Canon G7X Field Test

It's no secret that Sony's RX100-series enthusiast compact cameras, with their pocket-friendly bodies and larger-than-average sensors, have been among my favorite cameras in the last couple of years. After two years with no direct competition for the RX100 series, Sony finally has a rival in the form of the Canon G7X, and you'd better believe I wanted to get my hands on one posthaste!

In part, my eagerness to review the Canon G7X comes thanks to the fact that in almost the same footprint as the flagship RX100 III, it offers a clear advantage over Sony's camera in terms of telephoto reach. (Yet at the same time, it provides the same f/1.8-2.8 maximum aperture across the zoom range.) On paper at least, that's a pretty big deal, because it allows you to bring your subjects quite a bit closer -- handy when you can't frame with your feet.

But how would the Canon G7X and its impressive-sounding lens perform in the real world? To find out, I took Canon's first entry in the large sensor, pocket camera out for a side-by-side shoot with its main rival, the Sony RX100 III, as well as the even larger-sensored (but most definitely not pants-pocket friendly) Panasonic LX100.

In the first part of my Canon G7X Field Test, I shot with the company's first pants pocket-friendly, large-sensor compact in a three-way head to head with its nearest rivals: The Sony RX100 III and Panasonic LX100. (Admittedly, the Panasonic is rather larger than the Canon G7X and Sony RX100-series models, but it's also quite a lot smaller than the only other offerings in the market segment -- the Canon G1 X and G1 X Mark II.)

In the course of preparing that first report, I found more than a few features I found extremely attractive, especially when compared against the similarly-sized Sony RX100 III. I liked the Canon's controls, and especially its dedicated exposure compensation dial. I was also a fan of its color rendering, and of its JPEG-mode performance, especially with continuous autofocus enabled. And its more powerful zoom lens -- which, amazingly, was also brighter across much of the zoom range than that in the Sony RX100 III -- also struck me as a very nice bonus.