An Enhanced Have It All

The Canon PowerShot G9X Mark II features much needed changes from its predecessor in terms of image quality, speed and connectivity. Sakshi Parikh puts it to the test and finds out how noteworthy they are in the company’s compact camera lineup.

- Sakshi Parikh

When the first 1-inch sensor compact camera, the Sony RX100 was launched in 2012, it created quite a buzz in the market. Over the years, the company released several upgrades of the compact including the RX100 III, inspiring other camera manufacturers to follow the suit. After releasing their first 1-inch sensor compact, the PowerShot G9X in 2015, Canon kickstarted this New Year by unveiling the Powershot G9X mark II.

Just like its predecessor, the camera offers a 3x zoom lens and utilises a 20.1MP 1-inch type CMOS sensor in a form so compact that it could easily fit into our pocket. However, the G9X Mark II houses a much faster image processor and new features, while looking essentially sleek and identical to its predecessor.

Features

While sporting a slender design, the G9X Mark II is equipped with a 3-inch touchscreen LCD display with 1.04 million dots. As usual, the G9X Mark II does not feature an external or an electronic view finder. The in-built 3x zoom lens has a focal length which is a 35mm equivalent of 24–84mm. It has a maximum aperture of f/2 at 28mm that narrows down to f/4.9 by 84mm. It also includes an integrated three stop ND filter.

The lens barrel has an exposure control and you can change its function using the touchscreen. Internally, the camera is equipped with a faster DIGIC 7 image processor and an improved Dual I.S. image stabilisation that offers a claimed 3.5 stops of stability. The camera ISO ranges from 125-12800, but it lacks the feature of boosted ISO, which is available in its competitor, the Sony RX100 III.