Canon G7X Review

[Gary M]

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

Thanks........I'll review the guide and be able to hopefully take some photos as soon as the camera arrives. It's amazing to me that something so small can have such capability.

By the way, I had the folks at 42nd Street Photo in New York check out TrailGroove Magazine, and they were impressed with the Canon review and the overall TG photography.

Gary M.

Olathe, Kansas

Edited April 2, 2015 by Gary M

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

That's great to hear Gary!

[h1ker]

Hi Aaron,

I wanted to thank you for your superb review of the Canon G7 X. In addition to reviewing said camera, I'm glad you mentioned the Sony RX100 iii in the review, however now I'm stuck between the two! I've decided to upgrade my camera for an upcoming thru-hike of the Colorado Trail in July (from a very old cheap Sony point-and-shoot).

The Sony seems to have the major advantages of charging via USB (I carry a small solar charger which has worked quite well in the past) and it also seems to have superior battery life.

Being a complete beginner to photography, I'm really not sure which one to purchase, even though they both seem like great options. In your opinion, is there anything about the Canon that I should consider that would trump the added benefits mentioned above for the Sony? I noticed it has better zoom capabilities, however I have no idea how much I would take advantage of that, as my old camera produced sub-par images whenever I attempted to zoom in, so almost all shots were done 'as-is' in the fully zoomed out setting.

I enjoy capturing sunrise/sunset/night images as much as I can, not sure if one of the two cameras would work better for that.

Any advice would be tremendously appreciated!

Cheers!

Nick

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Hi Nick, welcome to the forum and thanks for the comment on the review! It definitely can be hard to choose. Recharging via USB is a convenient feature on the RX100 and if you plan to be out for an extended amount of time that could help for sure. However, you can also stock up on G7X batteries (maybe even swap out at resupply stops or just take / bounce a wall charger) and disable a few settings to save power...two batteries could get me a week or more of average backpacking use taking about 50 photos a day. There are also options to recharge batteries like this via USB, I've used the Lenmar PPUClip to recharge camera batteries like this before with a solar panel with good results, but I haven't tried the G7X yet.

The main thing the Canon brings to the table, in addition to the extended zoom range you noticed is the touchscreen, important to some and not to others. I like it. I don't like to use viewfinders and always use the camera screen to frame photos though, so if you do like a viewfinder the RX100 III has you covered there.

Sunrise and sunset, or really most types of photos either camera has you covered. If you're always zoomed out, the RX100 will probably produce sharper images if you look very closely at your photos, and the Canon actually does really well zoomed in unlike the problems you previously experienced. If you take only JPEG photos, the Canon in my opinion has better colors by default but that's subjective and if you use RAW you'll probably be doing more extensive work to get the colors to your liking later though. If JPEG, the Sony is nice since it will let you use the highest JPEG setting in auto, but the Canon doesn't, although P mode (where this does work in addition to other more manual modes) is pretty automatic.

The Canon is cheaper, although it's closer if you buy extra batteries, but I'd buy an extra for the RX100 if I had it, too. Hope this helps, hard to go wrong with either one.

[Gary M]

Hi Aaron,

I wanted to thank you for your superb review of the Canon G7 X. In addition to reviewing said camera, I'm glad you mentioned the Sony RX100 iii in the review, however now I'm stuck between the two! I've decided to upgrade my camera for an upcoming thru-hike of the Colorado Trail in July (from a very old cheap Sony point-and-shoot).

The Sony seems to have the major advantages of charging via USB (I carry a small solar charger which has worked quite well in the past) and it also seems to have superior battery life.

Being a complete beginner to photography, I'm really not sure which one to purchase, even though they both seem like great options. In your opinion, is there anything about the Canon that I should consider that would trump the added benefits mentioned above for the Sony? I noticed it has better zoom capabilities, however I have no idea how much I would take advantage of that, as my old camera produced sub-par images whenever I attempted to zoom in, so almost all shots were done 'as-is' in the fully zoomed out setting.

I enjoy capturing sunrise/sunset/night images as much as I can, not sure if one of the two cameras would work better for that.

Any advice would be tremendously appreciated!

Cheers!

Nick

hiker..........

Just about 2 months ago I purchased the Canon G7X, also upgrading from a Sony point and shoot. I've been really pleased with the resulting photos, although I will always very much be an amateur.

Many years ago, I used a nice Pentax SLR (that actually used something called “film”), with pretty good results. But for some time I used the Sony on the trail, mainly as it was convenient and easy to use.

The Cannon G7X is actually easy to use on the trail, and produces some really nice results. The learning curve has not been too difficult, although I obviously still need additional experience at this point.

The touch screen interface is really not difficult, anyone with experience with modern computers or phones can handle it with ease. The auto function takes the guesswork out of taking photos, and yet you can also easily manually set options as you want.

I like the ease of access to the various controls and their use. I also like the flash, and get much better results than before. I take a lot of personal use photos of my dogs, who all have sleeky black coats. You cannot take a picture of a black dog and get decent results unless you are in bright sunshine or have a good flash. So far, the G7X has performed fantastic, and I'm very much looking forward to using it on the trail for many years to come!

Good luck. and have fun! Here's a few samples, they look better if viewed from an album format.

Gary M

Olathe, Kansas

Edited May 31, 2015 by Gary M

[h1ker]

Aaron,

Super helpful info. I've since disregarded the charging method as a deciding factor -- as you stated, spare batteries, charger for towns or a bounce box. I think I'm going to go with the RX100 Mk ii, $200 cheaper, and zoom similar to the Canon. No EFV, but from what I've read similar quality images to the Mk iii.

Gary,

Thanks for the added info on the G7X. Sounds like an excellent camera and those are some fantastic shots! Great clarity and color.

Nick

[h1ker]

On second thought I may very well go with the Ricoh GR, a fixed 28mm camera with an excellent sensor. Might be best for a beginner like me!

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

If you're alright with the fixed focal length lens, I've seen some amazing photos from the Ricoh GR, great sensor and lens combination.

[h1ker]

I ended up going with the Ricoh GR, hopefully I'll get some great shots on the CT this summer! Thanks again for your input.

Nick

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Enjoy the new camera...Look forward to seeing some of those Colorado Trail photos after the hike!