The Canon EOS M is the world's first serious mirrorless camera.
By "mirrorless" I mean modern digital cameras with DSLR image quality, live
through-the-lens (TTL) viewing and interchangeable lenses, just without the
flipping mirror. Obviously 4x5" cameras have no mirrors, but I'm not
referring to them.
By "serious," I mean professional grade. Sony, Samsung, Fuji, Olympus,
Panasonic and other third-tier brands offer lots of mirrorless cameras, but
then aren't pro grade; they are just consumer electronics products and
usually only with smaller 4/3 sensors (or smaller) and/or lens mounts often
with few advanced lenses available. (First tier is LEICA, classic Hasselblad
, Contax and others. Second tier is Nikon and Canon.)
While a serious camera with a big sensor and no mirror; the LEICA M9 doesn't
count: it has no TTL viewing, so you never really know what's in your
picture until after it's taken!
The Fuji X-Pro1 is the next best thing to the EOS M, but again limited by
too few lenses and a weird custom mount and only so-so color rendition. It's
a great start, but lacks Canon's color savvy and system breadth. The
limited lens selection is OK since it has everything I need, but the sloppy
colors are almost as bad as the LEICA M9's
Up until now, there have been no serious professional mirrorless camera
systems.
