Replacing My G12: G7X MkII, G1X Mk II or ?

1. I would choose the G7XII over the G1XII.

2. If you need an EVF and a fully articulated screen then there is the G5X. With the G5X just keep in mind the very slow burst speeds when shooting RAW files.

If size is not overall impressive to you, G7XII’s advantages over G1XII are the newer processor and higher resolution.  G1XII’s advantages are larger sensor, longer zoom, better built, capacity to add an external EVF and flash, capability to add a filter, and cheaper.  Coming from S120, G1XII is heavy and bulky, but coming from 6D, it’s light and compact.

Went from a G15 to a refurbed G5X. So far I'm very pleased with it.

NWT wrote:

If size is not overall impressive to you, G7XII’s advantages over G1XII are the newer processor and higher resolution. G1XII’s advantages are larger sensor, longer zoom, better built, capacity to add an external EVF and flash, capability to add a filter, and cheaper. Coming from S120, G1XII is heavy and bulky, but coming from 6D, it’s light and compact.

The large advantage of the G1X II is that you have a better chance of subject separation with the G1X II. So more capacity for photography as opposed to deep field snapshots. You will likely not get a wide 12.5mm f2 to mid telephoto lens going up to 62.5mm f3.9 as compact as this and at the price anywhere else ever again. In ILC you are probably edging in to pro designated or priced stuff nowadays.

Plus despite the age of the sensor high ISO colour stands up much better than the 1" sensor so you have a big sensor advantage that if you drift in to high ISO to keep shutter speed up it is not such a problem. Look at Imaging Resource and DPR cross comparisons.

Not such an easy camera to use but a bit more scope. I would think the G5X is a better replacement for the G12 unless the OP is sure an EVF is not necessary or RAW speeds are not an issue.

Agree with your points of the subject separation and colour.

Thanks for the reply and the suggestion to consider the G5X as well. It's now on my list!

KeepCalm wrote:

NWT wrote:

If size is not overall impressive to you, G7XII’s advantages over G1XII are the newer processor and higher resolution. G1XII’s advantages are larger sensor, longer zoom, better built, capacity to add an external EVF and flash, capability to add a filter, and cheaper. Coming from S120, G1XII is heavy and bulky, but coming from 6D, it’s light and compact.

The large advantage of the G1X II is that you have a better chance of subject separation with the G1X II. So more capacity for photography as opposed to deep field snapshots. You will likely not get a wide 12.5mm f2 to mid telephoto lens going up to 62.5mm f3.9 as compact as this and at the price anywhere else ever again. In ILC you are probably edging in to pro designated or priced stuff nowadays.

Plus despite the age of the sensor high ISO colour stands up much better than the 1" sensor so you have a big sensor advantage that if you drift in to high ISO to keep shutter speed up it is not such a problem. Look at Imaging Resource and DPR cross comparisons.

Not such an easy camera to use but a bit more scope. I would think the G5X is a better replacement for the G12 unless the OP is sure an EVF is not necessary or RAW speeds are not an issue.

Thank you both for the comments. First, regarding bulk, my G12 weighs over 400 g; that's heavier than the G5X (and obviously the G7X Mk II) even though the G12 and G5X have similar physical dimensions. Clearly, the G1X Mk II adds significantly more weight as well as a significant increase in depth due to the size of the lens. My G12 is not very pocketable but I usually use a wrist strap when it's not in its belt-attached pouch. I would expect to do the same with either the G5X or the G1X Mk II. I think of it as being "palmable." The smaller G7X Mk II actually looks to be pocketable.

Subject separation is of interest to me. Lately, I've been taking more people shots particularly portraits than I used to so having a camera that excels at that would be a real advantage.

I have handled the G5X and have to say I like the articulating screen as it's very similar to the one on my G12. The tilting screens on the G7X Mk II and the G1X Mk II feel somewhat more limiting but I can't honestly anticipate from my experience there's a shot I couldn't make with a tilting screen that I could make with one which articulates like the G5X. The biggest advantage of the articulating over the tilting screen IMHO is the protection you can achieve with the screen face turned into the camera body when not in use. I have the dent in the back of my G12 to attest to that although I have no way of knowing what the damage to the screen would have been had it been facing out at the time of the fall. I notice that the G5X has switched the location of the mode and exposure comp dials vs my G12. No biggie. From what I can see the G1X Mk II has a less convenient exposure comp adjustment or at least different from what I'm used to. But the G1X Mk II like my G12 appears to have two custom mode settings on the mode dial compared to only one on the G5X and G7X Mk II.

Regarding viewfinders, I've rarely used the simple optical viewfinder on my G12 but the electronic viewfinder on the G5X is light years ahead! My problem is that my glasses don't seem to permit me to get my eye close enough to see the entire view (including settings) at once- I have to move slightly this way and that to see the various details. Is this normal or is it the high degree of correction my eyes require or that the glass lenses are progressive? Would the add-on viewfinder for the G1X Mk II be any different?

Again, thanks for any insight!

Ian

CMCM wrote:

yaxexa wrote:

1. I would choose the G7XII over the G1XII.

2. If you need an EVF and a fully articulated screen then there is the G5X. With the G5X just keep in mind the very slow burst speeds when shooting RAW files.

If you are not shooting RAW files, is the burst speed better on the G5X?

5.9fps continuous-shooting speed with focus fixed at the start of the burst, and 4.4fps with autofocus between frames.

G1XII is definitely much heavier than G5X, but the size is only slightly larger if you don't use the external viewfinder.

I have not tried G5X's viewfinder, so don't have the viewing experience, but personally I like the flexibility of an external one, particularly the tilted viewing function of the first version, even though I don't use it often.

G1XII does not have a dedicated exposure compensation dial, but you can set the first front ring dial for that function and the second one to change the aperture in Av mode or shutter speed in Tv mode, I found them really easy to use.

NWT wrote:

G1XII is definitely much heavier than G5X, but the size is only slightly larger if you don't use the external viewfinder.

I have not tried G5X's viewfinder, so don't have the viewing experience, but personally I like the flexibility of an external one, particularly the tilted viewing function of the first version, even though I don't use it often.

G1XII does not have a dedicated exposure compensation dial, but you can set the first front ring dial for that function and the second one to change the aperture in Av mode or shutter speed in Tv mode, I found them really easy to use.

it is a pity they dropped the exposure offset dial. I tend not to use the click dial on the lens as mine is rather clunky and has a different feel in different directions and can miss clicks. Many reviewers picked this up. I am spoilt by the Olympus Stylus 1S whose switchable click/smooth lens dial is impeccable in use.

The weakness of the G1X series is that rather than tweaking the model they have tended to scrap the lot both the good and the bad and start again from scratch so it lacks a degree of mature refinement. The mark designation seems to be stretching the meaning of the word as much as macro was in the Mk 1.

I have the tilt EVF and it is very flexible in use. If you want a very stable platform you can have the camera low with your upper arms against the body and look down.

Just an update. Thanks to folks who provided some good insight, I added the G5X to my list of G12 replacements. After handling it, I felt the G7X Mk II was just a wee bit on the small side for me and with its significantly higher refurb price just wasn't compelling enough for my needs compared to the G5X and the G1X Mk II. I went back and forth on those two. The G5X had lighter weight, the EVF, and fully articulating screen. OTOH, the G1X Mk II had a slightly longer zoom, an excellent lens and sensor combo with great potential for shooting shallow depth of field shots that I know I would use frequently. After handling the G5X and using its EVF, I was disappointed in how I had to fussily shift my eye to see all the info presented. This may be related to a condition I have in my eyes that results in a slightly distorted view of the world when my vision is corrected to 20:20. In any event, that made the EVF of limited use to me and so swung the scale to the G1X Mk II. So, that's what I've ordered and it should be here next week in time to acquaint myself with it before a long weekend trip to San Francisco in two weeks. My partner will now have the G12 to himself which he will certainly appreciate as an option to the camera in his Galaxy S8+!

ianxponent wrote:

Just an update. Thanks to folks who provided some good insight, I added the G5X to my list of G12 replacements. After handling it, I felt the G7X Mk II was just a wee bit on the small side for me and with its significantly higher refurb price just wasn't compelling enough for my needs compared to the G5X and the G1X Mk II. I went back and forth on those two. The G5X had lighter weight, the EVF, and fully articulating screen. OTOH, the G1X Mk II had a slightly longer zoom, an excellent lens and sensor combo with great potential for shooting shallow depth of field shots that I know I would use frequently. After handling the G5X and using its EVF, I was disappointed in how I had to fussily shift my eye to see all the info presented. This may be related to a condition I have in my eyes that results in a slightly distorted view of the world when my vision is corrected to 20:20. In any event, that made the EVF of limited use to me and so swung the scale to the G1X Mk II. So, that's what I've ordered and it should be here next week in time to acquaint myself with it before a long weekend trip to San Francisco in two weeks. My partner will now have the G12 to himself which he will certainly appreciate as an option to the camera in his Galaxy S8+!

Hope it works out OK. Always difficult to advise on what to get so good luck. I think all in all the G1X II is a useful bit of kit. The reviewers seemed to struggle classifying it and criticised its size without adjusting to what it did. A camera like the Olympus Stylus 1 the last of the 1/1.7 inchers that you get while you can because its like will not appear again.

It will be interesting to hear how you get on with it.

Sorry if I missed it, but did you make a decision about replacing the G12. I'm looking at replacing my G15 (now sold) and have pretty much decided on the G5 X myself. I don't see any update coming before Photokina in September. Thanks.