Canon will release in October its first ever compact system camera, the EOS M, which uses its own models of lenses while being compatible, via an adapter, with a range of 70 EF lenses.

The EOS M marks Canon's entry in the highly competitive mirrorless market, and comes more than four years after Olympus and Panasonic introduced their Micro Four Thirds system. However, similarly to what Sony offers, Canon has chosen a large APS-C-sized sensor to be at the heart of its compact system.

The EOS M, which will be presented at this year's Photokina trade show in Cologne, uses an 18-megapixel APS-C hybrid CMOS sensor, and is also fitted with Canon's Digic 5 processor. The camera offers a sensitivity range of ISO100 to ISO12,800, expandable to ISO25,600.

The EOS M can also record full-HD videos with stereo sound, and offers an in-camera editing mode made simple thanks to a three-inch Clear View LCD II Touch screen. "From the very first swipe across the bright touch screen, the EOS M gives you as much or as little control over your photos as desired," says Canon. "Simply select different shooting modes and settings via the on-screen icons, or let Scene Intelligent Auto adjust the camera settings according to the subject and shooting conditions, leaving you free to focus on composition and selecting the perfect moment to hit the shutter release button."

While the new model will come, at launch, with two new M lenses - the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM pancake and the EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM standard zoom - Canon is also introducing its Mount Adapter EF-EOS M, which allows photographers to use more than 70 EF lenses.

The EOS M will be available from October and will marketed at people "who use photography to share their everyday passions - from photographing friends and family, to fashion and culture, food, music and art."

According to Canon, the EOS M is "the perfect, take-anywhere partner for a new breed of enthusiasts who chronicle their lives through images, without necessarily considering themselves to be ‘photographers'."

It will retail at £770 (€910) with the EF-M 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens, at £880 (€1050) with the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM and Lens Adapter. The lens adapter alone will retail at £130 (€155).

For more details, visit www.canon.co.uk.