Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III Camera Review

The Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III is Canon’s large sensor compact camera, with a 24 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, 3x optical zoom lens, 3inch vari-angle touch-screen, electronic viewfinder (EVF), FullHD video recording, and built-in Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth. Has Canon made a true miniature DSLR in the size of a compact camera?

Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III Features

The G1 X Mark III is the first G series camera with an APS-C sensor, using the same sensor generation as the Canon EOS 80D, with gapless microlenses, dual pixel AF, and fast sensor readout. It's also the largest sensor in a G series camera, updating (and replacing) the G1 X Mark II, which featured a smaller 1.5inch sensor.

Above you can see the relative size of the different APS-C, Four Thirds, 1inch and 1/2.3inch camera sensors - more examples can be found here. 

With a 24mp APS-C CMOS sensor, the camera offers a higher resolution than alternative 20 megapixel 1inch CMOS sensor cameras, such as the G5 X, and Sony Cyber-shot RX100 series. The only other APS-C camera with a zoom lens, is the Leica X Vario, which has been discontinued.

Canon Powershot G5 X (left) Vs G1 X Mark III (middle) Vs G1 X Mark II (right).

Nearest competitors compared:

*equivalent 35mm terms

The G1 X Mark III is weather-sealed and weighs 398g. It’s the big brother to the G5 X, and whilst not much larger, it features an APS-C CMOS sensor, rather than a 1inch sensor. Weather-sealing is said to be to the same standard as the Canon EOS 80D and Powershot G3 X.

Optical image stabilisation is built-in, with the camera featuring a gyro sensor to help the camera combat image blur. The IS system is said to give up to 4 stops of image stabilisation. The lens can focus down to 10cm at the wide-angle end of the lens, and 30cm at the telephoto end of the lens. AF is said to be fast thanks to Canon’s Dual-pixel AF system, with sensor pixels featuring phase detection auto-focus.

There are a number of external controls on the camera, including a control ring around the lens, a front control dial, plus a rear control wheel. There’s also an exposure compensation dial on top. The shutter release designed to feel like an EOS DSLR.

On the back is a 3inch vari-angle touch-screen with 1.04m dots and reinforced glass.The electronic viewfinder (EVF) has a high-resolution of 2.36million dots. 

Wi-Fi, NFC, and low-power Bluetooth are built-in (for image transfer while the camera is off). While remotely controlling the camera over Wi-Fi you can adjust the AF point during movie recording from your smartphone or tablet.

For the first time ever in a Canon camera, there is now an automatic Panoramic sweep mode, letting you take a panoramic photo with the camera automatically stitching the photo as you pan the camera from one side to the other! The maximum resolution for panoramic photos is: 24064x2800 (67mp, horizontal), or 16000 x 4200 (67mp, vertical).

There's a built-in pop-up flash, which you manually pull up and push down. Flash hot-shoe on top of the camera. A 3 stop ND filter is built-in with options of - On / Auto / Off.

An optional underwater housing, the WP-DC56, gives waterproofing down to 40m / 130ft, whilst still giving access to all the controls available on the camera (excluding the touch-screen).  

The camera records FullHD video at 60, 50, 30, 25, 24fps, using MP4 / MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 compression, and records stereo sound with the built-in microphones.

Key Features

• 24mp APS-C CMOS sensor, Hybrid AF
• Dual Pixel AF (sensor PDAF)
• DIGIC 7 image processor
• 3x optical zoom lens, 24-72mm equivalent, f/2.8-5.6
• Optical Image Stabilisation + Gyro IS
• 2.36m dot EVF (0.39inch), with dioptre adjustment
• 9fps continuous shooting, 7fps with C-AF
• Star-shooting mode, in-camera raw processing, 14-bit raw
• Touch-AF Pad (customisable)
• ISO100 to ISO25600
• FullHD, 60fps video with stereo sound
• 5-axis IS for video recording
• 10-30cm macro focus
• Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth

Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III Handling

The Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III is really small considering the APS-C CMOS sensor inside, measuring 115mm x 77.9mm x 51.4mm. When switched off, the camera lens retracts a good amount, making it easy to put the camera in jacket pockets. The build quality is very good, with the camera featuring a mostly plastic body. The front grip protrudes enough to give a good hold on the camera, and on the back is a good sized lip for your thumb to hold on to.

The layout of controls should be familiar to EOS DSLR users, and Canon has specifically designed the camera so that it’s easy for EOS DSLR users to use. There’s a locking mode dial on the top left, with a central button, which needs to be pressed in order to turn the dial, and there are two custom positions. On default settings, the front lens ring can be used to control the optical zoom. The front and rear wheels can be used to change settings quickly. 

The Canon Powershot G1 X III is smaller than the Canon EOS 600D body on its own. See how the G1 X III compares in size next to the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II, or the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II. 

Underneath the camera is where you’ll find the battery and memory card compartment. On the side is a HDMI connection, MicroUSB, and remote cable socket. Unfortunately, there is no external microphone socket.

The electronic viewfinder (EVF) features a rubber surround, making it comfortable to use. There’s an eye-detection sensor so that it will automatically switch between the rear screen and the EVF when you hold it up to your face. If you want to manually switch between the two, you need to go into the menus to change the settings - it would be nice if there was a quicker way to do this, although you can customise one of the buttons to get quicker access. The refresh rate on the EVF is good, unless you switch on the display power saving setting.

The screen looks great, with good viewing angles, and a gapless design. There's a dual-axis electronic level that can be displayed on the screen or EVF. You can use the touch-screen to change the focus point, as well as change settings, either in the Quick menu or in the menus. 

Menus – The menus should be familiar to anyone who’s used a recent Canon camera, with the menu design following the same layout as Canon’s EOS cameras, and other Powershot G series cameras. The menus are clearly laid out in to Shooting options, Settings, and MyMenu is where you can add your favourite settings. You can use the Q. / Quick Menu button to quickly access settings on the back of the screen, and these options can be customised.

Continuous shooting is rapid, with the camera offering 9fps when shooting JPEG images, and you can take up to 24 shots before the camera slows. If you’re shooting raw, the number of shots is less, at 17 shots, but this is still a reasonable amount. If shooting with continuous AF, at 7fps, you can shoot up to 29 JPEG images. 

Battery life is rated at 200 shots, which is not particularly impressive. There’s the option to switch on ECO mode, which should extend battery life to 250 shots. Therefore we'd recommend the purchase of a second battery straight away.

Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III Performance

The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

Speed - We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.

Shutter response and focus speeds are quick, and you can shoot a reasonable number of shots before the camera slows down when shooting with the continuous shooting mode. 

Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III Sample Photos

Sample Photos - Using the same sensor as Canon's EOS DSLRs, the G1 X Mark III offers excellent colour reproduction and pleasing saturation. Exposure is reliable, and dynamic range is good. You can use the ALO (Auto Lighting Optimiser) to boost shadows and record additional dynamic range in images. There is an HDR scene mode available which combines a number of shots in-camera, with a number of different style options, however, this doesn't save the raw file. 

You can customise the colour output with different picture profiles, with settings for sharpness, contrast, and saturation, with the same range of options as you find on the latest Canon EOS DSLRs. The flash performs well, with no red-eye visible in portrait shots, and good skin tones. 

Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III Lens test images

Lens Performance - The lens starts off at f/2.8 at the wide-angle 24mm equivalent, and at the telephoto end of the lens becomes slower with an f/5.6 aperture. The lens performs well at the wide-angle end, and is very sharp centrally, and remains quite sharp into the corners. At the telephoto end, the lens isn't as sharp when shooting wide open, at f/5.6, but becomes sharper when stopped down. There is a 37mm filter thread, the front of the lens does not rotate, so you can use filters.

Any distortion from the lens is automatically corrected in the camera, giving straight edges whether using the wide-angle or telephoto ends of the lens. It was difficult to spot vignetting in images. Chromatic aberration and purple fringing was generally low, and was occasionally visible when viewing areas of high contrast, but shouldn't be a big problem. The lens is also resistant to flare. Optical Image Stabilisation (IS) helps keep shots sharp when using slower shutter speeds, or when using the optical zoom and performs well. 

The camera lets you focus on subjects 10cm away from the front of the lens when shooting wide-angle, or 30cm at the telephoto end of the lens. This gives reasonable, but not outstanding macro possibilities, and you may struggle with small product photography. You could use a close-up filter if you wanted to get closer. 

Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III ISO test images

ISO Noise Performance - Noise performance is excellent from ISO100 to ISO1600 with clean results and good colour reproduction. At ISO3200 and ISO6400 noise starts to become more noticeable, but results are still good with usable images. At ISO12800 there is a further increase in noise, with a slight drop in colour saturation, particularly in the shadows or darker colours, but images may still be useful depending on your needs. Noise at ISO25600 is high, and this setting is best avoided unless you have no other option. There are High ISO speed Noise Reduction options of Low, Standard and High. The default is Standard, and these shots were taken set to Standard.

Noise compared to the competition...

With the same APS-C CMOS sensor as the EOS 80D, image quality and noise performance are almost identical to the EOS 77D and 80D, with excellent results up to ISO6400. Compared to the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 Mark V, which has a 1inch 20mp BSI CMOS sensor, results at ISO6400 are similar, with slightly cleaner results from the G1 X Mark III, and at ISO12800 the Canon has an advantage, with better results. The Canon doesn't quite match the noise results when compared to the Fujifilm X100F, at ISO12800 with the X100F giving cleaner results.

Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III White-balance test images

White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) performs well under tungsten (incandescent) lighting, with a warm result, capturing the mood of a scene. If you want more accurate white balance, then the tungsten preset gives a more neutral result. AWB performs well under mixed light, and very well under fluorescent lighting, with the fluorescent preset giving a slight colour cast. Unfortunately, the camera doesn't feature the "White" or "Cool" white balance option found on Canon EOS DSLRs.

Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III Digital filters

Digital Filters - There are a number of creative scene modes, including self-portrait, portrait, smooth skin, panoramic, panning, star, handheld night scene, grain black and white, soft focus, fish-eye effect, art bold effect, water painting effect, toy camera effect, miniature effect, HDR, underwater and fireworks. The HDR mode takes a number of shots at different exposures and combines them in-camera - there are options for Natural, Art standard, Art vivid, Art bold, and Art Embossed.

Panoramic | 1/500 sec | f/4.0 | 15.0 mm | ISO 100

Panorama mode - There is now an automatic Panoramic sweep mode, letting you take a panoramic photo with the camera automatically stitching the photo as you pan the camera from one side to the other, and it is the first time Canon has added this feature! The maximum resolution for panoramic photos is: 24064x2800 (67mp, horizontal), or 16000 x 4200 (67mp, vertical). Results are good, with images looking well stitched and detailed. 

Video - You can record FullHD video at 50 or 25fps (PAL) and 60, 30, 24fps (NTSC). In the video mode, you can use the touch-screen to set the focus position, and AF + Face tracking does a good job of keeping people in focus. ISO can be set from ISO100 to ISO6400 when in manual video mode. The optical zoom is smooth when used.

Value For Money

The Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III is priced at £1149 and will be available shortly. This makes the camera quite expensive compared to a mirrorless camera and lens, however, compared to some of the competition, compact cameras with large sensors, then the price is fairly reasonable. Some alternatives to consider include the following:

Sony Cyber-shot RX100 V, 20mp 1inch, 2.9x optical zoom, 24fps, 4K video, £950
Panasonic Lumix LX100, 12.8mp Four Thirds sensor, 3.1x optical zoom, 11fps, 4K video, £499
Fujifilm X100F, 24mp APS-C, 35mm equivalent f/2 lens, 8fps, FullHD video, £1200

Have a look at more serious compact cameras in our Top 10 Best Serious Compact Cameras. You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.

Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III Verdict

The Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III has taken the great usability of a Canon DSLR, and the 24mp APS-C CMOS sensor with phase-detection AF built-in, and squished it into a compact camera, whilst maintaining excellent handling and usability. They've also put a 3x zoom lens (24-72mm equivalent) on the front, with a relatively bright f/2.8 aperture at the wide-angle end of the lens. 

What Canon is offering is unique, giving a 24mp APS-C CMOS sensor, and a 3x optical zoom lens, in a compact camera not much bigger than other compact cameras. We started this review by asking if Canon had made a true miniature DSLR in the size of a compact camera, and from the results, we would say they've succeeded. Whilst the camera doesn't have the battery life to match a DSLR, this can quickly be solved by the purchase of a spare battery or two. 

The camera offers an electronic viewfinder, as well as a 3inch vari-angle touch-screen. You can use the touch-screen to set the focus position as well as change settings in the menus. As a compact camera, the electronic viewfinder is fairly small, but is still useful in bright conditions, when you might not want to use the screen. If you don't need 4K video recording or ultra high-speed continuous shooting, and the 9fps continuous shooting of the G1 X Mark III is enough for you, then the camera should meet your needs. If you're looking for a compact camera, that has Digital SLR image quality, then the Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III is the closest thing you're likely to find.

Overall, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 is fun, the prints are really cool and it'll make a great gift for a photographer you think should have a play around with something a bit different to their normal camera.  

The Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III offers DSLR quality in a compact camera.

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