Canon G9X Mark II Review

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Basic Specifications
Full model name:	Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II
Resolution:	20.20 Megapixels
Sensor size:	1 inch (13.2mm x 8.8mm)
Lens:	3.00x zoom (28-84mm eq.)
Viewfinder:	No / LCD
Native ISO:	125 - 12,800
Extended ISO:	125 - 12,800
Shutter:	1/2000 - 30 sec
Max Aperture:	2.0
Dimensions:	3.9 x 2.3 x 1.2 in. (98 x 58 x 31 mm)
Weight:	7.3 oz (206 g) includes batteries
Availability:	02/2017
Manufacturer:	Canon
Full specs:	Canon G9X Mark II specifications

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Canon G9X II (Black)

Canon G9X II (Black)
Canon G9X II (Silver)

G9X Mark II Deals

20.20 Megapixels	3.00x zoom	1 inch size sensor

G9X Mark II Summary

The Canon G9X II is a solid pocket camera. It is easy to use and has a very compact form factor. Image quality has been improved compared to its predecessor and the G9X II is faster as well. The built-in lens delivers good performance in most cases, although its small size has resulted in less zoom than some of the competition. There may not be a lot new with the G9X II, but it is a refined compact camera that delivers good overall performance and a strong value.

Pros

Impressive image quality; Improved JPEGs and good high ISO quality for its class; Compact camera body; Fast maximum aperture; Reliable autofocus; Improved performance.

Cons

No tilting display; No viewfinder; Lens is not very wide; Slow buffer clearing; Mediocre battery life.

Price and availability

The Canon G9X II has been available since February 2017 and has a suggested retail price of $530. However, the camera, which is available in black and silver, is available for $450 as of November 2017.

Imaging Resource rating

4.5 out of 5.0

Canon G9X II Review

by Jeremy Gray, Zig Weidelich and William Brawley
Preview posted: 01/04/2017
Last updated: 11/13/2017

Updates:
03/17/2017: First Shots
03/23/2017: Performance
06/21/2017: Field Test
11/13/2017: Image Quality Comparison and Print Quality
11/13/2017: Review Conclusion

In November of 2015, Canon launched the smallest camera with a 1-inch sensor, the PowerShot G9X. The camera offered a 3x zoom lens and utilized a 20.1-megapixel 1"-type CMOS sensor in a very compact form factor that could be easily slipped into a pocket. The Japanese manufacturer has followed it up with the Canon G9X II, which uses the same sensor and lens but packs in a much faster image processor and several new features while retaining the same compact form factor of its predecessor.

Canon G9X Mark II: A very compact PowerShot

The Canon G9X II looks essentially identical to its predecessor, which means that it is compact and has a sleek design. The G9X II has dimensions of 3.9 x 2.3 x 1.2 inches (98.0 x 57.9 x 31.3 millimeters) and weighs a paltry 7.3 ounces (206 grams) with the battery and a memory card inserted.

While very compact, the Canon G9X II doesn't skimp on its rear display. The camera is equipped with a 3-inch touchscreen LCD display with 1.04 million dots. The display is fixed, so you won't be able to tilt it, but the fixed design does help keep the camera thin. To the right of the display are four buttons and a thumb grip. You'll notice that the camera doesn't have any sort of directional pad or navigation buttons, so you will be relying exclusively on the touchscreen for navigating menus.

The top of the camera features a mode dial, shutter release and rotating switch for controlling the focal length. There is also a “playback” and power button. Further, the camera has a pop-up built-in flash with a flash release switch on the top left. The flash has a range of 1.6 feet (0.5 meters) to 20 feet (6 meters) at the wide focal length and 1.6 feet (0.5 meters) to 7.9 feet (2.4 meters) at the telephoto focal length when using Auto ISO.

Speaking of focal length, the Canon G9X II features a built-in lens with a focal length range of 10.2 to 30.6mm, which offers a 35mm equivalent range of 28-84mm. The 3x-zoom lens has a maximum aperture of f/2 at 28mm which narrows to f/4.9 by 84mm. The lens barrel has a ring which can control a variety of shooting settings, including exposure settings. You can change the control ring’s function using the touchscreen.

Canon G9X II shooting features highlighted by DIGIC 7 processor

User experience is always important, but especially for a compact camera which Canon hopes will appeal to many types of photographers, including DSLR users who want a second, compact camera to have in their pocket. To help make the user experience better, the Canon G9X Mark II includes Bluetooth, making it the first PowerShot camera to do so. This feature allows nearly-instant sharing of your photos to social media when using a compatible smartphone or tablet.

Autofocus and Metering

Other improvements to the user experience come from the inclusion of the DIGIC 7 image processor, which is of course faster than the DIGIC 6 chip found in the G9X. The new processor helps the G9X II accomplish lower shutter lag, faster autofocus, and better subject tracking during continuous AF. Otherwise autofocus features remain the same. The camera still offers minimum focus distances of 2 inches (5 centimeters) and 1.1 feet (35 centimeters) at wide and telephoto focal lengths respectively. Metering is unchanged as well. Metering modes including evaluative, center-weighted average and spot options and the camera offers up to +/-3.0 EV of exposure compensation.

Continuous Shooting: Much faster than its predecessor

Continuous shooting performance has seen a massive improvement thanks to the DIGIC 7 image processor. According to our tests, Large/Fine JPEG shooting speed is just over 8 frames per second when using One-Shot AF with a buffer depth of 31 shots, representing an increase of about 1.5 fps and 21 frames over the results we reported for the original G9X. Servo AF will drop the speed down to 5.3 fps, but increase the buffer depth to a reported 102 frames.

JPEG improvements are impressive, to be sure, but the increase in RAW burst speeds are much larger. The Canon G9X shot RAW images at a mere 0.8 fps. The G9X II can shoot RAW images at full speed, at just over 8 fps. And the buffer depth is 20 frames, which is also quite good. See our lab Performance test results for details. Obviously, the G9X II is much faster than the G9X and thus addresses one of our biggest complaints about its predecessor.

Shooting modes: Improvements to Auto and time-lapse modes

Shooting modes include the standard assortment of Manual (M), Aperture-priority (Av), Shutter-priority (Tv), Program (P) and Auto, but the G9X II also includes Hybrid Auto, a custom C shooting mode and a wide array of special stills and video modes. The camera has Portrait, Panning, Star Portrait, Star Nightscape, Star Trails, Star Time-Lapse Movie, Handheld Night Scene, High Dynamic Range, Fish-eye Effect, Art Bold Effect, Water Painting Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect, Background Defocus, Soft Focus, Grainy B/W, Fireworks, Standard Movie, Short Clip, Manual Movie, Time-Lapse Movie, and iFrame Movie modes.

The time-lapse modes have been improved by allowing exposure to be changed while shooting, whereas in the original G9X it was locked. Further, Picture Styles are said to be more advanced and Auto mode is claimed to be more accurate with its scene recognition capabilities. Advanced users will appreciate the ability to perform in-camera RAW conversion as well.

Video: More of the same, still no 4K UHD video recording

Video specifications appear mostly unchanged, meaning that the G9X II still cannot shoot 4K UHD video or high-speed video. Resolution still tops out at 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) and the framerate is capped at 60p frames per second, although there is a new 24p option. When recording video at 60fps, the maximum clip length is 10 minutes. If you need to record longer clips, you can do so at 30 or 24fps, which allows for clips of up to 29 minutes and 59 seconds at Full HD. HD (1280 x 720) which is available at 30fps has the same limit, but up to one hour can be recorded at VGA resolution (640 x 480).

Connectivity, media and battery

The Canon G9X II has a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 (Micro-B) port and a Micro HDMI (Type D) port. The camera records media to SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards with support for faster UHS-I types. The body includes built-in 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n), NFC and Bluetooth 4.1 wireless functionality.

The G9X II uses a proprietary 3.6V 1250mAh NB-13L lithium-ion battery, the same battery pack as the G9X used. It's rated for approximately 235 shots (CIPA standard) when used normally and 315 shots in ECO mode, compared to 220 and 335 shots respectively for its predecessor. In-camera charging via the USB port is supported (USB cable not included), though a dedicated battery charger is included in the bundle.

Canon G9X II improvements over its predecessor

New DIGIC 7 image processor offers better autofocus performance, improved noise reduction at high ISOs and much faster continuous shooting performance, particularly when shooting RAW images.
The G9X II has improved Dual I.S. image stabilization performance, now offering up to 3.5 stops of correction compared to the 3 stops in the original G9X.
Shooting modes have been improved as well. In particular, auto mode has better scene recognition capabilities and time-lapse shooting now offers the ability to change exposure settings during shooting.
Slight improvement in battery life from 220 to 235 shots per charge in normal mode.

Canon G9X II pricing and availability

The Canon G9X Mark II began shipping in February 2017 for around US$530, but has since become available for under US$450. The camera comes in silver or black color options, the former having brown accents.

Canon G9X Mark II Field Test

Good things can come in small packages

by Jeremy Gray | 06/21/2017

The Canon G9X Mark II arrives less than two years after the original G9X, which launched as the world's smallest camera with a 1-inch sensor. Much about the G9X II is the same as its predecessor and that's not a bad thing. There are several new features and improvements to be found in the new pocketable compact camera though including a new, faster processor which leads to improved overall performance.

Key Features and Info

Pocketable form factor
Built-in 28-84mm equivalent lens with f/2.0-4.9 aperture range
20.2-megapixel 1-inch type sensor
ISO 125-12,800 range
Continuous shooting at just over 8 frames per second
Full HD video at up to 60 frames per second
Built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC
$529 price, although it has been available for as low as $429

Read our Canon G9X II Field Test

Canon G9X Mark II Image Quality Comparison

See how the G9X II's IQ compares to its predecessor and rivals

by Zig Weidelich | 11/13/2017

Below are crops from our laboratory Still Life target comparing the Canon G9X Mark II's image quality to its predecessor's, the G9X, as well as to a range of compact enthusiast cameras: the Canon G7X Mark II, the Panasonic LX10 and the Sony RX100 III. We've also compared it to the Sony A5000, which is an entry-level 24-megapixel APS-C mirrorless camera that is available for about the same price with a kit lens as the G9X II sells for.

NOTE: These images are from best quality JPEGs straight out of the camera, at default settings including noise reduction and using the camera's actual base ISO (not extended ISO settings). Clicking any crop will take you to a carrier page where you can click once again to access the full resolution image as delivered straight from the camera. For those interested in working with the RAW files involved, click these links to visit each camera's respective sample image thumbnail page...

See our Canon G9X II Image Quality Comparison

Canon G9X Mark II Print Quality

Find out how big can you print

by William Brawley | 11/13/2017

Print quality and image quality are similar but not identical, because what you see on a print isn't always the same as what you see on the screen. Our print quality analysis answers the important question: "Just how big can I print my photos at higher ISOs?"

Like the larger PowerShot G7X II, the ultra-portable Canon G9X II sports a 20MP 1-inch-type CMOS sensor and faster DIGIC 7 image processor; up from the DIGIC 6 processor of the original G9X. Overall, the G9X II offers similar print quality performance to the G7X II, with subtle improvements in image quality at certain ISOs compared to the original G9X. At lower ISOs, the G9X II is capable of excellent, large prints up to 24 x 36 inches at ISO 125 and 200. In the midrange of ISOs, the G9X II begins to show some visible noise, but it remains very well controlled, allowing for prints up to 11 x 14 inches at ISO 1600...

Read our Canon G9X Mark II Print Quality Analysis

Canon G9X Mark II Conclusion

A solid all-around compact camera that improves on the original

by Jeremy Gray | 11/13/2017

The Canon PowerShot G9X Mark II is Canon's latest compact camera with a 1-inch sensor. There is a lot about the G9X II that is similar to its predecessor, including a very compact form factor, but there are many new features such as a faster processor. We have had the G9X Mark II in the field and put it through its paces in our lab. Let's take a final look at the Canon G9X II and see how it stacks up.

G9X II offers good image quality, especially with color accuracy & high ISOs
Featuring a 20-megapixel 1-inch type CMOS sensor, the G9X II uses the same image sensor as its predecessor, but there have been improvements made to image processing and overall image quality. For example, we found better color and detail from the G9X II than the original G9X. In fact, the G9X II produces essentially identical image quality as its more expensive and larger sibling, the G7X II.