Review: Canon PowerShot G7x Mark III — compact and much more than just a vlogging camera

Although I’m a radiographer by trade I am not a great photographer.  My creativity leaves a lot to be desired which is why I did science and not any sort of arts course (this is why I admire so many content creators who actually create some amazing looking and innovative content).

This is one reason I have rarely reviewed cameras.  Recently I reviewed the Canon PowerShot V10 and was a bit underwhelmed with its overall capabilities but in doing so I got a bit of a bug for these smaller, simpler cameras.

I am currently undertaking a smartphone camera shootout between all the top contenders on the market and this year I figured why not also include a point and shoot camera as a comparison.  Are they really all that much better anymore given the software advantages the smartphones often have these days?

By point and shoot I’m talking about a compact camera that you can easily fit into your pocket as you would a smartphone.  If you’re on holiday, which would be best to take your keepsake photos with?  You’ll have to wait for the shootout to find out that question but let’s have a close look at the Canon PowerShot G7 Mark III and see just how good it is on its own.

What is it?

The Canon PowerShot G7 X III is a 20MP 1-inch  sensor compact aimed at those who want a camera that is apparently an upgrade over their smartphone camera and is easy to use and small to pocket.  The sensor is roughly four times the size of the sensor in your phone which means that it *should* be better at low light photos than a smartphone but given the advanced nature of computational photography these days the end result is not a given.

The lens is a focal length of 24-100mm equivalent f1.8-2.8 lens that is a stacked CMOS sensor combined with a Digic 8 processor for not just greater image quality but also speedy image taking.

The LCD touch screen on the rear tilts 180 degrees up and 45 degrees down allowing for easy vlogging, aided by the ability to livestream vertical video to YouTube.  Also helping the camera be ideal for vloggers is the microphone input port, a first for 1-inch compact cameras.  A serious vlogger will want to use this for the best audio quality.

The G7X Mark III supports 4K recording at 30p and Full HD at 120p and a bunch of still photo options, creative filters and photo effects.  There is also a manual pop-up flash that is easy to use and required in so many low light situations (when there isn’t the advanced software wizardry that smartphones offer in 2023).

Connectivity is quite good offering Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity to your smartphone allowing for easy image transfer and live streaming.

Features and functionality

One thing I was concerned about was the video stabilisation, having been recently spoiled with the amazing 6-axis stabilisation in the Asus Zenfone 10 but it seems to have done a pretty decent job.  I am still unable to run or move very fast at all on my busted ankle but the walking videos seems to be relatively still, especially I really wasn’t making any concerted effort to keep the camera still.  This is all done on-device which is fairly impressive.

The audio when video recording is fairly “tinny” and not really of amazing quality so if you were to use this as your vlogging camera you would be buying yourself a lapel mic or something similar to get better audio.

Camera Interface

The large LCD display offers an easy way to navigate around the interface and if you’ve ever used the Canon interface before you will be very familiar with the UI.  Although still nowhere near the ease of navigating through a smartphone interface, the Canon interface is still much better than that on so many similar compact cameras on the market.

The buttons are easy to press and give a very solid touch and feel to them, easily activating.  Now the only way I could see to activate the video recording while vlogging was via the LCD display which was not ideal for my big fat fingers but a bit of editing could easily edit my sausage fingers out of the video – live streaming folks would have to just deal with them.

Although the camera battery can be charged using the battery charger included I would assume you’d only use this if you had multiple batteries and wanted to continue to use the camera while charging because the USB-C port was also able to charge the camera and did not require removing the battery etc to charge it.  Much more handy because even Apple users (from this year) will have USB-C chargers lying around.

Photos

The images on the Canon G7x came out exceptionally good — you forget just how good dedicated cameras can be once you exclusively use a smartphone camera for a year or three. The images came out excpetionally well, but with zero post processing there are a couple of issues.

Now, the colour is amazing and really pops but the lens flare from bright lights is fairly extensive. The zoom function is limited to a lot less than you can get with digital zoom on a smartphone (it maxes out at 4.2x). The digital zoom on a smartphone camera that takes a smartphone past 5x zoom is not the same as optical zoom though, which is what the Canon offers. At this zoom, especially in low light you will lose detail — but then you will with all cameras in these trying conditions.

One thing you will get with a dedicated camera is true colours. Some smartphone manufacturers offer post processing that is meant to make the image more pleasant to your eye but in doing so give unrealistic saturation to the colours in the image.

Enough jibber jabber, check out the images below:

Video

This is a compact camera designed to be used by vloggers as well as us everyday schmucks and as such it would be remiss of me now to check out the vlogging camera chops. Flip up the LCD display so you can see yourself in the viewport, hit the record button on the LCD display — not ideal as it is quite small — and away you go.

I did a couple of main tests, one with relatively low light and one while walking so you can see how well the on-device video stabilisation works:

Software

The Canon app is the same as that used on the PowerShot V10 and once again a direct Wi-Fi connection between the camera and my smartphone was quick and easy.  Of course there is the option of Bluetooth connectivity as well but the Wi-Fi is much faster for transferring media to your smartphone.

Inside the app is where you set up your livestream to YouTube.  Yes, YouTube is the only streaming service supported at this stage unfortunately.

Final thoughts

In 2023 a traditional compact camera is a tough sell when everyone has a smartphone and smartphone cameras are generally excellent. This is why camera manufacturers are gearing their cameras towards vloggers. Canon has done that here with the PowerShot G7x Mark III where it is not just compact but has a relatviely large LCD display that can be flipped up or down allowing the vlogger to see their video as they are recording.

The PowerShot G7x Mark III offers great photography while also offering impressive video capabilities. The low light imaging is excellent, as you’d expect from such a large sensor and the mic input is just what a vlogger needs. Without a mic attached, the voice reproduction is a bit thin and lacks depth, especially when outside. Serious vloggers will use some form of mic though so that won’t worry them.

The size of the G7x Mark III makes it easy to fit into the pocket opposite to your smartphone while adding excellent imaging capabilities when out and about. If you want a compact camera to take around with you (especially if your smartphone doesn’t have the best camera) then the G7x Mark III fits the bill.

For more information head on over to the Canon website. You can grab a Canon PowerShot G7x Mark III from all good camera stores for around AUD$1,059. Check it out now.