Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II (799.99 USD) is a camera which doesn't fall neatly in any particular category. This makes it intriguing, if a little difficult, to assess. The 1.5 inch image sensor of the Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II is bigger than what you will find in a Micro Four Thirds camera. However, it is smaller than the APS C chip in SLRs or the Leica X Vario ($2,950.00 at Amazon). Zoom, which the camera has a similar design to, however, with a deeper lens.
The 12.9-megapixel G1 X Mark II's collapsible lens makes it difficult to carry in a pocket. This means that the compact zooming compact is less portable than our Editors Choice Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 II ($598.00 Amazon). The RX100 II keeps its place atop the heap in part due to ergonomics—the G1 X Mark II is a little awkward to hold and use—and in part because, even though its sensor is smaller, it holds its own in terms of image quality. The Canon is not as disappointing as the G1 X Mark II, and it is worth a glance if you are looking for a compact large-sensor camera.
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Features and Design
The G1 X Mark II measures 2.9 by 4.6x 2.6 inches (HWD), and weighs in at 1.2 pounds. It's hard to believe that it can be called a compact camera, let alone a compact item, with dimensions of 2.8 by 4.6x 2.6 inches. Although it won't go in your shirt pocket or jeans, the G1 X Mark II can fit into any pair of pants or jacket pockets. The Sony RX100 II—which uses a 1-inch image sensor that's small by G1 X standard, but bigger than any other pocket compact—is just 2.3 by 4 by 1.5 inches in size and 9.9 ounces in weight. Pop-up flash is available. It's hinged so that you can turn it back to provide indirect or bounced lighting to your scene. There's also a hot shoe—it can accommodate a Canon Speedlite or the optional add-on EVF ($299.99).
The G1 X is too heavy and compact, that's my only complaint. Due to its weight, the handgrip is not deep enough. My thumb also felt squeezed in a small space while gripping the G1X X. A deeper handgrip accessory is available at $29 but it only makes the camera slightly wider.
This lens features a 5-x zoom ratio. It covers a field of view that is approximately 24-120mm wide (35mm equivalent). The lens opens to f/2 at 24mm and narrows to f/3.9 when 120mm is reached. This lens is a significant step up when compared to the Leica X Vario's 28-70mm f/3.5-6.4. (35mm equivalent). Multi-aspect ratio sensors are used in the G1X. They can capture 12.6-megapixel photos at 4:352 by 2,904 (3 to 2) or 12.8-megapixel shots of 4,160 by 3,120 Pixels (4:3). You can also choose from 16:9 or 1:1 modes, however these images are only cropped from the entire sensor area.
G1 X had a difficult macro mode to activate and was restricted to 20 cm close focus. There are improvements in the Mark II. It can focus up to 5cm and will activate macro focus mode when it focuses on something close to it. However, I noticed that images that were shot at f/2 lose a lot of their sharpness. This is a flaw that also exists in the Fujifilm X100S. A sharper, more classic shot can be achieved by reducing the aperture to f/2.8. This image was taken at f/2. The one below is shot at f/2.8.
You can use this quirk to your advantage when you're photographing flowers, for instance, but be mindful of it. The G1 X Mark II's close focus was enjoyable, but it is not as good as the Sony Cybershot DSC-10(at Amazon).) which has magnification up to 30cm and a 200mm f/2.8 telephoto extrem that can focus within 3 cm. At 120mm, the G1 X Mark II is only able to focus at 40 cm.
All rear controls fit into a narrow area of just under one inch. The thumb rest has a button that connects with a Wi-Fi network. Below it is the shortcut button. I set this button to turn on the neutral density filter in my camera. You'll also find 2 buttons below the thumb rest, one for Manual Focus and one for moving the active autofocus zone. A flat dial controls four directions.
The center Func./Set and Exposure Compensation are located at their cardinal directions. Below that you'll find the Display and Menu controls. It is relatively sparsely populated with controls for image playback and power as well as shutter release and zoom rocker.
Dual control rings are located around the lens. They are both wrapped with a metallic texture to make them easy to grip, but their handling is very different. It is narrower and features tight turning with detents. It is thinner and more fluid than the first ring, which is located closer to the lens' front element.
The default setting for the clicked, larger ring is to adjust the f-stop and shutter speed in Av and Tv modes. You can change its function by pressing Exposure Compensation on the rear. However, you will need to press it again in order to switch back to the default.
The big ring was a bit cumbersome to use to set these settings, however it is possible to reconfigure the controls. The rear command dial was set to EV compensation, while the larger lens control ring is used as Step Zoom.
I also use the front ring for aperture or shutter speed adjustments, depending on which mode. The Shortcut button can also be customized, as can the Record button. Different functions are available for different modes, such as P, Av and Tv.
Canon's Creative Shot mode is now available on all PowerShot N models (from Amazon at $2999.00) Despite the G1 X Mark II's positioning as a serious camera, this mode—which creates a total of six images from three exposures—is included.
While the first image saved is the one you have set to capture, the other five images are different cropped and come with color filters. G1 X can even change the focal point of some photos, taking advantage of the low depth of field its large sensor allows and wide aperture lens allow for.
The camera only captures JPG images. This is unfortunate because the raw Raw can be saved with all the edited and cropped Raws. However, as long as the scene does not contain action, or candid moments you are able to shoot Raw, then turn to Creative Shot and see the results. At first I found the functionality a little gimmicky and was reluctant to use it.
However, Canon has improved its handling and some of my results have been great. Although there is some loss in authorship when using this mode for photos, seeing an image that I have framed with another crop may give you a fresh perspective.
Rear display measures 3 inches and has a resolution of 1,040k dots. It is hinged, touch-sensitive, and mounted on a hinge. It's not a lot, but the display is sharp and bright enough to be used outdoors. The camera tilts forward so that you can take selfies and waist-level photos. Touch input lets you tap anywhere on the frame to focus. I'm beginning to wonder why compact and mirrorless cameras don't have touch screens.
Wi-Fi is another feature you can expect from a digital camera. It's available on the G1 X Mark II, as well as NFC pairing to compatible phones. To copy JPG files over Wi-Fi, it can be connected to any Android or iOS device with the Canon CameraWindow application installed. Your phone/tablet can be used as a remote controller with streaming Live View, however there are not many shooting options. The only thing you can do is adjust the focal length and activate the self timer.
You can also control flash output and fire the shutter. Although images can be saved to the card, JPG images cannot be captured by this camera when it is used remotely. CameraWindow also has a location logger. If activated before you shoot, and the time on the G1X is correct, location data can be added to photos using Wi-Fi.
The Canon Image Gateway allows you to push images directly into selected Web services. Register an account to pair your camera with this service. After that, images can be posted to Twitter, Facebook and Google Drive. You will need to pair multiple Canon cameras with this service. However, they can use the same social media accounts you have set up through the Image Gateway website.
The intermediary communication platform doesn't just apply to Canon cameras. Panasonic and Samsung models use similar Lumix Clubs. However, if you purchase a Samsung mirrorless camera such as the NX300 ($895.00 Amazon), you will be able to post photos or videos to other Web services.
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Performance and conclusions
The G1 X Mark II starts and grabs an in-focus image in 1.9 seconds, locks focus and fires in about 0.1-second in good light, and does the same in about 2 seconds in very dim light. It keeps pace with the Leica X Vario, which starts in 1.8 seconds, matches its focus speed in good light, and betters the Canon by just a bit, locking and firing in 1.7 seconds in dim light.
The Mark II's burst shooting rate varies based on file format: 5fps for JPG, 1.4fps for Raw, and 1.3fps for Raw+JPG. I was able to keep shooting continuously without noticeable slowdown when using a SanDisk 95MBps memory card. The X Vario shoots at 5fps in any format, but can only do so for a 7-shot burst.
Focus accuracy is a problem with the G1 X in certain situations. I took some photos of my desk, including the wires and memory card cases. Instead of getting a clear outline for focus, the camera was having trouble choosing an object to lock onto. I ended up using a yellow box and exclamation points to get it to do so.
This was something I observed while out shooting in real life on several occasions. However, I was able reproduce the effect in my lab. The focus box is on the large size—you can't adjust the size—so when attempting to shoot a scene that has some depth to it, it's just not sure what to lock on to.
For situations such as this, you can switch between the 1-point autofocus frame and Face AiAf mode by pressing a button. That evaluates the entire frame and picks focus, and does a better job in scenes with multiple points of depth—and you can still control what object you want to focus on by tapping the rear display. For most of my photography, I prefer the 1-point adjustable frame. However, Face AiAf or manual focus can be used if it fails to lock.
Imatest was used to verify the sharpness and clarity of the G1 X Mark II lens. We use a center-weighted score of 1,800 lines per picture height to mark an image as sharp, and the G1 X met that standard across the board—but by the skin of its teeth in some instances. It scores 1,804 lines at 24mm f/2 on our test. However, image quality decreases as you get further away from the middle of the frame. While the middle of the frame shows 1,743 lines, the outer third only displays 1,372 lines.
The aperture is smaller and the results are better. At f/2.8, the score increases to 1,888 lines. Both the middle and center parts of the frame show excellent performance. At f/8 the score is just slightly lower at 1,865 lines due to diffraction. However, the outer edges don't improve; they remain at 1,375 lines between f/2 and f/8.
The maximum aperture is narrowed to f/3.2 by zooming in to 35mm equivalent focal length. Center-weighted sharpness, which is 1,945 lines and edges close to 1,400 lines, are better. The improvement is negligible if you drop to f/4. However, 1,981 lines are visible at f/8 (1,447 lines at edges), and 1,993 lines from f/8 (2,516 lines). The aperture drops to f/3.5 when you move in at 55mm, however the lens produces sharper results. The lens scores 2,063 lines and has edge performance of 1,435 lines. There is a slight improvement in stopping, but the edges are just as good at 35mm.
At 120mm the lens performs at its peak, with an aperture of f/3.9 at maximum. The lens shows 2,052 lines in our center-weighted test. It also performs well at the edges (1,893 line). The score rises slightly to 2,156 lines at f/5.6, and then drops back to 2,093 lines when you go to f/8. Although the Sony Cyber-shot DSCX100 II has a smaller lens and a shorter zoom, it captures more light than its predecessor.
However, its 1-inch 20MP sensor and Zeiss optics scored higher overall sharpness in our tests. It scored 2,048 at 28mm (peaking at 2,277 line at f/2.8), 2,053 lines when 50mm was f/3.2 (2.368 lines at the f/4), 2,269 lines 100mm wide f/4.9. Although the RX100 II has issues with the edges when taken at wide angles and maximum aperture, the RX100 II's edges are sharpened nicely once you reach f/2.8 at 28mm or f/4 50mm.
The G1 X zoom range is free from distortion. Raw and JPG images are corrected by the camera. A lot of software is involved behind the scenes. Raw files that are not corrected show 16 percent of their widest angles. This isn't something you will see, but it does explain the reason the edges look worse than the rest. Raw files are not subject to the JPG engine's corrections. At 12mm, there is noticeable purple-green fringing around the edges. Even at f/8, this effect can be seen. It's not as severe at the 35mm equivalent, but it is less noticeable.
Imatest also tests for noise. G1 X Mark II's sensor is large and has a low pixel count. This makes it easy to produce clean images even at high ISO settings. Although the camera maintains noise levels below 1.5 percent at ISO 6400 it applies software noise reduction to JPG files to produce clean images.
On a NEC MultiSync PA271W ($999.00 Amazon), I examined the ISO images. The detail is great through ISO 1600. However, there's some slight smudging in ISO 3200 which becomes a problem at ISO 6400. Raw can be used to extract more detail from images.
Although they are grainy and a little bit grainy at ISO 6400, Raw images will give you a lot of information. Raw photography at ISO 12800 can be a little tricky because noise builds up and takes over fine lines. Sony RX10 uses the same 20MP sensor that the RX100 II uses, and keeps JPG noise below 1.5 percent at ISO 12800. It also employs some software noise reduction. Practically, the RX10's JPG and Raw images compare favorably to G1 X with higher ISOs.
The video can be recorded in MP4 at 1080p30 resolution. Sharp footage can be created thanks to the large sensor and f/2 lenses. However, you will see the jelly-like rolling shutter effect as you pan quickly or record fast moving objects. You can adjust the focus of your scene by tapping the rear LCD. Zooming in and out is possible during recording.
However, you cannot adjust the aperture or other settings at any point. You can hear the zooming sound and focus sounds on the soundtrack. There is no microphone input. A micro HDMI connector can be used to connect to an HDTV. There's also a connector to control a remote and a USB connector. An external charger and standard SDHC and SDXC memory card are also included.
In many ways, the Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II represents a significant improvement over its predecessor. It focuses faster, captures more light, and has a macro mode that is more accurate. The image quality of the Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II is exceptional. While I did have some problems with its grip, other users may prefer it. Although it earns our recommendation and is an Editors' Choice, we don't think that it deserves to be. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II is still our favorite premium zooming compact—it's smaller, has a lens that's a bit sharper, and holds its own in low light.
The G1 X Mark II is a better choice than the G1 X Mark I. It costs $50 less, has a smaller sensor, 24mm lens that covers a wider area, and captures more light when you zoom in. The Sony RX10 is another option. It's a bigger camera, with an impeccable 24-200mm f/2.8 zoom lens. However it costs $500 more than the G1 X Mark II. If you're in the market for a fixed-lens compact with a big sensor, wide-aperture lens, and zooming capabilities, you could do a lot worse—the G1 X Mark II worth strong consideration if a pocket-size form factor isn't a priority.