[B][SIZE=3]Probable unveiling of Canon's mirrorless Compact System Camera early Monday morning GMT[/SIZE][/B]

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[I]Is this Canon's new mirrorless Compact System Camera?[/I]

We aren't a rumour site by any means but sometimes rumours get to the point that they can't be ignored and Canon hasn't revealed any information to us, so we aren't breaking any non-disclosure agreements. Our very trusted unofficial correspondent in Japan, [URL="http://dpnow.com/forum2/showthread.php?t=13643"]Yoshi[/URL], has posted news of a hot debate on Japanese sites about what we believe is called the Canon EOS-M. Accompanying leaked shots clearly show it's a mirrorless compact system camera along the lines of the Panasonic Lumix GF series, Olympus Pen, Nikon J1, and others.

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[I]The design of the area around the shutter release looks exquisite[/I]

Canon originally denied that it needed a mirrorless system camera. Then the company said it was evaluating the market. That was surely code for - yes, we're developing a system. That was last year and now, the last of the major camera brands to introduced a mirrorless CSC, looks to be on the verge of joining the rest with the launch of the EOS-M.

Information is sketchy but there is plenty of evidence that the system is based around an APS-type sensor, the same format as used in Canon's EF-S mount DSLRs, the most recent of which is the EOS-650D. The photo of the kit lens shows it's an EF-M 18-55mm lens, which is the same as the EF-S mount kit lens. There is also a photo of a EF-M 22mm f/2.0 STM pancake lens attached to the camera body. This would, if the cropping factor is the same as EF-S mount DSLRs, be equivalent to a 35mm wide angle lens.

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[I]Is the EOS-M a touch-screen camera?[/I]

Yoshi says of the discussions in Japan: "The new model is already under attack. No articulated monitor, in-body IS (meaning in-lens IS is better in his case), no in-body flash ... slow AF, and of course, it looks big and heavy than its counterparts from other brands..."

It will certainly be interesting if the EOS-M has in-body image stabilisation. Everyone else apart from Pentax and Olympus have gone for in-lens optical image stabilisation (OIS). Both systems have pros and cons but in-body IS does mean practically any lens, even very old ones, can be stabilised and, in theory, lenses with OIS are more complex and expensive to make. On the other hand in-body IS adds extra manufacturing cost to the camera.

It's not clear where the concern about slow focusing comes from, apart from the generic comparison of contrast detect AF and SLR phase detect AF. Canon's new EOS-650D has a hybrid system that uses the sensor to work like a phase-detect AF system. Mirrorless cameras now actually focus faster in single-action focusing faster than DSLRs, but DSLRs still have the upper hand with continuous AF.

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[I]The EF-M 18-55mm kit lens looks rather long compared to some of its rivals' equivalents[/I]

I notice that the EOS-M in the leaked photos keeps the Canon G series of family look. The 18-55 kit lens looks rather long and there is no sign that Canon has copied Olympus, Panasonic and Samsung in producing a design that collapses inwards when not in use to preserve overall compactness. And we are reminded that the larger APS sensor mirrorless CSCs from Samsung and Sony are matched with surprisingly large lenses, especially telephoto zooms, compared to the smaller sensor Micro Four Thirds cameras from Panasonic and Olympus, not to mention the even smaller sensor Nikon 1 system lenses.

There doesn't seem to be any sign of a detachable electronic viewfinder, either. Would that be too close to the EOS-M stepping on the toes of Canon's DSLRs? There is no built-in flash, apparently. At least there is a standard hot shoes and we sincerely hope it is compatible with the excellent Canon Speedlite system.

We know that Canon is doing something tomorrow (Monday) so it seems reasonable that with the many rumours about EOS-M that the new system will be officially launched. Canon is by far the most secretive of the camera manufacturers. We usually get at least a few days warning, with detailed information, under non-disclosure agreement, from all the other camera manufacturers when a new camera is about to be launched. This means we have more time to prepare better quality coverage of the launch. Why Canon insists on being so uncooperative (and so potentially compromising the quality of coverage) is unclear. If it is to protect its commercial secrecy, then Canon needs to work a bit harder going by the amount of leaks we're seeing on the Internet.

Anyway, as Japanese-issued press releases tend to arrive around 5AM here in the UK, you can guarantee I will rising extra early tomorrow morning.