CANON G5X REVIEW (EN)

CANON PowerShot G5X

1 inch High-end Camera

"More user-friendly and enhanced functionality"

Canon G5X is equipped with 20.2MP 1-inch image sensor similar to SONY's RX100 series. Thanks to success of RX series, many makers including Canon, Panasonic, Nikon are (going to) producing 1 inch camera. Main difference of these to old compact camera is sensor size. More than 5 year ago, 2/3 sensor was treated as a relatively larger sensor, but not now. Due to the proliferation of smartphones, cameras with small sensors have lost their place. However, the 1-inch sensor camera has a distinct difference from the smartphone camera. In this review, I'll briefly introduce Canon G5X and show some sample shots.

Specifications

Product Name	Canon PowerShot G5 X
Image Sensor	1 inch BSI CMOS
Resolution	20.2MP (5472 x 3648)
Video	Full HD / 60P
Focal Length	24-100mm (4.2x)
Maximum Aperture	F1.8 (wide) - 2.8 (tele)
Continuous Shooting	5.9fps
Display	3.0 inch 1.04MP, Free angle touch screen
ISO Sensitivity	125-6400 (Extended 12800)
Shutter	30 - 1/2000s
EVF	2.36MP (100% Coverage)
Dimensions	112.4 x 60.2 x 44.2mm
Weight	377g

There is no big difference from RX100 series. In terms of price, G5X is not a direct competitor of RX100IV and RX100V, but is matched with RX100III. Main advantage is a large EVF and various photographer-friendly controls and ergonomics.

Ergonomics

G5X is well built. Let's see details.

Free-angle display makes easy selfie, low and high angle shots. There are control 3 dials including a front dial, a exposure compensation dial and a back dial. Also there is a standard hot shoe so that manual flash is possible to use. 

4.2x zoom lens covers more range than RX100 series. G5X also has a small flash in front of a hot shoe. Ring around the lens can be assigned by various functions, but its feeling is not so precise.

Resolution

It's hard to compare G5X to a big camera (APS-C or FF), but its image quality is pretty good and much better than smartphone camera. See some samples.

G5X Sample 1 (Resized into 700px and Crop 700 x 400px)

ISO 125 | 36.8mm | f/4.0 | 1/100sec

G5X Sample 2 (Resized into 700px and Crop 700 x 400px)

ISO 125 | 36.8mm | f/4.0 | 1/320sec

G5X Sample 3 (Resized into 700px and Crop 700 x 400px)

ISO 125 | 19.9mm | f/4.0 | 1/400sec

Its sharpness is quite good and enough at ISO 125 although this is not comparable to large cameras. G5X supports up to ISO 3200, but sensitivity above ISO 1000 is rarely set in P mode due to its bright aperture (F1.8 - 2.8).   

Sensitivity (ISO)

Because sensor area is much smaller than micro 3/4, I did not expected good results. Personally, It is recommended to use below ISO 800. Here's some samples.

G5X Sample 4 (Resized into 700px and Crop 700 x 400px)

ISO 500 | 36.8mm | f/2.8 | 1/100sec

G5X Sample 5 (Resized into 700px and Crop 700 x 400px)

ISO 800 | 8.8mm | f/1.8 | 1/80sec

G5X Sample 6 (Resized into 700px and Crop 700 x 400px)

ISO 800 | 8.8mm | f/1.8 | 1/400sec

Here's sample from ISO 125 to ISO 12800.

Image Stabilization

This video is stabilization test of G5X. It supports 5-axis image stabilization so that it is quite good. Both fast aperture and image stabilization can be used to lower ISO.

Auto Focus

In addition, auto-focus speed is not bad. Although it has little wobbling and is not as fast as Panasonic or Olympus, its speed is acceptable for a compact camera. Real AF-C is not supported.

Conclusions

Sum up, I thought that G5X is not a bad camera and good for those who want's small high end camera from Canon. However, there's some unsatisfactory parts as the below and I will choose RX100 III if someone ask me which camera to pick. 

Pros :)

+ 24-100mm F1.8 - 2.8 lens cover much more range

+ Good EVF, clear and relatively large

+ Free-angle touchscreen display

+ Standard hot shoe for flash

+ In-built electric level meter

+ Various external control

+ Not bad video quality and features

+ Watch function (press SET for a while and have fun!)

Cons :(

- Too different colors in EVF(too much saturated) and display.

- Softness at close focus.

- In accurate AWB.

- Bigger than RX100 series.

- Little green cast in indoor shooting

Click here to see more samples.