Just got a G7X II

I've been saving for one of these for a while now.  Saturday, I went and bought one, along with a spare battery.  I've had enough time for some testing, so I thought I'd pass some of that along.

First, I took some shots of my resolution chart.  It easily did 6.3 Lines per mm, about the same as my Panasonic FZ1000.  My G15, which the G7X II will replace, only does 5 L/mm and it's not as clean looking.  The best I could do with a 60 mm macro lens on my 70D was 5.6 L/mm, and it had a "dirty" look.  Even after using the 70D's AF micro adjust.

I fitted the G7X II with a neck cord (lanyard) attached to the right (as seen from behind the camera) hand strap lug.  With battery, memory and the neck cord, it weighs in at 11.36 oz.  Not too heavy for a side pocket in looser fitting trousers, and with the neck cord wrapped around the body, it's an easy fit.  The G15 is 1 oz. heavier, and just about the same width and thickness; but 0.6" taller and it's more noticeable in my pocket.  The G7X II will also replace my S90.

I also took a hard look at the Digital Multiplier options of 1.6x and 2.0x.  I shot several shots with and without in JPEG and fairly low light (Auto ISO picked 800) .  On screen at 100% I can't tell 1.6x (8 MP) from normal (20 MP).  2.0x (5 MP) is slightly visible at 100%; but I had to go to 100% to see it.  It would print nicely as a borderless 8.5" x 11".

So I have a keeper.  Last fall, I tried a Sony RX100; but was not happy with it.  I believe it has the same sensor as the G7X II.  It did 5.6 L/mm.  IS was only 2 stops worth of stabilization, and I did have issues with it acquiring focus in lower light.  The controls and menus drove me to distraction.  By the way, I turned off the G7X's touch screen feature and am just using the buttons and wheels for now.  The Sony also had a lot of reprogrammable controls; but the buttons are tiny and the ring around the lens is not detented.  I also bought the Sony stick -on grip.  It's well made, and the camera needs it badly.  The RX100 is a 2012 design, and needs some serious refreshing.

One more thing.  The Sony RX100 series all come with a USB supply and cable to charge the battery in the camera.  A full charge takes over 4 hours.  I bought a kit that includes an external charger and a spare battery, and that gets the time down to about 90 minutes.  Plus I get to use the camera while the battery is charging.  Canon still supplies an external charger; although the camera will allow charging in-camera if you have the cable.

That's all for now, as I've only had the G7X II for 27 hours, and the first couple were spent charging the battery.  Indications are we're going to be good friends.

Jerry,

That's awesome...!!!    Congratulations!!!

Unless you have things to assign to the programmable buttons that are more important to you, you might want to consider using one for the Touch Shutter. I assigned it to the Record button, so now I can toggle the Touch Shutter on and off by a simple press of the Record button. I have the focus method set to 1-Point AF (small box) and tether the AE Point to the AF Point. With the Touch Shutter, I can quickly and easily take a picture with the focus and exposure fixed on any object on the screen that I choose to touch.

I'm happy to see that your technical methods of testing the camera confirm what my naked eye concluded. I also had the Sony RX100 and returned it for the G7x ii.    I picked up a second Canon battery at the same time I bought the camera. I'm looking for a wrist grip that I can maneuver for one hand operation. I really appreciate the step Zoom and on screen AE exposure lock.  Canon's enthusiast compacts have always hit all the right targets. For me anyway.

Yes, it seems to me that Canon's design people actually use cameras, so they have an understanding of what it takes to actually take pictures.  Further they have a corporate standard for color, so that the color balance from any two Canon's is at least close.  Panasonic went for years with different color balance on different series of cameras so that each design team did their own thing.

There's a LOT of stuff to work through with the G7X II.  I have it to the point of usefulness; but still have a ways to go.

Jerry,

I identify with what you wrote about having a lot of stuff to work through with your new camera.

My new camera is taking me to places I never considered before, regarding contrast, saturation and exposure parameters.

For me, the learning curve is a bit steep in that I don't yet know the nomenclature pertaining to the aspects of my images which I can see are needing improvement, so it's pretty much trial and error at this point, in the absence of pestering folks here with a bazillion questions.

Nonetheless,  the learning curve has been a lot of fun, for sure...!!

Congratulations again on your new camera!

Chaplain Mark,

Well, if you get stuck, just post a problem shot or two and let us try and figure it out.  The Mk II versions of the G_X cameras have a different processor (DIGIC 7 Vs DIGIC 6) and probably different default settings.  So you'll probably get more help from the guys with the first versions; but in any case, I'll give it a try.

Jerry,

Mine is the G3X, which has the Digic 6.

I appreciate the offer, and I may take you up on that..!!

Congrats Jerry! I know from your posts how much you love your G15 (a fantastic camera!), but you're going to love the G7X II. I just got mine about 6 weeks ago and I'm really enjoying it. I'm really looking forward to seeing your pictures from it.

Andy

Andy,

Thanks for the post.  I've spent most of the weekend learning the menus and controls on the G7X II. Pictures are very sharp and clear; but nothing worth printing - it's mostly a matter of testing and trying things.  I took some shots today using the 1.6x digital multiplier function at 1.6x, and am very pleased with the shots.  As I've said, I wanted to have the G7X II replace both my G15 and the S90; but the key to replacing the G15 is having the 1.6x work well.  It does, so that's really important for me.

When I bought the G15, having the OVF was important; but I've hardly ever used it, getting used to the LCD screen instead.  Some of the shots I took today were in full sun, and the G7X II LCD is pretty good in full sun, at least as good as the G15's.

But you know, I've had the G15 for 5 years, and I plan to sell it - but it's not easy to part with it.  It's like an old friend.  For somewhat the same reasons I am keeping the S90 as a backup.  I am selling the S95.  It's supposed to be an improved S90; but I prefer the S90 which goes back to 2009 with me.

Hi Jerry.  As I've posted before there is one area where the G15 excels over the G7X which is why I keep mine (besides being an able backup should the G7X fail).  The G15 is much better for closeups, that is, getting a wider and deeper area in focus without having to step the aperture way down as lighting conditions may not allow that to be an option.  I know this may be largely due to the smaller sensor but I think a G15 less aggressive lens design may come into play as well.  In my work in an electrical engineering environment, I often times take pictures of electronic printed circuit boards or electronic sub-assemblies and I use the G15 for this as it gets more in focus, sometimes very close up, while still providing very good image quality.

GeraldW wrote:

But you know, I've had the G15 for 5 years, and I plan to sell it - but it's not easy to part with it. It's like an old friend. For somewhat the same reasons I am keeping the S90 as a backup. I am selling the S95. It's supposed to be an improved S90; but I prefer the S90 which goes back to 2009 with me.

Gerald--

Since the 1.6x teleconvertor is important to you, you might want to assign it to one of the assignable buttons. I have it currently assigned to the Ring Func. button where I can toggle between Off, 1.6x and 2.0x.

Guys, this post intrigued me so last night, I played around with the 1.6 and 2.0x TC settings.  I found that yes, it was effective but I saw no difference in quality between using the converter setting or just taking a regular picture at max optical zoom and then cropping out the area of interest so it was the same size as the TC enabled image.  Other than saving a step, wouldn't you rather just take a picture without TC enabled and that way all the information is present in case you later decide you don't wish to crop the area of interest or maybe crop to a lesser degree?

I was not impressed with regular non TC digital zoom.

chj001 wrote:

Gerald--

Since the 1.6x teleconvertor is important to you, you might want to assign it to one of the assignable buttons. I have it currently assigned to the Ring Func. button where I can toggle between Off, 1.6x and 2.0x.

I'm responding to both prior posts on use of the Digital Multiplier.

Assigning the DZ to a programmable control is a good idea; but I'm out of buttons to reprogram.  However, I will think further about that.

I can, and do crop photos in my PC.  However, using the 1.6x in-camera is akin top batch processing if I use it a lot.

GeraldW wrote:

I can, and do crop photos in my PC. However, using the 1.6x in-camera is akin top batch processing if I use it a lot.
Jerry

A couple more minor pluses:  quicker review (rather than zooming in after the shot), and also improved composition (closer view of where you're framing), but probably the most important is doing it in camera if you've already found your sweet spot settings for shooting JPEGS, and you just go straight to social media or the printer.