Canon PowerShot G7 X Review – Performance

Canon PowerShot G7 X tiltable screen

One of the real highlights of the G7 X’s specification is the impressive LCD screen. The good news is that when out and about shooting in real world conditions the screen continues to impress.

The capacitive touchscreen is highly responsive, allowing for quick review of images captured with a simple swipe to the side. This responsiveness is particularly useful when it comes to shooting video, as adjusting the various settings through physical controls can cause unwanted camera shake.

The tilting functionality of the screen is particularly useful when it comes to shooting self or group portraits thanks to its 180-degree pivot, while the brightness is such that it’s easily viewable in bright conditions with a faithful colour reproduction.

Canon PowerShot G7 X battery

Focus performance

The focus system featured on the Canon G7 X utilises 31 contrast-detect AF points, although unfortunately it’s lacking in any type of phase-detection set-up. As a result, you might expect the camera to be outperformed by some of its competitors in this area.

That being said the camera certainly performs satisfactorily in standard shooting conditions. It’s only when you shoot in more challenging conditions, such as towards the tele end of the zoom or in low light settings, where the omission of phase detection focus points is felt.

What is welcome, however, is the presence of touch focusing on the responsive touchscreen. This allows for precise focus point selection even in continuous AF mode. The minimum focus distance of 5cm is also welcome, and it delivers some impressive macro results.