Canon G7X: A First Look

If you've been following me for a while, you know I already have a lot of small cameras for travel such as the Fuji X100T, the Olympus OMD-EM5, and the Sony A6000.

So why the heck would I need yet another small camera?  Especially one which is inferior to all of those in pure picture quality?

Well, here's the thing.  I have a lot of cameras, because I do a lot of different things with cameras.  And no single camera is suited to it all.

I bought the Canon G7X for one specific reason:  I learned while listening to an interview with YouTube vlogging sensation Shay Carl, that the current camera of choice for vloggers (video bloggers) is the Canon G7X.

And since I'm planning to do some vlogging related to my meditation course, I decided to give the G7X a try, primarily as a video camera, but also as a small, semi-pocketable still camera.

So I bought one on Amazon (you can price it here).  And yes, there is a G7X Mark II available, but I decided to save $100 by getting the older model, which seemed sufficient for my needs.

The protruding lens ring makes it not quite a pocket camera, unless you have roomy pockets.

The protruding lens ring makes it not quite a pocket camera, unless you have roomy pockets.

The G7X as a Video Camera

So what makes the G7X so popular with vloggers?

Primarily three things:

1) It shoots high-quality, autofocused 1080P video

2) It's stabilized, so you can hand-hold it

3) The LCD screen can be flipped backward for filming yourself

Selfie-shooting is easy with the reversible LCD touch screen.

Selfie-shooting is easy with the reversible LCD touch screen.

 

These are obviously specialized needs, so not everyone needs a camera that can do this.  But if you like to shoot videos in the field where you are walking around and talking to your own camera, these are exactly the features you need.

So far, in a few tests, I've been very pleased with the G7X as an "on the go" video camera.

I first used it to shoot some handheld outdoor segments of the Travel Photography course that I'm working on with my partner Julie.  In the sample video below, I was shooting a bonus video where you get to tag along with Julie in the field as she takes one of her tour clients on a photography tour.  (Audio was recorded separately with lapel mics and pocket recorders, since the on-board mic, as with any camera, is useless in the wind).

The built-in stabilization is pretty amazing.  I have shaky hands, so hand-holding a lightweight video camera usually leads to jittery results, like something a Parkinson's patient would produce.  But the G7X manages to smooth out my hands quite effectively.

In the second part of the sample video, I'm walking around outside the San Diego Comic-Con event. (140,000 comic-book nerds invade my neighborhood every year.  It's a blast!).   In this case, I'm walking, I'm getting jostled, I'm holding the camera overhead in one hand, and I've had a few beers.  Given all those challenges, the stabilization is pretty impressive.

 

I also found that the G7X can shoot continuous video longer than most of my DSLR's and my mirrorless cameras (my Canon 5D3 and Canon 70D and my Olympus OMD-EM5 all shut themselves down after 5-10 minutes of continuous video, probably because their sensors overheat).  I never found the G7X shutting itself off during continuous use.

On the down side, the little battery doesn't last very long.  This is unavoidable with a small camera running a continuous LCD display. I bought three batteries for it (real Canon batteries at $50 each, because I've found third-party camera batteries rapidly lose their charge-holding capacity over time.  I just don't buy cheap camera batteries any more).

Overall, I'm impressed with the G7X as a portable, hand-held video camera.

Pros as a Video Camera

  • 1080P video
  • Autofocus in video mode
  • Face recognition
  • Touch-screen focus point selection
  • Impressive stabilization
  • Reversible flip screen for selfie videos

Cons as a Video Camera

  • Not very grippy for one-handed holding
  • LCD screen can't tilt down (improved on Mark II)
  • Battery life is short. (I bought three)

The G7X as a Still Camera

As a still camera, the G7X really has only one thing to recommend it over all my other cameras:

It's smaller.

I can easily put this in the pocket of some cargo shorts, or even in jeans in an emergency (but it's not comfortable).  It would fit in any kind of purse or pack easily.

It's slightly larger than what most people would call a true "pocket" camera because of its protruding lens ring, but still more portable than any of my mirrorless cameras.

As for image quality, it's surprisingly good.   The G7X uses a midsize 1-inch sensor, smaller than the MFT or APS-C sensors in my mirrorless cameras, but larger than the sensor in most point-and-shoot cameras.

It's reported to be the same sensor as that found in the Sony RX100 III, but most reviewers prefer the Canon image quality to the Sony for still photos.

This is the kind of photo I end up shooting with this kind of camera. Click to enlarge.

Aperture f/1.8 creates ridiculously shallow depth-of-field.   

Pretty good detail and color, and nice background blur at f/2.8.  The image quality won't beat my Fuji X100T or Canon 5D3, but those won't fit in my pocket.  Click to enlarge.

I found it perfectly acceptable as a fancy pocket camera.  It's not going to beat my Fuji X100T for artistic photography, but only pixel-peepers are likely to notice the difference in casual day to day snapshots.

Pros as a Still Camera

  • Good image quality
  • Useful 24-100 (equivalent) zoom range
  • Fast f/1.8 to f/2.8 aperture
  • Built-in pop-up flash
  • Image stabilization
  • Tilt-up LCD screen for low angle shooting
  • Reversible screen for selfies

Cons as a Still Camera

  • No optical viewfinder (good luck in bright daylight)
  • Flash does not tilt (you can't bounce)
  • Obscure manual focus controls (unless you remap it to the control ring)
  • Shutter lag and slow start-up
  • Screen only tilts up (not great for high angles)

Overall, this is not the camera I would choose if I were just looking for a great still camera.  There are plenty of small cameras that are more fun and take better pictures, or if you really want a compact, there are similar cameras that will fit more easily in a pocket.

But if you want a versatile combination video/still camera, with image stabilization for smooth handheld video, the G7X is a winner.

Price it on Amazon