Hot on the heels of the Canon EOS M5 - the mirrorless camera that, finally, put Canon in contention with some of its competition - the Japanese company has announced the EOS M6. It does away with the viewfinder (leaving a hotshoe in place for an accessory one), while updating the body design.

As compact system cameras go the M6 has got a variety of top features on board: its 45-point Dual Pixel AF system means its sensor-level phase-detection pixels are fast to focus; while the latest 24.2-megapixel CMOS sensor, which is APS-C sized and therefore beneficially bigger than many rivals, will deliver the same quality as the M5.

The hotshoe means you could add the new EVF-DSC2 (£219) optional viewfinder (which is also compatible with other high-end Canon compacts such as the G1 X II) or other optional accessories. If you're super keen for a viewfinder, however, then the M5 is probably the more sensible purchase if you're determined to buy Canon.

Other standout points on the M6 include the retro styling and a stacked control dial - which places the exposure compensation dial on top of the rear thumbwheel - both of which help give this Canon a look like no other M-series models. It's rather Olympus-esque, if you ask us, albeit without quite the same degree of high-end materials - to us the dials just feel a bit lightweight.

The Canon EOS M6 will be available from April 2017 in black or silver finishes, priced £730 (body-only). At that price, it's got some interesting features and the Canon badge to lure in users, but with the likes of Panasonic offering the Lumix G80 for a similar sum, it's also worth looking further afield in our view.