YI M1 Mirrorless ILC First Impressions Review
This is unexpected: The YI M1, a 20MP Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera.
YI, or Young Innovators, is a China-based company that has already made its mark in the action cam market, earning a recommendation in our recent roundup. But it clearly has ambitions beyond this and has announced its entry into the consumer-level compact ILC market.
We were lucky enough to get our hands on a prototype model of the YI M1, the company's first ever mirrorless camera. YI has attempted to capitalize on an already well-established camera mount, but decided to put a new spin on it in the form of an almost entirely touchscreen-based user interface. YI's target demographic is a group that is looking to move on from their smart phone based camera, but perhaps isn't ready or interested in, taking the plunge into the realm of a traditional DSLR or mirrorless platform.
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Key Specifications
- 20MP Four Thirds sensor
- 3" 1.04M-dot touchscreen LCD
- 81 Point Contrast Detect AF system rated to -4EV
- Touch to focus and one touch image capture
- 5fps continuous shooting
- 4K/30P video recording capability
- Built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE
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| The YI M1 features an all-metal lens mount and a 20MP CMOS sensor. |
The YI M1 is built around a Sony-designed 20MP Four Thirds CMOS sensor that boasts Raw capability in the form of DNG output files and the ability to shoot 4K/30P video. As with its action cameras, YI publicly lists where its key components come from and the Sony IMX269 instantly suggests good things about the camera's potential.
The big news is the all-touchscreen interface (the body only has two physical buttons), which aims to give a simple, more smartphone-like user experience. However, the company doesn't treat these users as undemanding, just because they don't want a conventional camera.
The camera comes with two lenses, a camera strap, USB charging brick and a Micro-USB cable. While the camera sports a hot shoe for an external flash, the current kit doesn't have a flash included.
Lenses
The two lens choices that come in the kit were a bit of surprise for us, and in a very good way. It's not too often that a camera company decides to include a prime lens and a zoom in an ILC starter kit, but that's just what YI has done. There's a macro-capable 42.5mm F1.8 prime as well as a more conventional 12-40mm F3.5-5.6 zoom in the box, both equipped with image stabilization, since the body itself does not offer any..
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| The 42.5mm F1.8 prime lens can be seen on the left and the 12-40mm F3.5-5.6 can be seen on the right. The focus ring on the 42.5mm prime doesn't actually move - it's just for show. |
The lenses are constructed of a mostly plastic body and are extremely lightweight. I definitely wouldn't suggest getting them wet, as they don't appear to have any sort of weather-sealing. The lens mounts are made of a plastic composite material.
Oddly, the 42.5mm prime doesn't offer manual focus – the 'focus ring' is purely cosmetic. In any case offering a prime lens, particularly a portrait-friendly 85mm equivalent one, is a really nice touch and is sure to please folks moving from a fixed-lens smartphone to an ILC platform.
Being that this camera is on the MFT platform, YI claims that it will be compatible with more than 50 other lens options. I've tried a small sample of Panasonic and Olympus MFT lenses and they all seem to work great, so that's very promising.
The YI M1 offers five JPEG shooting modes: a high contrast black and white mode, a standard black and white mode, portrait, vivid, and lastly a standard shooting mode. Unfortunately you currently aren't able to shoot Raw + JPEG, so you will have to decide which format you would like to shoot in before heading out with the camera (though this could be easily fixed through a firmware update).
Autofocus
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In terms of autofocus the YI M1 has an 81-point contrast detect AF system with touch to focus and touch shutter. It also offers face detection and both AF-S and AF-C shooting modes. It's also important to note that the AF also lacks any sort of subject tracking outside of face detection.
Autofocus is possible during video capture; AF-C is automatically enabled while shooting video. Unfortunately, the YI lacks a dedicated AF control switch, which makes switching AF shooting modes a bit difficult. Novices coming to the YI may find they'll need to pay more attention to their autofocus point placement than they did with their smartphone.
Video
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The M1 has several video shooting modes- the highlight of which is its ability to shoot in 4K/30P. It also offers 2K/30P, Full HD 1080 and 720 at 60, 30 and 24P. Autofocus is available while shooting video in the form of single point AF-C, but if you're using the 12-40mm F3.5-5.6 zoom lens you will also have the ability to use manual focus with focus peaking, which can definitely come in handy because the autofocus is fairly slow to lock focus while in video mode.
Pricing and Availability
The new YI M1 will be released September 23rd in China and we suspect shortly after that date in the US. It will cost $499 USD for the kit with the standard zoom lens (12-40mm F3.5-5.6) and $599 USD for the kit that comes with the 42.5mm F1.8 prime. If you wish to purchase the camera and both the zoom and the prime lens it will set you back $699 USD. It will be offered in two colors; Ice Silver and Storm Black.
Specifications
| Body type | |
|---|---|
| Body type | Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
| Body material | Composite and Metal |
| Sensor | |
| Max resolution | 5184 x 3888 |
| Image ratio w:h | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 |
| Effective pixels | 20 megapixels |
| Sensor photo detectors | 22 megapixels |
| Sensor size | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) |
| Sensor type | CMOS |
| Color space | sRGB, Adobe RGB |
| Color filter array | Primary color filter |
| Image | |
| ISO | Auto, 100-25600 |
| White balance presets | 4 |
| Custom white balance | No |
| Image stabilization | No |
| Uncompressed format | RAW |
| JPEG quality levels | Superfine, fine, normal |
| File format |
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| Optics & Focus | |
| Autofocus |
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| Autofocus assist lamp | Yes |
| Manual focus | Yes |
| Number of focus points | 81 |
| Lens mount | Micro Four Thirds |
| Focal length multiplier | 2× |
| Screen / viewfinder | |
| Articulated LCD | Fixed |
| Screen size | 3″ |
| Screen dots | 1,040,000 |
| Touch screen | Yes |
| Screen type | TFT LCD |
| Live view | Yes |
| Viewfinder type | None |
| Photography features | |
| Minimum shutter speed | 60 sec |
| Maximum shutter speed | 1/4000 sec |
| Exposure modes |
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| Scene modes |
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| Built-in flash | No |
| External flash | Yes (Hot-Shoe) |
| Flash modes | Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync, Red-Eye Slow |
| Flash X sync speed | 1/125 sec |
| Drive modes |
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| Continuous drive | 5.0 fps |
| Self-timer | Yes (2 or 10 secs) |
| Metering modes |
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| Exposure compensation | ±5 (at 1/3 EV steps) |
| AE Bracketing | (3 frames at 1/3 EV, 2/3 EV, 1 EV steps) |
| WB Bracketing | Yes (3 frames up to 6 shots) |
| Videography features | |
| Format | MPEG-4, H.264 |
| Modes |
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| Microphone | Stereo |
| Speaker | Mono |
| Storage | |
| Storage types | SD/SDHC/SDXC card |
| Connectivity | |
| USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
| HDMI | Yes (Micro HDMI) |
| Microphone port | No |
| Headphone port | No |
| Wireless | Built-In |
| Wireless notes | 801.11b/g/n with Bluetooth LE |
| Remote control | Yes (via smartphone) |
| Physical | |
| Environmentally sealed | No |
| Battery | Battery Pack |
| Battery description | BXM-10 lithium-ion battery & charger |
| Battery Life (CIPA) | 450 |
| Weight (inc. batteries) | 281 g (0.62 lb / 9.91 oz) |
| Dimensions | 114 x 64 x 34 mm (4.49 x 2.52 x 1.34″) |
| Other features | |
| Orientation sensor | Yes |
| Timelapse recording | Yes (JPEG) |
| GPS |
None |
Body and Handling
The build quality of the YI M1 is really quite impressive for an entry-level ILC. It feels very well built in-hand and the majority of the components of the body itself appear to be constructed of a very sturdy composite material coupled with an all-metal lens mount. It's not weather-sealed at all, but nor are its rivals at this price.
In the hand
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| The camera features an anti-slip rubber grip, so holding it like this for long periods of time is very easy. The large 3" LCD screen makes composing images fairly simple. | The dial located just to the right of the flash hot-shoe acts as your shooting mode selector. The red video record button can also be found in the center. |
The grip has an anti-slip rubber coating for easy handling and the mode dial is fairly easy to access and adjust with one hand while holding the camera. The main mode dial offers a variety of shooting modes including a 'super professional guide' that works with templates that you will be able to download from the YI app, which is still currently being developed. According to YI, you will be able to 'create high quality images just as you are having a master by your side.'
The video recording button can be found in the center of the mode dial. If you tap the button once it starts recording, which can be a bit problematic if you weren't actually wanting to record. There's no dedicated video mode and some of the capture modes have significant crops, so there's no way to preview your field-of-view before you hit record.
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| The camera's Micro-USB and Micro-HDMI ports can be accessed via the memory card slot door, and the camera utilizes SD/SDHC/SDXC format storage cards. |
The Micro-USB and HDMI ports can be found in the same location as the memory card slot. This can be a bit cumbersome for charging the camera and leaves the memory card slot exposed. The YI-M1 can utilize SD/SDHC/SDXC format storage cards.
Shooting modes
The YI M1 offers five JPEG shooting modes: a high contrast black and white mode, a standard black and white mode, portrait, vivid, and lastly a standard shooting mode. Unfortunately you currently aren't able to shoot Raw + JPEG, so you will have to decide which format you would like to shoot in before heading out with the camera (though this could be easily fixed through a firmware update).
Autofocus
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In terms of autofocus the YI M1 has an 81-point contrast detect AF system with touch to focus and touch shutter. It also offers face detection and both AF-S and AF-C shooting modes. It's also important to note that the AF also lacks any sort of subject tracking outside of face detection.
Autofocus is possible during video capture; AF-C is automatically enabled while shooting video. Unfortunately, the YI lacks a dedicated AF control switch, which makes switching AF shooting modes a bit difficult. Novices coming to the YI may find they'll need to pay more attention to their autofocus point placement than they did with their smartphone.
Video
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The M1 has several video shooting modes- the highlight of which is its ability to shoot in 4K/30P. It also offers 2K/30P, Full HD 1080 and 720 at 60, 30 and 24P. Autofocus is available while shooting video in the form of single point AF-C, but if you're using the 12-40mm F3.5-5.6 zoom lens you will also have the ability to use manual focus with focus peaking, which can definitely come in handy because the autofocus is fairly slow to lock focus while in video mode.
Menu Layouts
The concept of using a touchscreen almost exclusively isn't necessarily a new idea, and it would have been nice to include a few more buttons to make accessing frequently used functions such as AF modes and the ISO settings a bit easier. With that said, the 3" LCD touchscreen is very large and very responsive to the touch. Changing settings, swiping between menus, using the one-touch auto focus and shooting modes are all fairly effortless.
Since there are only 3 buttons and a dial on this camera, the menu layout and functionality is extremely important to its overall usability. There are two menus that you are able to navigate to by simply swiping your finger left or right on the main screen. If you swipe to the left you will have access to the five main JPEG shooting modes mentioned earlier, and if you swipe to the right you will enter the main menu screen.
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The menu items are actually laid out nicely and are really quite easy to navigate (if a little reminiscent of another primarily touchscreen-operated camera). They almost look like App icons, similar to what you would see in a smartphone. The menu items that can be accessed are illuminated in white while the menu items that cannot be accessed are greyed out. If you plan to shoot in Raw, be aware that the Time-lapse, HDR and Exposure Bracketing menus will all be inaccessible. Switching to JPEG shooting mode will allow you to utilize these three shooting modes in addition to the others in the main menu.
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Navigating the sub-menus within the main menu items is very straightforward. The whole experience is similar to navigating the settings menus and apps in your phone - which is exactly what YI has set out to do.
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I first heard about YI, or Young Innovators, through our latest round-up about 4K action cams in which YI's 4K action cam got rave reviews. We received a prototype of the YI M1 mirrorless camera in our office a few weeks later, and I was initially very impressed by the packaging and the overall presentation of the product. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical at first, knowing that the target audience for this camera is chiefly existing smartphone users, but I was pleasantly surprised by the M1's overall build quality and the very streamlined and simplified design.
That being said, the camera didn't come without its points of frustration. I took the camera home for the weekend after using it around the office for a bit, and I found it was hard to predict what the camera's AF was going to choose as a subject. Equally, the focus could be indecisive, with the camera taking some time to acquire focus and occasionally reporting that it was in focus, when it wasn't.
This could definitely result in a less friendly point-and-shoot experience that new users may be used to as most people switching from a smartphone to the YI M1 won't be familiar with choosing a focus point to start with. The tap to capture mode seemed to lock focus at about the same speed as the normal shooting mode, and I didn't see a huge difference in AF acquisition speed between the AF-S and AF-C autofocus modes.
The face detection seemed to work fairly well, and seemed to be able to lock onto a subject and track them throughout the frame when it could find the face. Unfortunately, the camera often struggled to lock on to the subject and seemed to be fairly inconsistent. One huge omission in the AF system is the inability of the AF to effectively track subjects – especially since it does have face detection. This would make shooting a sporting event or even a fast moving child very difficult, forcing users to follow the action themselves.
Another point of frustration was the inability to zoom in on the live preview to determine if focus is correct while manually focusing. Focus peaking works fairly well, but it would be nice to be able to double check the focus accuracy before snapping your image. The 4K/30p video shooting mode worked fairly well - but again the AF-C definitely struggled. The image stabilization worked well and the video is fairly smooth. I found that using manual focus with focus peaking seemed to be more effective in the video mode.
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| The packaging and presentation of the camera was very nice- it almost looked like something from Fujifilm. Seen here are the two kit lenses (the 42.5mm F1.8 prime and the 12-40mm F3.5-5.6 zoom) and the camera body. |
After shooting the YI M1 for a bit, I decided to let my wife give it a try since she's part of YI's target audience. She knows a bit about cameras, but primarily shoots with her iPhone. She enjoyed the menu layout and the look and feel of the camera, but she got frustrated by the AF and the lack of any buttons to access some of the simpler settings like ISO and AF modes. I let her use the 42.5mm F1.8 prime lens, and she immediately tried to rotate the focus ring for manual focus like she had been doing while using the 12-40mm zoom lens, and, well, she couldn't get it to move. She also tried the various shooting modes, including the panorama mode which she found fairly difficult to use at first. It seemed like the software didn't correct for warping as well as it could have and the in camera JPEG editing wasn't available for panoramic photos.
I think this quote from her sums up her experience quite well: 'I like the way the camera is built and the way the menus are configured, but when it comes to taking photos it seems like they just didn't back up the cool appearance and tech with functionality and performance.'
Despite that, the M1 is definitely an impressive first step into the world of mirrorless ILC technology for YI. I think a number of these issues could be addressed through firmware updates, and being that this is a prototype, some of these issues may be addressed in the final release. Although we can't officially release any sample images, my initial impressions are that the DR is quite impressive in the Raw DNG files - you can push the files to around +3EV with minimal issues. The JPEG engine does a fairly nice job with the images shot at low ISO's, but the noise reduction in the higher ISO photos is fairly aggressive. I found the super fine JPEG processing to be the most visually pleasing.
So there's some promise here, but YI isn't finished yet. With some time and innovation, YI can definitely carve their niche into an already crowded market place, but they will definitely have to make a few changes and fix some gaps in their autofocus and user interfaces.
Published Sep 19, 2016 | Chris M Williams URL : https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/yi-m1-mirrorless-ilc-first-impressions-...