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

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I honestly Don't Know for sure If some of the reviewers get Gear for free.

I know they get gear to test but to also return. Other than that I'd be assuming, and I don't like to do it.

What I do know is not to trust on "Explorers of light" (renowned photographers who use Canon gear) "reviews" or marketing spots. I already watched some and Canon suffered a marketing shame/disaster later because the firmware had a bug (5D2 when started to record audio manually, if I recall it right) and they had to remove the firmware download...

I personally reported that bug on internet and CR reported my blog post... :)

- Anyway, the more reviewers of ALL kinds telling the AF is poor, the better. Because we all might benefit, who knows...

Improving and even adding a feature by firmware is almost always possible, except when there's hardware limitation. Maybe the AF can be a bit improved, I don't know but I feel if the G7X II was better, then the G7X III with a more powerful processor can do it at least the same, considering there's another sensor with different technical aspects.

24p can be implemented, for sure. It's rare, but there was occasion when Canon implemented features via firmware "by popular demand" (5D2). Of course, it was different situation and different camera (and price), but let's hope YouTube gets full of complaints making lot of buzz, we'll get more chances for improvements.

I still have to check the YouTube reviews of G5X II, since most are for G7X III

So far here only Stevelee can let us know ;)
 
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stevelee

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I did find a disadvantage of the G5X Mark II: only one time zone. In the time zone setting on the 3 II, there is a home time zone and a travel zone. On the new 5, you pick one zone and that’s it. On the 3 I am used to setting the destination time before I leave home, and then just hit the plane icon when I get there.
 
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PVCC

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Apparently the autofocus on the original G5X was not that swift, according to this review.

Very interesting comments on the blog post. Most of them actually match what I think (regarding photography, not loosing the opportunity when you don't carry your heavy gear, the colors of Canon shots vs. the Sony RX's, etc) and also what I saw on pictures. Good one indeed.
 
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stevelee

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The college here was playing Georgetown in football yesterday. The G5X II is not the camera that anyone would choose for sports photography, but I decided to take it along, more to help me learn to use the camera in real situations than to test it. It was almost 90 degrees in the shade, and I'm sure much worse than that out on the field and in the stands. Normally we play our first month's games at night, but Georgetown didn't want to spend the night here, so the game was set for 1 pm. I'm invited to a gridiron club area in the end zone for barbecue and drinks and can stay in that area if I wish. Yesterday, I stayed there where there were tents for shade and free liquids. I ventured out into the sun to watch certain plays, and a few of those times I shot some video.

I had not done anything to prepare the camera settings, so when I started shooting, I found that I needed to move into the shade so I could read menus. Some autofocus modes don't permit you to set the video for 4K, and if you switch to one of those, it reverts to 1080p. I should have just put the camera into manual focus and left it. Much of the action I shot was at the other end of the field, roughly 100 yards away, so anything past the hyperfocal setting would have made everything in focus anyway, especially given the short actual focal length of the lens even zoomed in (44mm), and the lens stopped down for the bright sun. But instead I used the autofocus that works with 4K. I did find the autofocus to be somewhat sluggish a couple of times, more so than I would expect with my G7X II.

With the sun almost directly overhead, the screen was about useless. I still haven't managed to get the EVF in good focus. The diopter setting is too fussy, so I go too far one way or another. Maybe I just have a bad one. I didn't have much trouble getting the EVF focused on the one I messed with at the store. Maybe I was just luckier then. I could see well enough through it yesterday to frame the image. (OK, so now I just went to the camera and tried just putting the lever in the middle rather than trying to set it by eye, and the viewfinder is much clearer now.) My other problem with the set up was that I would accidentally touch the screen somewhere in the corner between clips sometimes, so when I went back to shooting, it was trying to focus on the ground near me, and doing a pretty good job with that. So the biggest problems had to do with the inexperience with it of the photographer, who has also not figured out the optimal settings to get what I want. I should have known enough already to preset menu items before venturing into the blazing sun.

When I shoot 4K in real life it will almost always be to give me options for cropping, zooming, and panning in post to produce 1080p or even smaller to embed on a web page (960 x 540 works well). And so I edited some of these clips in FCP X using magnification up to 200%. (Shouldn't that be like a 100% crop at 1080p?) The original clips from the camera look really sharp, at least after the focus kicked in, when viewed on my 5K monitor. I sent a one-minute 4K .mov file to YouTube, and after they mangled and compressed it, it looked like this:
Although they are the visitors, Georgetown is wearing white. They have possession of the ball on the first few clips seen across the field. The score was tied at 20-all at the end of the third quarter. The play near me shows Davidson's winning touchdown, but you can't tell much given the official and the players in the way of my view. I end with the extra point.

I don't know how much about the camera you can tell from the YouTube post. Maybe some of my description of the experience can be of interest. This is not the camera you want to buy to shoot sporting events, but you knew that. And it doesn't have 48p, so you are not going to be asked to shoot The Hobbit, Part IV: The Next Generation or the like with it.
 
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PVCC

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Jul 5, 2019
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The college here was playing Georgetown in football yesterday. The G5X II is not the camera that anyone would choose for sports photography, but I decided to take it along, more to help me learn to use the camera in real situations than to test it. It was almost 90 degrees in the shade, and I'm sure much worse than that out on the field and in the stands. Normally we play our first month's games at night, but Georgetown didn't want to spend the night here, so the game was set for 1 pm. I'm invited to a gridiron club area in the end zone for barbecue and drinks and can stay in that area if I wish. Yesterday, I stayed there where there were tents for shade and free liquids. I ventured out into the sun to watch certain plays, and a few of those times I shot some video.

I had not done anything to prepare the camera settings, so when I started shooting, I found that I needed to move into the shade so I could read menus. Some autofocus modes don't permit you to set the video for 4K, and if you switch to one of those, it reverts to 1080p. I should have just put the camera into manual focus and left it. Much of the action I shot was at the other end of the field, roughly 100 yards away, so anything past the hyperfocal setting would have made everything in focus anyway, especially given the short actual focal length of the lens even zoomed in (44mm), and the lens stopped down for the bright sun. But instead I used the autofocus that works with 4K. I did find the autofocus to be somewhat sluggish a couple of times, more so than I would expect with my G7X II.

With the sun almost directly overhead, the screen was about useless. I still haven't managed to get the EVF in good focus. The diopter setting is too fussy, so I go too far one way or another. Maybe I just have a bad one. I didn't have much trouble getting the EVF focused on the one I messed with at the store. Maybe I was just luckier then. I could see well enough through it yesterday to frame the image. (OK, so now I just went to the camera and tried just putting the lever in the middle rather than trying to set it by eye, and the viewfinder is much clearer now.) My other problem with the set up was that I would accidentally touch the screen somewhere in the corner between clips sometimes, so when I went back to shooting, it was trying to focus on the ground near me, and doing a pretty good job with that. So the biggest problems had to do with the inexperience with it of the photographer, who has also not figured out the optimal settings to get what I want. I should have known enough already to preset menu items before venturing into the blazing sun.

When I shoot 4K in real life it will almost always be to give me options for cropping, zooming, and panning in post to produce 1080p or even smaller to embed on a web page (960 x 540 works well). And so I edited some of these clips in FCP X using magnification up to 200%. (Shouldn't that be like a 100% crop at 1080p?) The original clips from the camera look really sharp, at least after the focus kicked in, when viewed on my 5K monitor. I sent a one-minute 4K .mov file to YouTube, and after they mangled and compressed it, it looked like this:
Although they are the visitors, Georgetown is wearing white. They have possession of the ball on the first few clips seen across the field. The score was tied at 20-all at the end of the third quarter. The play near me shows Davidson's winning touchdown, but you can't tell much given the official and the players in the way of my view. I end with the extra point.

I don't know how much about the camera you can tell from the YouTube post. Maybe some of my description of the experience can be of interest. This is not the camera you want to buy to shoot sporting events, but you knew that. And it doesn't have 48p, so you are not going to be asked to shoot The Hobbit, Part IV: The Next Generation or the like with it.

Hey!

Thanks a lot for taking the time to wire your past!

I'll download the YT clip at the maximum possible resolution.

I know that under direct sun light the LCD is almost impossible to see, that happens with most cameras. The EVF is very handy in that situations (and the only ones where I use it in my Panasonic G7 M4/3)
So I expect it will help for that.

Yes, knowing the proper mode settings and already have done them help A LOT. I usually do and save them in Custom (C) mode so if I have to change something I know I can go to another mode and get back to C and everything will be as I did set.

According to specs the EVF vision will be smaller than what I get on my G7 (which is already small), but hopefully I can still find it helpful for such situations..!!

And yes, I'd never choose it for sports, but good to see the camera in real world!

What cares most to me in this little gem is the IQ that I can get on stills and "no-action-type" video (Or if so, just manually focusing).

So after buying it (I'll get it in my hands in some months), I will do what I do with all my lenses: test it at all focal lengths at different apertures, so I can check the IQ very detaily.

For testing I mount it on tripod, and shoot a buildings area 50-100 meters away, so I get a great frame full of details at center and corners.

It's very useful to know the strong and weak points of your arsenal :)

Thanks a lot once again!
 
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PVCC

Arts & Engineering
Jul 5, 2019
97
23
The college here was playing Georgetown in football yesterday. The G5X II is not the camera that anyone would choose for sports photography, but I decided to take it along, more to help me learn to use the camera in real situations than to test it. It was almost 90 degrees in the shade, and I'm sure much worse than that out on the field and in the stands. Normally we play our first month's games at night, but Georgetown didn't want to spend the night here, so the game was set for 1 pm. I'm invited to a gridiron club area in the end zone for barbecue and drinks and can stay in that area if I wish. Yesterday, I stayed there where there were tents for shade and free liquids. I ventured out into the sun to watch certain plays, and a few of those times I shot some video.

I had not done anything to prepare the camera settings, so when I started shooting, I found that I needed to move into the shade so I could read menus. Some autofocus modes don't permit you to set the video for 4K, and if you switch to one of those, it reverts to 1080p. I should have just put the camera into manual focus and left it. Much of the action I shot was at the other end of the field, roughly 100 yards away, so anything past the hyperfocal setting would have made everything in focus anyway, especially given the short actual focal length of the lens even zoomed in (44mm), and the lens stopped down for the bright sun. But instead I used the autofocus that works with 4K. I did find the autofocus to be somewhat sluggish a couple of times, more so than I would expect with my G7X II.

With the sun almost directly overhead, the screen was about useless. I still haven't managed to get the EVF in good focus. The diopter setting is too fussy, so I go too far one way or another. Maybe I just have a bad one. I didn't have much trouble getting the EVF focused on the one I messed with at the store. Maybe I was just luckier then. I could see well enough through it yesterday to frame the image. (OK, so now I just went to the camera and tried just putting the lever in the middle rather than trying to set it by eye, and the viewfinder is much clearer now.) My other problem with the set up was that I would accidentally touch the screen somewhere in the corner between clips sometimes, so when I went back to shooting, it was trying to focus on the ground near me, and doing a pretty good job with that. So the biggest problems had to do with the inexperience with it of the photographer, who has also not figured out the optimal settings to get what I want. I should have known enough already to preset menu items before venturing into the blazing sun.

When I shoot 4K in real life it will almost always be to give me options for cropping, zooming, and panning in post to produce 1080p or even smaller to embed on a web page (960 x 540 works well). And so I edited some of these clips in FCP X using magnification up to 200%. (Shouldn't that be like a 100% crop at 1080p?) The original clips from the camera look really sharp, at least after the focus kicked in, when viewed on my 5K monitor. I sent a one-minute 4K .mov file to YouTube, and after they mangled and compressed it, it looked like this:
Although they are the visitors, Georgetown is wearing white. They have possession of the ball on the first few clips seen across the field. The score was tied at 20-all at the end of the third quarter. The play near me shows Davidson's winning touchdown, but you can't tell much given the official and the players in the way of my view. I end with the extra point.

I don't know how much about the camera you can tell from the YouTube post. Maybe some of my description of the experience can be of interest. This is not the camera you want to buy to shoot sporting events, but you knew that. And it doesn't have 48p, so you are not going to be asked to shoot The Hobbit, Part IV: The Next Generation or the like with it.

Hey,

After checking your video that I downloaded at UHD I see it has lot of details, no rolling shutter (amazing, compared to my beloved 5D4) and you even Zoomed in sometimes very nicely!!

And no crop factor, so you can get 24mm - 120mm focal length

That's all awesome to me. I think I'll only miss the Mic-in.. specially considering so good video capabilities

For occasions I'll carry a Zoom H1n that pairs the compact & pocketable concept.

I even saw the hot air waves over the grass, hot summer day indeed!!!

- QUESTIONS (will be very much appreciated if you can give details):

1- Did you suffer any kind of overheating, especially considering the hot day temperatures?

2- Approximately how long were your 4K clips or continuous 4K recording?

3- it seems you managed Zooming very well. Did you simply use the Zoom lever around the release button?

Thank you very much!!
 
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stevelee

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American football is played in short bursts followed by a lot of standing around. So no clip I shot was longer than 30 seconds. The camera had plenty of time to recover, so even out in bright sunlight on a 90º day (33º C) the camera did not have much chance to overheat (unlike the photographer). Even back under the tent, a woman collapsed. Fortunately, there are many medical doctors among Davidson alumni, so one who was nearby revived her and was asking her protocol-type questions by the time the medics stationed at the game came over.

But back to the camera. I did not do any zooming during shooting. The zoom does not work during a shot, as far as I know. All the zooming you see was done in software. That still speaks well of the camera in that there is enough resolution to blow the picture to twice its size.
 
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PVCC

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American football is played in short bursts followed by a lot of standing around. So no clip I shot was longer than 30 seconds. The camera had plenty of time to recover, so even out in bright sunlight on a 90º day (33º C) the camera did not have much chance to overheat (unlike the photographer). Even back under the tent, a woman collapsed. Fortunately, there are many medical doctors among Davidson alumni, so one who was nearby revived her and was asking her protocol-type questions by the time the medics stationed at the game came over.

But back to the camera. I did not do any zooming during shooting. The zoom does not work during a shot, as far as I know. All the zooming you see was done in software. That still speaks well of the camera in that there is enough resolution to blow the picture to twice its size.

Thank you!

Hot day indeed..

- About zooming while recording: yes, it's possible!

Gordon at Cameralabs did it when testing and reviewing the G5X II. And it's clearly done manually because the camera shakes on the zooming operation. He did it moving the zoom lever around the shutter button.

However, the ring around the lens won't zoom "while recording", according to the user guide (sadly, and I don't see any technical reason why Canon disabled it, even when it zooms in presets)

If the Zoom-in was made in post, then the image quality is even better.
Maybe the Sony RX 100 Vxx has even better 4K resolution, but I'm completely fine with what I've seen so far.

"Not good 4K video", as some people said, seems to be really false to me.

I'm going to do 2 things when I get it:

1- buy a filter adapter, so I can attach UV, Polarizers and ND filters

2- implement some kind of "loupe" to attach and see the screen in very beight situations.
I have many, so I just have to adapt one for the G5X II
 
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stevelee

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Thanks. So it's just zooming with the ring that doesn't work during recording? As I said, I'm learning how to use the camera, even though I've been using a very similar camera for nearly three years. Part of my experience with the G7X II is that zooming with the little lever is clumsy enough while shooting and the camera light enough that any video shot during the zoom is almost surely unusable and gets cut out. Once it lands on the new focal length, it is fine, so it is still good to know I can keep the camera running while I reframe the shot. This is just my travel camera, so if I'm using a tripod and wanting to have usable optical zooming during video, I'll use my DSLR. That said, I take many more pictures with the travel camera than with the DSLR, so it is worth it to me to get the best camera for my purposes that will also fit in my pocket. On my trip to Denmark and Sweden, I shot over 900 stills and just one video, which came on the last full day I was there. So video is not that great a concern for me. However, if I learn how to shoot video better with this camera, I will perhaps shoot more of it. There is another football game here Saturday, so perhaps I will take the camera along for more practice.

You do know the camera has a built-in ND filter? There's not really that much use for a UV filter with digital cameras, so I understand, except to protect the lens. I almost always used one when shooting color film, and I have one that will fit some of my lenses, but I never bother with it. I think I bought it out of habit when I got my first Rebel. Polarizers are great. I have a 77mm one that fits several of my lenses, I think, but I don't use it that often. Moving the "Highlights" slider toward the left in Camera Raw takes care of darkening the sky enough for me most of the time. I realize there are many other uses for the filter, and I have it when I need it on the lenses it will fit.

Now that I have finally focused the viewfinder, I don't think I'll want a loupe. I've got along without one on my previous viewfinderless cameras, and I use touching the screen to pick focus spots.

As for 4K quality, when I consider that the YouTube video represents footage blown up 110% to 200% and then mangled through YouTube's compressions, it looks surprisingly good viewed full screen on my 5K screen from less than two feet away.

If you like, I can in a day or two post a small excerpt from my original 4K footage for your perusal. As I've said, I shoot 4K video mainly to have more to work with when editing. I have both Final Cut Pro X and Premiere, so good editing tools are at hand, and the computer has no problem keeping up with the 4K.

That does raise the issue of when I might still use 1080p. That works in modes and at speeds that are not supported in 4K.
 
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PVCC

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Thanks. So it's just zooming with the ring that doesn't work during recording? As I said, I'm learning how to use the camera, even though I've been using a very similar camera for nearly three years. Part of my experience with the G7X II is that zooming with the little lever is clumsy enough while shooting and the camera light enough that any video shot during the zoom is almost surely unusable and gets cut out. Once it lands on the new focal length, it is fine, so it is still good to know I can keep the camera running while I reframe the shot. This is just my travel camera, so if I'm using a tripod and wanting to have usable optical zooming during video, I'll use my DSLR. That said, I take many more pictures with the travel camera than with the DSLR, so it is worth it to me to get the best camera for my purposes that will also fit in my pocket. On my trip to Denmark and Sweden, I shot over 900 stills and just one video, which came on the last full day I was there. So video is not that great a concern for me. However, if I learn how to shoot video better with this camera, I will perhaps shoot more of it. There is another football game here Saturday, so perhaps I will take the camera along for more practice.

You do know the camera has a built-in ND filter? There's not really that much use for a UV filter with digital cameras, so I understand, except to protect the lens. I almost always used one when shooting color film, and I have one that will fit some of my lenses, but I never bother with it. I think I bought it out of habit when I got my first Rebel. Polarizers are great. I have a 77mm one that fits several of my lenses, I think, but I don't use it that often. Moving the "Highlights" slider toward the left in Camera Raw takes care of darkening the sky enough for me most of the time. I realize there are many other uses for the filter, and I have it when I need it on the lenses it will fit.

Now that I have finally focused the viewfinder, I don't think I'll want a loupe. I've got along without one on my previous viewfinderless cameras, and I use touching the screen to pick focus spots.

As for 4K quality, when I consider that the YouTube video represents footage blown up 110% to 200% and then mangled through YouTube's compressions, it looks surprisingly good viewed full screen on my 5K screen from less than two feet away.

If you like, I can in a day or two post a small excerpt from my original 4K footage for your perusal. As I've said, I shoot 4K video mainly to have more to work with when editing. I have both Final Cut Pro X and Premiere, so good editing tools are at hand, and the computer has no problem keeping up with the 4K.

That does raise the issue of when I might still use 1080p. That works in modes and at speeds that are not supported in 4K.

Yes, Canon tells on the user guide that Zooming with the lens ring is not possible when recording (unfortunately, as I said I see no technical reason why it wouldn't be possible).
But you can use the zooming lever around the shutter button at any time.

Yes, I'd use UV to protect the lens, especially in dónde situations like shooting near the sea (easier to clean the filter rather than the lens, and more protection for lens interior too).

Yes, I know the built-in ND, a great option that Sony didn't put in the latest RX. But sometimes in daylight I may want even less light, so I can use some ND filters I already have. CPL filters also useful to reduce reflections on windows and water (sometimes dramatically!)

- There's a filter adapter for the G7X II, but I dont know if it would work on the G5X II because I don't know if both cameras have the same diameter in the final end of the zoom lens.

-- Could you please measure the inner and external diameter of the final piece of the lens when it is extended (camera powered on) on your G7X II and G5X II??
That would be great info.

I sent you a private message!

Thank you!
 
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PVCC

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Within the rough limits of my measurements, the lens housings appear to be identical in size. The outer diameter is 4 cm. Inside around the lens is a rounded rectangle which may be a little different. I need to remeasure to be sure, assuming that is the other measurement you want.

So both, the G7X II and G5X II have 4cm outer diameter on the lens housing (the most extended "tube", where Cacon printed the zoom range and maximum aperture)?

If so, that is very good. If the inner diameter is the same in both cameras, or almost the same, then the filter adapter for the G7X II should also work on G5X II...

I'll wait your measurements. Thank you VERY MUCH for taking the time to do this!
 
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