I agree that there are other systems out there. I enjoy my M very much. Instead of trekking all over the place with my DSLR, I prefer to take my M where I can. I pretty much have it with me at all times. With the zoom, you can have it in a very tiny bag. 22mm, you can even put it in your pocket. The noise levels are better than that on my 7D. My needs might be different than yours, but the M is the ideal camera to take for my vacations. I have 3 kids to keep track of and toting a big camera and lens just isn't feasible.