A recent Blog Post by Dave Whenham mentioned the small Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 and after reading Dave’s post I thought I would dig out my old Canon G7X and give it a little work out. I have been involved doing an analogue film-based project recently and I have been neglecting the digital side of my photography. I had also forgotten how small and versatile the G7X was.
Launched in October 2014, the original Canon PowerShot G7 X retailed for £579 / $699.99. Because of the current viral demand for the G7 X line on social media platforms, its current used market value (£450 to £560), remarkably close to what it cost brand new over a decade ago.
I purchased mine back in early 2015. I needed a lightweight, pocketable travel camera for a trip to Bilbao. The G7X proved to be the perfect choice.
The original Canon PowerShot G7 X (Mark I) features a 20.2-megapixel 1-inch CMOS sensor and a 24-100mm f/1.8-2.8 optical zoom lens. Just the job for a jacket pocket. The sensor, for its time was excellent, in fact, it still holds its own in many ways. The titling back screen is a 3.0-inch capacitive touch panel.
So this diminutive camera is now 12 years old but it is still one of my go-to cameras for travelling or to use as a reliable back-up camera for any digital project.
On paper, the Canon G7X Mark III is the superior camera because it shoots in 4K and has a microphone port. However, many content creators actually prefer the Mark II or the original Mark I due to technical complaints about the Mark III.
Well thats the background information, so how does my 12 year old mini camera perform. I had a spare 45 minutes or so and was close to my local park. I wanted to try out the G7X’s monochrome settings as earlier experiments looked promising.
In the photograph below the shadows were lightened slightly and the clarity given a small boost. I was shooting into the light at the time, but having said that, modifications were very minor. Once again, to my eyes another pleasing result considering.
The photograph below shows how well the G7X renders bokeh, with soft and smooth tones, while the foreground is captured in sharp focus. All in all I came away very pleased with this little camera and intend to carry it with me more often. I was particularly happy with the black and white in-camera setting which gives great natural looking tones. For a 12 year old digital camera, I think it has performed well and I hope you agree.
Finally, I mentioned at the start of this post that I purchased the G7X for a trip to Bilbao. It was a while ago now but I found a suitable image from the trip that shows how this camera performs at night. So to finish...
