Canon G1X Mark II Flash

Coverage and Range
A fairly powerful flash for its size, with uneven coverage at wide angle. Good exposures in our Indoor Portrait test shots.

Coverage. Flash coverage was quite uneven and narrow at wide angle (not unusual, especially for a wider-than-average lens), with much more uniform results at full telephoto.

Exposure. Here in our standard Indoor Portrait scene at ISO 200, the G1 X II's flash performed well, requiring only +0.3 EV of flash exposure compensation which is less than average for this scene. The camera selected 1/60 second shutter speed, which is good. Slow-sync flash mode produced a more evenly lit image with the same flash exposure compensation, but the slower shutter speed of 1/13 produced a warmer image due to the ambient lighting.

ISO 200 Range. At wide-angle and ISO 200, flash shots were bright to about 12 feet. At full telephoto, flash shots were bright to 8 feet, and got darker from there.

Manufacturer Specified Flash Test. Canon rates the PowerShot G1 X II's flash range at 6.8 meters / 22 feet at wide angle and 3.5 meters / 11 feet at telephoto, when using Auto ISO. In the shots above, the PowerShot G1 X II's flash performed to Canon's specifications, producing bright images at wide angle and full telephoto, with the camera boosting ISO to 400 in both cases.

Our standard test method for flash range uses a fixed setting of ISO 200, to provide a fair basis of comparison between cameras. We now also shoot two shots using the manufacturer-specified camera settings, at the range the company claims for the camera, to assess the validity of the specific claims.