Canon PowerShot G9 X review

Canon PowerShot G9 X review – Introduction

At a glance

• 20.2-million-pixel BSI-CMOS sensor
• ISO 125-12800
• 28-84mm equivalent, f/2-4.9 lens
• 3-in 1.04-million-dot fixed touchscreen
• 6fps shooting in JPEG (4.3 fps with AF tracking)

Back in 2009, Canon revitalised the enthusiast compact camera market with the PowerShot S90, a pocket-sized model with lots of external controls, raw format recording and above-average image quality. With its unusually fast f/1.8 aperture at wideangle and configurable round-lens control dial, the design was widely imitated, and perhaps no more so than by the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 in 2012. But Sony’s trump card was the addition of a 20-million-pixel 1in sensor giving vastly improved image quality, resulting in a dynasty of cameras that instantly eclipsed Canon’s S-series and triggered a wholesale shift towards fitting larger sensors into compacts.

It took until 2014 for Canon to respond with the G7 X, which with its 24-100mm equivalent f/1.8-2.8 lens and 1in sensor is a worthy, if not entirely successful pretender to the RX100 series’ crown. Then towards the end of 2015 Canon added two more models to its range, sitting above and below the G7 X. We reviewed the high-end G5 X in our 2 January issue and liked it for its SLR-like design, integrated electronic viewfinder and extensive controls. Now it’s the G9 X’s turn in the spotlight: a lower-end model that has the distinction of being the slimmest camera with a 1in sensor.

Indeed on the face of it, the G9 X is the spiritual successor to the S-series. It manages to squeeze a 20.2-million-pixel 1in sensor in a truly pocketable body that, at 98×57.9×30.8mm and 209g in weight, is barely larger than the S120 – the last model in the old line. In the current market, its closest competitor is the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II, which despite being more than two years old is still widely available at a similar price. However the G9 X largely eschews the physical buttons found on its predecessors and main competitor in favour of substantially touchscreen-driven operation. This will, I suspect, strongly polarise opinions and put off many prospective users. But before we get into this too deeply, let’s take a look at what the G9 X has to offer.

Canon PowerShot G9 X review – Features

Like many recent fixed-lens compacts, including Canon’s own G3 X, G5 X and G7 X, the G9 X is built around a 20.1-million-pixel 1in CMOS sensor. It offers a sensitivity range of ISO 125-12800, and files can be recorded in both JPEG and raw formats.

The 28-84mm equivalent lens has a maximum aperture of f/2-4.9. While this looks impressively fast at wideangle, it drops off very quickly as you zoom, to f/2.8 at 35mm equivalent, and f/4 at 50mm. The lens includes a built-in 3-stop neutral density filter, which can be used for shooting with large apertures in bright light, or to slow down shutter speeds for increased motion blur in still images. Perhaps more importantly, it’s also useful to convey a more natural impression of motion during movie recording. The ND filter can be engaged manually by the user, or set to auto so the camera can use it whenever necessary.

Compared to other pocket cameras, though, the lens looks a little limited in terms of both range and aperture. For example the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II has a longer 28-100mm equivalent f/1.8-4.9 zoom, and Canon’s own G7 X has a 24-100mm equivalent f/1.8-2.8 lens that’s both rangier and much faster. Essentially, this is the main trade-off Canon has made to achieve the G9 X’s slender frame. On a more positive note, the lens does at least offer the same range as the 18-55mm kit zooms that come with most APS-C DSLRs.

Continuous shooting is available at up to 6fps. This sounds pretty impressive, but this being Canon, it comes with some caveats. You’ll only get this speed shooting JPEG files, and furthermore, with focus and exposure fixed at the start of a burst. If you want the camera to refocus between frames the speed drops to a still-respectable 4fps, however if you wish to record raw images, it slows right down to less than 1fps. Compared to Sony’s RX100 II, which can shoot at 5fps in raw, this is embarrassingly slow. The saving grace is that the G9 X’s short lens doesn’t really lend itself to action shooting in the first place, so this lack of speed is much less of a concern than it is on Canon’s G3 X superzoom.

A full complement of exposure modes is available via a top-plate dial. Program, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual modes are available for enthusiast photographers, joined by an array of scene modes and full auto shooting for beginners. Canon’s somewhat gimmicky ‘Creative Shot’ mode also makes an appearance; this takes five shots with every press of the shutter button, applying different processing filters and compositional crops to each. Occasionally it might come up with something interesting.

The G9 X can of course record Full HD video at 1920×1080 resolution and 50fps or 30fps, with sound recorded via a pair of microphones beneath the top-plate. It’s possible to zoom and refocus the lens during recording. In most modes the camera controls exposure settings, but there’s a dedicated movie position on the top dial allows you to take full manual control. A nice touch is that the touchscreen can be used to adjust settings during recording, so no button or dial clicking spoils your soundtrack.

Wi-Fi connectivity is built-in, with Canon providing more functionality than most other brands. Naturally you can make a connection to a smartphone or tablet for sharing images or controlling the camera remotely, and there’s even a dedicated button on the side of the camera for this purpose. But it’s also possible to transfer images between Canon cameras, or print directly to a Wi-Fi enabled printer, if you have one.

Canon PowerShot G9 X review – Build and handling

With its predominantly metal body shell and milled metal dials and controls, the G9 X feels robust and well-made. It looks good too, with Canon’s signature subtle red accents around the mode dial and shutter button adding a touch of class. Our review sample was supplied in a rather handsome brown-and-silver finish, but a more sober all-black is also available. In your hand, though, the feel is let down by the hard plastic used for the grip areas; I’d have preferred a softer rubberised finish.

When it comes to shooting with the G9 X, it very quickly becomes apparent that this is a very different animal to the old S-series models, or the higher-end G7 X. While the control dial around the lens and the conventional exposure mode dial are present and correct, the back of the camera is quite different. Most importantly, the combined D-pad and rear dial has gone, with a simple column of four buttons taking its place. By default the top button activates video recording, although its function can be changed when shooting stills. Those below it access the main menu and onscreen quick menu, and cycle through information display modes.

Almost all settings are changed using the touchscreen in conjunction with the round-lens control dial. Main exposure settings – shutter speed, aperture, ISO and exposure compensation – are changed by tapping their on-screen touch buttons and rotating the dial. Alternatively tapping another onscreen button placed within easy reach of your right thumb cycles the dial’s function through controlling each in turn. Most other functions require a press of the Q Menu button, at which point the required setting can be selected using the touchscreen, and changed either by touch or using the lens dial. Other onscreen buttons are used to lock exposure lock, activate manual focus or turn on the touch shutter control.

This is an unusual operational paradigm for a camera that’s apparently aimed at enthusiasts, and after using it for several weeks, I’m still not totally convinced it’s successful. It works quite well when you get used to it, but it’s not as quick or intuitive as more conventional setups. Don’t get me wrong here; I’m no anti-touchscreen Luddite, and find them extremely useful on most cameras. I’m just not particularly happy with being forced to use one for almost all camera operations, all the time, rather than as a complement for physical controls. This is compounded by the fact that the touch buttons are quite small and not especially well spaced, so it’s a bit too easy to tap the wrong one accidentally. This also makes the G9 X impossible to use as anything more than a point and shoot when you’re wearing gloves outdoors in winter, although to tell the truth, the Sony RX100 II’s tiny physical buttons aren’t much better.

I particularly keenly felt the lack of a D-pad during image playback, which ironically is an area when it’s usually helpful. But the touchscreen simply isn’t as responsive as I’d like for scrolling though images and zooming in to check detail. Deleting images is infuriatingly circuitous too, requiring a press of the rear ‘Q’ button followed by a couple of touch-button taps. Canon could do with improving its interface here – other manufacturers do rather better.

The self-consciously stylish G9 X is heavily reliant on its touchscreen, with relatively few external controls

Design – a symmetric arrangement of buttons, microphones and a speaker on the camera’s top illustrates Canon’s emphasis on design

Touch controls – most of the camera’s settings are controlled via onscreen touch buttons

Mobile Wi-Fi button – placed on the side of the camera, this is dedicated to establishing a connection quickly to your smartphone

Battery – the small NB-13L Li-ion pack is rated for 220 shots, and can be topped up using either the supplied mains charger, or in-camera via USB

Connectors – a flap on the side conceals micro USB and micro HDMI ports for connection to a computer or TV

Flash – a small built-in flash unit pops up from the top plate, released by a sliding switch

Canon PowerShot G9 X review – Autofocus

The G9 X utilises on-chip contrast detection for autofocus, and in good light it’s fast, quiet and accurate. The desired focus point can be selected by tapping the touchscreen, and indeed in the absence of a D-pad on the camera’s back, there’s no other way to specify an off-centre subject. Alternatively you can use face detection, or defer focus area selection to the camera’s judgement if you’re feeling lucky.

Where the camera falters, though, is when trying to autofocus at night or in low light. Focus speed slows right down, especially when shooting towards the telephoto end of the lens, and the camera has a bad habit of confirming focus and taking a picture when it simply hasn’t hit the mark. It gets especially confused by bright point light sources, rarely focusing correctly on night cityscapes where they tend to be prevalent. Enabling the bright orange AF illuminator can improve things, but at the cost of temporarily blinding your subjects.

If you prefer, manual focus is also available, although rather counter-intuitively it’s accessed by tapping a button labelled ‘AF’ on the touchscreen. Focus can be adjusted using either the lens ring or touch buttons, with an onscreen scale to display the current subject distance and both focus peaking and magnified display modes to help judge correct focus. But while this sounds like it ticks all the right boxes, in practice I found manual focusing on the G9 X to be a slow and unsatisfactory experience, and stuck with auto instead.

Canon PowerShot G9 X review – Performance

In use, the G9 X generally works quite well. Its metering is particularly impressive, rarely requiring any adjustment aside from for pictorial effect, and auto white balance tends to give the right answer most of the time too. In fact, it’s very good as a ‘point-and-shoot’ camera.

As we’ve come to expect the 20-million-pixel sensor delivers excellent detail at low ISOs, and gives attractive images at sensitivities up to ISO 1600 at least. This is fortunate, as the slow lens means that you’ll find yourself using high ISOs more often. As for the lens itself, it’s pretty sharp at the telephoto end, and not at all bad in the middle of its range. But it’s noticeably less good at wideangle, with somewhat soft corners that don’t improver all that much on stopping down.

Canon’s JPEG output is bright and colourful, and while this is great in dull conditions, occasionally it can look a little over the top. High ISO noise reduction can also be over-enthusiastic and smear fine detail. Sadly, while Canon gives useful control over JPEG processing, you have to accept the camera’s default options if you also want to shoot raw. This also means that it’s not possible to set the camera to black & white and shoot raw at the same time, which feels like an arbitrary, anachronistic restriction.

Canon PowerShot G9 X review – Image quality

Resolution

The G9 X gets about as much out of its 20MP sensor as possible, recording over 3500 l/ph at ISO 125 before succumbing to aliasing artefects. But you’ll only get this in raw; noise reduction smoothing limits it to 3000 l/ph in JPEG. Resolution holds up well to ISO 800 (3200 l/ph), but falls more rapidly at higher settings, giving just 2400 l/ph as ISO 12500.

Dynamic range

The G9 X’s 20MP sensor delivers good results at low ISOs in our Applied Imaging tests, with over 12EV of dynamic range at ISO 125. In practice, this means that it doesn’t clip highlights as abruptly as cameras with smaller sensors tend to, while also retaining a bit more useful shadow detail. But at ISO 800 and above it falls off quite quickly, reflecting increasing noise levels particularly in the shadows. The top three ISO settings give particularly low readings.

Noise and detail

As expected with this sensor, the G9 X gives clean, highly detailed images at low ISOs. At ISO 800, noise begins to swamp fine detail, but the camera continues to give good results up to ISO 1600. However at ISO 3200 image quality becomes marginal, and the two highest settings give results that are really only adequate for casual use.

Canon PowerShot G9 X review – Conclusion

With its small size and undeniably good-looking design, the G9 X has plenty going for it. Indeed if you want a good-looking pocket camera with excellent image quality to supplement a DSLR or CSC, and perhaps use primarily in auto mode, then it’s a tempting option. Canon’s excellent white balance and metering bring attractive output, and once the Wi-Fi is set up it’s really easy to copy your images to your phone for sharing.

However, if you’re an enthusiast photographer looking to take more manual control over shooting, the G9 X is perhaps not such a good choice. Its strong reliance on a touchscreen makes it more awkward to shoot with than its peers; indeed I never realised how much I’d miss the simple D-pad controller, and I think Canon has made a mistake by omitting one. Other manufacturers have managed to fit them on similarly small cameras with equally large touchscreens, so it’s not due to a lack of space (although the huge bezel around the screen makes it look that way). Poor continuous shooting and inconsistent low-light autofocus reinforce the impression of a camera that’s not quite as good in reality as it looks on paper.

This is a shame, because the G9 X is a camera I really wanted to like. But its flaws make it difficult to love, or recommend wholeheartedly ahead of the nearly three-year-old Sony RX100 II. However if you can live with its touchscreen-dominated operation it can certainly deliver good results.

Canon PowerShot G9 X review – Full specification