Canon PowerShot G1 X

It's no secret that every major dSLR manufacturer has released a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (ILC) of sorts, ranging from the Nikon 1-series with its small CX-sensors, to the APS-C-imbued NEX-series cameras from Sony. Canon is the notable absentee in this category and it appears as if it may never join the ILC fray. However, the company's latest PowerShot G1 X advanced compact could very well be a worthy contender with a CMOS sensor that's even larger than the Micro Four Thirds varieties found in Olympus' and Panasonic's ILCs.

Can a camera with a fixed lens put up a good fight against the current crop of interchangeable lens shooters? We'll say outright that it very well might.

Design and Features

Saying this camera is solid would be a bit of an understatement. Many of my CNET Asia colleagues have used the phrase "built like a tank" on this advanced compact and I doubt many folks would disagree. It has a stainless steel chassis (as opposed to the G12's magnesium alloy), and used textured rubber and knurled metal to good effect on the grip and dials. This makes the camera feel substantial in hand, although the G1 X's "boxier" build (compared with the G12) makes it a little less ergonomic than we liked.

As the most advanced compact Canon has released to date, the camera also comes with a generous feature set. The most distinguishable one would be the 18.7mm x 14mm CMOS sensor, that's just 20 percent smaller than Canon's APS-C variant and 6.3 times larger than the one in the PowerShot G12, the sensor in the latter being of a similar size to most midrange compacts.

As a camera Canon says is targeted at dSLR owners to use as a backup or something they'll shoot with on a day off, the G1 X also has full manual controls, as well as two custom settings modes. The company also clarifies that the G1 X is not a successor to the G12 but a new PowerShot line altogether.

However, like the recent G-series cameras, the G1 X comes with a hotshoe for Canon Speedlites, dual-mode dials and a rotating jog-dial that resembles those on the company's midrange and high-end dSLRs. The G1 X's button and dial setup sees some rearrangement, too, with a conspicuously missing ISO-selector dial up top--to make way for the new pop-up flash--and a large video record button on the back, just next to where your thumb would rest.

Overall, we wouldn't say the new layout makes a huge difference, although we appreciated the dedicated video button. One thing we initially missed was the jog-dial for ISO selection, which has now been replaced by an exposure-compensation dial. We finally figured out why Canon opted to keep the latter, and it's mainly to do with the negligible difference in image at settings below ISO 3,200.

Of course, a camera with the promise of high-quality images should come with a great screen, and the 920k-dot articulating display on the G1 X doesn't disappoint. Images were displayed clearly, and remained readable in all but direct sunlight. An optical viewfinder has been included, too, although that's barely usable, giving us shots with our subject consistently appearing a lot higher in the frame.

Performance

As an advanced compact, the G1 X lives up to its PowerShot lineage and is as responsive as the G12, in most aspects. The camera starts up relatively quickly, taking about 2.2 seconds, while shutter lag was measured at 0.26 seconds on average. That's not quite as fast as most ILCs but is a little speedier than typical compacts. JPEG shot-to-shot time was good, too, taking about 0.59 seconds. What did we mean by "most aspects" then? Well, we noticed that the G12 was actually marginally faster at locking focus than the G1 X.

One thing we weren't quite expecting was the subpar minimum focusing distance on the G1 X. Canon obviously had to make some compromises here to prevent the G1 X from being bulkier than it already is by opting for a 28mm to 112mm zoom lens. Any longer or wider and you'd likely end up with a camera that's as hefty as a megazoom. The result: The lens and sensor combo on the G1 X gives it a minimum focusing distance of about 16cm at the wide end (though it's rated at 20cm). This will definitely be a huge drawback for those even remotely interested in closeup work.

Another slight letdown was battery life, with the G1 X rated for 250 shots when shooting with the LCD on. In our time with the camera, we managed to capture about 180 images and a handful of full-HD videos before seeing a low-battery warning.

Image Quality

Cutting to the chase, we'll say that the PowerShot G1 X gave us image quality that's possibly the best we've seen from any compact camera. This shouldn't really come as a surprise considering the massive size of the camera's 14.3-megapixel CMOS sensor, measuring 18.7mm x 14mm (or about 1.5 inches diagonally). The noise control is even better than recent Micro Four Thirds cameras, such as Panasonic's Lumix DMC-G3 and Olympus' Pen E-P3, which means that this PowerShot performs exceedingly well in low light. Colors were also nicely saturated without being over-the-top, which is what we've come to expect of Canon's compacts. There are also ample in-camera tweaks that can turn your images into anything from black and white and nostalgic, to dramatically oversaturated. There's an automated HDR mode, too, though we'll recommend a tripod when using it.

Viewing images fullscreen on our monitors, we could barely tell the difference among images shot at ISO 100 to 3,200. At about ISO 6,400, grain started to become noticeable but was still amazingly well controlled. ISO 8,000 could be considered the tipping point, but could still pass muster for small- to medium-sized prints, while ISO 12,800 images remain acceptable with noticeable grain and chroma noise. This is performance that rivals the best APS-C dSLRs out there, and is a sign that Canon has the technology for potentially jaw-dropping noise control in its future dSLR bodies.

However, there is a drawback. While ILCs allow shutterbugs to swap slower kit lenses for faster primes, you're stuck with an F2.8 to F5.6 maximum aperture range on the G1 X. One can't help but wonder how this camera would compete with the increasingly crowded ILC market if it happened to support interchangeable lenses.

Video Quality

Video performance on the G1 X is good, but not perfect--perhaps we were a little spoilt by the camera's excellent still image performance--with some visible judder and a bit less detail than we expected. However, colors were pleasing, images remained sharp, and audio (which is recorded in stereo) sounded good enough, as well. The highest resolution the camera is capable of for video is 1080/24p, which is better than the 720p offered by most advanced compacts.

Image Samples

Exposure: 1/30, F2.8, ISO 1,600	Exposure: 1/1000, F2.8, ISO 500	Exposure: 1/400, F5.6, ISO 100	Exposure: 1/200, F8, ISO 100

Conclusion

The G1 X gives brilliant images, with nicely rendered colors, a multitude of useful scene modes and image tweaks, as well as the best high-ISO performance we've seen in a fixed-lens camera. We'd honestly be happy with its amazing control of grain and chroma noise at ISO 6,400 and above if it was a dSLR with an APS-C-sized sensor--that's how good it is. Its US$799 price tag in the US also places it in the ballpark of many good entry-level dSLR and mirrorless ILC kits, too.

What we have here is a bit of a conundrum then. While the camera is superb, it has its limitations as an advanced compact, such as its lackluster macro capabilities and bulky build. It also may not be ideal for those who are in the market for a cheap dSLR or ILC--those cameras offer budding photographers with the ability to upgrade their kits with better lenses in the future.

Who might the G1 X appeal to then? Well, we think Canon may have been right in targeting professionals who need a backup to their main dSLR bodies. The camera's eagle-eyed focus on image quality and almost industrial build-quality are dead giveaways. However, enthusiasts who don't mind a chunkier compact camera and won't be doing much closeup photography will find a lot to like in this latest PowerShot.