Canon PowerShot G1 X review

Canon used to be a dominant force for premium compact cameras, but its PowerShot G-series has recently been overshadowed by compact system cameras (CSCs) such as the Panasonic Lumix G and Sony NEX ranges. Speculation was rife as to how Canon would respond, but we must admit that the answer, unveiled at CES earlier this year, took us by surprise.

The G1 X is a reboot of the PowerShot G range. Externally, it looks a lot like the G12 with its chunky body, multitude of dials and buttons, optical viewfinder, hotshoe and articulated screen. Inside,though, big changes are afoot. While the G12’s 1/1.7in sensor is about 50 per cent bigger (by surface area) than the ones in budget compact cameras, the G1 X’s sensor is about nine times bigger. At 18.7x14mm, it’s a little bigger than the Micro Four Thirds sensors used by Panasonic and Olympus CSCs, and only slightly smaller than those used in Sony NEX cameras and consumer SLRs. Sensor size plays a critical role in determining image quality, as larger sensors capture more light and measure it more accurately, giving cleaner colours with less noise.

There’s the tiniest hint of noise in the background of this ISO 800 shot, but subtle skin tones are resolved with lots of detail – click to enlarge

Sure enough, image quality at fast ISO speeds is nothing short of stunning. Noise was barely perceptible in JPEGs at ISO 1600. Comparing ISO 6400 shots, it was lower than from all the CSCs we’ve reviewed with the exception of the Sony NEX-5N, which maintains a small lead. It even narrowly beat the best SLRs at this price, including the Canon EOS 600D and Nikon D5100.

Respectable snaps at ISO 6400 are a stunning achievement for a compact camera – click to enlarge

This is a fantastic achievement for a compact camera, but at £700 and with Canon’s name on the front, anything less would have been a disappointment. Our expectations for lens sharpness were less optimistic, though. Mounting a slim retractable lens in front of such a big sensor is a serious challenge, especially when it also has a 4x zoom, optical stabilisation and bright f/2.8 maximum aperture. Its f/5.8 aperture for telephoto shots isn’t so impressive but this is still an extremely well specified lens.

We needn’t have worried. Focus was extremely sharp, with just a tiny amount of corner softness at wide apertures and the subtlest hint of chromatic aberrations in wide-angle shots. Comparing JPEGs with raw output, it appears that Canon is finally using digital chromatic aberration removal for JPEGs – something other manufacturers have been doing for years. This correction won’t be available for raw files until a profile for the G1 X’s lens has been added to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4, but chromatic aberrations in raw files weren’t too bad anyway.

There are some chromatic aberrations in raw files, giving slight discoloration along high-contrast edges, but they’ve been digitally corrected in JPEGs – click to enlarge

Along with Canon’s reliably excellent JPEG processing, this is the best image quality we’ve ever seen from a compact camera. Colours were rich yet natural, and there was lots of crisp detail without looking too over-processed. Noise reduction quality wasn’t far behind the results we achieved in Lightroom 4 with the associated raw file. Automatic exposures were sensibly judged, but it’s a shame that the Auto ISO mode is so conservative. Its upper limit can be set to between 400 and 1600, but the camera can produce useful results way beyond 1600. Be prepared to use the manual ISO control in low light.

The G1 X packages this exceptional image quality in a camera that, for the most part, is a delight to use. The top-mounted metal dials for adjusting the shooting mode and exposure compensation have a reassuringly firm action. With a command dial on the front, a wheel on the back and lots of single-function buttons, it’s generally quick to adjust settings. Some of the button choices are a little odd – there’s a dedicated metering mode button but none for white balance or drive mode. There’s a customisable button, though, and a different function can be assigned to the wheel for each exposure mode.

Various scene presets and creative shooting modes are included, such as Toy Camera and Miniature Effect. The latter blurs the top and bottom of the frame to evoke the appearance of macro photography. Automatic HDR is included too, but it requires a tripod as it doesn’t automatically align the exposures.

The 3in screen is excellent, with a sharp 920,000-dot resolution and wide viewing angles. The optical viewfinder isn’t so impressive, though. The view is quite small, not particularly sharp, slightly obscured by the lens at wide-angle settings and much more heavily cropped than the lens. Still, it’s handy when bright sunlight makes the screen unusable.

It’s a fairly heavy and bulky compact camera – most CSCs are a little smaller and lighter. It’s slim enough to fit into large pockets, although we’d prefer a thinner lens cap; this one adds 9mm to its profile. On the whole, though, its size and weight feel entirely befitting of an enthusiasts’ camera. With its screen extended out to the side and cradled in the left hand and the right hand in the normal position, it feels extremely comfortable and stable.

Videos are recorded at 1080p and 24fps in AVC format with stereo PCM audio. Sadly, there’s no control over video exposures – any manual settings are simply ignored once recording has commenced, and even the exposure compensation dial and AE lock button don’t work. The big sensor kept noise at bay for low-light videos, but the G1 X shares Canon SLRs’ problem of moiré interference in videos, producing swirling patterns across repeating textures. Unlike Canon’s SLRs, autofocus in videos was smooth and silent. It was extremely slow to update, though, taking anything up to seven seconds to focus on a new subject. The zoom motor was picked up on the soundtrack but it wasn’t too intrusive.

Videos are a little disappointing, then, but the G1 X’s Achilles heel is its photo-taking performance. We measured 2.6 seconds to switch on and shoot and the same time between subsequent shots, rising to 3.2 seconds in raw mode. Full-power flash shots were nine seconds apart. Continuous shooting was at 1.6fps for JPEGs, 1fps for RAW and 0.7fps with continuous autofocus enabled. [UPDATE] There’s a scene preset that captures six frames at 4.5fps, but it insists on using fast shutter and ISO speeds, which isn’t always useful. The 250-shot battery life might not survive a day’s use.

These would be disappointing results in a £200 camera, and they’re hard to forgive in a £700 one. However, the issue that really irritated us is autofocus performance. There was a delay of anything from 0.6 to two seconds from pressing the shutter button to capturing a photo – about twice as slow as most CSCs. When we zoomed in, it insisted we switch to Macro mode for subjects closer than 150cm, adding yet more delays. As usual, it struggled most in low light, and often failed to focus at all when shooting moving subjects in gloomy conditions. That’s unfortunate considering that this is where it excels for image quality.

It’s hard to gauge how harshly we should mark the G1 X down for its poor performance. On the one hand, its many strengths aren’t much use if you’re forever missing the shot. If we spent £700 on a camera, we wouldn’t want it to be a source of irritation. On the other hand, pedestrian performance might be a sacrifice worth making for the sake of exquisite image quality and superb ergonomics. Certainly, for landscape photography and those who like to take their time composing shots, the G1 X’s strengths easily outweigh its weaknesses, and its better controls make it a compelling alternative to the fantastic Sony NEX-5N.

As such, this camera comes with a cautious recommendation. It might be worth waiting to see if its successor can deliver a home run.