Is The Canon G1X Mark III The Best Point-And-Shoot Camera In 2024?

[@chrislu9574]

Thanks!

[@omarknowsphotos]

Thank you, Chris!

[@JerredZ]

Dude. YOU ROCK. Do more of this. Get the truth out there.

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@JerredZ blessed by The Man himself 🙏

[@jessicahorta2367]

Thank you so much for this video I accidentally bought this one thinking it was the g7x and I’m so glad I did! 😅

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@jessicahorta2367 probably the best mistake you'll ever make 😂

[@themythofbritishexceptionalism]

Bought mine back in 2014, still use it regularly. I've always felt that it was massively underated. Once you learn its sweet spot its hard to let go, I would never sell mine. It sits proudly in my camera collection alongside crop sensor cameras, full frame, film and a couple of Leica's. Buy one while you can still afford one! 👑 📷

[@JimIBobIJones]

I bought one used a couple of years ago to replace the Sony Rx100 M4 I broke. It's great but has it's own set of trade-offs. The AA filter that canon insists on using in their cameras is the worst thing about this camera. I also dislike how Canon doesn't have an in-camera option to reduce chromatic aberration in their raw images (even though the function is there as the out of body JPEGs are fine for CA). On the tech side the lens based stabilisation isn't nearly as good as Sony's implementation in their premium compacts, and the dual pixel autofocus isn't quite as reliable as Sony's hybrid phase detect autofocus either (but much better than the contrast detect only in the g5x and 7x cameras). That said, it's the only larger (APSC and above) sensor compact camera with zoom, which makes it much more versatile than anything else out there. Even without the zoom, the autofocus is many times better than the unreliable and slow autofocus in the X100 series of cameras and is in an entirely different league to the unusable joke that is Ricoh G1's autofocusing.

[@Optykz]

This is a hidden little gem. I think the reason it didn’t get love was because of the lens not being sharp enough BUT don’t consider that it CAN zoom. A microphone jack would have sent sales through the roof

[@omarknowsphotos]

The lack of a mic jack was a huge miss. I'm genuinely curious about the lens not being sharp though, but I also mainly do photos of people and might be missing something there. I just never really had that observation, even with the photos in this video. The highlight roll-off from the older sensor is all that really caught my eye but that'd me being completely unreasonable.

[@JimIBobIJones]

​@@omarknowsphotosI don't think it's the lens: like a lot of canons it has an anti-aliasing filter. If you are coming from another system (Sony, Nikon etc) it does take a bit of getting used to but some light sharpening in post solves it.

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@JimIBobIJones I was looking at reviewing my first camera, the 70D, and vaguely remember people talking about the dual pixel AF causing some kind of softness in images vs the older contrast AF cameras and it has to be that. No sharpening in any of these images and honestly didn't think they needed it at all, but everything looks soft compared to today's standards if you pixel peep.

[@JimIBobIJones]

@@omarknowsphotos Its not necessarily a bad thing and if you are a long time canon shooter you probably don't even notice it. The AA filter eliminates moire at the cost of a little sharpness. Its a trade-off and different companies have a different philosophy. Canon is very much into it and you can sorta see why - its much easier to sharpen up a photo in post compared to removing moire.

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@JimIBobIJones Yeah. Truthfully I think a lot of complaints about image quality for most cameras over the past decade are ridiculous. I'm working on a video right now with the original Canon 5D and the remaining EF mount lenses I have and it's a little jarring to see a 20 year old camera that does what most people want a camera for these days that costs under $100.

[@LouisLuzuka]

Yes for the simple setup video 😮

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@LouisLuzuka 🫡

[@JimIBobIJones]

F2.8-5.6 isn't bad when you consider that most APSC zooms in the 16-50 (24-70mm equivalent) range are 3.5-5.6 and are much larger. F2.8 consistent zoom lenses are gigantic.

[@omarknowsphotos]

It really is asking a lot of a tiny camera but imagine a small prime on it like the X100 cameras. Still very pocketable.

[@JimIBobIJones]

@omarknowsphotos I love my primes on my interchangeable lens cameras, and only shoot with primes (except telephotos because who can afford a Tele prime) but personally can't live with just one focal range. I need at least a 24mm and a 50mm focal length, so would always go for a zoom when picking a compact

[@kendrasananikone]

the photos in front of the flowers were my favorite! you make the camera look so cool hehe awesome video omar 😎

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@kendrasananikone thanks Kendra! That was my favorite too. The most challenging part of these is taking photos and focusing on them over the video component. Hoping to get a grip on it soon so I can comfortably prioritize photography

[@KelvinSchwartzGrunlicht]

I only started a few years ago. 70d was on my max €750 top five list for so long, plenty of good kits for sale everywhere. Anyway, re. mic jack or not: There's the easy editor sync that you mentioned. Some discipline is still required to gather the files and you may risk out of sync drift between camera and audio recorder but it's not a huge hassle. Mic jacks are for vloggers that somehow aren't using lavs or for casual shooters wanting a more directional room mic. They can't touch any dials or buttons while recording and if they're into zooming that might be audible too. Some versions of AF and IBIS can also be heard when it kicks in and out. There's questionable mic preamps in both my G80 and E-M5 II which means using some kind of auto noise removal, worst case an extra hour trimming and checking all audio twice. Depends on the footage of course and isn't noticeable whenever voices or ambient audio is going on but quiet parts isn't usable as is. I expect most small ('hybrid') cameras with good video capabilities will have some of the same audio interference issues. Anything that requires just a notch better audio quality is going to be externally recorded anyway.

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@KelvinSchwartzGrunlicht I've gotten accustomed to syncing so much that it almost makes no difference. We're one app developer away from being able to do this on our phones.

[@KelvinSchwartzGrunlicht]

​@@omarknowsphotos I assume the Davinci app (€99 IIRC) is one click away from your iphone/ipad with the some of the same audio features as on desktop (noise removal, auto sync, etc.) There's still some friction for me to keep the files organized and stop/start camera and recorder(s) at each take. Hoping wireless kits will solve most of that.

[@ikirizki9185]

The sensor size is big for compact camera, even bigger than thr micro 4/3.

[@omarknowsphotos]

That's what makes it so cool

[@marcussaroop]

I have been saying this about this camera for years. It is amazing. I wish Canon would do something about the android app. I know all companies are horrible with their camara app. Great video! Free Palestine 🇵🇸

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@marcussaroop Ironically Ricoh of all companies has the only good app I've ever used, and FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸

[@nothingimpassable]

I also have a G1x mark III

[@omarknowsphotos]

Fantastic camera, isn't it?

[@hunterhart1]

This makes me want a 360 camera so damn bad

[@omarknowsphotos]

I'm always torn on whether this is worth it or not. I need to try a VR export some day.

[@ksl927]

I have owned this since 2019 and the specs suite me perfectly with what I want, I have yet to see a camera of this size and weight that has the features I want. I did look at Ricoh, which is light weight but then there are some missing features.

[@omarknowsphotos]

The missing weather sealing on the Ricoh is why I sold mine. I think that's a huge factor for a daily carry if you're outdoors a lot.

[@SilatShooter]

Agree it's a great P/S camera. Have mine, and sold my Ricoh GRIII once I used both together. Having a finder for bright days and weathersealing makes it great for travel. Agree that's it's not sexy and doesn't look like much, which as you mentioned is a plus. Do wish it were faster (aperture) at the long end but understand why. My only major gripe with this camera is high ISO noise above 3200 gets a bit funky. Even my noise reduction software struggles to clean it. Other than that, it's my small camera of choice.

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@SilatShooter I still haven't really seen a camera that does too well above 3200 but also I think that's generally us just pixel peeping. High iso with good fill light still leads to really good photos in general though. Might be worth doing a video on that at some point too.

[@moemerica6063]

Amazing info! Question what do you think about using the dji osmo pocket 3 creator combo with the mic for recording work and vlogging and face tracking when I’m stuck alone?

[@omarknowsphotos]

I actually use the Osmo mobile for the same reason with my phone. The Pocket 3 is incredible and a great buy for what you're talking about. I can't justify the purchase myself these days otherwise you'd see that review too, lol.

[@moemerica6063]

@@omarknowsphotosthank you

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@moemerica6063 anytime!

[@ShellyCohen-id3iu]

I am a fashion photographer and shoot with the M50 mark2 with prime lens. I am looking for a camera that I can carry outdoors for shoots as many arboretoms and parks will not allow me to shoot with pro setup but many people use phones etc. My photos are published in magazines. Will this camera do the job?

[@omarknowsphotos]

For the money, nothing is better.

[@amhtxc2960]

Supercomplete underrated camera with lots of features. It even has an ND filter, which is great because it is an awesome outdoors camera. When you pack light and small for hiking or mountain biking for instance, it is unbeatable. Might be if it have had a fixed lens around 28-35 mm (fx equivalent) with f2 it woud have been way more famous. I love it but I always think the lens is not up to all the goodness of the body.

[@omarknowsphotos]

That's the number one feedback I get from everyone. It doesn't bother me too much outside of it being slow on the telephoto end.

[@fromdonwithlove]

A 3” recorder would be great

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@fromdonwithlove that's effectively what the ancient ninja stars I use are but they have no screens and both Canon and Sony lose their screens in photo mode if you sent the signal out

[@malfunkt]

This camera was much more expensive back when I was looking to get into APS-C. I ultimately went for an ILC system to get the benefit of primes and larger reach telephotos. Canon G1X III is going for good used prices now... much better than what people are over-paying for some other fixed lens and fixed zoom portables.

[@omarknowsphotos]

I'll always go for an ILC over a point-and-shoot personally, especially because I prefer fast primes over all. It's just so odd that this is left out of all point-and-shoot discussions these days.

[@timdarylward]

It really depends on the photographer and how they like to shoot. I have the G7X which is a great everyday carry. I found the G1X a little bulky - it doesn’t fit as neatly into my pocket. I had the same issue with the M50 and the M6 which I also own. As much there may be cameras with better specs it all comes down to practicality and usage. There’s no one size fits all - it’s always a personal preference.

[@omarknowsphotos]

10000% all based on use-case scenerio. I just think it's crazy that these G7Xs are going for upwards of $1500 now

[@krakapoww]

You should look at the s100, as a pocket rocket its unmatched in terms of size

[@ReinoldFZ]

A time I was waiting for one to be at a good price, as it seemed perfect to replace a Fujifilm X100 with wide and teleconverter while getting IBIS and a weather resistant body; but the more photos I saw with it the less enthusiastic I felt because the lens. Is not that it is slow, it's the rendering, is digitally corrected and the bokeh in its quality, not its size, is closer to the rendering of a small sensor camera than to an aps-c camera. Maybe because the manufacturing process of the lens. If it gets hyped I will be happy to see the photos made by creatives though, as yours : )

[@omarknowsphotos]

It's about as good as the 70D in all honesty, but the slow lens for me really does make it hurt. I've been carrying it around and taking photos since I made this to focus on the photo aspects of it without juggling everything I need to make a KZbin video. The verdict is still out...for now. Maybe I'll make a follow up video in a few weeks and go over those photos. I wish someone would release a fixed 50mm 1.8 point and shoot.

[@KelvinSchwartzGrunlicht]

@@omarknowsphotos I'll look around for you possible follow-up now and see if there are some nice flickr albums or groups going. I was just about to order a G5 X II after a full weekend of research but had somehow missed this one. Weather sealing and USB power (AFAIK) is a welcome surprise. Great video, thanks.

[@AI3Dorinte]

The RX100 series sucks for skintones, I have the IV and did not want to upgrade, otherwise amazing and very compact camera.

[@omarknowsphotos]

The stock profiles are eh, but I made some custom picture profiles and they're pretty good. I have an old video on photos with my old VI and they came out all right for the time I think. Wasn't a very popular video though, lol: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZvJhZ2gg5d8eqMsi=JopYK2bVHWW_C-pP

[@ShutterKnack]

Mark ii is the shiz

[@raniajn1661]

Hi! Can you please explain a little more on why the G7X mark ii is better than the mark iii? Thank you so much!

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@raniajn1661 it's the other way around technically. For photo purposes they're the same and for video, the mark III overheats VERY quickly in 4k and since that's the main difference between them along with the audio input, if you're using it for photos you're better off getting the mark 2 since it's the exact same image quality and performance.

[@raniajn1661]

@@omarknowsphotos Awesome, thanks so much for the explanation!

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@raniajn1661 You're welcome!

[@KelvinSchwartzGrunlicht]

​@@omarknowsphotos is there a significant difference in their 1080 quality? I assume G7X on Digic 8 allow 2-3x higher bitrates, 60-70mbps perhaps, but haven't found any numbers yet nor good G1X test footage. Your youtube-crushes-all-of-us-anyway argument remains but still, even after upscaling 1080 to 2k or 4k before uploading (to get the best YT codec) I'd expect source files with higher bitrates and depth to render 'better'.

[@omarknowsphotos]

@@KelvinSchwartzGrunlicht The G7X III has 120mbits in 4k and the G1X 3 sits at 35mbits if memory serves me right. The thing is you still get a better image quality out of the G1X but the G7X III will absolutely be sharper. I've run client videos from old clips and webcams through Topaz and it has been life-changing, but the extra legwork is likely not worth it if you're going to be doing it every time. I shot a few episodes on the channel on my Z-V1 and despite it being 4k and all that, I still think footage out of my old 70d looks better. Ultimately we're splitting hairs here and the G7X III just rubbed me the wrong way when I got it years back because it overheated within 5 minutes of my attempt at a review on release day. We have beef 😤

[@jaytcapinpin]

I already have the Canon G7X II. That is my go-to small point and shoot. I would pass on G1X personally, because at that size I would rather use an R50, plus I get the advantage of using different lens. Thanks for the video.

[@omarknowsphotos]

I wouldn't buy this to replace the G7X II if you already own one, but people are paying over a thousand dollars for them now because of the rediscovered hype.

[@Hotsauceonmy]

My old ass rx100 5 rejects this title

[@omarknowsphotos]

Weather-sealing. I swear if Sony would release an RX camera with weather-sealing, it'd be over for everyone.

[@urwholefamilydied]

@@omarknowsphotos uhhhh... I've shot for over 20 years. Weather sealing has never crossed my mind as a must have feature. I can't even remember the last time I shot in the rain. If I do I normally just keep my camera covered til I need to take my shot... then cover it back up again. Never thought of weather sealing as being a must on any of my cameras.

[@ksl927]

But it has a 1” sensor compared to this Canon’s apsc.

[@KelvinSchwartzGrunlicht]

@@omarknowsphotos some of the RX10s are sealed IIRC, the big bridge style super zooms.

[@JJARCHIE]

The rx100 has it beat in speed , the x100 has it beat in resolution , the gr has it beat in size , the s9 has it beat in video. Its not "the best". Its just a cheapee alternative , just because a zve10 provides good value doesnt mean its the best mirrorless cams.

[@omarknowsphotos]

Best as in best overall for point and shoots. If Ricoh released a weather-sealed GR, it'd be in a lot more people's pockets. The X100 isn't pocketable. The S9 is an ILC. You get where I'm going with this.

[@JJARCHIE]

@@omarknowsphotos okay thats fair

[@urwholefamilydied]

@@omarknowsphotos ehhh... the x100 is definitely LONGER than this camera... looks like it's slimmer in every other dimension though. This is not a small camera by any means. Also I used to jacket pocket my x100 all the time. It couldn't fit in pants pocket... but neither can this.