What is the crop factor of the Canon M?

The Canon EOS M is equipped with an APS-C sensor, whose diagonal measures 26.8mm. The sensor has a crop factor (or format factor, or focal length multiplier) of 1.6.

The crop factor is defined as the ratio of the 35mm full-frame film diagonal to the diagonal of a digital sensor. This number indicates how a lens behaves in relation to the size of the image sensor.

Sensor size comparison with a film slide

With a crop factor of 1.6, the sensor in the Canon M is smaller than the receptor area of a 35mm film slide or negative. As a result, a lens that is attached to the Canon M will offer a narrower angle of view and provide deeper depth of field than a lens of similar focal length and aperture on a film camera. The equivalent focal length is obtained by multiplying the actual focal length of the lens with the crop factor. For example, a 31mm lens on the Canon M will provide the same angle of view and depth of field as a 50mm normal lens on a film camera (31mm * 1.6 = 50mm).

Sensor specs and performance

The table below compares the sensor specs of the Canon M to those of several similar cameras. The reported DXO values are indicators of the sensor's imaging quality (higher is better), covering color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape), and high-ISO noise (DXO Sports). Larger sensor cameras tend to outperform cameras of the same generation that are equipped with a smaller imager. On the other hand, larger sensors are more expensive and require bigger and heavier lenses than smaller light receptors.

Sensor Characteristics

#		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Canon M	APS-C	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	22.1	11.2	827	65
2.		Canon M100	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60p	23.5	12.9	1272	78
3.		Canon M10	APS-C	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	22.2	11.4	753	65
4.		Canon G7 X	1-inch	20.0	5472	3648	1080/60p	23.0	12.7	556	71
5.		Canon G16	1/1.7	12.0	4000	3000	1080/60p	21.0	11.7	230	54
6.		Canon SL1	APS-C	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	21.8	11.3	843	63
7.		Canon T5i	APS-C	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	21.7	11.2	681	61
8.		Canon T3i	APS-C	17.9	5184	3456	1080/30p	22.1	11.5	793	65
9.		Panasonic GF6	Four Thirds	15.8	4592	3448	1080/60i	20.7	10.6	622	54
10.		Panasonic G3	Four Thirds	15.8	4592	3448	1080/60i	21.0	10.6	667	56
11.		Sony NEX-3N	APS-C	16.0	4912	3264	1080/60i	22.8	12.5	1067	74

In the United States, the Canon M was initially launched in July 2012 at a price of $599.

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Camera to camera comparisons

In case you are interested in seeing how this camera compares to another one, just use the search menu below. There is also a set of direct links to comparison reviews that other users of the CAM-parator app explored.

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