EOS M -> EOSM5 -> What next?

Basically the title. I got a M in 2012 when they introduced it and a M5 in 2016, basically day 1. I wasn't shooting actively for past couple of years and not following the EOS M talk either as actively as i wished. Now things are looking better and i want to get back into shooting. What do I gain from moving from eos m5 to any of the latest eos m series offering available in market today? I primarily shoot landscapes and occasional portraits. Is it going to make a big difference in terms of performance or should i just continue with my current setup.

I don't mean to hijack your thread. I was going to share the images below here in this forum, but I think the comments I was going to share speak directly to your question. So I'll just combine my post, along with my 2 cents regarding the M5, etc. I hope you don't mind; and I hope it's helpful too, as I've recently upgraded from an M5 to M6ii. First, I'd imagine you've read up regarding the future of "M". If not, search in dpreview while you still can; there are more discussions about that than I'm sure you care to read. Why did I stick with the M series and even upgrade? For my purposes, it's the perfect system. The body is compact, there is a great selection of lenses, and it's even relatively affordable. Oh, and the M6ii performs like no other camera I've ever owned (more below). Of course, that's all my opinion; others certainly feel differently or have different needs. I know there are shortcomings, but for me, it's everything I want.

A few M6ii shortcomings: the system is, or certainly appears to be, discontinued. That's no small thing, but I'm invested and, like I said, I love it. So I'll enjoy it for as long as I can, hopefully forever. The M6ii by default has no view finder. I was worried about that, but honestly, as my other camera is an iPhone, I don't think I even notice anymore. There's no native 'fast' zoom. I'd love one, but I own the Canon 11-22, Sigma 30 f/1.4, and Sigma 56 f/1.4. I LOVE all three lenses, and I don't mind switching lenses as needed. Honestly, if there was an f/2.8 zoom, say 17-55, I don't even know if I'd want it. I love the wider apertures and the image quality I get from the three aforementioned lenses and, like I said, I don't really mind switching lenses.

What do/would you gain by upgrading your M5? The post I was going to start -- and why I'll just do it in answer to your question -- speaks directly to that. Below is essentially the text I was going to post. In a nutshell, the M6ii just performs! It focuses FAST; it can shoot FAST. You can compare specs and see, I'm sure, that there are other upgrades as well. You just have to evaluate them with respect to your needs and uses. Maybe for landscapes and portraits, that's not the be all end all. But it's definitely more than nice to have IMHO.

Last week was my first "real" test of my relatively new M6ii ... and wow! Since upgrading from my M5, I've mostly taken landscapes and snapshots of family. I could tell that the M6ii was really responsive, and I've enjoyed all the enhancements and advancements above and beyond what the M5 could do. But I hadn't really been in a situation where I'd captured anything I couldn't have likely captured just as well with my M5, and maybe slightly more patience. But on a trip to Lexington, KY last week, I had the chance to take some shots at a racetrack while the horses were being worked out in the morning. The focus locked on -- quickly! -- and the camera performance, in terms of high speed frames/second, was awesome. I'll share some samples below, and I'd be happy to hear what you think, good or bad -- well, constructive -- about them :-)
(Of course, I had to resize them due to the 4MB limit. So I hope I did it in such a way as to not lose too much quality.)

Thanks for looking!

hey thanks for the writeup, this is very helpful in understanding what to expect. So essentially a faster camera with the trade off of loosing the view finder. That's a big one for me for landscapes but I can live with it. On the image quality side, I see its pretty much performs slightly better or on par with m5? Is this a right observation by me? Do you see a jump in dynamic range with landscapes and any differences in color reproduction between these two camera? I would love to hear about it. And also love those shots you have posted, great images and i can see how the M system have evolved over the years!

M6 can do slightly more. The sensor is more capable. It will not transform your photography by any means, but it is very nice to have. Right on point to justify smaller sensor against FF.

Much faster and snappier AF is one key benefit - plus some cool features like focus stacking and precapture are interesting. Only downside is the lack of built in EVF. Owned a M5 for a while alongside 2 M6IIs - and could not really get used to the M5.

I upgraded my M to an M6, and then that to an M6II. When I bought the M6, I got it in a deal with the detachable EVF thrown in for only $49. You certainly don't have to do without a viewfinder with the M6II. I find I only use the viewfinder with my 18-150. With all my other lenses (11-22, 16, 22, 32, 56) I prefer just using the back LCD. The detachable EVF works well, and the advantage is that you don't need to have the added bulk on the camera when you don't want it. It's pretty small and light, so I always take it with me when I'm traveling with the camera. Even though I now also have the R7 and R6II, I still use the M6II a lot. I recently spent a week in England, visiting family and friends and attending a wedding. I took my M6II with 11-22, 22, 56, and 18-150. I used the 22 most of all. I find the image quality of the M6II to be a noticeable, but not huge, step up from the M6, which has a very similar sensor (maybe even the same) to the M5. The main improvements you'll notice over the M5 are performance-related. And, of course, it's a bit smaller, because of no viewfinder hump (unless you have the EVF attached).

Image quality is higher but not ‘night and day’. I was pleasantly surprised though by how much more you can recover the shadows without a significant noise penalty. And you don’t need to give up the viewfinder, I bought one just in case and it now lives in the camera. Also, not a big deal for you since you already have the M5 but, for me, a previous M50 owner, the increase in usability from the additional dials, minimum shutter speed setting, focus stacking, etc, in addition to a top notch sensor, was worth every dollar I spent in this camera.

Note Canon makes two separate EVF's that will work with the M6II, one is fixed and the other one tilts up and down (like an angle finder), so you wouldn't have to loose the viewfinder. Both EVF's are pricey, though...

...€0.02...
Kindest regards,
Max Max@Home

NIce to see you here Alastair! Always enjoy your posts.

I too upgraded from an M6 to the M6 Mark ii. While not a huge difference, I found the improvements to be better high ISO performance, a lot better low-light ability to autofocus (f5.6 telephotos with 1.5x or 2x teleconverters would focus-hunt on the M6 and they work great on M6ii), better AF performance all around, much better video, and extra features like intervalometer, focus bracketing etc that made the upgrade really worthwhile for me.

The feature I really liked on the original M6 that I miss is the separate exposure compensation dial. However I understand the change to an 'electronic' exp compensation function instead of a manual dial, when it is electronic it can be set using the custom exposure modes C1 and C2.

I also find the M6ii's rear control layout better --- with the original M6 my palm was always hitting one of the buttons just holding the camera, on the m6ii there is more room to the right of those buttons on the rear and I don't have a problem. I also really, really like having the AF/MF dial on the rear right next to your thumb, I use that a lot to lock focus quickly with native lenses for astro and night shooting. Because it's on the back you can see where it's set. The R7 has the AF/MF swtich on the front of the body, so you don't get the visual confirmation at a glance.