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The Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III has seen a massive resurgence in sales and interest over the last year. Canon restarted production a few months ago and has yet to reach consumer demand. The camera is consistently out of stock at major retailers in the US and abroad.
The G7X III is still a pricey proposition for a lot of people, as it still retails at just under $900 USD. Is it worth it? It probably is, since there really aren’t any other options in the segment it sits in. The latest Panasonic compact cameras aren’t a leap forward and were likely brought out to jump into the recovering compact camera market.
Rumors
I have only been told a few things that I can’t verify over the last little while. The only thing that I can confirm is that Canon will be changing the model naming convention, so it won’t be a “G7 X Mark IV”. That seems logical, though I do think that they’ll keep the “G”, as it does have a long history and people know it well.
It is scheduled to be announced in late 2026 as far as I have been told.
Canon PowerShot V1
The V1 is Canon’s latest PowerShot camera, and its target market is primarly content creators and videographers. It plays that role quite well.
The “all-new” 1.4″ 22.3MP sensor has been well received and I expect it to be used in upcoming PowerShot cameras.
Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS99  $1499 |
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Resolution |
20.2MP |
20.3MP |
20.2MP |
Sensor Size |
1″ Stacked CMOS |
1/2.3″ MOS |
1/2.3 CMOS |
Image Stabilization |
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Optical Zoom |
12x |
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Focal Length (35mm) |
24-100mm |
24-720mm |
25-300mm |
Aperture Range |
1.8-2.8 |
3.3-6.4 |
3.6-7 |
Rear LCD |
3.0″ 1.04M Dot |
3.0″ 1.84M Dot |
3.0″ 461K Dot |
LCD Movement |
TIlting |
Tilting |
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Focal Length (35mm) |
24-100mm |
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Weathersealing |
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Max Video Resolution |
4K30P |
4K30P |
1080 30P |
What do Photographers Want?
Photographers weren’t as excited about the V1, as it lacks a viewfinder and external flash. The active cooling in the V1 doesn’t matter much to photographers and it does increase the overall size of the camera. The V1 isn’t the most compact fixed lens camera out there.
Canon is well aware of what the next PowerShot needs to be, and it will be important to bring something to market that is the leader in capabilities. If there is going to be continued growth of compact cameras, don’t waste time putting something out for the sake of doing so. Hi Panasonic.
Predicted Features
The 1.4″ 22.3MP sensor will be the logical choice as far as image sensors go. I also think it’ll be important to have a fixed aperture lens. The current PowerShot G7 X Mark III has a 24-100mm f/1.8-2.8 (35mm equivalent) lens. I think it’s very possible to do a 24-70mm with a constant f/2 across the range. You lose 30mm on the long end, but with a faster telephoto aperture and larger sensor, you’re still going to get good background separation.
It’s likely that we’re going to see Canon using their latest design philosophy of using digital correction for things like distortion and vignetting to reduce the size and weight of lenses. This concept in lens design is an engaging topic, with some people adverse to it. Those feelings tend to come from prosumer and professional shooters with full-frame cameras, I don’t think buyers of compact cameras will care or even notice.
Pricing
The camera will have to be sub $1000, but don’t expect anything close to $500, if they can sell the current G7X at $900, they can sell anything new close to the same price without much issue. The compact market isn’t going to return to where it was a decade ago, so there will have to be some margin for it to be worthwhile for Canon.
EVF and Flash
I expect to see an EVF and built-in flash, those are important features for those that want them, for people that don’t? If the camera is well designed, no one is going to care that they may be “paying” for something they don’t use.
Video Features
There will obviously be video features, Canon will ensure that there is functional 4K capabilities, even with a crop. The buyer of a photography focused compact probably isn’t too concerned with getting the higher-end video feature set. The V1 exists for them.
Ergonomics
I think the camera will be slightly larger than the current G7X Mark III. A larger sensor, EVF and flash will require it. It’d be nice to have it a bit larger for those of us with larger hands. It won’t be the size of the V1.
Photography Features
I expect it to shoot 30fps like the V1. There will likely be optical stabilization over IBIS. Doing sensor stabilization needs more space inside the camera. Since it’s a fixed lens, it doesn’t really matter how they do it.
As mentioned above, and EVF and built-in flash are a must.
I expect that it will have some focus tracking settings like face, eye and animal. People love to shoot their cats and dogs. Vehicle tracking would also make some sense. We won’t see something like ball tracking.
Fixed lens cameras are a sell once product. Canon can’t sell you new lenses for it, but they will do some things on the accessory side of things to get after sale purchases. I do hope Canon puts more time into their accessories and don’t do their usual overpriced, underperforming widgets that they tend to do a fair bit.
GPS is a topic that can fire up the photography world. I haven’t met a lot of people that like doing GPS through a phone app. I agree with them. Sometimes I don’t want to bring my phone with me. There is also the battery drain on the phone as well as the camera keeping them connected. If we’re out on vacation and shooting all day, battery anxiety becomes a real thing.
I’d like to see some way to do a self powered GPS unit for this camera. It would probably have to use the flash shoe, but I don’t think the GPS crowd would care about that compromise. A self Powered GPS unit could also work with the EOS R side of thing as well. It’s a no-brainer product to develop.
Some level of weathersealing will also be important. On vacation, you have limited time and always have the chance of dealing with the weather. If you’re away for a week, you only have so many days to shoot and repeated visits somewhere doesn’t happen a lot.
Conclusion
These are my thoughts on the camera. Please share what you’d like to see in the coming PowerShot.
I think this will be a very important camera for Canon and they have to hit it out of the park. Not only for the consumers that no longer want to use their phone for photography. My smartphone is pretty potato compared to the higher end camera modules in some phones, but I have also hated the experience of trying to do meaningful photography with one. It comes in handy taking a picture of where you parked and for some location reference, but that’s it for me.
It will also be a camera that ILC shooters will jump on, so it has to be something R5 and R6 series owners would want to purchase. It also has to be a camera that may lead a percentage of shooters to the EOS R line. These types of cameras can lead people down the road of loving photography and wanting to go further up the Canon line.
Sound off on the forum with what you’d like to see, and if I’m wrong with my assumptions.
However, it would really be complemented by a photo focused compact, such as a follow up to the G7 X III. I hope they retain the 100mm F/2.8 reach or bring it further to 120mm at F/2.8. With the larger sensor it seems hard to do that without a size compromise, but the wide aperture and long reach make it suitable for concert photos where larger cameras are not allowed.