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| G1X3 |
I have a long history with Canon Powershot cameras. My first ever digital camera was a Canon Powershot S70 in 2004. Then followed a series of G compacts. If memory serves correctly I had the G7, G10, G12 and G16. Last and definitely least of the G cams was the underwhelming G16 of 2013.
Our family also had a G1X for a while in 2012. This was a highly compromised model which did not last long in our camera drawer.
I became disgusted with Canon’s roll out of model after model with mediocre specification, capability and performance.
It seemed to me that Canon had morphed from being a camera company to a marketing organisation trading on their high value brand name to sell cameras at the lowest specification which the market would bear.
The thing is that Canon did not get that brand power by making mediocre, half baked products.
The brand is strong because for many years through the 20th and first part of the 21st Centuries Canon made products with industry leading technology and product development.
It seemed to me that if Canon continued to make half baked products the customers would eventually go elsewhere.
In the fixed lens category that meant Sony and Panasonic, both of which have had a much more adventurous approach to product and technology development than Canon in recent years.
So I bought no Canon products from 2013 to 2017.
The G1X3 is the first Canon camera for many years to attract my interest so I bought one as soon as it became available in Australia despite the eye watering initial asking price of AUD1499 plus $69 for a spare battery which is essential. With a $100 cash back offer the purchase price therefore came to $1468.
Luckily I already had a 37mm B+W MRC protect filter or that would have added to the cost.
By the way I mounted the filter and have left it there permanently.
I tested the lens with and without the filter and found no difference. So the filter stays on. I find it much easier and safer to clean the filter than the front element of the lens. In addition I have found the B+W MRC filters actually do resist dust and stay clean without much intervention on my part.
At the time of writing I have made 750 shots with the camera in a variety of settings and am beginning to get a feel for its capabilities.
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| On the left G1X Mk3, in the middle EOS M5 with standard kit 15-45mm lens, on the right EOS 80D with kit 18-55mm lens. Each of these units has about the same imaging capability using the same or very closely related sensor and similar lens specifications. Actually the compact lens has a slightly larger aperture than either of the ILC lenses despite its diminutive size, courtesy of the collapsing multi barrel design. |
What is it ?
Since the original G1X of 2012 Canon has been spruiking the G1X series as having DSLR/ILC image quality and performance in a compact body. The G1X (original) and G1X Mk2 failed to live up to this lofty promise but at last, the G1X3 does.
Yes it really does offer ILC image quality (equal to several current Canon DSLR and MILC cameras with the Canon APS-C, 27mm dual pixel AF sensor) and EOS-M standard performance in a compact body.
Who’s it for ?
Enthusiast amateur photographers who want a compact zoom camera without having to compromise on image quality or capability and who can afford the asking price.
Specifications and features
On paper the G1X3 appears to tick most of the boxes required for an advanced compact at the top end of the price scale.
It has the latest Canon 27mm diagonal dual pixel AF sensor, RAW output, a good EVF in the right location with a good eyepiece and eyecup, a good, fully articulated touch capable monitor, built in flash and hotshoe, a full set of controls to suit an enthusiast user, a serviceable handle and decent thumb support, auto panorama capability (at last !) and lots of connectivity options including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
A few things are missing including 4K video, e-shutter and zebras.
The NB-13L battery is pathetically small for a camera with so many electronic features and write to card speeds are tediously slow.
But in everyday use these negatives do not intrude themselves into the user experience which is generally very good.
Image quality
Optical quality of the lens is excellent at all apertures and focal lengths.
High ISO noise levels from the Canon sensor are decently good for the sensor size, although Sony sensors are better in this regard.
The camera is capable of making highly detailed, sharp pictures with pleasing color and good highlight and shadow detail in a wide variety of conditions.
The only weakness is low light when the small aperture of the lens (f2.8-5.6) demands high ISO settings. Of course there is always the flash for these conditions if desired.
Performance
The camera responds promptly to user inputs. In everyday use with single shot settings it does not impede the picture taking process. Shot to shot times are commendably short.
AF speed is prompt although not class leading. AF accuracy is very good with static subjects, provided you can get the AF confirmation beep and green box before fully depressing the shutter button.
The AF can follow focus easily on a walking human approaching the camera with a very high percentage of frames sharply in focus in bright light using Servo AF.
The G1X3 is not super quick like recent Panasonic and Sony fixed lens models but I think it gets along fast enough to satisfy most users.
Ergonomics
I have not finalised my ergonomic score for the G1X3 yet but I expect that on the final count it will probably earn the highest score yet of a compact camera. That is not actually saying much as most compacts score poorly. In my view Canon could have done much better with the ergonomics within the width x height x depth size envelope. I will post more about this later.
Overall
This is the best Canon compact yet and arguably the best compact from any maker. I will be testing it alongside the Panasonic LX100 and Sony RX100 Mk4 over the next few weeks and posting results on this blog.