EOS M5: Canon's mini mirrorless marvel - Price: RM4,699

Looks can be deceiving: Without anything else beside it to give you a sense of scale, the Canon EOS M5 looks a lot larger than it actually is. – Photos: TAN KIT HOONG/ The Star

With the EOS M5 Canon finally has a worthy contender in the mirrorless interchangeable lens camera market.

The EOS M5 is quite a major departure from the other EOS M models that came before it – instead of being modelled after a compact camera with minimal ­controls, the M5 looks like a tiny Canon EOS DSLR. Also, instead of an optical viewfinder, the M5 houses an ­electronic viewfinder on top.

Just like most DSLRs, the M5 has a lot more buttons on the body, which is great as you have easy access to a lot of functions that would otherwise be hidden in the menus.

The camera also has a good ­number of ports, including a 3.5mm microphone jack – great for videographers but it’s a bit of a letdown because it’s missing an audio output port for audio monitoring.

The M5 has two command dials – one around the shutter release in front and the other next to the viewfinder. 

Images shot with the Canon EOS M5 are very sharp with good detail and colour balance.

The second thumb dial has a rather cool button in the ­centre which allows you to quickly select common settings like ISO and white balance.

Rounding out the functions is a 3.2in tiltable touchscreen on the back.

The review unit came with the Canon 18-150mm, a good all-round kit lens that takes you from the equivalent of a 28mm wideangle to a really long 240mm telephoto.

Joining WiFi and NFC (near-field communication) that we’ve seen before in other Canon cameras is Bluetooth 4.1, which allows you to make a low-power connection with a smartphone so you can control the camera remotely.

However, the Bluetooth ­connection only offers basic ­controls – to get Live View, you still need to make a WiFi connection.

Tiny shooter

Despite the small size, the EOS M5 is actually a very nice camera to hold, thanks to the contoured grip on the front.

Due to the small size, the palm of your right hand will cover the ­buttons on the back when you hold the camera, but I’ve never accidentally pressed those buttons when shooting.

The camera has two command dials, with one around the shutter release button and the other around the multifunction button.

Like most modern mirrorless cameras, there’s an eye sensor so that when you bring the camera up to your eye, the back screen turns off and switches to the electronic viewfinder.

I mention this specifically because you can configure the camera so that when you’re looking through the ­viewfinder, the LCD on the back doubles as a touchpad so you can use your finger to select the focus point.

Talking about ­autofocus, this has received the biggest improvement in the EOS M series – thanks to Canon’s 24-megapixel dual-pixel image sensor (which is similar to, if not the same as, the one on the EOS 80D DSLR), the camera now has a very fast and accurate phase-­detect autofocus instead of the ­contrast detect system of previous models.

The phase-detect autofocus works very well for most situations and is definitely leaps and bounds above previous EOS M models.

Where the EOS M5’s dual-pixel autofocus shines is for shooting video – just touch the screen and the EOS M5 will smoothly snap into focus at that point without any hunting.

Unfortunately, the EOS M5 doesn’t offer 4K recording which is a bummer but it shoots really well in 1080p at 60fps.

Again, while you can fit an ­external microphone, you don’t get to monitor the audio.

ISO performance is pretty good and you can easily shoot ­anywhere from ISO 100 to ISO 3200 with excellent results.

This side of the top plate is home to the mode dial and power switch.

ISO 6400 is still perfectly usable though you do lose some detail as noise reduction kicks in a little stronger.

Anything above ISO 6400 is best avoided unless you have no other choice to get the shot.

Battery life on the EOS M5 is not bad though not particularly good – you can get about half a day of heavy shooting before you need to recharge the camera.

Also, you have to remember to turn off the camera before you stow it in your camera bag or risk a huge power drain.

However, you can mitigate this issue by turning on Eco mode, which will dim the screen after two seconds of inactivity and if you still haven’t touched it, the screen will turn off completely after 10 seconds.

Conclusion

With the EOS M5, Canon has finally got a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with very few compromises – image quality is very good, autofocus is very fast and positive and the controls are well thought out.

Canon’s EF-M lens range is still not as large as it could be, but if you buy the adaptor that allows you to use Canon’s EOS DSLR ­lenses, you will have access to Canon’s entire range of DSLR ­lenses to choose from.

However, the only problem with the EOS M5 is the price – at RM4,699 for body only, the EOS M5 is very close to the price of Canon’s own EOS 80D (RM4,899) which is a little bit better for video since it has a headphone output port.

So whether you’re willing to pay the price of the EOS M5 or not will depend largely on how much you really want a compact DSLR.

Pros: Great autofocus, especially for video; very compact size; lots of functions mapped to various customisable buttons.

Cons: A little pricey; no 4K video recording; no headphone output.

EOS M5  (Canon)

Mirrorless interchangeable lens camera 

Sensor: 24 megapixels

Viewfinder: Electronic viewfinder (2.36-million dot), 3.2in (1.62-million dot) touchscreen

Lens: EF-M 18-150mm IS STM kit lens

Shutter speed: 30sec to 1/4,000sec

ISO range: 100-25,600

Shooting modes: P, Tv, Av, M

Video format: 1080p (up to 60fps)

Battery: 1,040mAh lithium ion

Storage: SDXC

Interface: USB 2.0, micro HDMI, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC

Other features: Digic 7 image processor

Dimensions (W x H x D): 116 x 89 x 61mm

Weight: 427g

Website: www.canon.com.my

Price: RM4,699 (body only); RM6,399 (with kit lens)

Rating: Four stars

Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2017/01/23/canons-mini-mirrorless-marvel/#VRc56e7VdSM6pXO5.99

Fibre me up!

A study has found that the mean fibre intake of Malaysians is only about 13 to 16g, which does not meet the national population intake goal of 20 to 30g a day.-SPONSORED-

Dietary fibre comes from the edible parts of plants, and are analogous of carbohydrates that are resistant to digestion and absorption in the human small intestine.

It can be found in grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, vegetables and fruits. Consuming these plant sources help to provide fibre in the diet.

Dietary fibre has long been associated with health benefits related to gut health, satiety, weight management and cardiovascular disease.

However, one study found that mean fibre intake among Malaysians is only about 13g to 16g, which does not meet the national population intake goal of 20g to 30g a day.

This lack of fibre intake can be explained by inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables. In addition, this problem is compounded by the habit of eating out frequently, as revealed in the Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey (MANS) carried out in 2014.

Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of vitamins and minerals, and are also good sources of dietary fibre.

Soluble fibre (oats is one source) dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance in the gut. This helps to slow down the process of digestion, so that sugar is released and absorbed gradually into the bloodstream.

There are two types of dietary fibre: insoluble and soluble. Each helps the body in different ways, therefore, it is important to eat a variety of cereals, legumes, fruits and vegetables so that variety in dietary fibre is maximised.

Insoluble fibre does not dissolve in water. This type of fibre acts like a sponge in the gut, adding bulk to the stool, thus helping ease stool passage through the large intestine, which helps to relieve constipation.

Nuts, seeds, whole wheat, vegetables, and fruits eaten together with the skin, are good sources of insoluble fibre.

Soluble fibre dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance in the gut. This helps to slow down the process of digestion, so that sugar is released and absorbed gradually into the bloodstream.

Soluble fibre helps to keep stools soft, making them easier to pass out, which also helps to aid in preventing or treating constipation.

It is also known to bind with bile acids in the small intestine, removing them from the body.

The loss of bile acids will stimulate the liver to increase cholesterol uptake, hence reducing bad cholesterol in the body.

Soluble fibre is found in oats, beans, citrus fruits, sweet potato and barley, among others.

On top of that, some researchers have found that certain soluble fibres such as inulin, oligofructose and FOS (fructo-oligosaccharide) serve as food sources to the good bacteria in the gut.

Onions are a good source of prebiotics.

These good bacteria have very important functions to perform, which include strengthening the bowel wall, facilitating absorption of essential nutrients, producing hormones that control appetite and anxiety, and more.

These fibres are called prebiotics. Food sources high in prebiotics include asparagus, garlic, onion, leek and banana. Some food contain both soluble and insoluble fibres, such as oats and beans.

Hence, we should eat a wide variety of high-fibre food to receive the greatest health benefits.

Below are some tips to increase one’s dietary fibre intake:

1. Include two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables in a day 

• Fill half a plate with vegetables during main meals.

• Ask for more mustard greens (sawi) or taugeh added into your noodles soup or curry noodles when eating out.

• Make sure fruits are always available in the fridge. Take it as dessert after meals or a snack in between meals.

• Add more fresh fruits into every meal. It is a sweet way to add fibre into your diet.

Maggi has just introduced a steamed noodles cake made from 51 whole grain oats and 49 high protein wheat that provides 18 of the recommended daily fibre intake for adults.

2. Go whole grain 

• Substitute refined food products with a whole grain product – such as eating whole meal bread instead of white bread, noodles made from oats or using whole wheat flour instead of refined flour. 

• Be creative in your cooking. Oats can be added into both sweet or savoury food. Add them to your fresh fruits yoghurt mix, or into idli, pancakes, soups or curries.

3. Include nuts, seeds, beans and legumes into your daily diet

• Substitute animal protein with beans/legumes once or twice a week. 

• Take one handful of nuts or seeds a day as a snack (e.g. cashew nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds).

4. Read food labels 

• Compare the fibre content of two similar products based on one serving or per 100g. Then choose the one that contains more fibre.

5. Do not forget to hydrate

• Increased fibre intake should be coupled with adequate hydration as well. Fibre pulls water into the intestine, which can aggravate rather than alleviate constipation. Therefore, drink at least eight glasses of water a day.

- Source: The Star Online