I decided to buy the G7x after reading about the lack of customization we can do on Sony's RX series. I found out that I made the best decision under the information I had, but the camera ultimately didn't wow me, and while I can't say I regret my decision to buy it, I can't say I'm too thrilled about it either.
There are a lot of reviews about this camera by now, and I did my homework before I bought it, so I'm just going to say the few things that is not emphasized (though probably mentioned somewhat) in the reviews I've read.
Pluses:
- The level of customization is awesome (although a bit confusing.. more on that on the minuses below). You get a customizable clicky control ring around the lens, two customizable buttons, a customizable quick menu, a custom (user-configured) mode, and other configurable settings through the main menu.
- Build quality is awesome. It is heavy, though, to the point where it may impact pocketability (if you have thin fabrics for example). To me it adds to the perceived quality but YMMV.
- AF speed is faster than what I imagined from the reviews. But then again, my previous camera was an EOS M. (I do have a Sony A57, though, so I think I'm not that out of touch with AF speeds).
- The screen was so much easier to flip upwards (for hip shooting) compared to the RX100.
- You can choose how "fast" autoISO switches. With the wide FLs, on the "Slow" setting it will choose about 1/15.. on "Standard" about 1/60.. and on "Fast".... 1/640.
- There is AutoISO in M mode.. though the above (auto ISO) settings kind of decreases the need to use this.
- Wifi works better than expected
- I love how the camera gives me the option to "step-zoom" to preset and common FLs: 24, 28, 35, 50, 85, and 100. I'm used to the 35mm and I appreciate the ability to know that I'm precisely at that FL.
Minuses:
- The customization is confusing. I can't tell how Canon decides which customization to enable and which to disable. I can't add the option to turn off the touch screen anywhere, I have to go through the main menu to set it on/off. I'd love that, turning off the touchscreen and enabling it only when I do need to touch focus or touch shutter or whatever. I can however turn off the eco mode with a button.. and turn off the touch shutter.
- Compared to the EOS M, the touch screen gets is really nerfed now. Whereas before I can change settings from the "main" screen (e.g. turn off touch shutter by touching the icon at the bottom left corner), now I have to choose a "hard" button to turn it off.
- The processor works really slow, especially to adjust for white balance. I need to frame my scene and hold it for ~1.3 second before it "stabilizes" and chooses the final (admittedly very accurate so far) white balance
- One of my biggest disappointments: unlike in EOS M, the evaluative metering mode doesn't adjust for where the focus point is. It acts like a very basic "entire frame" metering system.. whereas in EOS M it adjusts the metering to the chosen focus point. This is very very disappointing to me, since it's one of the things that got me to love the EOS M.
- Maybe this is my bad, but I still can't find the option for a slow burst mode. The only available burst mode is too fast for me.. especially since..
- The shutter is much louder than I had anticipated. I expected a camera of this size to be silent, but no, it does emit a rather audible "click" when shooting. Likewise with the control ring. I appreciate the click but it's just way louder than it needs to be. Just a small tactile click like we have in the rear control ring would do. It's almost comical how loud it is.
- Image quality never gets really good. Maybe I'm just spoiled by EOS M and the 22/2, but I was expecting rather similar performances in the lower ISOs... this is not the case. The "pop" just isn't there. I don't know if resizing has anything to do with it.. I shoot at 12MP instead of full 20MP.
- This is absolutely and totally my fault for not knowing this beforehand, but I didn't expect how non-customizable this camera is in terms of picture styles (dubbed "My colors" here). I thought you could at least adjust the contrast, sharpness, etc.. but nope.
Conclusion:
The combination of customizability, image quality, and price makes this the best choice. The LX100 is too big, the RX100 is not customizable enough (and at this price I can only get the mark II with the f/4.9 at the end) and the X30 just isn't competitive enough at high ISOs. However, I can't deny I was expecting comparable results to my EOS M (except for higher ISOs).. but this doesn't turn out to be the case.
Now I'm conflicted whether to sell this camera and just wait for the EOS M10 (and stick to 22/2).
