Compact Camera News

Canon is trying to prove that good things can come in small packages with the just announced new PowerShot G1 X Mark III camera. With the new G1 X Mark III, Canon has managed to stuff a 24.2MP DSLR-size APS-C sensor inside a compact camera body that’s about the size and weight of the svelte G5 X from 2015, which it resembles.

The G1 X Mark III’s CMOS imaging sensor is the same one that’s in the Canon 80D and the Canon EOS M6, a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. Canon’s previous “flagship” model in the G-series line, the G1 X Mark II has a larger and heavier camera body, and is fitted with a 1.5-inch sensor just a fraction of the size of an APS-C chip.

The trade-off, however, is in the size and speed of the lens of the new Canon G1 X Mark III. The G1 X III has a 24-70mm equivalent lens with an aperture range of f/2.8-5.6 and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). The Mark II model, by contrast, has a 24-120mm zoom lens with an f/2-3.9 aperture range and OIS. So while there’s a bigger sensor in the G1 X III and it’s smaller and lighter than the previous model, it has a shorter and slower lens than its predecessor.

The new Canon G1 X III does add faster Dual Pixel CMOS autofocus (AF) technology and a Digic 7 processor, which Canon says will speed up the overall operation of the new camera. The G1 X III can shoot at approximately 7 frames per second (fps), or up to 9fps with AF fixed.

“It’s a pretty fast little beast,” Drew MacCallum, a senior technical special for Canon USA said in pre-release conference call about the new G1 X III.

Here’s a rundown of some of the other new features of the Canon G1 X Mark III:

• Drip-proof body

• ISO range of 100-25,600

• 3-inch vari-angle touch LCD monitor on back

• Touch & drag autofocus

• 2.36-million dot organic LED electronic viewfinder

• New shutter release function

• WiFi, NFC, and Bluetooth

• Full HD 1080p/60p video

• Panoramic Shot Mode

• Time-lapse movie functionality

Pricing & Availablility
The Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark III is slated to go on sale in November 2017 for $1299. A Canon Lens Hood LH-DC110, Waterproof Case WP-DC56 and Deluxe Leather Case PSC-6300 for the PowerShot G1 X Mark III will sell for estimated retail prices of $59.99, $499.99 and $99.99 respectively.