Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II Pro Reviews

The Canon Powershot G1 X Mark II is a noticeable upgrade to the original G1 X, with a brighter lens with an improved zoom range, from 24mm to 120mm. Built in Wi-Fi and a 3inch touch screen brings the camera up to date letting you quickly transfer images, as well as remotely control the camera. However, the camera is noticeably large, making it roughly the same size as a mirrorless camera, with a similar price point as well. For those that are familiar with Canon cameras, this should make an excellent backup to a DSLR however the relatively short battery life and slow continuous shooting when shooting Raw images is a little disappointing. If you aren't concerned by this and simply want a solid metal bodied camera with a bright lens, and great image quality then the Canon Powershot G1 X Mark II is certainly recommended.

The PowerShot G1 X Mark II is an enthusiast compact whose fast lens and large sensor allow it to produce impressive photos in both bright and low light. Its well-built body offers three dials, and numerous controls can be customized. That said, there are numerous improvements that could be made, especially in terms of dynamic range and responsiveness.

Just as we gave props for ISO handling, Canon gets an overall cheer for the newly designed PowerShot G1 X Mark II. It is a far superior camera to the original (which should be avoided in favor of this model). Now, for the $800 question, should you buy the Mark II? We have no problems recommending it. Still quality is excellent and videos are improved yet not stellar. It has loads of tweaks for those who want to go there and low light performance is above average. Any Canon DSLR owner should seriously consider the Mark II as their take-everywhere secondary camera, and those looking for an enthusiast digicam – not an entry-level DSLR or CSC – should put it high on the list. The main competition for the Mark II is really the Sony RX100 II; for around $700, it has a 20.2MP 1-inch back-illuminated sensor, f/1.8-4.9 Zeiss 3.6x zoom, faster burst rate, and compact form-factor, and it takes better quality 60p videos. We prefer the Sony, but wouldn’t hold it against you if you opted for the Canon – especially if photo quality is more important to you than video quality.

The Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II fixes just about every fault of the original G1 X, but it's got some stiff competition for your dollar.