The PowerShot G9 X Mark II is a pocketable camera that packs a 1"-type sensor and 28-84mm equivalent F2.0-4.9 lens. On the surface it offers good build quality, a broad feature set, an intuitive touch-based interface and excellent connectivity. However, its lens is very soft, which greatly affects image quality, and battery life is poor. The PowerShot G9 X II is very appealing: it's as small a traditionally styled camera with a 1" sensor as you'll find and its touch interface makes it easy to pick up and use. It has a broad feature set, generally responsive performance and shooting modes for both beginners and more advanced users.
Lens comparison
As you can see from the photo above-left, the grip on the front of the camera is very small. The other photo illustrates how there's very little space to put your thumb without it resting on the display. If you have large hands, the G9 X II might not be for you, especially since your thumb can wander right on to that touchscreen LCD that is required for operating the camera.
Finally, equivalent aperture also gives an idea of low-light performance, since it also describes how much light is available, taking into account the sensor's entire area. However, differences in sensor performance mean this can only be used as a guide, rather than an absolute measure.
The only other non-touchscreen control that you can customize is the red movie recording button. There are 23 choices available, covering virtually every menu item.
Before we get into the touchscreen interface, here's a bit about the physical controls. Like other Gx-X series cameras, the G9 X II has a control ring around its 28-84mm equivalent lens. Unlike those models, it has no secondary dial. There are a number of functions that can be assigned to the control dial, in addition to the obvious (exposure comp, shutter speed, aperture). They include ISO, step zoom, Auto Lighting Optimizer, aspect ratio and white balance correction.
There are just four buttons on the rear of the camera: movie recording, Q.Menu/Set, Menu and Info. The buttons are all the same size and are flush with the body, so it's impossible to distinguish between each in the dark.
The G9 X II is driven almost entirely by its touchscreen. Whether or not that's a good thing depends on where you're coming from. If you're stepping up from a smartphone then it will feel very natural. If you're used to a more button-filled camera, then you may find the lack of physical controls to be frustrating.
In Auto mode there's very little to distract you from taking pictures. You can tap on a subject (for focus or shutter release) or open the Q.Menu, and that's it. The camera automatically selects a scene mode for you, so park the mode dial here for a smartphone-like, point-and-shoot experience.
In the P/A/S/M modes you can adjust exposure, ISO, AF/MF and AE/AF lock. The Q.Menu has quite a few more options and can be customized to your liking, with 15 options to choose from. You can also create a 'My Menu' in the main menu system that contains your favorite settings.
Performance
One of the biggest issues with the original G9 X was its poor continuous shooting performance, which topped out at under 1 fps for Raw images. Canon has addressed this on the Mark II and it's now able to fire away at 8 fps for over 20 shots, regardless of whether you're using Raw or JPEG. If you want to use continuous (Servo) autofocus then the frame rate will drop to about 5 fps. Do note that you cannot enter playback mode or the menus while the camera is writing to the memory card.
nother undesirable 'feature' on the original G9 X is battery life which, at 220 shots per charge, is as low as you'll find. While battery life has improved to 235 shots on the Mark II, it's still poor for this class, so bring a spare or use the camera's Eco mode, which lets you take about 80 more pictures. The G9 X II supports in-camera charging over a USB connection, in addition to using its bundled external charger.
Wi-Fi
Canon's wireless features have come a long way, and The most notable new feature is support for Bluetooth, which makes connecting to the camera a snap. (Note that except for the simple Bluetooth remote shutter release feature, everything else happens over Wi-Fi.) Once connected, you can remotely control the camera in two ways. While there are icons for a lot of settings, like white balance, metering and image quality, they're not adjustable for some reason.
Auto ISO
The fast setting tends to stick at around 1/800-1/1000 sec, which will freeze your subject, though the resulting image may be noisy, as the camera really has to crank up the ISO to achieve such a fast shutter speed. Where things get clumsy is when you use the 'slow' or 'fast' settings. The former keeps the shutter speed at around 1/15 sec, regardless of focal length.
While the G9 X II has a decent Auto ISO implementation, there's room for improvement. It works in conjunction with exposure compensation when capturing stills and video in manual mode, so you can keep the aperture and shutter speed constant.
The G9 X II is a generally a decent choice for shooting and sharing photos at social gatherings. Its compact size makes it easy to take anywhere with you and its lens is fast enough at the wide end for low light group shots.
While not everyone will like having an interface that's almost entirely touch-based, you can hand the camera to anyone who's used a smartphone and they'll have no trouble taking a shot.
If you're planning on taking a lot of photos during your night out, your battery may will drain quickly, especially if you're frequently using the flash. If that's you, it's a smart idea to keep a secondary battery charged: it's small enough to keep hidden away in a pocket.
The 'Dynamic' image stabilization does a great job of reducing shake with just a slight crop at the standard setting (it's more substantial on 'high') without reducing the quality of the video too terribly.
While it doesn't support 4K video like some of its peers, the G9 X II captures good quality 1080/60p video. The lens zooms very slowly to keep the microphone from picking up the noise from the motor. Autofocus is generally solid, with very little hunting and smooth transitions when you're rack focusing via the touchscreen.
Unfortunately, heavy noise reduction can do a number on those fine details, even at the base ISO of 125. At higher ISOs, the soft lens and strong noise reduction removes quite a bit of detail.
Using the lens on the original G9 X as an example shows why it struggles compared to the best cameras in its class. While the Sony RX100 III in this comparison has a faster lens (with a more flexible focal range) than the G9 X and costs a lot more, it shows what's possible with a 1" sensor.
Like most Canon cameras, colors shine on the PowerShot G9 X Mark II, which just the right amount of 'punch.' As you'll see below, the lens on this camera is quite soft and, at default settings, the sharpening algorithm doesn't do a great job of correcting for that. We've found that creating a custom Picture Style and setting the strength to 4, fineness to 1 and threshold to 2 produces better fine details.
Dynamic Range
Another advantage of this sensor adding so little noise to its images is that you can shoot at a low ISO (to retain highlights) The G9 X II's sensor, almost certainly designed by Sony, performs extremely well, with noise levels on par with its peers if you try to pull detail out of deep shadows.
Autofocus
The naming of the various AF modes can be confusing, but what you need to know is that One Shot is single AF and Servo is continuous AF. The only other control you have is where the camera focuses, with choices of Face Detect + Track and 1-point. Canon says that the AF system on the G9 X II is notably improved over that of its predecessor, especially when it comes to subject tracking.
The G9 X II is designed for beginners and smartphone upgraders, with its almost entirely touch-based interface and few physical buttons. The PowerShot G9 X Mark II is the second generation of Canon's entry-level 1"-sensor compact camera, and the company has made some nice improvements over the original mode.
Body & Handling
The control dial around the lens is handy for quickly adjusting a selection of settings, though jumping between exposure settings requires tapping the screen. The movie recording button, quick menu and main menu can also be customized to your liking.
Something that would've made the G9 X II better would be if the LCD could tilt like some other modern compacts. As mentioned above, the G9 X is meant to be operated by touchscreen, with just a small handful of physical buttons available. If you're comfortable using the screen for everything, then you'll get along well with the G9 X.
Canon has put its latest and greatest Wi-Fi system into the G9 X II and it works very well. Pairing has been made easier than before thanks to Bluetooth capability, which can even wake the camera while it's off for image transfer and remote capture.
Autofocus & Performance
The G9 X II is much better at taking bursts than its predecessor, with a top rate of over 8 fps with focus lock and 5 fps with continuous AF. The buffer lasts for just over 20 shots, though you'll have to wait for it to clear before you can enter playback mode or the menu system. Despite some improvements, battery life is still very poor. If you're going out for a day, bring a spare or two.
Image & Video Quality
As we've seen on other cameras, this 1" sensor is capable of producing great quality images. It has good dynamic range and very low noise levels high sensitivities. The problem with the G9 X II is that its lens is just too soft to capture the amount of detail that the sensor is capable of, even if you shoot Raw. Heavy-handed noise reduction and a unsophisticated sharpening system don't help matters.
Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II
| Name | Number |
|---|---|
| Sensor Type | BSI CMOS |
| Sensor Resolution | 20 MP |
| Weight | 1.3 lb |
| Dimensions | 3.6 by 5.0 by 4.6 inches |
| Type | Superzoom |
| Sensor Size | 1/2.3" (6.2 x 4.6mm) |
| Memory Card Slots | 1 |
| Memory Card Format | SDXC (UHS-I) |
| Battery Type | Canon LP-E12 |
| Minimum ISO | 100 |
| Maximum ISO | 3200 |
| 35mm Equivalent (Wide) | 21 mm |
| 35mm Equivalent (Telephoto) | 1,365 mm |
| Optical Zoom | 65 x |
| EVF Resolution | 2.36 million dots |
| Connectivity | Microphone (3.5mm), micro USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, micro HDMI |
| Maximum Waterproof Depth | 0 feet |
| Video Resolution | 4K0 feet |
| HDMI Output | Yes |
| Flat Profile | No |
| Stabilization | Optical |
| Display Size | 3 inches |
| Display Resolution | 920000 dots |
| Touch Screen | No |
| Viewfinder Type | EVF |
Pros
- Built-in Wireless (Wi-fi)
- Bluetooth Connectivity
- Articulating Screen
- 4K (UHD) Video
- Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
- RAW Shooting
- Face Detection Focusing
- 20.0MP - High Resolution Sensor
- 922k dots LCD Resolution
- 10.0fps Shooting w/ Mechanical Shutter
- Long Battery Life (325 shots)
- Manual Focusing
- Manual Exposure
- 65x zoom lens.
- Vari-angle LCD.
- Excellent EVF.
- Raw image capture.
- 4K video with mic input.
- Strong ergonomics.
Cons
- Not great in dim light.
- Omits accessory shoe and 24fps video.
- 4K not available in all modes.
- Not a good choice for fast action.
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