Canon Canon G7X

Chris2500dk

Top Veteran
Canon PowerShot G7 X Review

This one really could tick a lot of boxes for me, providing that it lives up to the potential of course.

Same sensor as the RX100 series.
Lens that combines the best aspects of the RX100 series, fast like the m3, wide like the m3, but with the same reach as the m1/m2. In addition it doesn't close down the aperture as fast as the m3 when you zoom!
Touch screen with Focus and Shutter control.
Clicking front dial (might be seen as a negative by some, it's a huge plus for me, I hate the RX100 ring)
Exposure comp dial, however you view it, it's a third dial to turn. One around the lens, one on top and one at the back. And exp comp works in manual mode.
Reported very fast af.
Built in ND filter.

It does have some limitations from what I could find:
Battery life is worse than RX100 (only 210 shots)
No focus peaking
No exposure zebras
Can't bounce flash

Unknowns:
Not sure if it has an electronic level, but I'd assume so since the S120 does.
How good is the lens?
How good is the Canon JPEG engine with this sensor?
Looks like the lens only turns up, so you can't use if it you hold the camera above your head. Not sure about this one.

EDIT:
Focus peaking is on the Canon S120, I don't see why it shouldn't be on this one.
 
While I'm still toying with switching my RX100 for a RX100m3 I thought this looked like a seriously good alternative. Then I read the specs: no EVF, and no provision for an add on EVF. This kills it stone dead for me. Back to the RX100m3.
 
It is a tough choice esp when the prices are close and no evf... Canon lens is a little faster below 50mm and longer at 100mm:

Equiv_Ap-001.png
 
Other than in terms of battery life, the G7X is a magnificent competitor to the Sony RX100 series. I have to see how the reviews go but frankly, I could see myself buying this more easily than the Panny LX100 right now.
 
It's funny, but the more time goes by, the more I look at a new compact camera and think, 'I would have loved that back in 2007/8/9/10'. I started with Canon compacts and have five compacts and two DSLR's including the 5D Mark II. My brand loyalty was to the big C. When Canon returned to the S series with the S90, I was overjoyed and bought one immediately. But even that was overtaken by the ergonomically better GRD III.

Canon were the leaders in technology, innovation and image quality. Now they have fallen behind, they make me-too cameras three generations after everyone else, and the irony is that an electronics company like Panasonic has created a camera that is getting far, far more interest than anything that Canon have announced at Photokina.

The G7X is a camera I would have loved in 2006/7/8/9/10. I'd be interested now if I didn't already have the Ricoh GR and Pana LX7, and the LX100 on the horizon. I'm even using the Pana GM1 + Oly 25/1.8 as a fixed lens camera these days, delivering great image quality in a very small package. The G7X looks cool, but it's not really for me.
 
not my cup of tea but I can see this being a hit with smartphone users especially since Canon is the Apple of cameras.
 
Canon should've announced this one a month ago, before the LX100 was leaked. It would've looked a lot more interesting to a lot more people at that point.
 
I don't see them competing in the same segment at all. The LX100 is huge in comparison with the G7X.
Put it this way, if I want to carry something the size of a LX100 there's a bunch of options. If I want to stay truly compact it's between the RX100 series, the Ricoh GR, the Nikon Coolpix A and now the G7X.
 
I don't see them competing in the same segment at all. The LX100 is huge in comparison with the G7X.
Put it this way, if I want to carry something the size of a LX100 there's a bunch of options. If I want to stay truly compact it's between the RX100 series, the Ricoh GR, the Nikon Coolpix A and now the G7X.

I think some folks will choose one over the other, but my comment was about the excitement from the LX100 just basically making the Canon semi-invisible. Canon would've gotten much more attention had they announced it on it's own.
 
The Fuji XF1 is currently my 100% truly pants-and-shirt pocketable camera. And it continues to do great work for me. But I can see upgrading to this G7X if tests prove it's as good as we hope. Other than that, the original RX100 is still around. MSRP is $499 and I'll bet we'll see it for less than that before long.
 
More and more samples showing up. Some of the first images were a bit disappointing but I think some of that was users not tweaking the jpegs settings. Lots of nasty looking NR and other artifacts even at relatively low ISOs. But some new ones are looking good, some really good. Here are a couple of portraits shot wide open at 100mm. Both reasonably sharp and better than expected background blur.

15397086151_a661a6f3d8_b.jpg
Canon PowerShot G7X sample image by Cameralabs, on Flickr

15213603980_d28f12e14b_b.jpg
Canon PowerShot G7X sample image by Cameralabs, on Flickr

You can click through and see these at 100% if you want to pixel peep. Also some good 24mm shots, including some wide open, that look better than some of the first examples as well. Pretty soft in the corners wide open, but not bad stopped down.

I've also got definite confirmation from an early adopter on DPR that you can use exposure comp (direct dial - yay!) in manual mode with auto-ISO. They've also got some level of minimum shutter speed customization with auto ISO in A mode, although it's probably not gonna be enough to satisfy me. Still these are things that none of the RX100 models have offered. As well as a distance scale for MF and a custom setting that will save both the zoom level and MF distance. This might even do for street shooting if it's all I have along, although I don't think it'll touch the Nikon A.

I'm getting genuinely excited about this camera. I might even buy one. With all of the anticipation of the LX100 and X30 and hoping for something from Nikon or Olympus with this 1" sensor, this little Canon really came from out of the blue. But for my purposes, it appears to be the best of the compacts at the moment...

-Ray
 
Considering that it is longer then the dslr slow kit lenses and m43 f2.8 zooms, dof is close to what you can get with m43/LX100 or better then apsc 5.6 kit lenses. Sb posted that G7X vs LX100 dof was 34mm vs 36mm at whatever distance... It is amazing in a small package, but at the same time some of the digital corrections esp at the wide side doesn't look very good...

It looks like another review is out, but no portrait samples:
Canon PowerShot G7 X review
 
They've also got some level of minimum shutter speed customization with auto ISO in A mode, although it's probably not gonna be enough to satisfy me. Still these are things that none of the RX100 models have offered.

I'm getting genuinely excited about this camera. I might even buy one. With all of the anticipation of the LX100 and X30 and hoping for something from Nikon or Olympus with this 1" sensor, this little Canon really came from out of the blue. But for my purposes, it appears to be the best of the compacts at the moment...
-Ray

I am really interested in getting my mom a small camera, that she can operate in Auto but has an algorithm where you can set a minimum shutter speed and bumps the ISO to the maximum setting before reducing shutter speed.

My Olympus u4/3 can sort of do this by setting the minimum flash sync speed and using auto ISO with a max setting.

Are there any other compacts with good lower light (indoors) performance that can do this? My mom mostly takes pictures of people and her grandkids and most of her pictures currently come out quite blurry.

I was looking at the Fuji QX1, but my mom is more comfortable with Canon, so maybe the G7x is the right camera?
 
I am really interested in getting my mom a small camera, that she can operate in Auto but has an algorithm where you can set a minimum shutter speed and bumps the ISO to the maximum setting before reducing shutter speed.

My Olympus u4/3 can sort of do this by setting the minimum flash sync speed and using auto ISO with a max setting.

Are there any other compacts with good lower light (indoors) performance that can do this? My mom mostly takes pictures of people and her grandkids and most of her pictures currently come out quite blurry.

I was looking at the Fuji QX1, but my mom is more comfortable with Canon, so maybe the G7x is the right camera?
Well, the G7X seems like it has a relatively rudimentary version of this in Aperture Priority mode. I seriously doubt you can select anything about ISO in any auto mode, but the same settings you have with aperture priority might work with Program mode, which is sort of a semi-auto mode. When you set your maximum ISO under auto-ISO, you also set something called "rate of change", which gives you three options. I'm not sure what the three options are called, but they relate to shutter speed and whether you're trying to stop action or merely hold the camera steady enough. I have NO IDEA where these settings will land you, but I know I'd much rather it let the user set the minimum shutter speed. They probably do it this way because since this is a zoom camera, you might want a faster minimum shutter speed at 100mm than at 24, so a single value might be of limited use. With Nikon's DSLRs, they let you pick your minimum shutter speed or give you an "automatic" setting to work with zoom lenses, and within that automatic setting, they give you five stops to work with, with the one in the middle being the standard 1/focal length shutter speed. The fastest setting is only 4 times that value though (two stops faster), so it's of dubious value for stopping action with a wider angle lens - with a 24mm lens, for example, you can't go faster than 1/96, which just isn't all that fast. I'm guessing the "rate of change" in the Canon is based on similar logic, but I haven't used one of their cameras to know how they set this up.

So, it's got something, but I'm not optimistic about how effective it will be for my purposes or, it sounds like, for your Mom. Compacts that allow for a far better version of this in Program mode (but, again, probably not in any full Auto mode) are the Nikon Coolpix A (which is a 28mm fixed focal length, so maybe not useful to her) and certain of the Fuji and Samsung interchangeable lens cameras - these work in a manner similar to your Olympus m43 bodies, but it's a direct "minimum shutter speed" under the auto-ISO menu and it allows for values faster than the 1/320 that Olympus limits you to with it's flash sync. But I don't think you have the option of this level of configuration in any of their "auto" modes - it's mostly there for A and P modes.

What she could do if you think it wouldn't be too complicated for her, is just shoot in shutter priority mode with auto-ISO. If she's not overly concerned with DOF, of which there's not that much to choose from with these smaller sensor compacts anyway, that would enable her to make sure the shutter speed was fast enough and let the aperture and ISO land where they will.

There are probably any number of ways to skin this particular cat with the G7X, but I pretty much doubt that using auto-ISO in any sort of auto mode is the way to do it. Or even in P mode, because I just don't think the shutter speed bias allows the user to be all that specific.

I hope this is of some use to you...

-Ray
 
What she could do if you think it wouldn't be too complicated for her, is just shoot in shutter priority mode with auto-ISO. If she's not overly concerned with DOF, of which there's not that much to choose from with these smaller sensor compacts anyway, that would enable her to make sure the shutter speed was fast enough and let the aperture and ISO land where they will.

There are probably any number of ways to skin this particular cat with the G7X, but I pretty much doubt that using auto-ISO in any sort of auto mode is the way to do it. Or even in P mode, because I just don't think the shutter speed bias allows the user to be all that specific.

I hope this is of some use to you...

-Ray

Ray, this was totally great information, thank you! I think that I will look at what is available in P mode, or if this doesn't work, teach her how to shoot in S mode with a minimum shutter speed when attempting to photograph kids. As you say, the benefit of the smaller-sensor cameras is the larger depth of focus.
 
G7x

Considering that it is longer then the dslr slow kit lenses and m43 f2.8 zooms, dof is close to what you can get with m43/LX100 or better then apsc 5.6 kit lenses. Sb posted that G7X vs LX100 dof was 34mm vs 36mm at whatever distance... It is amazing in a small package, but at the same time some of the digital corrections esp at the wide side doesn't look very good...

It looks like another review is out, but no portrait samples:
Canon PowerShot G7 X review


Thanks for the link to the Tech Radar site review.
 
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