Dec 17, 2014--The PowerShot G7 X is Canon's
newest compact camera with a 20MP BSI CMOS sensor and an aspect ratio of 3:2.
It incorporates Canon's newest image processor--DIGIC 6—that provides fast
image recording and high-speed continuous mode. This is the same processor
found in the company’s 7D Mark II, albeit in a dual version in the DSLR.
The Canon PowerShot G7 X is a
compact camera with a high-speed zoom lens. The unit contains a large 20MP CMOS
sensor and a DIGIC 6 processor. A multifunctional lens ring and additional
setup dials make handling easy.
The camera has an integral
high-speed 4.1X 24-100mm zoom lens (35mm film equivalent). The variable
aperture still retains a high-speed character with the change from wide to
tele, being just f/1.8 to f/2.8, which is quite unusual for compact cameras. In
combination with the large sensor (for a compact camera) it allows users to
easily create images with a shallow depth of field.
The camera has a pop-up
flash, but an accessory shoe for external flash is missing. The camera offers
Wi-Fi and NFC functions. The interfaces are located on the right hand side of
the body.
By pressing the “RING FUNC.”
button on the back the photographer can set up the function of the lens ring.
In standard automatic mode (STD) this ring is used to change ISO speed settings,
but of course it can also be used for zooming, manual focusing, white balance
settings and more. The ring is located flush with the body and is very slim. A
larger ring would be more comfortable.
The Canon G7 X has a mode
dial on the top that allows the photographer to choose standard exposure modes
and automatic modes. A second dial is used for EV compensation control. A zoom
switch helps to change focal length, but the photographer can use the lens ring
to zoom as well.
The camera has a 3-inch LCD
screen (1,040,000 RGB dots) that is used as control center for menu setup but
also as an electronic viewfinder. A dedicated EVF or optical viewfinder is
missing. The LCD screen can be flipped upwards (180 degrees) to shoot selfies.
In full automatic mode, the camera will switch to the portrait scene mode and
changes the lens ring function to focal length. The tilting monitor is handy
when taking macro shots near the ground, but a fully articulated LCD with a swivel
joint would be more helpful.
The new Canon offers all
standard exposure modes: P, TV, AV and M. It has a setup dial on the top which
offers an additional “C” mode to save a customer defined setting In addition,
the G7 X offers scene modes and a video mode that allows the use of manual
exposure settings when recording videos. A second dial, which is located
directly beneath the mode dial, allows for EV compensation settings in a +/- 3 EV range.
The monitor can be flipped
upwards by 180 degrees. This can be used for photographing images near the
ground or more likely is aimed at the selfie crowd.
The control field on the back
allows the user to set up drive mode, flash mode, focusing mode and display
settings. It offers a setup dial that encircles the control field and is
helpful for menu navigation or image parameter control. The camera has a
built-in flash that is activated by a little switch on the left hand side of
the body. An accessory shoe is missing, so the G7 X can't use external, add-on
flash systems.
Comments on Image Quality
Color: The Canon reproduced the GretagMacbeth chart with a
little over-saturation, with red colors especially boosted. This is noticeable
in our portrait shot and the test box shot, where red elements seem to “glow.”
The skin tone reproduction is good, but the skin tone in our portrait has a
visible shift into the magenta area of the color space, which is used, we
believe, to optimize or beautify these color areas. In some pictures this
effect looks a bit overdone.
The automatic white balance
system showed a very good performance. The gray patterns in the test chart are
nearly perfectly centered and only the brightest gray and nearly white pattern
show shifts into the yellow and green direction. The background in our portrait
shot was reproduced with a slightly bluish cast.
The camera reproduced the
portrait scene with very high, even exaggerated sharpness (see details in hair
structure). The saturation of the red color (t-shirt) is very high and the skin
tones have a slightly high magenta rate.
The test box shot was reproduced
with very neutral gray tones in the background. Colors look natural, even though
some nuances (red colors) have a very high saturation.
Noise: The
noise test results of the Canon G7 X are very good. The camera showed a
slightly higher noise level than Canon cameras with an APS-C sized sensor, but this
is still a very good result for a compact camera. The luminance noise factor
doesn’t cross the 1.0 percent line until ISO 3200. Color noise gets visible in
images with ISO 1600 settings and higher: color noise is filtered by an
efficient algorithm. Only at ISO 12,800 do the noise filtering effects become annoying.
The camera showed excellent
results in the dynamic range tests. The Stouffer chart was reproduced with 11.2
f-stops, which is a remarkably high result for a compact camera. Between ISO
200 and ISO 3200 the camera keeps this high level with 10 to 11 f-stops.
Comments on Video Quality
Due to its good color
reproduction with only slightly oversaturated nuances, the camera achieved a
high image quality result. The white balance settings are good and the camera neutral
and is able to record neutral and coherent colors.
The resolution results are a
little disappointing: The camera reproduced the full HD test chart with 684 of
1080 lines per picture height. Because of the low sharpness there are only
minor aliasing or Moiré effects.
The results of the noise
tests are very good: The camera records nearly noise-free videos up to ISO
1600. At ISO 3200 color noise artifacts become noticeable; at ISO 6400 the
noise is clearly visible. Dynamic range results are extremely good and
comparable to the results in photo mode. The camera achieved a maximum of 11.7
f-stops, which is a very high result for video recording system.
Pro
compact camera with large
image sensor
manual camera settings; Raw
mode
shallow depth of field
effects possible (due to high speed lens and large sensor)
Con
missing optical viewfinder
These are edited test results and comments by Betterphoto, the testing lab for TIPA (Technical Image Press Association), an organization in which I serve on the Technical Committee.
