We mentioned in last month’s Gear section that that Canon took quite a while to update the PowerShot G5 X and G7 X prosumer compact cameras with new models, and in fact, the predecessor of the new PowerShot G7 X Mark III was on the market for over four years and now seems quite dated, especially as it couldn’t capture videos in 4K, which has become increasingly mainstream as display sizes grow.
And while both the PowerShot G5 X II and PowerShot G7 X III look almost identical and have identical photographic and video recording hardware, they’re actually meant for two different types of users. With the PowerShot G5 X II Canon have created an excellent premium compact camera for photographers, and the inclusion of a pop-up EVF will attract enthusiast photographers who prefer using viewfinders to compose their photos. For the PowerShot G7 X III Canon have brought out a camera that is more focused on videography and the increasingly popular trend of vlogging.
The new PowerShot G7 X III is slightly smaller and lighter than its predecessor, but retains the same bright 2-100mm f1.8-2.8mm zoom with control ring and rotating 3-inch touchscreen that both selfie users and vloggers like. It gains some impressive hardware thanks to the latest Digic 8 processor and a brand new 1-inch 20MP CMOS stacked sensor. The advantage of a stacked CMOS sensor is that by layering the imaging sensor and RAM the stacked sensor is able to process data much faster – so the PowerShot G7 X III can shoot at 30fps RAW in high-speed continuous mode for 76 shots with pre-shooting buffer, which is excellent for snapping quick moments like sports or wildlife, though if you switch to servo AF it slows down to 8.0fps.
The PowerShot G7 X II gained a great reputation as a vlogging camera thanks to its compact size, versatile zoom lens and flippable touchscreen, and with the PowerShot G7 X III Canon has added a number of new features to make the camera even more enticing to vloggers. For one thing, the PowerShot G7 X III now captures excellent 4K@30fps videos for clips up to 10 minutes (due to a heat protection mode that you can disable in settings) and thanks to its excellent optical stabilisation system you can capture smooth videos while walking around. The Live-streaming feature is interesting, though a bit of a chore to set up as you first ned to set it up to access your Canon Imaging Gateway account then your YouTube account. Once that’s all done, whenever you need to livesteam tap the WiFi button on the side of the camera and choose your YouTube account, and after a few seconds wait you can start streaming. Note this was something we couldn’t test out ourselves as we don’t have the minimum 1,000 subscribers on our NXT Singapore account that is YouTube’s requirement for live streaming. There’s also an audio-in port so users can use an external microphone, and USB-Type C port – which is not only handy for fast file transfer direct to a notebook, but it also works with an external USB power bank to supplement the camera’s small battery.
Verdict
Rating: 4.5/5
S$999
sg.canon
The Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III is a great premium compact camera for enthusiast photographers and beginner vloggers as the direct lifestreaming feature is quite novel plus this camera captures excellent 4K videos. It is also more affordable than most of its vlogging competitors.
