CANON G7X MARK II

THIS IS WHERE THINGS GET INTERESTING! IT'S OVER TWO YEARS SINCE SONY SHOOK UP THE COMPACT CAMERA MARKET BY PUTTING A 1"-TYPE SENSOR INTO A GENUINELY POCKETABLE COMPACT. THE CYBER-SHOT RX100 LOOKED A LOT LIKE ONE OF CANON'S S-SERIES OF HIGH-END COMPACTS BUT USED A SENSOR 2.8 TIMES LARGER TO OFFER A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN IMAGE QUALITY.

AMAZINGLY, SONY HAS REMAINED UNCHALLENGED IN THIS FIELD FOR OVER TWO YEARS, IN WHICH TIME IT'S MANAGED TO INTRODUCE TWO MORE GENERATIONS OF RX100. THE RX100 III BROUGHT AN ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER AND A MORE CONSISTENTLY BRIGHT (ALBEIT SHORTER) ZOOM, HELPING IT CLIMB EVEN FURTHER BEYOND THE COMPETITION. THAT ESSENTIALLY UNCHALLENGED SUPREMACY ENDS WITH THE ARRIVAL OF CANON'S POWERSHOT G7 X.

LIKE THE RX100 III, THE G7 X OFFERS A 1"-TYPE, 20MP BSI SENSOR MATED TO AN F1.8-2.8 ZOOM STARTING AT 24MM EQUIVALENT. THE TWO CAMERAS ARE ALSO SIMILAR IN SIZE AND OFFER BROADLY SIMILAR FEATURE SETS. WHICH IS GREAT FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS, BECAUSE IT MEANS THE SONY FINALLY HAS SOME PROPER COMPETITION.

POWERSHOT G7 X KEY FEATURES

• 20MP 1"-TYPE BSI CMOS SENSOR (13.2 X 8.8MM)
• 24-100MM EQUIV. F1.8-2.8 LENS
• CLICKING CONTROL DIAL AROUND LENS
• FLIP-UP REAR TOUCHSCREEN
• DEDICATED EXPOSURE COMPENSATION DIAL
• 3.0" 1.04M DOT LCD (720 X 480 PIXELS)
• BUILT-IN ND FILTER
• WI-FI WITH NFC

·         CANON IS ONE OF THE ONLY MANUFACTURERS TO HAVE CONSISTENTLY OFFERED A DEDICATED ENTHUSIAST COMPACT CAMERA IN ITS LINEUP, AND THE ARRIVAL OF THE G7 X MEANS IT NOW OFFERS FOUR: THE S120, G16, G7 X AND G1 X MARK II, EACH OFFERING A DIFFERENT BALANCE OF SIZE, PRICE AND CAPABILITY. THE STYLING AND SIZE OF THE G7 X MAKE IT LOOK LIKE AN S-SERIES, BUT THE DEGREE OF DIRECT CONTROL JUSTIFIES ITS G-SERIES MONIKER.

·         THE CAMERA'S COMBINATION OF TOUCH SCREEN, DEDICATED EXPOSURE COMPENSATION DIAL AND CLICKING CONTROL DIAL AROUND THE LENS GIVE A HIGH DEGREE OF DIRECT CONTROL FOR SUCH A SMALL CAMERA AND CANON'S ITERATIVE, EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO CAMERA INTERFACES, ALONG WITH A LITTLE TIME SPEND PLAYING WITH THE CAMERA SUGGESTS IT SHOULD WORK PRETTY WELL.

·         MEANWHILE, THE DETAILS OF THE SENSOR STRONGLY SUGGEST IT USES SONY'S IMX183CQJ SENSOR, SO COULD WELL BE ABLE TO MATCH THE LATEST RX100 SERIES IN TERMS OF IMAGE QUALITY. THAT ALONE WOULD MAKE IT A SIGNIFICANT ADDITION TO THE MARKET. THE G7 X IS JUST AS SMALL AS THE SONY BUT OFFERS MUCH MORE IN TERNS OF DIRECT CONTROL.

·         THEN, OF COURSE, THERE'S THE LENS:

·         THE LENS

·         GIVEN THAT IMAGE QUALITY IS ALL ABOUT LIGHT CAPTURE, THE BEST WAY OF MAKING THE MOST OF A LARGE SENSOR IS TO MATE IT WITH A BRIGHT LENS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HELPED THE RX100 III EARN ITS GOLD AWARD WAS THE INCLUSION OF AN F1.8-2.8 ZOOM WHICH MEANT THE CAMERA MAINTAINED MUCH MORE OF ITS LARGE SENSOR ADVANTAGE AS YOU ZOOMED IN (RATHER THAN STIFLING IT WITH THE F4.9 MAXIMUM APERTURE AT TELEPHOTO ON THE FIRST TWO RX100S). HOWEVER, THIS SPEED BOOST CAME AT THE COST OF THE LENS' RANGE, WITH SONY RESTRICTING THE ZOOM TO A 24-70MM EQUIVALENT RANGE TO KEEP THE CAMERA SMALL.

·         CONSEQUENTLY, IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE CANON FIT A 24-100MM EQUIVALENT LENS INTO THE G7 X WHILE ALSO OFFERING A F1.8-2.8 MAXIMUM APERTURE RANGE.

·         CLEARLY CANON HAS FOUND SOME WEIRD TRICK THAT HAS LET IT COMBINE A FAST MAXIMUM APERTURE RANGE WITH A USEFULLY BROAD ZOOM RANGE, WHILE KEEPING THE CAMERA SIZE DOWN. NOTE, ON THE GRAPH ABOVE, HOW THE G7 X'S MAXIMUM APERTURE STAYS BRIGHT FOR MUCH LONGER THAN THE RX100 III'S. THEY MAY OFFER THE SAME RANGE ON PAPER, BUT AT ANY POINT FROM 24-50MM EQUIVALENT, THE CANON'S LENS CAN BE KEPT WIDER-OPEN THAN THE SONY'S, WITH THE DIFFERENCE REACHING OVER 2/3EV AT 30MM EQUIV.

·         WHAT THE ABOVE GRAPH SHOULD MAKE CLEAR IS THAT THE G7 X IS AMONGST THE MOST CONSISTENTLY BRIGHT COMPACTS ON THE MARKET, ONCE SENSOR SIZE HAS BEEN TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT, WHICH SHOULD GIVE EXCELLENT CONTROL OVER DEPTH-OF-FIELD (INCLUDING AT FOCAL LENGTHS USEFUL FOR CLASSIC PORTRAITURE) AND LOW LIGHT PERFORMANCE. GIVEN THE VERY HIGH LIKELIHOOD THAT BOTH CAMERAS USE THE SAME (EXCELLENT) SENSOR, IT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT THE CANON'S IMAGE QUALITY TO BE PRETTY COMPETITIVE, IF ITS LENS IS ANY GOOD.

·         ONLY PANASONIC'S DMC-LX100 IS ABLE TO OFFER MORE LIGHT CAPTURING ABILITY AND THAT'S A BIGGER CAMERA WITH A MORE RESTRICTIVE ZOOM RANGE (THOUGH WE ALSO THINK THAT'S HUGELY APPEALING, DEPENDING ON YOUR EXACT NEEDS AND TASTES).

OUR VERDICT

CANON DIDN'T NEED TO DELIVER A MAJOR OVERHAUL OF ITS EXCELLENT G7 X, AND THE UPGRADES IN THE G7 X II BUILD ON THE ORIGINAL CAMERA'S REPUTATION, PARTICULARLY THE PERFORMANCE-BOOSTING DIGIC 7 PROCESSOR. THE ONLY DISAPPOINTMENT IS THE CONTINUED ABSENCE OF A VIEWFINDER.

FOR

• GREAT LOW-LIGHT PERFORMANCE
• TILTING TOUCHSCREEN
• PLENTY OF MANUAL CONTROL OPTIONS
• RAW FORMAT SHOOTING
• OPTICAL IMAGE STABILIZATION

AGAINST

• NO VIEWFINDER
• SCREEN NOT FULLY ARTICULATING
• LIMITED ZOOM RANGE
• 1080P VIDEO CAPTURE

CAMERAS WITH A ONE-INCH TYPE SENSOR ARE POPULAR RIGHT NOW, WITH SONY AND PANASONIC INCLUDING THEM IN THEIR PREMIUM COMPACT CAMERAS ALONG WITH CANON, WHOSE POWERSHOT G7 X MARK II IS ITS LATEST CAMERA TO FEATURE ONE. A ONE-INCH SENSOR IS LARGER THAN THE SENSOR IN A TYPICAL COMPACT, AND THE MAIN BENEFIT IS IMPROVED IMAGE QUALITY, ESPECIALLY IN LOW LIGHT CONDITIONS.

FEATURES

·         1.0-INCH CMOS SENSOR, 20.1MP

·         24-100MM F/1.8-2.8 ZOOM LENS

·         1080P VIDEO CAPTURE

THE G7 X MARK II SUCCEEDS THE G7 X IN THE MIDDLE OF CANON'S HIGH-END G SERIES RANGE OF COMPACT CAMERAS. NOT A HUGE AMOUNT HAS CHANGED FROM THE PREVIOUS VERSION, BUT THERE ARE SOME SIGNIFICANT, IF INCREMENTAL, UPDATES.

·         CANON POWERSHOT G7 X II AT AMAZON INDIA FOR ₹43865

THERE'S STILL THE SAME 20.1 MILLION-PIXEL CMOS SENSOR, AND A 4X OPTICAL ZOOM LENS THAT OFFERS AN EQUIVALENT FOCAL LENGTH OF 24-100MM AND COVERS AN APERTURE RANGE OF F/1.8-F/2.8.

A COUPLE OF MINOR CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE EXTERIOR OF THE CAMERA, BUT PERHAPS THE BIGGEST UPGRADE OF NOTE IS THE ADDITION OF A DIGIC 7 PROCESSOR, THE NEWEST AVAILABLE IN ANY CANON CAMERA. THIS BRINGS WITH IT UPGRADES TO SHOOTING PERFORMANCE, INCLUDING A FASTER BURST SHOOTING RATE. 

FULL HD VIDEO RECORDING IS AVAILABLE, ALTHOUGH THERE'S SADLY NO SIGN OF 4K YET FOR CANON'S COMPACT CAMERAS. WI-FI AND NFC CONNECTIVITY IS PRESENT, WHILE THE TOUCH-SENSITIVE SCREEN TILTS TO ENABLE SHOOTING AT AWKWARD ANGLES; HOWEVER THERE'S NO BUILT-IN VIEWFINDER, AND, WITH NO HOTSHOE OR ACCESSORY PORT, NO OPTION TO ADD ONE EITHER.