Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II review – Verdict

When the Canon PowerShot G7 X was released, it didn’t have much in the way of competition. Now, the idea of a pocketable camera furnished with a 1in or Micro Four Thirds sensor, together with raw shooting and plenty of manual control, is a bit less special – and if you’re happy with a fixed-focal-length lens, the pool is further diluted with a handful of very capable APS-C-based compacts to consider.

Despite this, at least on paper, the G7 X Mark II remains an exciting proposition for the enthusiast user, particularly when the many useful changes over the previous G7 X are considered. And it’s pleasing to find that much of this translates to real-world shooting, with largely reliable image quality, a sound focusing performance, usefully tilting and responsive LCD, and decent – if not quite ideal – level of customisation as its draws.

The camera is quite capable of recording a good level of detail throughout the frame while keeping optical aberrations in check, and images straight out of the camera are pleasing. Those shooting at the wide end of the lens with some frequency, however, may be disappointed with the slight softness here; it’s perhaps telling that many similar models opt for lenses with more modest focal ranges.

Directly comparing the spec sheet of the G7 X Mark II to those of its peers shows a few holes, although whether these matter greatly is a separate issue. Some may, for example, lament the lack of 4K video recording, but many photographers record video so infrequently, if at all, that they would render this a non-issue. The lack of a viewfinder is more likely to be seen as a serious omission, particularly in the face of rivals that manage to squeeze one into a similar body size.

Overall, Canon deserves praise for ironing out the key issues that affected the G7 X and throwing in a handful of niceties on top of this. The result is a camera that may not be quite exemplary, but that will be very pleasing to use and dependable in a variety of situations for a lot of people.