Introduction
A brand-new premium pocketable compact camera with a big CMOS picture sensor and a quick lens is the Canon PowerShot G7 X. The metal-bodied G7 X has a 20.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor with a 1.0-type backlighting, an f/1.8-2.8, 4.2x lens with a 9-blade aperture, full manual controls, shooting mode and exposure compensation dials, a 3-inch tilting LCD touchscreen with 1,040K dots, built-in pop-up flash, a DIGIC 6 processor, wi-fi and NFC connectivity, an ISO range of 100-12800, full HD The cost of the black Canon Powershot G7 X is £579, €599, or $699.99. Techpotamus has done an in-depth review of Canon G7x that can help you take a decision about this camera.
Ease of Use
The Canon PowerShot G7 X camera is substantially smaller and lighter than the G1 X Mk II camera, which sits above it in Canon’s PowerShot series, at 103.0 x 60.4 x 40.4 mm and 304g, respectively. The G7 X has a metal body with a strong feel and durable build, and it feels extremely well constructed. The external controls have the perfect amount of stiffness and resistance, and they are big enough to be swiftly and readily accessed in the thick of the action. Although it can fit in a shirt or trouser pocket, the Canon PowerShot G7 X is more at home in a large coat pocket or a compact camera bag.
The Canon PowerShot G7 X has a sizable 20.2 megapixel multi-aspect CMOS sensor that can record photographs with the same angle of view in the 3:2, 4:3, 16:9, or 1:1 aspect ratios even when shooting RAW files. The 1-inch sensor should improve image quality overall, particularly in low light, as well as dynamic range and depth of field, all of which are challenges for standard compact cameras.
Unlike the G1 X Mk II, the G7 X features a very useful exposure compensation slider on the top. However, changing the ISO speed is still a somewhat challenging process. There is no way to add an electronic viewfinder to the G7 X, and it lacks an optical viewfinder as well. Another complaint is that the complete user guide is still only available on CD, which is frustrating for such a creatively advanced camera. Only a very slim printed quick start guide is supplied in the box, which comes off as a hurried effort. Additionally, Canon has made the decision to exclusively make its software available for download on its website.
| Front of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
The 4.2x zoom lens dominates the understated front plate of the Canon PowerShot G7 X, with a bulb for the built-in self-timer/AF assist lamp flanking it on the left. Be aware that the thread needed to attach filters is not supplied. Because the G7 X lacks a front control dial like EOS DSLR cameras do, setting the aperture and using the full Manual photography mode can be a little more challenging.
Instead, you adjust the aperture and shutter speed using a combination of the lens control ring and the rear navigation wheel, each of which may be customised to fit your own working style. The Ring Function button on the back allows access to nine alternative settings for the clicking lens ring (which itself can be customised). The back navigation wheel was a little too narrow for us to utilise with accuracy and speed.
The Canon PowerShot G7 X has a textured surface rather than a handgrip, which makes it harder to steady the camera, however there is a small, textured cushion at the back for your right thumb to rest on.
| Rear of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
The folding pop-up flash, which has a switch on the side to manually release it, the springy raised nipple-style shutter release button, which is surrounded by a rocker switch for operating the optically stabilised 4.2x zoom (equivalent to 24–100mm on a 35mm camera), and the small, recessed on/off button are all found on the top plate of the G7 X. Canon claims that the image stabilisation of the lens gives it a four-stop advantage when shooting handheld. Additionally, the Hybrid IS system makes shooting macros easier than before by minimizing shift and angular movements. The Intelligent IS system analyses the focal length, focal distance, and type of camera movement and applies the most appropriate mode from seven possible settings.
The optical zoom lens extends from its storage within the body to its widest position as the rear LCD blinks into life and the Canon PowerShot G7 X quickly powers on in under a second. It is extremely helpful for those landscapes, group portraits, or taking the necessary photo in limited locations because it starts at the equivalent of 24mm. The G7 X’s lens features a 9-blade aperture for improved bokeh effects, brilliant apertures of f/1.8 at the wide-angle end of the zoom range and f/2.8 at maximum telephoto. The horizontal Electronic Level and RGB histogram can be enabled to aid in composition and exposure, and there is a 3-stop neutral density filter option available in the function menu that can be turned on or off as needed.
| Tilting LCD Screen |
The G7 X has a very good continuous shooting mode, which in conjunction with Tracking AF makes it well-suited to both slow and fast moving subjects. The Canon PowerShot G7 X can capture up to 692 full-resolution JPEG shots at 6.5fps with the focus point locked at the first frame, or you can shoot continuously at 4.4fps with AF tracking.
The shooting mode dial has options for Auto capture, Hybrid Auto, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Manual, as well as a user-customizable setting, a scattering of scene types (there are a total of 8 scene modes), Creative Effects and Creative Shot modes, and lastly a video mode. The Canon PowerShot has manual focus peaking as well as 1080p HD video quality at 1920×1080 pixels at 60 or 30 frames per second. The aperture, shutter speed, and ISO can also be changed. With the help of tiny microphones on top, the G7 X also offers stereo sound, and when filming, you can make use of the 5x optical zoom and creative filters.
There are ten distinct settings in the Creative Filters photography mode that might help you spice up your pictures. The High Dynamic Range option, which automatically takes three exposures of the same scene at various settings and then combines them in-camera to produce a single image with higher dynamic range, is arguably the most useful. To prevent camera shake, you must mount the G7 X on a firm surface or tripod.
| The Canon PowerShot G7 X in-hand |
We valued the flexibility the tilting LCD screen provided for experimenting with novel and previously problematic framings. For simpler selfies, it may be angled up through 180 degrees, but not down. The LCD has a 3:2 aspect ratio, a high resolution of 1040K pixels, and is a 3 inch monitor.
The touch focus/shoot feature of the Canon PowerShot G7 X is turned on by default. Change the Touch Shutter setting in the main menu to turn it off. With a click of the Display button, this changes into a touch-focused screen that locks onto the subject wherever you touch it. Similar to a smartphone, the touchscreen may be used during playback to switch between images and modify the image’s magnification by spreading and pinching two fingers. The LCD’s touch sensitivity may also be changed between Standard and High levels to suit your preferences.
There is a button for easily connecting to a previously attached smartphone or tablet on the right side of the G7 X. Using the Up button on the navigation pad, you may share photographs while they are being played back thanks to the G7 X’s wi-fi capabilities. Five additional icons that connect the G7 X to a different camera, a smartphone, a computer, a printer, and the Internet will then display once you input a nickname for the camera. Each scenario’s setup is quite simple, but you will need to have a basic awareness of the protocols at play. Keep in mind that in order to connect the G7 X to an iOS or Android device, you must first download the unique and cost-free Canon CameraWindow software.
| Top of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
The Canon CameraWindow app uses the wi-fi capabilities of the G7 X to identify your photos with GPS data taken by your smartphone (latitude, longitude, altitude, and shooting time), thereby taking the place of a more traditional built-in GPS system. Although it avoids the problem of negatively affecting battery life, we actually prefer having GPS built-in to the camera rather than having to sync it with a separate device, thus in this sense the G7 X doesn’t compare well with competitors who offer this capability. The G7 X also has NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, which enables you to touch it to another NFC-enabled camera or to a suitable Internet-enabled device to establish a connection. This technology is also utilized for mobile payments.
The one-touch movie record button is located at the back, next to the Ring Function button, which also serves as the Delete button. As the name implies, this button rapidly starts recording a movie at the current quality and creative settings.
The four-way selection or control pad is located below this pair of controls and provides access to the burst shooting mode, on-board flash settings, display mode, manual, normal, and 5 cm macro focus modes at the points north, east, south, and west. With a little delay of approximately 0.15 seconds, the G7 X’s 31-point AF system focuses extremely swiftly for a compact camera in both excellent and terrible lighting conditions and at both ends of the zoom range.
| Side of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
The Function/Set button, which is also typical of the Canon G-series, is located in the center of the device. When in any of the capture modes, press the button in the center to bring up an L-shaped toolbar that will look familiar to Canon users. When you settle on a particular setting, you can pull out toolbars with more possibilities from the range.
Another set of buttons for playing back your photographs and opening the main menu can be found in the bottom right corner of the backplate. When the Menu button is pressed, three folders appear on the screen: the Shooting menu, where features like the AF assist beam and blink detection modes can be turned on or off; the Setup menu, where settings for the LCD brightness and sound can be adjusted; and the third, the “My Menu” option, which offers quick access to frequently used features.
When looking at the camera from the back, the right side has a covered HDMI out port and a USB 2.0/AV out connection. A sliding cover for the compartment that holds the lithium-ion battery required for power and the SD, SDHC, or SDXC cards required for image storage are located on the bottom along with the traditional metal tripod screw thread. Since the battery life is only about 210 shots on a full charge, you should plan to buy at least one replacement battery.
Image Quality
The 20 megapixel Superfine JPEG preset, which results in an average image size of about 8Mb, was used to capture all of the sample images included in this study.
Images taken with the Canon PowerShot G7 X are of very high quality. At ISO 125 to 800, it captured photographs without any noise; at ISO 1600, noise was present. Despite more visible noise, ISO 3200 and 6400 are still completely workable; however, the fastest level of ISO 12800 is one that should be avoided.
The Canon PowerShot G7 X handled chromatic aberrations effectively; there was little purple fringing, which only occasionally appeared at the corners of the frame and only in high contrast scenes. There was no red-eye and the built-in flash performed admirably indoors, but there is a definite vignetting at 24mm. The maximum shutter speed of 30 and the Bulb mode seconds, which are long enough for nighttime photographs, made for a great night photograph.
When hand-holding the camera in dim light or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range, anti-shake performs admirably. The camera’s macro capabilities are strong, enabling you to focus up to 5 cm away from the subject. The photographs needed some further sharpening in a programme like Adobe Photoshop or you could adjust the in-camera setting because they were a little soft right out of the Canon PowerShot G7 X camera at the default sharpening level.
In addition to the several My Color modes and Creative Filters available, the Dynamic Range and Shadow Correction modes help to extract additional detail from the shadow and highlight regions of your photographs.
Noise
The Canon PowerShot G7 X has 8 different ISO settings. The noise levels for each ISO setting for both JPEG and RAW files are shown in the following 100% crops.
| JPEG | RAW |
| ISO 125 (100% Crop) | ISO 125 (100% Crop) |
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| ISO 200 (100% Crop) | ISO 200 (100% Crop) |
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| ISO 400 (100% Crop) | ISO 400 (100% Crop) |
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| ISO 800 (100% Crop) | ISO 800 (100% Crop) |
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| ISO 1600 (100% Crop) | ISO 1600 (100% Crop) |
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| ISO 3200 (100% Crop) | ISO 3200 (100% Crop) |
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| ISO 6400 (100% Crop) | ISO 6400 (100% Crop) |
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| ISO 12800 (100% Crop) | ISO 12800 (100% Crop) |
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Focal Range
These examples show how the 4.2x zoom lens of the Canon PowerShot G7 X provides a somewhat adaptable focal range:
| 24mm | 100mm |
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Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops that were created in Photoshop and saved as Web – Quality 50. Photoshop has been used to sharpen the image on the right. At the default sharpening level, the photographs straight out of the camera are a touch soft. If you don’t like the default appearance, you can adjust the in-camera sharpness level.
| Original (100% Crop) | Sharpened (100% Crop) |
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File Quality
There are two different JPEG image quality settings on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100, with Fine being the best level. The file size is indicated in brackets along with some 100% crops that demonstrate the quality of the various selections.
| SuperFine (6.70Mb) (100% Crop) | Fine (4.43Mb) (100% Crop) |
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| RAW (18.4Mb) (100% Crop) | |
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Chromatic Aberrations
As seen in the images below, the Canon PowerShot G7 X handled chromatic aberrations effectively during the review, with only a small amount of purple fringing visible around the margins of objects in high-contrast conditions.
| Chromatic Aberrations 1 (100% Crop) | Chromatic Aberrations 2 (100% Crop) |
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Macro
A nice macro option on the Canon PowerShot G7 X lets you focus on an object that is 5 cm away from the camera. The first picture demonstrates how near you can approach the object (in this case a compact flash card). A 100% crop was used for the second photograph.
| Macro | Macro (100% Crop) |
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Flash
The Canon Powershot G7 X has the following flash settings: Auto, On, Auto Red-eye Reduction, Slow Synchro, and Off. These images of a white wall were captured from a distance of 1.5 metres.
| Flash Off – Wide Angle (24mm) | Flash On – Wide Angle (24mm) |
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| Flash Off – Telephoto (100mm) | Flash On – Telephoto (100mm) |
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And now for some portrait pictures. As you can see, neither the Red-eye-Reduction nor the Flash On settings produced any red-eye.
| Flash On | Flash On (100% Crop) |
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| Red-eye Reduction | Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night
It’s excellent to know that the Canon Powershot G7 X has a Bulb mode and a maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds if you’re genuinely interested in taking nighttime photos. The photograph below was captured at ISO 125 with a shutter speed of 30 seconds.
| Night | Night (100% Crop) |
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Anti Shake
With the Canon Powershot G7 X, you can shoot clear pictures at slower shutter speeds than with other digital cameras thanks to its anti-shake feature. We experimented with this by taking two handheld pictures of the same object using the same settings. Anti-shake was turned off for the first shot and on for the second.
| Shutter Speed / Focal Length | Anti-Shake Off (100% Crop) | Anti-Shake On (100% Crop) |
| 1/10th sec / 24mm | ||
| 1/10th sec / 100mm |
Dynamic Range Correction
To produce a single image with a higher dynamic range, the Dynamic Range Correction mode automatically makes three exposures of the same scene at various shutter speeds. To prevent camera shake, you must mount the G7 X on a firm surface or tripod.
| Off | Auto |
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| 200% | |
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Shadow Correction
Without affecting the highlights, the Shadow Correction option enhances the image’s shadow regions.
| Off | Auto |
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My Colors
You can adjust the color of your photographs before you take them using the My Colors function menu option.
| Off | Vivid |
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| Neutral | Sepia |
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| B/W | Positive Film |
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| Lighter Skin Tone | Darker Skin Tone |
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| Vivid Blue | Vivid Green |
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| Vivid Red | |
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Creative Filters
There are ten distinct settings in the Creative Filters photography mode that might help you spice up your pictures.
| Off | High Dynamic Range |
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| Nostalgic | Fish-Eye Effect |
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| Miniature Effect | Toy Camera Effect |
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| Background Defocus | Soft Focus |
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| Monochrome | Super Vivid |
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| Poster Effect | |
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Sample Images
The Canon PowerShot G7 X camera used the 20 megapixel SuperFine JPEG preset to capture all of the example photographs in this collection. The full-sized versions, which have not been changed in any way, are accessible from the thumbnails below.
Sample RAW Images
Users of the Canon PowerShot G7 X can record images in JPEG and RAW formats. You can download some Canon RAW (CR2) samples from our website (the thumbnails below are not entirely representational).
Sample Movie & Video
This is a sample movie at 1920×1080 pixels and 60 frames per second, which is the highest quality setting. Please be aware that this 86.2Mb clip lasts for just 20 seconds.
Product Images
| Front of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Front of the Canon PowerShot G7 X / Lens Extended |
| Front of the Canon PowerShot G7 X / Pop-up Flash |
| Side of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Side of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Side of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Side of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Side of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Rear of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Rear of the Canon PowerShot G7 X / Image Displayed |
| Rear of the Canon PowerShot G7 X / Turned On |
| Rear of the Canon PowerShot G7 X / Main Menu |
| Rear of the Canon PowerShot G7 X / Function Menu |
| Rear of the Canon PowerShot G7 X / Ring Function Menu |
| Tilting LCD Screen |
| Tilting LCD Screen |
| Top of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Bottom of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Side of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Side of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Front of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Front of the Canon PowerShot G7 X |
| Memory Card Slot |
| Battery Compartment |
Conclusion
The new Canon PowerShot G7 X is a fantastic pocket camera for hobbyist photographers, with a plethora of options for both picture and video shooting, superb image quality, quick auto-focusing, intuitive and configurable handling, and sturdy build. Although it cannot quite match the larger and heavier G1 X Mk II in terms of performance at higher ISO settings, it does offer the most of that camera’s features in a more compact form factor and even outperforms it in some instances.
In comparison to the immediate competition, the Canon PowerShot G7 X has unquestionably advanced significantly. It’s a very tight call between the G7 X and the wildly popular Sony Cyber-shot RX100 Mk III, with the absence of a viewfinder (or any ability to attach an external one) on the G7 X serving as the primary justification for the Sony model for the ardent photographer. Even though the Sony RX100 Mk III’s screen can be tilted both up and down, if you don’t need this function, the G7 X’s touchscreen features and longer lens range are far more appealing. The Sony model wins for us since it has a built-in EVF, but your experience may differ depending on whatever features you value the most. Both are equally deserving of thought.
Thanks to the 1-inch sensor at its core, the G7 X produces exceptional images for a compact camera. The fast f/1.8-2.8 lens of the G7 X produces very good bokeh at both ends of the adaptable zoom range when shooting wide-open, giving you DSLR-like images from a fixed-lens camera. At higher ISO rates, it may still fall short of DSLRs or APS-C equipped compact system cameras, but ISO 100-1600 is eminently workable with 3200 as a backup, which is not something you can say about many compacts.
The Canon PowerShot G7 X excels in both build quality and handling, boasting a reassuringly sturdy metal chassis, a plethora of customizable controls, including the lens control ring and exposure compensation dial, as well as great features like the tilting touchscreen LCD, folding pop-up flash, and 31-point AF system.
With the introduction of the PowerShot G7 X, Canon has unquestionably caught up to the competition. It is a strong competitor to the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 Mk III and has the best portability and functionality of any PowerShot camera to date. A+ Recommendation!
| RATINGS (OUT OF 5) | |
|---|---|
| Design | 5 |
| Features | 4.5 |
| Ease-of-use | 4.5 |
| Image quality | 4.5 |
| Value for money | 4.5 |