium Format Mirrorless Market

The medium format cameras have been traditionally considered a studio camera, although that is far from the real truth as there are lots of accomplished artists using this camera in the field, one only has to look at the work of Edward Burtynsky. He like many others has flown these cameras on quad copters, pointed them out of helicopters and aeroplanes, and off of temporary platforms or ladders. Removing the mirror out of these cameras should create a lighter more portable camera, that will expand what can be done in the field. The two diagrams below which compare the GFX and X1D mirrorless to the 645Z illustrated this difference. Perhaps this is what is behind DJI's, a very successful drone manufacturer, acquisition of a majority stake in Hasselblad, they see the potential of using these cameras on drones.

Photograph Comparison from FujiRumors

Photograph Comparison from FujiRumors

Is it Really Medium Format
Medium format cameras have various sizes of sensors unlike APSC and full frame (with the exception of Canon sensors of course) they are standardised sizes. The following illustration gives you a good idea of the size of the sensor in these two cameras and how they compare.

As you can see although the sensor is similar in size to the Pentax it is significantly smaller than the traditional Hasselblad sensor. However, if you do the math the full frame sensor is 60% the size of the GFX 50S/X1D sensor, which is also a significant difference. Two Very Different Approaches
Two companies have recently developed medium format mirrorless cameras. Hasselblad announced the X1D in June of 2016 with a 50MP CMOS sensor (43.8 by 32.9mm) then Fujifilm announced the GFX 50S with a 51 megapixel CMOS sensor (43.8 by 32.9mm). They have each taken quite a different direction in their approach developing the mirrorless medium format camera. I suspect this difference means that it is impossible to suggest one is better than another as neither will appeal to the same sort of photographer.
The X1D smaller in size and also 75 grammes lighter so it will appeal more to a photographer to those who currently own a large mirrored medium format camera or as an upgrading to the owner of s full frame high-resolution mirrorless camera, and want a good lightweight field camera.
The GFX 50S, on the other hand, is larger and heavier but has the advantage of adapting other medium format brand lenses, including the Hasselblad leaf shutter lenses. It also unlike the Hasselblad has lots of manual external dials to control camera settings. The last difference is of course price. The X1D body currently lists for $8995 US or $12995 with 45mm lens, but the GFX 50s is rumoured to be $6995 for the body and with the 63mm lens $8682. I think this camera would appeal to those using high-end full frame DSLRs, that think medium-format is too expensive to invest in.
The GFX 50S body price is similar to the Nikon D5 priced and $6496.95 (with a 50mm lens $8100) or the EOS 1DX at $6299 (with a 50mm lens $7650). But more important Fujifilm's GFX 50s delivers a camera closer in size to Nikon's D810 than the larger D5.

Nikon D810 Beside Fujifilm GFX 50S Image Courtesy of DPReview

So the D5 owner could transition into the GFX at about the same cost of upgrading when Nikon comes out with their next upgrade in this camera class, and be using lenses that are likely of higher quality than those Nikon is now manufacturing. All in a package that is smaller than their current camera.
Noise Comparison to Full Frame
How different is the noise level on these two cameras compared to full frame Nurthrop Photography has indicated that there that the following has been their experience:
D810               X1D
ISO 60      =    ISO 100
ISO 625    =    ISO 400
ISO 2500  =    ISO 1600
Pixel Pitch and Image Quality

One issue that may give Nikon D5 shooters pause is the difference in pixel pitch between this camera and both the Fujifilm and Hasselblad cameras. The D5 has a pixel pitch of 6.45μm and the GFX has a pixel pitch of 5.3μm, which means the light measurement will be slightly more accurate on the D5. In my opinion, the difference in pixel pitch is not significant enough to outweigh the significant gain in sensor resolution.
A second consideration is edge to edge lens sharpness. My personal experience in shooting with Nikon full frame professional lenses and the high-end APSC Fujifilm lenses is the latter are sharper edge-to-edge at non-optimal f-stops, and I would assume that the same would be true of the yet untested Fujifilm medium format lenses.

The Fujifilm Advantage
Fujifilm Lens Advantage

One of the advantages of the Fujifilm system is their lenses do not have leaf shutters built into them, something that significantly increases the cost of a lens. This means very high-quality lenses can be crafted at a more affordable price. This choice brings their medium format lenses into a price range similar to that of full-frame DSLR lenses and combined with the higher resolutions perhaps a better quality image. Despite this, a leaf shutter lens from Hasselblad, using an adapter, can be used on the GFX 50S, in this way the camera permits both kinds of lenses to be used. The GFX 50S lens stable is within the range of full frame photographers while still allowing a leaf shutter option.

I think it unlikely once a photographer has shot with Fujifilm's lenses and experienced their quality that they would use other lenses on the camera. Given that the glass in both Hasselblad and Fujifilm lenses come from the same Fujifilm factory unless there has been a recent change, lens quality should be almost the same. 

Using a Non-Fujifilm Lens Does it Really Work

Having indicated you can use non-Fujifilm lenses in the field it might not be as exciting as it sounds. A good friend outlined his experience in using adaptors on his A7RII in the following way:

My experience with lens adapters for my Sony A7rII has left me somewhat ambivalent about the concept. True - it does allow me to use my legacy Leica and Nikon lenses on the Sony, but at a cost. The Voigtlander and Metabones adapters that I purchased lack electronic connections to the camera body and thus I lose all EXIF data related to lens and lens settings, which is a huge drag. I also need to own a separate adapter for each lens to make the solution practical, as changing lenses when I also need to switch an adapter from one lens to another in the field is simply too cumbersome. I have two Leica lenses that share a single Voigtlander adapter, and the worst case for me is when I am changing from an un-adapted native lens to the Leica lens that does not have the adapter currently mounted.  In this situation, I find myself juggling 3 lenses, the adapter, 3 front lens caps, and 2 rear caps - all while trying to keep dust away from my exposed sensor. If each legacy lens has its own adapter - it becomes a straightforward lens change - but sharing adapters just doesn't work for me. Way too much hassle - especially when I also lose EXIF in the deal. 
I would guess similar problems would exist with the GFX 50S.

The Advantage of the Hasselblad
What would I buy if I had the money, as the X1D and its lenses are considerably more expensive than the GFX 50S? I think the X1D. Given the advancements in camera accuracy in the field photographers are running in semi auto or auto much more frequently. So the wonderful manual dials found on the GFX 50S are perhaps less important, especially if you want a more compact field camera. This is a strategy that Sony Alpha camera series has adopted with some success, with the result that the cameras are the smallest and lightest in the mirrorless class of cameras. If you look at the comparison below the medium format X1D is almost the same size as the full frame A7RII, which is a stunning acheivement.



In addition to the smaller size, the X1D the camera is also more ergonomically friendly as a result of this size and its design. It also has a leaf shutter system in its lenses, with all the advantages that that creates.


Alpha Phase One
There is one more mirrorless camera made by Alpha that can take a Phase One digital back a much larger sensor that the other two mirrorless cameras. However, it is quite an unusual camera and costs $56,000. So it is not really playing in the same ballpark.

Articles Referenced

• Fujifilm GFX :: The Exact Fujifilm GFX 50s vs Hasselblad X1D and Pentax 645Z Size Comparison + GFX Price in Yen Leaked
• The Giants’ Battle: Fujifilm GFX Vs. Hasselblad X1D – Where the X1D beats the GFX and Vice Versa (Size Comparison Included)
• Japanese pricing of upcoming Fuji cameras and lenses (GFX 50S, X100F, X-T20), GFX accessories
• 15 Jan Pricing Info of Upcoming Fujifilm Products (GFX 50S, X100F, X-T20)
• UPDATED - Photokina 2016: Hands-on with Fujifilm GFX 50S
• Why Leaf Shutter Lenses Aren't Important for the Fujifilm GFX 50S
• Hasselblad X1D 50c vs Fujifilm GFX 50S
• Hasselblad X1D: 50 Megapixels, Medium Format, $9K
• Phase One A-Series Uses an Alpa Body to Make a "Mirrorless" Medium Format Camera
• $56K 100MP Alpa Phase One Shoot Fail

A Sony kit vs. A Fujifilm Kit

Recently I was reviewing the APSC Fujifilm kit which according to Fujifilm rivals the full frame cameras. Although currently, unless you are at high ISOs the X-T2 and Pro2 certainly rival the A7II in image IQ, this may change if the rumoured A7III includes a back-illuminated sensor. However, when it comes to the A7RII there is no real comparison, the resolution of this camera is well beyond the Fujifilm cameras. So it seemed to me of some interest to compare a prime shooters kit on both the X-T2 and the A7RII.

An Idea Travel Kit Cost and Weight

So let's look at what a travel kit might look like with both cameras, which should include a 35mm for street photography, a 25/24mm for landscape and an 85mm for detailRecently I was reviewing the APSC Fujifilm kit which according to Fujifilm rivals the full frame cameras. Although currently, unless you are at high ISOs the X-T2 and Pro2 certainly rival the A7II in image IQ, this may change if the rumoured A7III includes a back-illuminated sensor. However, when it comes to the A7RII there is no real comparison, the resolution of this camera is well beyond the Fujifilm cameras. So it seemed to me of some interest to compare a prime shooters kit on both the X-T2 and the A7RII.
So let's look at what a travel kit might look like with both cameras, which should include a 35mm for street photography, a 25/24mm for landscape and an 85mm for detail or portrait shots.

What is most interesting in this comparison is the Cost of the Sony kit is much higher than that of the Fuji kit, but the weight is identical! Although the Zeiss lenses are a little larger, the small Sony 35mm street lens is perhaps more compact that the Fuji rig. 

The Selection of Lenses

The selection of the lenses was quite easy for the Fujifilm camera as these three lenses, 16/23/56, all score very highly on the testing sites, and test very similar to Zeiss lens. This made the selection for the Sony A7RII a little easier because there was both a 25mm and 85mm Zeiss lens. However to find a street lens for the 35mm field of view I had to defer to the 2.8 Sony lens, because it was similar in size to the Fuji 35mm equivalent and small enough to not be too obtrusive. Now not everyone might agree with that call but the 35mm Sony lens does test very well.

The Fuji Kit

The Sony Kit

Ergonomics, Menus and Dials

The X-T2 has some advantages over the Sony in terms of its retro style controls, which keep you out of the menus and away from programming buttons. This tactile non-menu operation also extends to the lenses which have aperture rings and some also have lens shifting to manual focus. The two SD bays, which typically were only found in FF high-end cameras is also a big advantage. It allows for the backing up of critical shoots or the facilitation of dual separate storage during travel. Also of course it is much cheaper to upgrade your camera which these days seems to age enormously over 3-4 years. 
Sony on the other hand is a very high-resolution camera with a full frame sensor and in the same size and weight as the Fujifilm camera. If money was not really an issue and you can live without the manual none menu operation of the camera then it is hard to imagine not investing in the Sony. The Sony also has a much better hand grip on the front of the camera than the X-T2.

Conclusion

This comparison raises some interesting points in my mind. The two camera kits are significantly different in price but not in weight and perhaps not so much in size either. They are also significantly different in resolution.

Zeiss Lens Families

SLR Lenses

• Otus lenses, which are similar to their cine lenses, all have an f-stop of 1.4. There are three lenses in this lineup the 28mm, 55 mm and 85mm. 
• The Standard lens line up is the Milvus Lens line-up designed for SLR cameras, it comes with either a Canon or Nikon lens mount. The lineup includes 15mm(f2.8), 21mm(f2), 35mm(f2), 50mm(f1.4), 85mm(f1.4), 100mm(f2) and 135mm(f2). They are also designed for videographers in mind.
• The classic lens called Zeiss Planar are manual focus lenses that made for Canon, Nikon, Leica and Sony cameras. This family of lenses includes 25mm(f2), 28mm(f2.8), 50mm(f1.4), 50mm(f2 Makro), 85mm(f1.4) and100mm(f2 Makro).
• The Sony/ZEISS A mount lens family are autofocus lenses designed specifically for Sony A-mount cameras which include 24mm(f2), 50mm(f1.4), 85mm(f1.8), 135mm(f1.8), 16-35mm(f2.8), 16-80mm(f3.4-4.5), and 24-70mm(f2.8). 

CSC Lenses for mirrorless cameras

• The Batis E-mount lens line that was introduced in 2015 specifically for the Sony Full Frame cameras. The lens family currently includes an 18mm(f2.8), 25mm(f2) and 85mm(f1.8). There are strong rumours that a135mm is to be released in shortly. These lenses are autofocus lenses which integrated into the camera's 5 axis stabilisation.
• Loxia E-mount lenses are a manual focus set of lenses designed specifically for the Sony A series cameras. The lens family includes a 21mm(f2.8), 35mm(f2), 50mm(f2) and a 85mm(f2.4).
• The Touit family of lenses is designed for both the Sony E-mount and Fujifilm X-mount APSC mirrorless cameras. They are autofocus lens in the following field of views 12mm(f2.8 18mm equivalent), 32mm(f1.8 50mm equivalent) and 50mm(f2.8 75mm equivalent). 
• Then there is the Sony/ZEISS lens which currently has 8 lenses in this family, and this lens family is expanding rapidly.

Zeiss Explains Lens Nomenclature

In a dialogue, between Bertram Honlinger and Lensvid, Zeiss lens nomenclature is explained.

Zeiss Ikon System

These two families of lenses are designed for the M-mount Leica rangefinder cameras, as well as Zeiss's own Ikon Camera. There are 12 lenses in this lineup. 

Post Photokina the Newest Camera Systems of 2016

Best of Photokina 2016 

There was a lot of new equipment announced at Photokina and more that has been previously announced this year. All of which in was on display at this amazing exhibition. At this point it is unlikely that any new announcements will be made and we can now examine all the cameras of 2016, not everything announced was groundbreaking or exciting but the following list contains, for me, announcements of the year:

1. Fujifilm GFX 50S mirrorless medium format camera.
2. Hasselblad X1D mirrorless medium format camera 
3. Sony A99 II 42.4mp full frame DSLR.
4. Fujifilm's flagship rangefinder X-Pro2 APSC mirrorless optical/OLED hybrid.
5. Fujifilm's flagship X-T2 mirrorless APSC camera.
6. Sony A6500 their flagship APSC camera
7. Olympus's flagship OM-D E-M1 Mark II micro four thirds mirrorless camera.
8. Nikon D500 APSC flagship DSLR. 
9. Pentax K-1 full frame DSLR camera.
10. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV full frame DSLR

The Biggest Story of 2016 -Medium Format Mirrorless!

The biggest story of 2016 was mirrorless coming to medium format, with two amazing cameras the Hasselblad X1D and the Fujifilm GFX 50S. 

GFX 50

The runaway jaw dropper was the Fujifilm GFX 50S medium format camera and it dominated the news coming out of Photokina, and perhaps overshadowed the earlier announcement by Hasselblad, who introduced their own mirrorless medium format cameras the X1D.

Hasselblad X1D

It is had to say which mirrorless medium format camera is more stunning. The Hasselblad is smaller strikingly more beautiful and ergonomically easier to handle. However, the Fujifilm GFX 50S seems to be a lot more flexible. Here a few of the key advantages of each camera.

Hasselblad X1D Advantages

• More compact
• It has a leaf shutter
• The ISO is one stop higher

Fujifilm GFX 50S Advantages

• It will be cheaper
• Three-way tilting screen
• Its focal plane shutter will allow third party lenses and leaf shutter lenses.
• Better resolution in the viewfinder
• They will make an HC Hasselblad adapter with leaf shutter, electronic aperture and Auto Focus support.
• It will have a faster shutter speed

Sony's Amazing A99 II

Most of the reviews of this camera start with "we thought the A mount might be dead" but with this new camera, Sony has produced a DSLR camera that is well beyond the image quality and motion stopping capacity of any DSLR on the market today. The camera has jumped to 41 megapixels with a stunning frame rate of 12fps, has a copper substrate sensor and Back Illumination. So now Sony is on the leading of edge of both the full frame DSLR and mirrorless camera world!
So if you are a DSLR person and can't get your mind around a mirrorless camera, this DSLR camera would be the one to own.

Sony A99 II

Nikon's D500

Nikon's D500 is a very interesting entrance into the market clearly this is a big advancement in Nikon technology as some of the features of this APSC camera can not be found in Nikon's full frame line. If you compare it with the D810 you will find it has a higher ISO ceiling; it has 153 focus points compared to 51; the viewfinder resolutions is almost double that of the 810; the camera uses UHSII cards + QRD and shoots 10fps instead of 5fps. A closer examination of the camera will reveal even more complexity that will make this camera a sports photographer's dream. 

Perhaps even more important we are likely seeing a peek at the advances that Nikon will be bringing to their full frame line when it is refreshed. After all the two-year-old D810 was really a slightly modified D800e which came out four years ago. In the last four years, immense changes have occurred in image quality, so it should be interesting to see where Nikon goes next. 

Nikon D500

Fujifilm X-Pro2 and X-T2

These two flagship cameras made by Fujifilm have built a camera that has full frame DSLR shooters, migrating to these APSC cameras. If you compare the quality as Jordan Steele has done in a comparison of the X-Pro2 and the Sony A7II, both 24-megapixel cameras, they are very close in image quality. In general, these cameras are similar in ISO performance up to 6400, a level I don't like to go over. In terms of colour fidelity as the ISO climbs in these two cameras, the X-Pro2 maintains good colour control in the dark areas with no visible banding, whereas the A7II shows some pattern noise and slight banding. It is unusual for an APSC camera to perform this well against a full frame camera.

Fujifilm X-T2

Fujifilm X-Pro2

It is this performance against 24-megapixel full frames that has professionals, especially those who travel, moving toward Fujifilm XPro2 and X-T2 cameras, especially when you consider the Fuji lenses. Fujifilm lenses have a reputation for being very high quality, perhaps not all of them but certainly the critical ones a professional wants in their bag. This is perhaps the secret that is leading the migration to these cameras as the lenses are much more compact than a full frame lens. This makes you kit have the cost and half the weight while maintaining an image quality as good or higher than a full frame 24-megapixel equivalent. My experience with their lenses that compared to my high-end Nikon lenses are sharper to the edge over a greater range of F stops.

Sony A6500 

This is the new Sony's flagship APSC camera, like the Fujifilm XPro2 and X-T2 it has a copper substrate sensor, making this camera and the Fujifilm cameras a top choice for a lightweight professional camera with excellent dynamic range and ISO performance. These three cameras in terms of image quality (IQ), should be almost identical sensor wise. So dynamic range and ISO performance should be identical. So what are the differences?

1. The Sony camera is slightly less in price, but not enough to really be meaningful to a decerning buyer.
2. The colour array in the Sony is Bayer and the Fujifilm has an X-Tran array. The X-trans colour array is designed to eliminate moire that is problematic for Bayer style filters. Having said that moire is in most cases not and issue and all but severe moire can be corrected in post-processing of RAW images.
3. The colour rendition coming from the two cameras is somewhat different, so this is really a personal preference issue, I suggest you spend some time looking at samples on the DPreview site. 
4. The focal points on the Sony jumped to 425 compared to Fujifilm's 321 points.
5. The Sony camera also shoots 11 frames per second (fps) compared to Fujifilm's 8fps. However, in electronic shutter mode, the Fujifilm camera shoots at 14fps. 
6. Perhaps Sony's biggest upgrade is the 5 axis in camera image stabilisation. Now as a prime lens user trying to maintain maximum sharpness, this is not that significant. But if you are constantly finding yourself in low light or using telephoto lenses this is a big deal.
7. The Fujifilm camera has a dual SD slot, which allows you to backup to a second disk while in the field. The Sony still retains its single SD slot. The Sony camera is only compliant to slower UHS-II cards, unlike the Fuji that is UHS-II compliant.

Now those are the differences in specifications, but there are other things that make this camera a better choice for certain people than the Fujifilm camera. If you want a light compact kit and still have high-quality lenses then the Fuji kit is for you. Also if you do not like to worry about menus or programming buttons to avoid the menu then you will want to avoid the Sony. Now if you want a compact camera capable of using full frames lenses because some day you are going to buy a full frame camera then the Sony is the camera for you. The Sony camera itself is smaller and cheaper than the Fujifilm cameras.

Then there is the buffer issue with Sony will shoot 100 frames of RAW files before the buffer is reached but the Fujifilm X-T2 can only record 25 frames of RAW at 14fps or 30 at 5fps. So clearly here there is a big difference. If you are a sports or wildlife photographer the Sony may be a much better camera for you.

The OM-D E-M1 Mark II

Many people dismiss the 4/3 cameras as consumer cameras, good for internet shoots, making videos and small prints suggesting that is is not a Prosumer camera. Although there are some merits to the argument that printing large with these cameras is problematic, many of the high-end models like this one have all the controls and sophistication of a more advanced camera. For example, this camera is now using both phase-detection and contrast focusing, which should improve its tracking performance over models that do not. 

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II

Also, the 18 fps speed of this camera is well above the speed of any professional camera on the market making it very useful in capturing high-speed movement.

Olympus and also Panasonic who share the 4/3 sensor and the same mount are both targeting their flagship cameras toward a more professional crowd, according to Setsuya Kataoka the Deputy Division Manager of Imaging Product Development of Olympus. Specifically trying to target DSLR users rather than people committed to other mirrorless systems (in other words Sony and Fujifilm).

Their advantage over the other mirrorless camera systems APSC and Full Frame is compactness of the camera and the kit. The disadvantage is their sensor is 61% the size of an APSC sensor so image quality suffers, but only if you are printing large. Also lens quality will not be as good either. So if you post most of your work to the web and you don't work big and still want to have all the professional aspects of a camera system this might be the camera for you.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and Pentax K-1

I have included the Canon camera in this article for those who are committed to this line, as this camera for them represents an improvement in image quality and camera technology. In terms of its advances in camera technology and image quality compared to other cameras, I covered this in a previous article, titled "5D Mark IV Canon Shooters Full Frame Dilemma." 

The Pentax K-1 has some merits but has largely been ignored even though it is priced well below the 5D Mark IV and other high-end full frame cameras, it is 36 megapixels with an auto ISO that goes up to 204,800! It also has 5 axis stabilisation, AA filter simulation, built-in GPS and a cross tilt LCD. So in these areas, it seems to be quite innovative. The downside perhaps is the 33 point AF autofocus system very limited and less than the Mark IV and neither is up to par with other cameras. Again, like the Canon 5D Mark IV, this is more of a camera for someone who has a large investment in Pentax lenses or someone that wants to exploit the vast collection of K-mount lenses that can be found around the world.

M5 a Travelling Camera for Canon Shooters?

The Canon Mirrorless Experiment

Although Canon only has nine lenses at the moment for their mirrorless camera, they seem to be slowly re-engineering the M series mirrorless cameras, that uses the EF-M mount. It initially came out in June of 2012. Then Feb of 2015 they launched the M3 and increased the resolution to 24 megapixels. This was quickly followed by the M10 in Oct of 2015 at 18 megapixels and the focal points were increased to 49. Now, this September they have announced an M5, which now looks more like DSLR than any of the previous cameras.

Is it Consumer or Prosumer

If you go back through the reviews and history of the M series one thing sticks out. Very few reviewers seem interested in comparing the M series to the leading mirrorless cameras on the market. Most comparisons are between the M series and other Canon DSLRs. Perhaps this is because they saw the mirrorless camera market as occupied by the consumer low-end market. However beginning with the M3 they seemed to add more advanced features, introducing features found in their DSLR so there must have been a shift at this point. Still, this left the camera half way between and in no position to compete with the higher end mirrorless cameras, which were now adding Pro features to their cameras.

The M5 could bring Canon into line with the prosumer market but it is unclear if it would raise the quality of the camera to the professional level; a level that the flagship cameras made by Sony and Fujifilm are now at. It will be impossible to tell until serious reviews have had time to do the necessary testing and analysis of this new camera.

In the meantime, the only thing we can to is to look at the technical specifications and compare them.

A Technical Comparision

If we look carefully at the chart below we can see there are a number of hallmarks of the high-end mirrorless cameras missing (I have included the A7RII full frame in the comparison even though it is not an APSC camera because it is around the same size as these cameras):

• The camera is only compatible with UHS-I cards, unlike all the others that use UHS-II cards. This means the camera's  write speed slower and ones read speed will also be slower.
• I can not find magnesium body anywhere on their website so the lightweight and durability advantages of the other cameras are not present with the M5.
• A big difference is the extremely low number of focus points 49 compared to 425/321/399 perhaps the most problematic issue.
• Having only nine native lenses for this camera which puts it way behind its competition and lenses are really important. Also unlike the other cameras no third party lenses are available.
• Auto ISO maxing out at 6400 is very curious when the others max out at 12,800 and 25,600, I wonder what that says about noise at high ISOs.
• Lack of complete weather proofing is also a difference between this camera and the others. Canon claims it is weather seal but not like their DSLR, I am not sure what this means?
• The frames per second is a decent 7fps but this does lag behind the other APSC cameras.
• Then there is the single SD drive the most recent APSC cameras now have dual drives, additional insurance against card failure.
• There is the smaller APSC sensor which impacts pixel pitch which is the lowest of all the cameras, which means the lowest image quality.

So it seems, although the M series is improving, it is not really marketing towards Prosumers and Pros yet, at least as far as a comparison of technical specifications can tell us.

Should You Buy One?

I think if you are familiar with Canon and their products there is something to be said for sticking with the family, and if you own a previous version of the M camera you already have some lenses. However, if you do not have M lenses, in terms of value for the dollar, the Sony A6300 is a smaller, lighter and a more advanced camera for the same price. The Sony lens stable is also much larger both native and third party. In addition to this high-quality adaptors allow all Sony mirrorless cameras to use Canon EF lenses and they will operate faster (with 5-axis stabilisation) than on the M5.
If you are really looking for a good high-quality travelling camera then Fujifilm's APSC cameras, both the X-Pro2 and X-T2 might be the way to go, although it is more expensive its lenses are smaller than both the M5 and Sony's cameras. They also have a disproportionately high recommendation rate on lens testing sites. So these two cameras would create your lightest kit.

Buying the Most Advanced Camera: or preventing technical ageing

This is a difficult thing to track down but beyond the mythical organic sensor rumours, the most advanced technology in the camera is usually the sensor. Here two new things have just reached the market the use of copper substrates and Back Illuminated Sensors BSI. This is the latest technology and can be found in Sony sensors currently Nikon, Fuji and Sony are using Sony Sensors, Canon manufactures their own sensors. The only cameras on the market, that I am aware of, with copper a substrate is the Sony A6300, Fuji X-T2, Fuji X-Pro2, Sony A7RII and Sony RXiRII the later two are full frame and also have BSI. So if you are concerned about the technology not ageing you would want one of these cameras.

The Technical Leap in Image Quality because of BSI and Copper Substrates

• Copper substrate sensors have a much lower heat signature so your noise level is at least one to two stops better, which means you can run your ISO up without a lot of nasty noise. Good for night shots or poorly lit churches.
• BSI sensors allow a wider angle of light to be recorded by the sensor, therefore they are more accurate and increase the dynamic range of the camera by one or two stops as well as improve colour rendition and other improvements.

A Size Comparison

In this comparison, I used a pancake lens version of each company's lens, so they don’t exactly match up, but they do demonstrate how compact they can be if you are using a pancake lens on the camera. As you can see none of these cameras is pocketable, but compared to a DSLR they are really half the size, perhaps more. Keep in mind that all the cameras are APSC sensors except for the A7RII which is full frame.

Left to Right: Canon M5 22mm, Sony S6300 20mm, Sony A7RII 35mm and Fujifilm X-T2 18mm (equivalent to 28mm)

5D Mark IV Canon Shooters Full Frame Dilemma

The New Sensor and Processor?

If you own a full frame Canon and a collection of wonderful lenses then the latest upgrades does present a dilemma. First the latest 5D Mark IV took 4 years to arrive, unlike other manufacturers who appear to be revolutionising the camera industry yearly and sometimes more frequently. Then you discover that the processor might be a tweaked Digic 6 with a "+" added on to the end of it so it can switch quickly to video. Now if your primary work is in stills then this is worrying. Which draws into question the sensor is it new or has it also just been tweaked. A quick visit to a review site and you discover yes indeed it is the best sensor Canon has ever produced, but then you discover they are still behind Nikon, Fuji and Sony in terms of dynamic range, colour and noise.
A quick comparison from the DXO testing site is found below, the X-T2/X-Pro2 have not been tested yet:

Courtesy of DXOmark

The New Autofocus and FPS

The new autofocus engine on the new Canon is 41 cross points with 61 point autofocus, but wait even Nikon's APSC camera has 153 autofocus points, Sony's mirrorless full frame AR7 II has 399 autofocus points, Fuji's X-T2 has 321 and Sony's A99 II has 399 autofocus points. Anyone who has seen the A99 presentation of a camera shooting 42 megapixels tack sharp images at 12 frames per second, would realize that Canon may well be bringing up the rear guard with their focusing technology. So we can forget even discussing the 7 frames per second of the Canon camera does even though it is 2 fps faster than last years Sony A series or the Nikon 800 series. But keep in mind that the new Nikon D500 is 10 fps and the Fuji X-T2 is 8 fps. Yes, I know these last two cameras are APSC cameras but if you look at the resolution test, especially from the X-T2 (except at extreme ISOs) it is of similar image quality.

Falling Back on the Lenses

Well, of course, the fall back here is the lenses are excellent and the lens stable is large, after all, you date your camera but marry your lenses. What could be better than shooting on Canon lenses, they have great glass? It is really more important to have good glass than anything else. So let us look at two trusted lens testing sights for an evaluation of prime lenses.

Although some of the sites have not caught up to the new lenses that have been produced over the last few years, it does seem the Canon lens are not testing as well as other brands.

How About Cost and Weight?

Well in this regard the comparisons show that the Canon kit might be the cheapest full frame kit but only by a few hundred dollars over the Sony kit. When you are spending this much money to go full frame the difference is meaningless. Especially when the Sony kit contains a better camera and some of the best glass on the market. If you are going to go full frame it would make no sense to keep investing in a new Canon camera.
If you are going to travel given the extremely high quality of the Fuji lenses it might make some sense to look at this kit, after all, the weight and price are half that of a full frame camera! A little googling will come up with a plethora of full frame pros that have gone Fuji especially for field work.

Side by Side Comparision

Here all three cameras in the same order as above with a 35mm lens attached.

Conclusion

Given the quality of the lenses, the low level of camera innovation and the quality all round compared to other choices, it would make some sense to liquidate a Canon system before the news gets around, that even Nikon is out producing better lenses and cameras. 

The good news is glass retains a high degree of value and the cost of moving over to another full frame system might be around 40% of what it might costs if you sell off your camera and lenses. Given how far ahead the mirrorless cameras are now it might make a lot of sense to buy into a mirrorless system and really there are only two choices here, Sony full frame A7 series or the Fujifilm APSC X series. 

Sony provides excellent choices of three full frame mirrorless cameras the A7S II which is the best low light camera on the market and a favourite of the video world; the A7II a 24 megapixel all purpose camera; and the world's most advanced high-resolution full frame camera the A7R II with a 42-megapixel sensor. All at prices below those of equivalent DSLRs. Not to mention the ability to use their new G master lens calibrated to a quality well above any current full frame lens or the stable of superb Zeiss Batis lenses specifically designed for the Sony A7 series.

Now if you were considering a Fuji system, which many full frame photographers are moving to because of the extremely high quality of the lenses and the X-Tran sensor which gives a boost to your resolution, then you might be able to almost do this for free. The quality of Fujifilm lenses is their best-kept secret and in most cases can run rings around the quality of full frame pro lenses.
One final note if you want to hedge you bet a simple Metabones Adaptor would allow you to keep using your Canon lenses while you explore a Sony Camera.

Canon EF Lens to E mount Smart Adapter (Mark IV)

Links

• In-Depth 5D Mark IV Review -Probably not worth upgrading if you have a 5D Mark III
• Making the Switch from a Canon 5D Mark III to a Sony A7R II
• Why I prefer the Fuji X-T1 to My Nikon D810 (the XT1 has since been replaced by the X-T2 going from 16mp to 24mp)
• Full-Frame Fury: Comparing Canon's 5DS R and Sony's AYR II
• Using Fuji X Lenses vs Canon Full Frame Lenses (the XT1 has since been replaced by the X-T2 going from 16mp to 24mp)
• Long Term Comparison: Fujifilm or Sony: Which is Right for You? 
• The 10 Main Differences Between the Fujifilm X-T2 and the Sony A7 II
• Fuji X-Pro2 vs. Sony A7 II: Noise Comparison
• X-Pro takes on Canon 5D Mark III?

A New Look at Sensor Size

Sensor Sizes Compared

Below I have posted three charts and a table. The first chart compares cameras with APSC size sensors or smaller, in this chart, I assume the APSC sensor is 100% and show how the others compare in terms of the percentage of square mm. The second chart compares full frame cameras sensors to smaller camera sensors assuming the full frame is 100%. The third chart follows the same format but starts with medium format cameras at 100%. The table below the charts has more specific information about cameras sensors, their size and their pixel pitch which has a big impact on image quality (IQ).
For more information on pixel pitch check out my previous post titled "The Great Megapixel Con."  

Links

This is how Fuji's New Medium Format Sensor Stacks Up.

Sensor Size
Digital Camera Database