Canon G7X Review

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Photography in the outdoors can be an addictive pursuit – Both in time spent hunting for the right light and in pursuit of better, and often larger and more expensive gear. Heavy cameras, tripods, then heavier tripods, larger cameras and larger bags to carry them. Perhaps additional lenses, filters, caps…The list goes on. And while a noteworthy and rewarding pursuit in its own right, sometimes you just want to capture the moment or perhaps keep your pack light for big miles but still have nice photos to remember the trip by when you get home. Or maybe you’re just the type of person who likes to take photos, but doesn’t necessarily have the need or desire to learn photography. In these situations, nothing beats a point and shoot type camera small enough to fit in a pocket without gear and accessories to worry about like filters or lens caps. But not all small cameras are created equal, and some far surpass the norm. In 2015, you now have the option of taking a camera that can rival the quality that large DSLR cameras were putting out a few years ago – But now it fits in the palm of your hand. One of those cameras is the Canon G7X…

We review the new G7X from Canon – A camera weighing just 10 ounces and change that fits in a pocket but is packed with features promising usability and a high level of image quality. Read the full review below in Issue 21:

Canon G7X Review

Issue 21 Page 1

[Gary M]

 

Photography in the outdoors can be an addictive pursuit – Both in time spent hunting for the right light and in pursuit of better, and often larger and more expensive gear. Heavy cameras, tripods, then heavier tripods, larger cameras and larger bags to carry them. Perhaps additional lenses, filters, caps…The list goes on. And while a noteworthy and rewarding pursuit in its own right, sometimes you just want to capture the moment or perhaps keep your pack light for big miles but still have nice photos to remember the trip by when you get home. Or maybe you’re just the type of person who likes to take photos, but doesn’t necessarily have the need or desire to learn photography. In these situations, nothing beats a point and shoot type camera small enough to fit in a pocket without gear and accessories to worry about like filters or lens caps. But not all small cameras are created equal, and some far surpass the norm. In 2015, you now have the option of taking a camera that can rival the quality that large DSLR cameras were putting out a few years ago – But now it fits in the palm of your hand. One of those cameras is the Canon G7X…

 

We review the new G7X from Canon – A camera weighing just 10 ounces and change that fits in a pocket but is packed with features promising usability and a high level of image quality. Read the full review below in Issue 21:

 

Canon G7X Review

Issue 21 Page 1

 

 

Aaron...............

 

I'm enjoying TrailGroove Magazine Issue#21, especially interested in the Canon G7X vs Sony RX100 review. I have already been considering both, wanting to upgrade from my old Sony Cyber-shot.

 

I love the Sony brand, but the Canon dollar savings also is attractive, so I'm still trying to decide. If I can find either on sale, I'd love to have one for my spring/summer hiking.

 

I will let you know if I can decide, and the results!

 

 

Gary M

Olathe, Kansas

[PaulGS]

Looks like a lovely camera. Love the large sensor and compact size.

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

 

Gary M said:

Aaron...............

 

I'm enjoying TrailGroove Magazine Issue#21, especially interested in the Canon G7X vs Sony RX100 review. I have already been considering both, wanting to upgrade from my old Sony Cyber-shot.

 

I love the Sony brand, but the Canon dollar savings also is attractive, so I'm still trying to decide. If I can find either on sale, I'd love to have one for my spring/summer hiking.

 

I will let you know if I can decide, and the results!

 

 

Gary M

Olathe, Kansas

 

PaulGS said:

Looks like a lovely camera. Love the large sensor and compact size.

Thanks for checking out the review Gary and Paul!

Gary - It's definitely a tough decision between the two - and although I have a lot more experience with the G7X the RX100 Mark III seemed really nice when I had a chance to test it out. I like Sony cameras as well, so the RX100 was really familiar to shoot with and you really can't go wrong with either, it just depends on what's most important to you. Since I already have a larger and heavier camera to really focus on photography when I want to try to get serious about it, it was nice with the G7X to just hike and utilize the touch screen...Which is something I think all cameras should have these days. I especially like to use a single focus point and move that in the frame to focus on what I want, so a touch screen makes this a lot easier. And if you don't want to worry about anything you can set it to spot or full auto focus (Face AiAF) and enable the touch shutter to just take photos by touching the screen like your smartphone and get some pretty good results with the sensor that's behind it. But if you want, you can still get technical as well with the feature set. Unfortunately you can't record the best files in auto mode, but you can work around it by setting the camera to program mode and ISO to auto for an automatic type experience.

However, the RX100 does have the viewfinder if that's more important to you, and is sharper at wide angle although I found the Canon beat it once you started zooming in...and of course the Canon goes to the 100mm equivalent vs 70mm for the Sony...the Canon lens stays a bit brighter as you zoom...The back and forth goes on. Amazon does actually have the G7X currently on sale for $50 off and bundled with a 32GB card:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NEWYE12/

(Looks like I missed out!) ...But as stated in the review I'd suggest an extra battery with the Canon's shorter battery life. (~$50 name brand) Definitely interested to hear what you go with and see some of the photos!

[Gary M]

Aaron............

Thanks so much for the info. Wish I had read it last week so I could have purchased one of these two, as I'm actually TAKING A WHOLE DAY OFF WORK Thursday for some much needed trail time.

One additional question....... I'm not really much of a "touch screen " person. Heck, i insist on Windows 7 vs 8. Guess some innovation has just passed me by. Is the canon touch screen difficult to use, it seems to me that the act of "touching" would increase shake too much and result in blur. That's part of my problem now, too much blur. You have to understand as you age, your hands aren't as steady as they once were.

I've decided to buy a camera, still shopping and deciding. I will admit to quite a bit of envy on my part of TrailGroove's fantastic photos, I have a major goal to improve in this area.

Gary M

Olathe, Kansas

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Hey Gary, the touchscreen could definitely induce some camera shake if you have the option set for it to take the photo upon touching the screen, (By default this is off) but the lens is stabilized, (and the stabilization works really well) so that helps. However, the screen works with a light tap / press and you can even raise the sensitivity of the screen if you want so you can maintain a pretty steady hand while triggering the shutter. In my experience, I haven't had any shake issues using the touch shutter, and the stabilization was working for some crisp photos even at some pretty slow shutter speeds.

Or you can just use the screen to set the focus point, then take the photo with the physical shutter button. In dimmer light, the bright lens will help to keep your shutter speed up (less blur) as well although there will eventually be a point where you'll need to raise your ISO high enough / the camera will do so automatically that you could start to notice some reduction in quality from that perspective, but with the large sensor compared to most cameras around this size this won't be apparent quite as fast. In any event however, if you do want the sharpest photos possible a tripod, low ISO, and using the timer is always best especially in low light.

[Gary M]

Hey Gary, the touchscreen could definitely induce some camera shake if you have the option set for it to take the photo upon touching the screen, (By default this is off) but the lens is stabilized, (and the stabilization works really well) so that helps. However, the screen works with a light tap / press and you can even raise the sensitivity of the screen if you want so you can maintain a pretty steady hand while triggering the shutter. In my experience, I haven't had any shake issues using the touch shutter, and the stabilization was working for some crisp photos even at some pretty slow shutter speeds.

Or you can just use the screen to set the focus point, then take the photo with the physical shutter button. In dimmer light, the bright lens will help to keep your shutter speed up (less blur) as well although there will eventually be a point where you'll need to raise your ISO high enough / the camera will do so automatically that you could start to notice some reduction in quality from that perspective, but with the large sensor compared to most cameras around this size this won't be apparent quite as fast. In any event however, if you do want the sharpest photos possible a tripod, low ISO, and using the timer is always best especially in low light.

Aaron,

I had mistakenly thought there wasn't a shutter button option. It's probably just my innate fear of new technology.

The Canon sounds pretty good. And I found a discounted price in New York, where I had previously purchased a really nice Pentax SLR. I'll do some more research tomorrow, will get back to TG with hopefully some good results.

BY THE WAY...........

On my hike Thursday I'm taking along our rescue dog Truman, who I wrote about this past winter here on the TrailGroove Forum. I'm feeling pretty positive about Truman these days, almost ready to consider him as a Certified TrailGroove Trail Dog! He has made considerable additional progress this year!

Thanks again,

Gary M.

Olathe, Kansas

Edited April 1, 2015 by Gary M

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Sorry about that Gary, yeah...The usual controls are all still there. You can see a top down view including the shutter button on page 89:

http://www.trailgroove.com/issue21.html?autoflip=89

Here's some detail of the controls on the back:

...And congrats on the progress!

[Gary M]

Aaron/TrailGroove Forum

I've been looking to try to upgrade my photography skills for a long time, and finally decided to buy the Canon G7X. Instead of purchasing from Amazon, I decided use a company I know from some years ago, 42nd Street Photo in New York.

http://www.42photo.com/Product/canon-powershot-g7x-20-3-megapixel-digital-camera/110296

The camera, lithium battery pack, battery charger, wrist strap, USB cable, and Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM sells for $495.

Accessory kits are available for either a 4, 8, 16, or 32GB memory card. The kit also includes an additional lithium battery, camera case, screen protector, cleaning kit, 6 inch tripod, and USB Reader/Writer For Memory Card.

The accessory kits sell for $70 to $180, depending on the GB of the memory card you want. I decided to buy an extended 3 year warranty (which I normally do not do) just to be on the safe side. Also went with the 32 GB memory card, which seems pretty standard with a HD camera these days. Shipping is free.

I got a nice deal when I mentioned Aaron's Canon vs Sony review in TrailGroove magazine. If anyone else is interested, call 1-888-810-4242 and ask for Michael. The nice thing about 42nd Street Photo is, they've been around a long time, and really know about photography and cameras. If you have questions or problems after buying from Amazon, just who could you talk to?

Now I just have to learn how to use it, and take some better quality photos.

Gary M

Olathe, Kansas

Edited April 2, 2015 by Gary M

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

It's a fun camera and takes some nice photos Gary...Let us know how it goes! Here's a link to the user guide as well:

http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/3/0300016123/01/psg7x-cu-en.pdf