Canon officially announces the PowerShot G5 X Mark II and PowerShot G7 X Mark III

CANNOT said:

lol yeah the Kasey 'Cameraconspiracies' Stern Canon Cripple Hammer at work. Let's find something to annoy our customers with and makes them buy our other stuff... sigh.

Funny enough it was the Canon PowerShot SX1 IS that got me into video (one of the first cameras that did 1080p... and it was hackable with CHDK)... but following that, I never tried my luck with them ever again. xD I've had Nikon cameras... Olympus, but mainly Panasonic, since the GH2 onwards.

But a lot of the YouTube community swore by the Canon G7 X Mark II for vlogging and the idea of a little pocketable do-it-all with a bit more versatility than a smartphone appealed to me (I used to shoot with my Panasonic LX100 premium compact quite a bit, but my Huawei/Leica collab P20 Pro and then P30 Pro made me leave it at home) so I figured the G7 X Mark III might get me back on the Canon train. Off to a rough start. At least they addressed the C-AF with firmware, which helped... a little. The omited 24p got put back in again; should've been there from the start, but alas. Unfortunately Panasonic's successor to the LX100: the Mark II was a little lacklustre, very disappointed there and Sony... ugh, wouldn't spend a whole sum of money on one. Nikon should've gone through with that very promising looking DL line-up of premium compacts, such a shame. Hopefully some further firmware will fix the rest of the G7 X Mark III C-AF quirks. Panasonic has shown with their cameras that C-AF FW update fixes really can amount to significant improvement.

Click to expand...

Yes, several times I criticized Canon for crippling Cameras (and did spread that a lot)

But well, I'm really happy that the bad-reviews/complains/forum chat, etc. made them take the right way to improve Firmware of many cameras (90D, R, Rp, G7X III & G5X II) to implement what should have been there: 24p, and improving the AF on the latest G7X III & G5X II (besides the security patch)

Well, aside that, I'll buy the RawPower charger you posted & some cables, also a PD compatible Car charger. With that I'll be able to charge almost anything with just 1 charger

Let's hope (and encourage if necessary) people keep complaining and posting bad reviews when something is not good. THAT increases the chance for Firmware update A LOT (the facts demonstrates it, especially since 2009 with the EOS 5D2)

Happy new year!!

Cheers!

Brain surgery was a success. I installed the firmware update tonight, and the patient lived. Something not mentioned earlier which I think was a change is that you can select 4K video when you have face, etc., autofocus set. I don't think you could do that with the previous version.

I can now shoot video at the magical 24fps rate, or at least at 23.98. I'm still a bit skeptical that it will make my videos shot with a 1" sensor capable of being projected in movie theaters. But then I haven't ever tried shooting at that rate. Question: before I submit my magnum opus to Sundance and Cannes, do I need to convert it to actual 24fps like real movies, or does the magic still happen and they will accept it at 23.98?

I note that that frame rate is available in both 4K and 1080p. I also downloaded the revised manual.

Great!

Good to know. I still have to do it.

- To your question:
24p, or in fact 23.98 fps in this case ( the EOS 5D4 has an option for "real cinema 24p"), has 2 main advantages:

1- Real-Film-Like looking (IF it is shot correctly, I mean it's not the only factor. Lighting is also a key factor, 1/48 or 2/50 shutter speed for the 180° rule, Color grading is also huge key factor, etc.)

2- since there are less frames per second and the bit rate is the same, each frame has bit higher image quality.

-- For Sundance you can send almost in any frame rate. They projects digital media in latest digital projectors.
Not sure about Cannes, probably the same.

They specify the type of media they accept.
No need to transfer to real film at that stage.
That's only needed for projecting on movies around the world (not all movies can project digital content even in USA)

Cheers Mr. Director!

I think there is software that will add scratches and film grain, too.

The firmware update was really quite easy and painless, at least working from a Mac and using a memory card for the transfer. The main thing that can go wrong is if your camera battery goes dead or somebody hits a button on the camera during the update and aborts the process partway through. So the moral is to charge the battery before you start, and set the camera down in a safe place and don't touch it until the screen goes blank, showing that the update is complete and the camera turned itself off. It seems like the process took 10 or 15 minutes. Maybe it was less. So it is not going to stress a charged battery.

stevelee said:

I think there is software that will add scratches and film grain, too.

The firmware update was really quite easy and painless, at least working from a Mac and using a memory card for the transfer. The main thing that can go wrong is if your camera battery goes dead or somebody hits a button on the camera during the update and aborts the process partway through. So the moral is to charge the battery before you start, and set the camera down in a safe place and don't touch it until the screen goes blank, showing that the update is complete and the camera turned itself off. It seems like the process took 10 or 15 minutes. Maybe it was less. So it is not going to stress a charged battery.

Click to expand...

Yes! There are many ways to add grain / scratches in case you want it to look as an old film. But with film-looking i didn't mean an "old film" looking

Yes, Firmware update is quite easy but needs the care you said:
- 100% charged battery
- no touching the camera at all in the process

I updated mines many times without problems. Usually it's worth to get the improvements and fixes.

Some lenses even have Firmware updates that are done via the camera attached to the lens.

Cheers!

I threw in the scratches and grain comment partly in jest. I am amused and bemused by the whole “film look” thing. (If there were such a thing as “c-mused,” I’d probably be that, too.)

And if I wanted an old film look, I’d shoot black-and-white at 16 or 18 fps.

stevelee said:

I threw in the scratches and grain comment partly in jest. I am amused and bemused by the whole “film look” thing. (If there were such a thing as “c-mused,” I’d probably be that, too.)

And if I wanted an old film look, I’d shoot black-and-white at 16 or 18 fps.

Click to expand...

Lolll

B&W at 16fps looks nice!!

Years ago one of the 1st Canon Rebels shot at 20fps and almost everybody complained it wasn't useful for movie making, and they were right.

Canon sometimes releases annoying things

Well, let's enjoy the 24p and improved AF!!

I didn’t shoot any video in Europe, but I didn’t have focus problems at all in stills. In Italy of course I was shooting a lot church interiors and religious art in museums. The facial recognition seemed always to find Mary no matter who all were in the frame. I kept the red light beam turned off, so low light focus was more of a challenge presumably, but it almost always did fine.

Hi friends!

I updated the Firmware of my G5XII.

Yesterday I was setting up the "Favorite" menu (most handy functions, a great idea from Canon since some years ago), and also testing some features I didn't know.

I was really impressed with some of them, which I don't even have in my 5D4 and I don't think there are available on other Canon DSLRs. Some are very simple, yet very handy.

I'll write more about the video recording (many options) later since i have to go out now

Cheers

I look forward to your telling us about your discoveries.

I bought a car last month, and am still discovering features and running into things I don't understand. (The other day a green foot showed up like a warning light on the dash.) Yesterday the dealer's tech guy came by to sync the car to my garage door opener. He told me a few more things, and I asked some questions, like what is the little plastic loop thing that came with the owner's manual. He showed me a storage compartment to the left of the steering wheel that I didn't know was there. I thought that handle opened the hood. There are at least five ways to change radio stations. I'm not exactly a technophobe. I've had my own computers since 1980, when you needed to know a lot more than you do now, and had my own web site since 1996. I'm at least at the intermediate level using Photoshop, FCP X, etc. It makes me wonder how more tech-challenged folks fare with modern cars.

So with the camera, it is so neat that there can be new things to discover in a Powershot camera for someone who has used similar models for some years, and has used this one for thousands of stills so far. I did notice that after the update there were more video options and more were available in more autofocus modes.

Speaking of my web site, my trip pictures with this camera (except for the first few, when I had accidentally taken the G7X II along rather than the 5) starting on this page for Rome. Other cities are indexed on this temporary page. There are many more pages than you will want to look at, and I haven't even got to the cruise portion yet. But maybe a sampling could give an idea about the camera. Of course I cropped, straightened, and resized for the web in ACR and Photoshop. For cramped interiors and wide landscape vistas and long ceilings, I did some stitching. (I did miss my 16-35L.) I've been surprised how most of the time I prefer As Shot color balance to other options, as with my other Canon cameras.

One photo that might be of some interest is an HDR I did of a church that was closed and totally dark. The front door was open, but as I looked over the barrier at the ceiling, it was too dark for me to see anything. I held up the camera and took shots at normal auto exposure, and +1 and +3 stops. This is how ACR merged them:

stevelee said:

I look forward to your telling us about your discoveries.

I bought a car last month, and am still discovering features and running into things I don't understand. (The other day a green foot showed up like a warning light on the dash.) Yesterday the dealer's tech guy came by to sync the car to my garage door opener. He told me a few more things, and I asked some questions, like what is the little plastic loop thing that came with the owner's manual. He showed me a storage compartment to the left of the steering wheel that I didn't know was there. I thought that handle opened the hood. There are at least five ways to change radio stations. I'm not exactly a technophobe. I've had my own computers since 1980, when you needed to know a lot more than you do now, and had my own web site since 1996. I'm at least at the intermediate level using Photoshop, FCP X, etc. It makes me wonder how more tech-challenged folks fare with modern cars.

So with the camera, it is so neat that there can be new things to discover in a Powershot camera for someone who has used similar models for some years, and has used this one for thousands of stills so far. I did notice that after the update there were more video options and more were available in more autofocus modes.

Speaking of my web site, my trip pictures with this camera (except for the first few, when I had accidentally taken the G7X II along rather than the 5) starting on this page for Rome. Other cities are indexed on this temporary page. There are many more pages than you will want to look at, and I haven't even got to the cruise portion yet. But maybe a sampling could give an idea about the camera. Of course I cropped, straightened, and resized for the web in ACR and Photoshop. For cramped interiors and wide landscape vistas and long ceilings, I did some stitching. (I did miss my 16-35L.) I've been surprised how most of the time I prefer As Shot color balance to other options, as with my other Canon cameras.

One photo that might be of some interest is an HDR I did of a church that was closed and totally dark. The front door was open, but as I looked over the barrier at the ceiling, it was too dark for me to see anything. I held up the camera and took shots at normal auto exposure, and +1 and +3 stops. This is how ACR merged them:

Click to expand...

EDITED some parts & added comments at bottom
---

Wow... your car has lot of secret features

Well, after bit more testing my GX5 II I found (brief list, sorry, lack of time)

- in VIDEO Mode (Video-cam icon, the only mode you can record 4K so far) you also have option to record HDR Video (at FullHD.. I initially thought it was 4K and said wooooaahh! But not..)

4K & FullHD is excellent, better than 5D4 in terms of Sharpness and anti-aliassing

Of course you can also record in Full Manual mode.

Press the button in center of wheel for options.

- You can Optically Zoom in/out very smoothly pressing the lever around release button

- you can also have Peaking, a must-have feature that the 5D4 SHOULD have... (so possible via Firmware...)

- You CAN change Shutter Speed WHILE recording video, even as low as 1/8!! The 5D4 cannot go so low.
Also Aperture and ISO.
Aperture changes are very smooth. ISO changes are not smooth (opposed to 5D4)

- Clicking wheel to Right Disable/Enable Servo AF/AF/MF while recording

- Same but Up does something I don't remember right now

- Pressing and holding the wheel Down for 1 second turns the LCD Brightness to Maximum (VERY handy). Repeating it, go back to previous Brightness adjusted level

- I noticed that LCD Brightness high or at max. Level shows somewhat "washed out" image, not "true" compared to viewing it on a computer.

Initially I was concerned because the IQ displayed on the camera's LCD didn't seem to be as sharp as some pictures I already watched on another screen.
So I took some tests pics, and realized the Camera LCD is not so good as a monitor, especially at high brightness level, because the pictures were very good when I checked them on the monitor.

- Best Sharpness seems to be achieved at f/4 in most cases.

Weakest points are corners, as expected, but highly improved from wide open to f/4.

IMO It's remarkable the Sharpness of this Zoom lens, especially considering the fast aperture and long focal range.

It was a VERY important point to me, as pro photographer, before buying, and what I get is as expected compared with full-res pictures I got before.
I'm very happy with the performance.

F/8 or narrower is noticeable lees sharp than f/4. So if needed, it's much better to use the ND or speed up the shutter.

- There's an option to use ELECTRONIC SHUTTER when shooting ONE SHOT mode.
I don't know if there's a difference in IQ with mechanical shutter.
I have to test it carefully.
NOTE: My Panasonic M4/3 Lumix G7 DOES deliver a bit SHARPER image when using Electronic Shutter.

I didn't know that until I discovered it when checking DPReview image comparison Tool, and the confirmed it in my own G7 Camera...

-- IQ of Video is GREAT.
Small rolling shutter/jello effect at 4K and no crop (unless Electronic IS enabled) is incredible!!
Almost none jello at FullHD.

The 5D4 4K jello is AWFUL and it's sensor cropped.

With this little camera I can get 24mm - 120mm 4K Video without those issues.

-- It DOES HEAT UP on 4K.
I recorded max. Length time (8.4GB file!!) and some minutes later of doing things the G5X II Shut down due to overheating (warning icon appeared minutes earlier of shutting down). For faster cooling, I removed Battery AND SD Card (which was hot indeed) and left battery door open.

It's recommended you do NOT put camera on Video mode unless you will record. It seems to me that in that mode the G5X II heats up even if you are not recording (heats up faster when recording)

FullHD doesn't seem to have overheating problems.

-- SOME THINGS I MISS:

. Mic-in (already knew it)
. External Flash mount (idem) or at least a Sync port, cause the IQ is so good I could carry an external flash if needed (but built-in Flash works great for short range)
. Extended battery life (very short)
. Vari-angle articulated LCD, which I have on a 70D and prefer lot more than this tilt-only system

PS:

1. I Ordered 61W RawPower Charger & cable with Power Delivery feature, to be able to carry 1 charger-for-everything (USB-C + USB-A) ideal for travel, let's see how fast the battery is charged in-camera compared to external charger and if I can power the G5X2 directly from cable without battery

2. I'm using the Filter Adapter, to protect the lens. Peace of mind to me. It makes G5X2 thicker, not "so" pocketable, but anyway (I bought 3 carrying cases, finally the Large from Amazon was the right one).
I can also attach a CPL or ND Filter, although with CPL (thicker) at 24mm AND Macro the filter produces a bit Vignetting since it was designed for G7X II which is a bit smaller in lens diameter.
I purchased Hoya kit of Slim filters (good quality coated filters, always use them on big lenses too, unless using the Super-Multicoated versions)

ADDED ON EDIT:

I tested connecting an external monitor to G5X2 and it CAN display everything, even while recording at 4k!
The Camera LCD turns off, but if you ever need a bigger screen while recording, you have it.

My Panasonic G7 unfortunately does not display on external monitor when recording...

- Since it does work on the G5X2 while recording, I'm trying to find a way to move the AF focus square while recording, since the touchscreen LCD turns off.

-- If anybody knows how to move it, please let me know!

P.P.S: After all, this post wasn't brief, but I wanted to share my findings with you...

Cheers!

(If you did read this on email notification, read it here again, because I updated it)

Thanks so much. I have saved those comments so I don't have to find this page for reference. I doubt that I will encounter a lot of those things, but they are good to know about. I don't shoot much video. If things go as in the past, I will have a little project in June. Shooting is mostly in bursts of a minute or two, so maybe I can do 4K without overheating.

I'm not surprised that f/4 is a sweet spot. The actual focal length of the little lens and the small size of the sensor would mean diffraction's ugly head is raised before stopping down much. The autoexposure seems to do a good job optimizing the settings.

As I continue going through my pictures from the trip, I am more and more impressed with how good this little camera is. (I'm also enjoying the car a lot.)

stevelee said:

Thanks so much. I have saved those comments so I don't have to find this page for reference. I doubt that I will encounter a lot of those things, but they are good to know about. I don't shoot much video. If things go as in the past, I will have a little project in June. Shooting is mostly in bursts of a minute or two, so maybe I can do 4K without overheating.

I'm not surprised that f/4 is a sweet spot. The actual focal length of the little lens and the small size of the sensor would mean diffraction's ugly head is raised before stopping down much. The autoexposure seems to do a good job optimizing the settings.

As I continue going through my pictures from the trip, I am more and more impressed with how good this little camera is. (I'm also enjoying the car a lot.)

Click to expand...

Oh, I forgot to say that in Video mode there's an option of Auto level, which compensates small tilts of the camera to the sides, similar to digital image stabilization but for leveling.

Yes, IQ is great, main reason I decided to get it and not carry a very expensive gear, also VERY discrete compared to a DSLR + Zoom lens, the tool I needed for daily carry in pocket or small case and urban photography

Drive safe!

Hey guys,

I want to share this with you. Good news!

I received the charger and cables, tested with the G5X II and I can confirm:

1- You CAN change the battery inside the camera via USB-C

2- You CAN turn ON and USE the camera WITHOUT any battery inside, powering the camera via USB-C

No need to buy the extremely expensive Canon power adapter.

The Key is, as @CANNOT told before, use a Charger and USB-C Cable compatibles with "Power Delivery" (PD) standard.

I'll also buy a Car charger (cigarette-type), I found many with USB-C Power Delivery Compatibility as well as USB-A to charge other devices.

This is GREAT because the battery life is considerably short (I always carry spare batts), so being able to charge in-camera is really handy.

Thanks to everybody once again!!

Have nice weekend!!

PS: I decided to buy a powerful 61W charger, future-proof as @CANNOT suggested. A bit heavy compared to my Samsung standard USB-C charger, but with it I can charge any mobile of any kind, plus the camera batteries.
I also have a LP-E6 USB charger, but in that case I'd very probably use the standard Canon wall charger

Thanks for the info. On my trip I shot thousands of pictures, but never near 200 in a given day. I never ran out of battery charge, and was always where I could recharge the battery at night. I didn't shoot any video. I didn't even bother to check whether the G7X II battery was the same so I could swap it, because I never needed to. I do know they use the same charger, so I took just one charger with me for both cameras. It turned out that I didn't need to use the other camera either. I picked it up by mistake from my bag when I arrived in Rome, so my first shots were made with that camera, which worked out fine anyway. Otherwise, it was along just to be a backup. With a new camera, besides allowing for things that might go wrong with a new camera, there was the chance I wouldn't like it as well or might not be enough used to it, and might want to revert to the familiar model. That didn't happen, of course, but having an extra little camera in my bag was not a problem.

stevelee said:

Thanks for the info. On my trip I shot thousands of pictures, but never near 200 in a given day. I never ran out of battery charge, and was always where I could recharge the battery at night. I didn't shoot any video. I didn't even bother to check whether the G7X II battery was the same so I could swap it, because I never needed to. I do know they use the same charger, so I took just one charger with me for both cameras. It turned out that I didn't need to use the other camera either. I picked it up by mistake from my bag when I arrived in Rome, so my first shots were made with that camera, which worked out fine anyway. Otherwise, it was along just to be a backup. With a new camera, besides allowing for things that might go wrong with a new camera, there was the chance I wouldn't like it as well or might not be enough used to it, and might want to revert to the familiar model. That didn't happen, of course, but having an extra little camera in my bag was not a problem.

Click to expand...

Hi!

I usually run out of battery because I'm still testing it a lot, trying to learn all the features, and setting it up to the best.

I saved C mode with my favorite settings, and as mentioned earlier, I made my Favorite menus, all ordered with my priorities, as I did on my 5D4, so to have all cameras with very similar menus.

I was just testing the lowest possible shutter speed I can use without blurring, and a function that takes several pics in a burst to combine and reduce noise.

So, after this learning & setting curve I'll probably use lot less the battery, unless I record many videos (which I'll probably do, since 24mm with IS is very useful for my needs)

Great little camera.

Oh, BTW, I have to download the Canon software to process RAW files, since I don't have latest Adobe Photoshop. I'll also try another software I own, maybe it can handle the .cr2 of the G5XII

The G5X II raw files are .cr3.

stevelee said:

The G5X II raw files are .cr3.

Click to expand...

In Picture quality:

You can choose between standard RAW .CR2 and "cRAW" .CR3 (Smaller, compressed raw, with - I'm almost sure - some loose of data)

PVCC said:

In Picture quality:

You can choose between standard RAW .CR2 and "cRAW" .CR3 (Smaller, compressed raw, with - I'm almost sure - some loose of data)

Click to expand...

I didn't know that. Since Photoshop deals with .CR3 files just fine, I don't need to change. With 64GB and 128GB cards, I don't see any point in risking data loss in Raw files.

stevelee said:

I didn't know that. Since Photoshop deals with .CR3 files just fine, I don't need to change. With 64GB and 128GB cards, I don't see any point in risking data loss in Raw files.

Click to expand...

EDITED - See P.S.
___

I want to rectify myself:

This camera RAW file extension is indeed .CR3

There's an option to save cRAW which I understand as compressed-RAW which is mentioned in page 104 of User Guide.

It says the RAW data is saved in "more compact" file size. No mention to loose some data or not.

My guess is it doesn't loose data, otherwise Canon should tell. (Although Nikon, if I recall it right, had, or has, some RAW format with some loose of info, but not 100% sure)

EDITED - P.S.:

I found this on Google, that explains a bit about the CR3 (new file format used by Canon Mirrorless cameras), and the "cRAW" (compressed RAW) option, which according to that post the cRAW does loose some data...

It would be very good to research with care about this.

Link: https://expertphotography.com/cr3-file/

.