Canon officially announces the PowerShot G5 X Mark II and PowerShot G7 X Mark III

stevelee

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When I was out and about today, I headed over to Best Buy. Unfortunately, not only did they have a G5X II that I could handle and look at, they also even had one in stock that I could buy then and there. The demo model was next to a G7X II, so I could compare sizes easily. The difference was not noticeable. Any pocket one will fit, the other one should, too. They also had the G7X III in stock, but I didn't notice whether they had one for display on the counter.

A clerk came over and to his credit, he asked me if I had looked at the Sonys. I told him I had, and gave him the reasons I have mentioned around here before that neither version seemed a good fit for what I take when traveling. We went over the pros and cons of the G7X II and III vs. the G5X II. I decided that since I was fairly sure I was going to buy the 5 eventually, through the miracle of plastic, I saw no reason to wait.

I tried out a few things this afternoon. I made this video, using default settings, other than changing between 4K and 1080p. Since they use the same bitrate, there shouldn't be a lot of difference. The color difference may have more to do with change of light. I assume that what FCP X did was upsample the 1080p to 4K. I ran it through Compressor for posting. You can watch the short video here. I first tried out the camera with video of my ceiling fan, before I figured out how to put it in 4K mode. You have to have the dial set for video before it will let you choose 4K. If you shoot in any other mode, I will go by whatever you last chose among the others. Here is the unexpurgated, straight-out-of-the-camera 4K version of "As the Ceiling Fan Turns." Again, everything was set on auto.

I also took some quick stills at 120mm equivalent on the 5 and 100mm equivalent on the 7. Here are 100% crops near center and at the corner of each:

g5x2.jpgg7x2.jpgg5corner.jpgg3corner.jpg
 
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stevelee

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The pictures from the 5 are clearly superior I think, but this all may be rather meaningless. Anyway, I have the camera, it seems to work OK. Sorry I couldn't get the bird to cooperate and stay for both shots, and I don't have a cape and brandy snifter for the Dr. Tongue segment.

Also the stills were shot in Raw. I did no edit in ACR, but allowed the lens profiles to be applied. I saved the JPEGs at the Very High quality setting for posting here.

I don't know how the autofocus was applied in the videos. I haven't worked my way around the settings, and just used defaults, I think. Menus are similar to what I'm used to, but not identical. I think there is a grid but no level on the 5, but the level seems to appear and disappear unexpectedly on the 7 for me. Since I haven't figured the level on the old camera out after almost 3 years, there should be no surprised that I can't find it on the new, if it is there somewhere.
 
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PVCC

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When I was out and about today, I headed over to Best Buy. Unfortunately, not only did they have a G5X II that I could handle and look at, they also even had one in stock that I could buy then and there. The demo model was next to a G7X II, so I could compare sizes easily. The difference was not noticeable. Any pocket one will fit, the other one should, too. They also had the G7X III in stock, but I didn't notice whether they had one for display on the counter.

A clerk came over and to his credit, he asked me if I had looked at the Sonys. I told him I had, and gave him the reasons I have mentioned around here before that neither version seemed a good fit for what I take when traveling. We went over the pros and cons of the G7X II and III vs. the G5X II. I decided that since I was fairly sure I was going to buy the 5 eventually, through the miracle of plastic, I saw no reason to wait.

I tried out a few things this afternoon. I made this video, using default settings, other than changing between 4K and 1080p. Since they use the same bitrate, there shouldn't be a lot of difference. The color difference may have more to do with change of light. I assume that what FCP X did was upsample the 1080p to 4K. I ran it through Compressor for posting. You can watch the short video here. I first tried out the camera with video of my ceiling fan, before I figured out how to put it in 4K mode. You have to have the dial set for video before it will let you choose 4K. If you shoot in any other mode, I will go by whatever you last chose among the others. Here is the unexpurgated, straight-out-of-the-camera 4K version of "As the Ceiling Fan Turns." Again, everything was set on auto.

I also took some quick stills at 120mm equivalent on the 5 and 100mm equivalent on the 7. Here are 100% crops near center and at the corner of each:

View attachment 186020View attachment 186021View attachment 186022View attachment 186023

Thanks!

So you bought the G5X II!

Is it me or the crops shows much better Sharpness on the G5X II than GX7 II (the one you have, if I understand it right)?

I'll check the 4K video right out of the cam.

Please, let us know what you think about the EVF

Thanks one again
 
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stevelee

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Also, I should comment on the popup viewfinder. When I first tried it in the store, the view was terrible. Even before the salesman appeared, I had discovered the little lever for the diopter setting. Here at home on mine, it seems too tiny and fussy to set accurately. So the viewfinder view is not great, at least not on mine so far. It is adequate for composition and will be welcome out in bright sunlight. But I would never try to focus through it, as I would the OVF on my DSLRs.
 
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stevelee

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Is it me or the crops shows much better Sharpness on the G5X II than GX7 II (the one you have, if I understand it right)?

I'll check the 4K video right out of the cam.

Please, let us know what you think about the EVF

Thanks one again
Funny. I was posting the viewfinder comment when you posted your message to me.

Yes, in these particular pictures, the 5 shots look a lot better than the ones from my 7 that I have been pleased with for almost 3 years. My guess is that the 7 picture was not as well focused, which may tell us something. But if at the long end the 5 is anything like that much better in real-life situations, then it was worth the purchase for the lens improvement alone.

And I'm keeping the 7. I may take it along on trips for a while, since both cameras are small enough not to be a problem in the little under-the-seat bag I carry on planes and trains. They use the same battery, so that's a convenience. I'll pass the S120 along to a friend now.
 
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PVCC

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When I was out and about today, I headed over to Best Buy. Unfortunately, not only did they have a G5X II that I could handle and look at, they also even had one in stock that I could buy then and there. The demo model was next to a G7X II, so I could compare sizes easily. The difference was not noticeable. Any pocket one will fit, the other one should, too. They also had the G7X III in stock, but I didn't notice whether they had one for display on the counter.

A clerk came over and to his credit, he asked me if I had looked at the Sonys. I told him I had, and gave him the reasons I have mentioned around here before that neither version seemed a good fit for what I take when traveling. We went over the pros and cons of the G7X II and III vs. the G5X II. I decided that since I was fairly sure I was going to buy the 5 eventually, through the miracle of plastic, I saw no reason to wait.

I tried out a few things this afternoon. I made this video, using default settings, other than changing between 4K and 1080p. Since they use the same bitrate, there shouldn't be a lot of difference. The color difference may have more to do with change of light. I assume that what FCP X did was upsample the 1080p to 4K. I ran it through Compressor for posting. You can watch the short video here. I first tried out the camera with video of my ceiling fan, before I figured out how to put it in 4K mode. You have to have the dial set for video before it will let you choose 4K. If you shoot in any other mode, I will go by whatever you last chose among the others. Here is the unexpurgated, straight-out-of-the-camera 4K version of "As the Ceiling Fan Turns." Again, everything was set on auto.

I also took some quick stills at 120mm equivalent on the 5 and 100mm equivalent on the 7. Here are 100% crops near center and at the corner of each:

View attachment 186020View attachment 186021View attachment 186022View attachment 186023

Hi,

Thanks a lot!

The 4K video looks very good to me, it's about 880MB/minute. Enough bitrate for very good footage, even pro work.

Yes, I use the EVF in my Panasonic G7 when I cannot see the screen to compose, but if I set to focus on a square and half release the Shutter, it doesn't fail, so it's handy in some conditions.
I don't know how big or small is the image in the G5X II' EVF though...

Yes, it has digital level. Check below:

You can download the Advanced User Guide and related stuff like software here:

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/...shoot/advanced-cameras/powershot-g5-x-mark-ii

I'm carefully checking the User Guide.
I recall the G7X III can take 30" stills, but the G5X II seems to take up to 15", not sure yet.

I like to know the camera before buying, the mnanual in .PDF makes it easier to me :)
 
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PVCC

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Also, I should comment on the popup viewfinder. When I first tried it in the store, the view was terrible. Even before the salesman appeared, I had discovered the little lever for the diopter setting. Here at home on mine, it seems too tiny and fussy to set accurately. So the viewfinder view is not great, at least not on mine so far. It is adequate for composition and will be welcome out in bright sunlight. But I would never try to focus through it, as I would the OVF on my DSLRs.

Hi,

Please, could you check and confirm the following on your new G5X II?

This is a simple test but I can't find any info about it, so I really appreciate if you can do it.

It's VERY important in case I need to use External Monitor for video recording (for some pro work I need to frame on larger display than the 3" camera screen).

If you connect your FullHD/4K TV via HDMI to the camera:

1- Does the camera display the image on the TV WHILE Recording video at FullHD at 30p?

2- And WHILE recording video in 4K at 30p?

I suppose you should set the cam to Video recording mode.
Maybe in other modes like "M" it behaves differently? Would be worth trying too.

Thank you very much in advance!
 
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stevelee

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You can download the Advanced User Guide and related stuff like software here:

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/...shoot/advanced-cameras/powershot-g5-x-mark-ii

I'm carefully checking the User Guide.
I recall the G7X III can take 30" stills, but the G5X II seems to take up to 15", not sure yet.

I like to know the camera before buying, the mnanual in .PDF makes it easier to me :)
Yes, I had already downloaded the manual. The only reference to the level I have found is on page 263 where it says the level is not displayed when in the (AF smiley couple of squares) mode for autofocus. So far I haven't seen anything that says how to turn it on or see it otherwise.

In TV mode it will take exposures up to 30 seconds. In M mode, you can also do 30 seconds. If you turn the little wheel one more click, it will also do Bulb.
 
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stevelee

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Hi,

Please, could you check and confirm the following on your new G5X II?

This is a simple test but I can't find any info about it, so I really appreciate if you can do it.

It's VERY important in case I need to use External Monitor for video recording (for some pro work I need to frame on larger display than the 3" camera screen).

If you connect your FullHD/4K TV via HDMI to the camera:

1- Does the camera display the image on the TV WHILE Recording video at FullHD at 30p?

2- And WHILE recording video in 4K at 30p?

I suppose you should set the cam to Video recording mode.
Maybe in other modes like "M" it behaves differently? Would be worth trying too.

Thank you very much in advance!
I don't recall having a mini HTML to HTML cable, or whatever I would need to hook the camera to the TV. If I happen to think for somewhere in the house there might be one, and I in fact find one, I'll try that out for you. I can't think of any device I have that might have come with one, and I know I haven't bought one separately. It would seem I have about every other kind of cable known to man except for USB-C, but not really.
 
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PVCC

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I don't recall having a mini HTML to HTML cable, or whatever I would need to hook the camera to the TV. If I happen to think for somewhere in the house there might be one, and I in fact find one, I'll try that out for you. I can't think of any device I have that might have come with one, and I know I haven't bought one separately. It would seem I have about every other kind of cable known to man except for USB-C, but not really.

I finally found some info on the manual regarding HDMI output.

It seems that it can record video while showing image via HDMI output, but the camera screen will turn off... so no touchscreen AF chances... :(

On the "clean" HDMI output the camera cannot record videos, sadly

Well, at least I suppose I could use an external monitor for framing, but changing focus would only be possible manually, it seems.. (another reason to miss the declicked ring to focus.. grrr...)

PS: After having the exceptional bad luck of buying a brand new 5D3 years ago that "fried" after few minutes when connected to a TV via HDMI (I had the great luck, thanks to a friend, of having the chance to ship to Canon Service and they replaced the mainboard, all under warranty) I now always check the camera works fine after connecting some minutes via HDMI...
No more risks or surprises, since I live outside USA and all returns are impossible from here.

Page 172 of User Guide:

Screenshot_20190817-172018_Drive.jpg
 
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I see that I typed "HTML" for "HDMI." That was likely the product of guilt. I should have been working on a web site instead of taking time to respond to your message.

Your kindness and time is more than appreciated!!

You're the only one here with the G5X II so far :)

I was going to order the G7X III to use for many years, now I'll go for the G5X II, so every bit of help is very big! :)

To me it's LOT of money with no financial possibilities.
 
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stevelee

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I copied the electronic manual to iCloud and opened it up on the iPad. I read pretty much all of it (semidozing through boring details about things I never use). It was nice to read it from the comfort of an easy chair rather than at the computer. I didn’t see any more about the level than the comment about when you can’t see it.

The good news is that I then took the camera and turned off facial recognition. I hit the info button several times, and lo and behold, the electronic level appeared. I would have used it Friday in setting up my test video, and may never use it again. But now, at least for the moment, I know how to invoke it.

While I was looking through various menus, I turned on focus peaking. I hardly ever used manual focus on the 7, other than for video, and may have little occasion to use it on the 5, but I do plan to try focus peaking out. The depth of field of the little lens is so great that even magnified, it is hard to focus by eye. It will be interesting to see whether and how it might work in the viewfinder. I wonder whether using it for initial focus for video works and works well enough to incorporate it into my flow.

For my brief touristy clips, autofocus has worked fine on the 7. For my annual basketball pickup videos, I’ve used manual focus. Even with a 6D2 and STM lens, I have found it better just to focus on the rim of the basket and leave it, rather than tracking a player’s face. There is plenty of DOF, given focal length and distances involved, and no risk of focus fishing around during the shoot. That of course is even more the case with the much smaller lens of the 7 or 5. I usually use whatever is my new toy for shooting the video, including the 4K on the iPhone 6S when it was new. It worked rather well even without a zoom lens, since I could crop in FCP X and still have good quality for a 1080p or 720p reduction. This year, the new toy didn’t get released in time for the video, and I was boarding a plane for Copenhagen at the time when the first game was played.
 
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The less than stellar reviews just keep on coming:


The fact that apparently this is the best Canon could do with a 3.5 year product development cycle doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies.

A few more days and we should find out how the RX100 VII actually works from buyers not people sucking up to Sony in exchange for free gear and trips.
 
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I copied the electronic manual to iCloud and opened it up on the iPad. I read pretty much all of it (semidozing through boring details about things I never use). It was nice to read it from the comfort of an easy chair rather than at the computer. I didn’t see any more about the level than the comment about when you can’t see it.

The good news is that I then took the camera and turned off facial recognition. I hit the info button several times, and lo and behold, the electronic level appeared. I would have used it Friday in setting up my test video, and may never use it again. But now, at least for the moment, I know how to invoke it.

While I was looking through various menus, I turned on focus peaking. I hardly ever used manual focus on the 7, other than for video, and may have little occasion to use it on the 5, but I do plan to try focus peaking out. The depth of field of the little lens is so great that even magnified, it is hard to focus by eye. It will be interesting to see whether and how it might work in the viewfinder. I wonder whether using it for initial focus for video works and works well enough to incorporate it into my flow.

For my brief touristy clips, autofocus has worked fine on the 7. For my annual basketball pickup videos, I’ve used manual focus. Even with a 6D2 and STM lens, I have found it better just to focus on the rim of the basket and leave it, rather than tracking a player’s face. There is plenty of DOF, given focal length and distances involved, and no risk of focus fishing around during the shoot. That of course is even more the case with the much smaller lens of the 7 or 5. I usually use whatever is my new toy for shooting the video, including the 4K on the iPhone 6S when it was new. It worked rather well even without a zoom lens, since I could crop in FCP X and still have good quality for a 1080p or 720p reduction. This year, the new toy didn’t get released in time for the video, and I was boarding a plane for Copenhagen at the time when the first game was played.

Great!

I was just going to digest you to press INFO button until digital level appears, since it's a common way to do it un done cameras. (My Panasonic G7 does it)

I kept thinking why you said that on daylight the G5X II was the good choice. It was because the EVF?

Thank you!
 
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stevelee

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I haven’t used the EVF except for the few minutes I was trying to get the diopter adjusted. I will probably find it of value in bright light once I can see clearly through it. “In light of day” was a figure of speech meaning that I still felt the same way the next day after sleeping.

Having the manual on the iPad means that I will have it with me when I travel. I also have the 6D2 and the G7X II manuals on the tablet. So it was more than for just reading it now in comfort.

It is funny that the manual gives no clue about the level except to say when you can’t see it. When I was first setting the camera up, I couldn’t find a way to set 4K video. I was able to get the answer to that from the manual: you have to have the mode dial set to the movie icon before you can turn on 4K, and you have to have there to shoot it.
 
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I haven’t used the EVF except for the few minutes I was trying to get the diopter adjusted. I will probably find it of value in bright light once I can see clearly through it. “In light of day” was a figure of speech meaning that I still felt the same way the next day after sleeping.

Having the manual on the iPad means that I will have it with me when I travel. I also have the 6D2 and the G7X II manuals on the tablet. So it was more than for just reading it now in comfort.

It is funny that the manual gives no clue about the level except to say when you can’t see it. When I was first setting the camera up, I couldn’t find a way to set 4K video. I was able to get the answer to that from the manual: you have to have the mode dial set to the movie icon before you can turn on 4K, and you have to have there to shoot it.

Thank you very much for your explanations. I didn't know that expression in English, so I got confused.

I also have the PDF manuals of my cameras with me, really handy :)

Thanks!!
 
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The less than stellar reviews just keep on coming:


The fact that apparently this is the best Canon could do with a 3.5 year product development cycle doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies.

A few more days and we should find out how the RX100 VII actually works from buyers not people sucking up to Sony in exchange for free gear and trips.

Very interesting to see how was the G7X II vs. G7X III AF performance, and his comment that before recording AF is faster than while recording.
Also interesting to see the IS working (very well in my opinion)

We know that Sony's AF will perform amazingly great, so I even prefer not to see it... :(

I didn't want to spend so much on a pocketable camera but for daily (at day and night) street shooting (I take pictures a lot, so far with my phone cause to be Descret is key point on many aspects) the G5X II seems the right choice to me

-> Maybe the G5X II' AF is a bit faster in non-face detection mode?
Would be great! :)

Also interesting another explanation if why too shoot at 24p

Although the "cinematic" look involves more than 24p vs 30p (Sutter speed 180° rule is essential, the colors palette and lighting, to mention the most important ones)

Of course, I'd love if Canon implements 24p along with the security patch via Firmware update.

When people/customers COMPLAIN A LOT over internet, there's more chance they do it (not often but already happened)
Hope they improve AF too, for the G5X II also!

Finally, for the surprise of most, companies like that do check internet chatters and get feedback of them.
Even more probably nowadays from YouTube reviews and the reactions of people.

So "making buzz" is not as useless as one may think, at all..

Even more, users can send feedback and complaints to Canon via email and phone call. But people are usually lazy for that, so the "bad review buzz" is likely more effective
 
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Of course, I'd love if Canon implements 24p along with the security patch via Firmware update.

When people/customers COMPLAIN A LOT over internet, there's more chance they do it (not often but already happened)
Hope they improve AF too, for the G5X II also!

Finally, for the surprise of most, companies like that do check internet chatters and get feedback of them.
Even more probably nowadays from YouTube reviews and the reactions of people.

So "making buzz" is not as useless as one may think, at all..

Even more, users can send feedback and complaints to Canon via email and phone call. But people are usually lazy for that, so the "bad review buzz" is likely more effective
There are a few people out there spreading the story that Canon is going to fix the AF via a firmware update based on some ambiguous tweets by Canon. I expect that is unlikely. They had 3.5 years from the Mk II to develop the III. The general concept that the camera can fixed with new firmware seems to presume that the G7X III was rushed to market and/or that Canon didn't realize how bad the AF performance actually was. If a 3.5 year product cycle = rushing they're in worse shape than anyone imagines, and the AF is so flagrantly poor while shooting video it's unfathomable that they didn't know prior to the release. This isn't like an AF issue that only happens under some odd circumstance their internal testing didn't find. They must have thought it was good enough.

I would be also be shocked if 24p was added by a firmware update. It's been omitted by intention thanks to the Canon cripple hammer. Adding it back with a firmware update would basically be an admission of such. They didn't put it back in any other cameras that had it missing.

Perhaps I'm underestimating Canon though. Maybe the bad AF while shooting video is an intentional crippling also. Maybe they just overdid the severity of crippling (misjudging the market) and they will issue a firmware update or a series of progressive firmware updates gradually improving the AF while shooting video to make it just good enough to stop the negative buzz while making sure it's not so good as to compete with their more expensive products.

However, all is not lost. There's a good lesson in here. This highlights that you can't trust "reviews" (marketing buzz) from "influencers" who get gear their gear for free and get taken on what amount to free vacations. Not a single "influencer" who was provided a camera by Canon before the release bothered to highlight or even mention the dismal AF performance while shooting video. Only one or two of them even mentioned the overheating issue. If they're willing to hide the issues with the G7X III and tell everyone how great and awesome it is, it says a lot about their honesty and credibility. The ones who went on the trip, got a camera, and chose to keep quiet rather than publishing a less than favorable "review" aren't much better either.

As it stands now I'm likely to get the RX100 VII even though I think it's quite expensive. There's just no competition to it if you want a pocketable camera with all those features. I get the impression that Sony is at least trying to put as many features into it for the high price rather than Canon who tries to take as many features out for the price. However, I'm not buying one until I see reviews/impressions from actual buyers in case we're being similarly misled by the "influencers" on it.
 
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