Ergonomics and Workmanship

At around 10.6 x 6.1 x 4.1 centimeters, the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III is pleasantly compact, but with a ready-to-operate weight of 303 grams, it weighs in at an impressive level. This is certainly due above all to the robust metal housing and, of course, the fast lens.

Although the Canon is no thicker than a comparable RX100 III from Sony, it offers a zoom lens with a slightly longer telephoto focal length (24-100 instead of 24-70 mm 35 mm equivalent) without sacrificing speed (F1.8-2.8). An optical image stabilizer is also built-in.

The Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III has a rubberized handle that makes the camera posture safer compared to Sony’s competition without making the body larger. Chapeau, Canon.

Compared to the predecessor model, this rubber also wraps itself around the body on the other side of the lens, so that the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III looks a little higher quality and more noble.

Despite the compact housing and the resulting lack of space, the buttons on the back are surprisingly large and can therefore also be used by men’s hands. As always, the combination of a four-weigher with a rotating ring is somewhat problematic, as the motorcyclist can accidentally press a button while turning. With the G7 X, however, the problem is quite limited, you can get used to the wheel, which is quite handy.

But the lens ring is much nicer. It is large, handy, and rests comfortably, but quietly. If you want to adjust discrete values, such as the focal length in steps, the aperture, the ISO sensitivity, or the exposure time, you can do this precisely. If, on the other hand, you want to zoom continuously, you can use the zoom rocker, which is arranged in a ring around the shutter release.

The switchable detent of the predecessor model, on the other hand, no longer exists. Especially when focusing manually this is not so pleasant and therefore a step backwards compared to the G7 X Mark II. The Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III, however, has as standard a manual focus setting via touch elements on the screen. But that doesn’t make it any better, because it doesn’t make the camera nice to operate when focusing manually. By the way, both a focus magnifier and focus peaking are available.

The exposure correction wheel also has to put up with a bit of criticism, as it can easily be misadjusted. After all, the exposure correction wheel only has an effect in the creative programs, so that automatic snapshots can’t accidentally spoil their pictures here.

Those who want to combine the automatic exposure with the exposure correction have to switch to the program automatically. New is a position on the wheel where the correction is controlled via the multifunction wheels of the camera, but the adjustment range remains at +/- 3 EV in 1/3 EV steps.

The smaller program dial is located above the exposure compensation wheel. It even provides a custom position for recalling preferred recording settings. The Quick Menu, which allows you to adjust other important recording parameters that do not have their own buttons, also contributes to fast operation.

The main menu has the usual Canon structure, into which you may have to learn something. With eight shooting menu pages, four playback menu pages, one wireless menu page, and five setup menu pages, it’s just about as easy to find. Frequently used menu items can also be accessed more quickly thanks to the “My menu” functionality where you can pick your favorite menu items.

The rear screen offers good space utilization in a 3:2 aspect ratio, as the image sensor has the same aspect ratio. With a diagonal of 7.5 centimeters and a resolution of 1.04 million pixels, it offers the usual cornerstones and good image quality.

Thanks to a maximum luminance of around 800 cd/m², it can also be read quite well in the sunshine. By the way, it’s a touch screen that you can use but don’t have to use. But for some functions, such as focusing on a certain subject detail with a fingertip, this is very practical.

In addition, screen selection areas are offered for some functions, which further simplifies operation. Those who like to photograph from ground level or overhead perspectives can fold the screen up or down accordingly. Even a fast selfie is easy to create thanks to the 180 degrees upward folding screen.

On the other hand, the Canon does not have a viewfinder. A flash shoe is also missing, so no external viewfinder can be connected. For a pop-up flash, on the other hand, Canon has found room in the case.

With a micro HDMI and a USB C socket and a stereo microphone connection, the interface equipment for this camera class is quite good. However, the USB-C socket is quite unsatisfactory. Theoretically, not only can the battery be recharged, but the camera can also be permanently powered. But be careful: If the USB charger or the Powerbank does not meet the necessary specifications, the battery is not charged more slowly, but not at all. For example, a simple charger with two amps is not enough. The built-in WLAN and Bluetooth can also be described as interfaces, not least because there is an optional Bluetooth radio remote trigger.

With 265 shots, the battery also offers a not too lavish battery life. Together with the SD memory card, it sits in a compartment on the camera floor next to the tripod thread located outside the optical axis. This is not practical for tripod operation.

The memory card slot easily swallows large SDHC or SDXC cards and supports the UHS-I standard. For 4K video recordings, the memory card should support the speed class U3 or the video speed class V30, because around 15 MByte/s is required.

Equipment And Features

The Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III features both a fully automatic mode that automatically controls everything, including Scene Recognition and selectable scene modes, allowing the photographer to choose which automatic mode to use. Thus it is also possible for those who do not want to deal with the “technical” side of photography to take photos. But even experienced photographers who want to take a quick snapshot will enjoy the fully automatic mode.

The HDR mode, which should be used from a tripod, is also hidden between the scene modes. It records high-contrast scenes with three different exposures and assembles them in such a way that details can still be seen in both the brightest and darkest areas.

Unfortunately, the HDR mode cannot be used in the creative programs P, Av, Tv, and M, so experienced photographers will have to use the exposure bracket. Here, however, a maximum of three shots with two EV exposure differences each is possible, which must be assembled on the PC using the appropriate software. The same applies to the focus bracketing function: this is especially useful for macro shots, but the images in the series must be assembled on the PC using focus stacking software.

 

Thanks to the two control wheels, the recording parameters can be set quickly and easily in the creative programs.

In addition, a live exposure preview and a live histogram ensure that you can judge the exposure before taking the picture. Anyone who wants to work with an open aperture for a shallow depth of field in a lot of light will quickly reach the limits of the mechanical shutter with the shortest shutter speed of 1/2,000 seconds. The electronic shutter, on the other hand, works with up to 1/25,600 s short exposure times.

Canon has also provided the lens with a swing-in neutral density filter. It reduces the light by three f-stops. Flow effects, e.g. from water, can also be achieved by using the shutter that can be closed up to F11. If desired, the G7 X can also automatically retract the filter. By the way, the filter also helps to reduce diffraction blur, for example, because you can work with F4 instead of F11.

Those who like flash utilization, on the other hand, do not get their money’s worth so much. As already mentioned at the beginning, the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III doesn’t offer a flash shoe.

In addition, the integrated pop-up flash with a guide number of five doesn’t have a lot of power. You don’t even have to think about a wireless flash controller. Standard features like the flash at the end of the exposure instead of at the beginning, a long-term synchronization, as well as a flash exposure correction, are of course available.

There is even a manual flash output control, but only in three unspecified levels. But even here a limitation is annoying because it only works in manual as well as semi-automatic exposure mode.

Theoretically, it would be possible to trigger slave flash units because the measuring pre-flash does not occur. But you don’t have to take Canon’s lean flash equipment amiss, because the camera is primarily trimmed for compactness, so compromises have to be made. It also has a fast lens. If you want to try to brighten up a scene a little indirectly despite the low power, you can pull the flash back a little with your finger, so that it fires towards the ceiling.

The Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III is equipped with the latest image processor Digic 8, which brings the autofocus and the continuous shooting function (together with the fast image sensor) up to speed.

In our test with the testing software we use, the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III showed an accelerated autofocus compared to its predecessor. Depending on the focal length, it took between 0.16 and 0.21 seconds for the camera to focus and release from infinity to two meters. The pure shutter release delay of 0.03 seconds is also very short and almost twice as fast as on the predecessor model.

With the continuous shooting function, Canon promises 20 frames per second for 118 JPEG or 55 raw shots in a row. According to our measurements, the camera is a bit slower with just over 19 frames per second, which we don’t find tragic considering the values. More serious is the fact that already after 84 JPEG or 45 raw shots, the end is reached.

Also unattractive is the irregular continuous-advance function that always stops briefly, then rattles through several fast images, stops again, and so on.

Uniform recordings do not exist with a full buffer. Speaking of buffers: It only takes a few seconds until the buffer is emptied again. By the way, the autofocus is only adjusted at a maximum of eight frames per second.

The raw burst mode with 30 frames per second for 70 frames in a row also fails to live up to its promises. We even got 30.5 frames per second, but only for 41 shots in a row. In any case, the mode is subject to numerous limitations, for example, it only works with electronic instead of mechanical shutter, with the exception of the manual exposure mode it is taken with ISO automatic and the images end up in a large file from which they can only be extracted in the playback mode of the camera or with the Canon DPP software on the PC.

Anyway, the still quite new raw format CR3 of the latest Canon models still lacks broad support on the software market. Here one should inform oneself if necessary before.

The Canon G7 X Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III has not only opened up to the competition in terms of the video function, but also offers functions that you won’t find in other models or only in higher classes.

Nevertheless, there is certainly criticism or potential for improvement here. The stereo microphone connection, for example, is something to be praised, but Canon hasn’t worried about attaching the microphone, because a suitable ISO shoe (flash shoe) is missing. So you have to “break” the compactness of the camera with any cages, arms or the like, if you don’t use a clip-on microphone.

 

The video resolution reaches 4K with either 30 or 25 frames per second, using the full sensor width. The optical zoom and image stabilizer continue to work, while the zoom is slow and barely audible.

The autofocus is also barely audible, but its work becomes clearly visible at 4K resolution, which we don’t mean positively. Although we could not understand the slow or even non-existent focus on faces criticized by some sellers, this works quite well, but the focus reacts somewhat sluggishly and only sharpens slowly. Here one clearly notices that it works purely contrast-based, because sometimes the image even becomes blurred until the camera notices this and changes the focus direction.

With the firmware update 1.1.0, available since May 2020, Canon solves the problem of slow video autofocus by offering two modes: Mode 1 reacts faster to changes, while mode 2 corresponds to the previous behavior. Please see in a paragraph below our analysis of this firmware update.

Unfortunately, the clip length of the 4K video recordings is limited to a good ten minutes. Our camera did not overheat but only became lukewarm at an ambient temperature of around 24 degrees Celsius. However, there is no harm in supplying the camera with more air at the rear by folding down the screen.

In Full HD resolution, 25, 30, 50, and 60 frames per second for almost 30 minutes at a time are possible, in high-speed mode also 120 frames per second. The frame rates depend on whether the video system is set to PAL or NTSC.

It’s also a bit awkward that the video recording button cannot be used to film in any mode, but only in Full-HD. For the full range of settings including 4K recording, HDR video, and manual exposure, you need to set the video mode on the program dial. The automatic video mode with scene recognition also films in Full HD only.

Several editing options are available in playback mode. Images can not only be rotated or cropped, but filters can also be superimposed. Those who have made raw shots can also convert them into a JPEG in the camera. If desired, you can make your own settings, such as brightness, white balance, noise reduction, and other parameters.