The Canon G7 X is designed for those who want the power, control and image quality of a DSLR but in a small camera.
Canon fitted it with a PowerShot G1 X Mark II, which has a sensor almost as large as an SLR’s. The camera uses a 1-inch 20.2-million-pixel sensor, big enough to produce great pictures.
With this sensor and high quality build, the Canon G7X is a strong competitor against the Sony RX100 II. Its lens control ring and touchscreen make settings adjustment quick and the image quality is excellent.
The ring rotates in clicks, rather than smoothly like a focus ring making it very good for changing settings, like aperture size, in precise intervals, but it also makes manual focus hard to use on the fly.
Inside its sleek exterior is a Digic 6 processing engine which puts it above the G16 and S120, but below the Canon G1 Mark II in the PowerShot range. The Canon G1 Mark II has a 1.5-inch sensor.
The G7 X has a fixed lens and Canon has plumped for an 8.8-36.8mm optic, which is equivalent to a 24-100mm f/1.8-2.8 lens in 35mm terms.
The 3-inch, 1,040k-dot LCD screen at the rear of the camera can be tipped up through 180 degrees for easy viewing while facing the camera lens. The screen is touch-sensitive so users have a choice of using the shortcut buttons or the screen to control the camera.
The screen is the only option for composing and reviewing images since the camera lacks a viewfinder.
Pros:
• A 1-inch sensor in a compact body
• High build quality
• Large aperture for depth of field control and faster shutter speed
Cons:
• Lacks viewfinder
• Tilting screen only, not vari-angle
• F/1.8 aperture only at the widest focal length
