Why is the EOS M not being sold in the US?

[JTRYTTEN]

I am very disappointed that the new M3 is not being sold in the US. I am looking for a compact digital camera with interchangeable lens for street photography, high quality sensor, excellent glass, and the M3 has excellent specifications, comparable to Sony and other competitors. 

My 5D is just to bulky, noticeable and awkward for street shooting. 

Why has Canon skipped the US? What do they suggest I substitute?

[hsbn]

the M series just doesn't do well in the US. You either can buy it from Europe or go with another brand.

[cherukm]

Looks like some people are pre-ordering from amazon.co.jp

There are fre discussions on dpreview.com on this subject.

[RobertTheFat]

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@cherukm wrote:

Looks like some people are pre-ordering from amazon.co.jp

There are fre discussions on dpreview.com on this subject.

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If you order the camera from Japan, you'd better hope it never needs any warranty work. Because I'll bet you'd have to send it to Japan.

[cherukm]

I believe that is the risk people are willing to take and hopefully it doesn't need a warranty repair.

I myself own the first generation EOS-M, which I like very much for the image quality

and compactness (Though I hate the auto-focus annoyances).

Lookes like M3 comes with many improvements, particularly with the AF

and I would definitely upgrade if it is available in US market.

[ryusen]

"the M series just doesn't do well in the US."

Honestly, i think the biggest reason it didn't do well was the price/performance.  Who wanted to pay $800 for a camera that had such crappy AF performace?  I'd been waiting a long time for Canon to finally come out with something like the M3.  I'm sorry disapointed that they won't sel it in the US.  If it really eats inot the rebel market.. then so what.. just make less rebels and phase in the M3s

[ebiggs1]

The market speaks.  I for one would not even consider one.  The peopel I run with feel the same as a general thought.  They have a long way to go.  IMHO, they are just a P&S that you can change the lens on.

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

The market speaks.  I for one would not even consider one.  The peopel I run with feel the same as a general thought.  They have a long way to go.  IMHO, they are just a P&S that you can change the lens on.

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I heartily endorse Ernie's sentiment. But my contempt for the M is tinged with disappointment. When the first M came out, there was a lot of momentum towards full-frame DSLRs, and it appeared that the APS-C format might be in decline. I took the M to be a statement by Canon that the space thus vacated couldt be filled by a new, more serious generation of mirrorless cameras. But the M had at least two major impediments to being taken seriously: lack of an eye-level electronic viewfinder and abysmal battery performance.  My hope was that these two problems would soon be rectified in follow-on models in the M series. I think that hasn't happened, though I admit that I haven't kept up with developments in the M series since they stopped selling it in the U.S.

But the most conspicuous signal that the M is probably not destined for the role I had imagined for it is the 7D Mark II. The latter is a very serious camera that sends the message (true or not, time will tell) that the APS-C DSLR is not headed for extinction any time soon. And even I don't think that the M series and DSLRs can co-exist as serious cameras in the APS-C space.

[JTRYTTEN]

My interest is in a rangefinder-type camera with interchangeable lenses. Quiet, inconspicuous. Compact. Good for street photos. Something that doesn't scream major photog here when I bring it up to my eye. Right now, the Sony A6000 is as close as it comes to the camera I'm looking for but I've been a Canon follower since the early '80s and would like to stay within Canon -- I have a ton of lenses, etc. going back to F-1 days. Buying it from Japan or Hong Kong bothers me particularly from the warranty aspect and changing the programmed menus to english language.

The M body is moving in the right direction. I just don't understand how difficult it is to sell in the US. Is the retail channel the problem? Inventory investment? Limits on production capacity? What's the big deal here? 

[TCampbell]

You would have to ask Canon.  This is a community forum to interact with other Canon shooters -- not really a way to ask Canon.  All we know is the EOS M wasn't a hot seller and they decided not to sell it in this market.

If they sell it, they have to service.  Possibly they decided that the cost to train, staff, and equip their service departments to service that particular model wasn't worthwhile given the small number of people who bought it.

As I look at their latest M3 version of the camera, I'm noticing things like Dual Pixel CMOS AF system (looks to be the same system used on the 70D, 7D II, and making its way into other sensors which provides relatively fast "phase-detect" type AF, but direct on sensor without needing a reflex mirror.)  I also see that they now have a detachable electronic LCD viewfinder (looks like it connects to the hot-shoe).  

The notion of being able to use all my EOS glass with a mirrorless APS-C camera is very appearling.  Of course... if I lift a small compact mirrorless camera to my eye... and a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens is attached... I think I'm going to attract attention anyway.  When I don't want to attract attention, or I need to travel light (I just did this last week on a trip to Chicago) I just grab my Powershot G1 X (that's another camera that's been rev'd a few times since I bought it.)  It's built like a tank (my partner actually dropped it from a height of about 3' onto a sidewalk and it has a scratch and the tiniest little dent in the corner, but otherwise works fantastically.  It does actually have a metal body (not just a plastic body that looks like metal.)