Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II

The Canon PowerShot G5 X II is a solid, likable compact camera that has a lot to offer for enthusiast photographers searching for a carry-everywhere solution. It's lacking in autofocus and video chops, but this is somewhat mitigated by the excellent handling and controls, snappy performance and pleasing image quality. If you're in the market for a compact zoom camera, the G5 X II isn't the best possible option for every use case, but it is absolutely worth your consideration.

The Canon PowerShot G5X Mark II is a powerful compact camera with a 20 Megapixel 1in sensor, 5x / 24-120mm zoom, popup viewfinder, tilting touchscreen, fast bursts and 4k video. Canon’s made a U-turn on design, swapping the chunkier DSLR-styling of its predecessor for something more pocketable and more akin to Sony’s RX100 series. So it’s out with the fixed viewfinder hump and side-hinged screen for a popup viewfinder and vertically-tilting display. The grip has shrunk and the front dial lost, but there’s still more to hold onto than the RX100 and the changes have allowed the G5X to become much more pocketable than before. This does however bring it closer to the G7X III with Canon essentially asking you to choose between the popup viewfinder and slightly longer 5x zoom of the G5X versus the mic input and Live Streaming of the G7X III. Couldn’t we just have it all in one body instead, or perhaps do identical versions, with and without viewfinders to meet different price points? There’s also tough competition from Sony’s RX100 VA which gives you the popup viewfinder, tilting screen, 4k video and fast bursts, but with the benefit of more responsive phase-detect autofocus for photos and video, although in its favour the G5X II zooms almost twice as long while also sporting a touchscreen and better grip. Overall the G5X II loses much of what made its predecessor unique in the 1in market, and leaves anyone desiring a mini DSLR-styled compact to aim for the G1X Mark III instead. But by aligning it more closely to its best-selling rival, the G5X II becomes more attractive to a bigger audience. Imagine how much more popular it could have been merged with the G7X III’s connectivity.