 |
| Grevillea on the run. These flowers were waving about in the breeze. I managed to grab a few sharp frames with the G7X.2 inbetween gusts. |
It appears some people still prefer to make their pictures with a camera in preference to the now ubiquitous smartphone and some of them choose the Canon Powershot G7XMk2 for that purpose.
The G7X.2 is a traditional compact camera with a zoom lens, built in flash but no hotshoe, tilting monitor screen and camera style controls. It can do stills in single shot or continuous drive and Full HD video.
There is no electronic viewfinder which can be a problem in bright sunlight when the monitor screen can be difficult to see clearly.
Macro mode allows the camera to get in close for photos of small flowers, large insects and similar.
The body appears well made and feels quite heavy for its size. Everything works as per the specifications which are typical for a compact and sufficient for most amateur photographic purposes.
Some people who wear large outer garments might find a pocket large enough for this camera but I have found a small pouch easier to use either on a belt or over the shoulder.
Image quality is about average for cameras in the same price point range.
The 20Mpx Sony made 15.9mm diagonal sensor appears in several cameras from Sony, Panasonic and Canon. Behind a top quality lens like the one in the Sony RX10.4 it can deliver very good image quality with good dynamic range.
Unfortunately the lens in the G7X.2 never allows the sensor to show what it could do.
At the wide end the edges are quite soft and don’t fully clean up when the aperture is closed down. The mid range of focal lengths show the lens to best advantage with good to very good sharpness across the frame. My copy is a bit decentered at the long end making the right side very sharp but the left side just acceptable for non-critical use. Overall the best aperture appears to be around f4.
The in-lens image stabiliser works well.
The camera responds promptly to user inputs. Autofocus is fast and reliable, shutter lag is barely detectable and the shot to shot rate fast enough to keep any user happy.
The touch screen works very well for moving the AF area, scrolling around menus or negotiating image review.
Ergonomic score
Setup Phase, score 9/15
The menus are standard Canon, still with unlike features mixed together in no apparent order and stills and video items mixed together. It is way past time for Canon to update this with photographer centric submenu headings.
There is a My Menu for frequently used items but [Format] cannot be allocated to it.
Prepare Phase, score 8/15
The Q/Set button leads to a standard Powershot screen with non-selectable items arranged down each side of the screen. Canon really needs to update this to something like the Sony Fn panel with user selectable items.
Drive Mode and Macro/Normal/manual focus are available on the cross keys.
Capture Phase, Holding, score 8/20
There is a mini handle which gives some purchase on the camera and a small but well positioned thumb support. There is not enough real estate here to fit better holding arrangements. I note however if the lens module were to be moved over to the left a more substantial handle could be fitted.
Capture Phase, Viewing, score 9/20
The absence of an EVF keeps the viewing score down.
Another problem is that camera data is superimposed over the lower part of the preview image where it can be difficult to see.
The monitor panel swings down about 45 degrees and up 180 degrees for selfies and a bit of vlogging on the run, although I did find the video on button a bit hard to locate when doing this.
Capture Phase, Operating, score 14/25
The controls are cramped as expected given the very small control panel, but reasonably easy to use with no nasty surprises.
The Mode Dial and Exposure Compensation dial are stacked making the user take care not to bump one while operating the other.
One has to enter a menu (which can be My Menu) to change AF frame size with only two options available.
In general there are enough controls to operate the camera in the way it has presumably been intended, which is for casual and family snapshooting in one of the auto modes.
For enthusiast users wanting to delve into manual focus and full manual control this is not the best device although it can be operated in both manual focus and manual exposure.
Review Phase, score 5/5
Image selection, magnify and scrolling while enlarged are all easily achieved.
Total Ergonomic score 53/100
This is about average for a compact camera of this type.
Summary
Best features: Well built, good sensor, responsive performance.
Worst features: No EVF, disappointing lens.
Comment
Between the G5X and the G7X.2 Canon has potentially got the makings of a good compact camera. They just need to gather all the elements together in one device.
Instead we have the EVF and better ergonomics in the G5X and the faster Digic7 processor in the G7X.2.
With a bit of redesign to the handle and controls, the Digic8 processor and a better lens a G5X.2 could be very appealing. But I wonder if we will ever see such a camera. With sales falling steeply year-on-year Canon’s budget allocation for R&D on compacts may have dried up as the company concentrates on its RF full frame MILC development.