Canon G3X Image Quality

The Sony RX10 II uses a similar 20-megapixel 1"-type sensor but produces a crisper image with lower noise and higher contrast at base ISO, and it does quite a bit better in the pink fabric while offering a smoother, more contrasty rendering of our difficult red-leaf fabric. Do note that the Sony's base ISO is a bit lower than the Canon's, theoretically giving it a very slight advantage in terms of noise, all else being equal.

The Canon G3X's image quality is comparable to the Panasonic FZ1000's which uses a similar if not identical sensor, though the Panasonic's image is again slightly more crisp and contrasty overall, however sharpening haloes are a little more obvious. The FZ1000 does particularly well in both the red-leaf and pink fabrics, managing to resolve some of the thread pattern, but as is usually the case, the Canon does better with color.

Here we've decided to compare the G3X to a long-zoom model with a much smaller (by a factor of about 4 in terms of area) but more typical 1/2.3"-type sensor. It's also a 12-megapixel sensor versus the G3X's 20 megapixels, so keep that in mind. As you can see, the G3X is able to resolve more detail in most areas, but the FZ300 holds its own and does well at base ISO. You can tell the FZ300 is working hard to smooth away noise, however it does a pretty good job of not destroying too much detail or generating too many noise reduction artifacts in the process. We'll see how this changes at higher sensitivities below.

Here's another comparison to a long-zoom camera with a smaller 12-megapixel sensor, but this time it's a little larger than most superzooms at 1/1.7" (the G3X's sensor is about 2.7x larger in area). Again, the G3X easily out-resolves the smaller, lower resolution sensor, and the Stylus 1's noise reduction processing generates some artifacts even at base ISO. The Stylus 1 also struggles with our tricky red-leaf fabric already at base ISO, though it produces crisper detail in the pink fabric.

And finally we come to the Nikon J5 which uses the same sized sensor as the G3X, but allows for interchangeable lenses which likely gives it a slight advantage here in terms of lens performance (we shot the J5 with a sharp prime). The Nikon J5 seems to capture just a hair less detail than the G3X in the mosaic label, though the image is cleaner and punchier looking overall. Interestingly, the J5 does much better with the pink fabric while the G3X produces a bit more fine detail in the red-leaf swatch.

At ISO 1600, the Canon G3X holds onto a little more detail in the mosaic crop and arguably produces a more natural looking image than the RX10 II's, however it's also a little noisier, but noise is more fine-grained and consistent. Sony's noise reduction is a little stronger but also generates more artifacts, especially in flatter areas. The Sony does however do a little better in the fabric crops.

Here, we see the Canon do a bit better in some areas, while the Panasonic does better in others. The FZ1000 manages to produce lower noise levels while holding on to slightly better detail in the mosaic crop, but the Canon does marginally better in the red-leaf fabric, though both still struggle with it. Also notice how the FZ1000's image is a bit darker, even though shutter speed was adjusted appropriately as ISO was increased.

At ISO 1600, we really start to see the advantage of the G3X's much larger sensor, which allows the Canon to resolve more detail as well as produce lower noise with fewer noise reduction artifacts.

Once again, the G3X's larger 1"-type sensor easily outperforms the Stylus 1's 1/1.7"-type sensor in both detail and noise. The Olympus really works hard to minimize noise, but that takes a toll on fine detail despite leaving behind more noise.

This comparison is more closely matched, and mainly highlights differences in approaches to processing and noise reduction. The Canon leaves behind more noise producing a grainier image, while the Nikon produces a smoother image yet with somewhat better detail retention overall.

Both cameras struggle at ISO 3200, particularly in the red-leaf fabric where there is almost no detail left. The Canon leaves behind a finer, more consistent noise "grain" which looks more natural and film-like than the Sony's rendering, but overall the image is quite soft and muddled. The Sony's image is clearer and more contrasty, but the noise "grain" is courser and there are more noise reduction artifacts.

Here again the Canon's noise "grain" is more evident, making most areas of the image quite soft and stippled compared to the Panasonic, but the FZ1000 works hard to remove noise, generating quite a few artifacts as a result. The Panasonic also generates some odd discoloration in the monk's rob which we don't see from the Canon. Overall, though, we'd still give the edge to the Panasonic here.

There's no contest here at ISO 3200, with the Canon's larger sensor producing a much more usable image.

Again, the advantages of the much larger 1"-type sensor in the G3X are quite obvious here.

Once again, we see different approaches to processing and noise reduction, with the Canon leaving a lot of fine, film-like "grain", while the Nikon produces a smoother, cleaner-looking image but with more noise reduction artifacts. Both struggle to reproduce fine detail at ISO 3200, though the Nikon does a little better in the red-leaf swatch, and much better in the pink fabric.