Canon PowerShot G5 X and G9 X added to studio comparison, real-world G9 X gallery published

Published Nov 16, 2015 | dpreview staff

Canon's PowerShot G9 X and G5 X offer two distinctly different shooting experiences, but are based around the same 20.2MP 1"-type sensor. The G5 X provides an SLR-style grip and an EVF with a 24-100mm equiv. F1.8-2.8 lens, while the smaller S-series-esque G9 X offers a 28-84mm equiv. F2.0-4.9 lens. We've had our hands on them long enough to put them through our standard studio scene testing.

Canon PowerShot G9 X and PowerShot G5 X studio test scene comparison

Canon PowerShot G9 X real-world sample images

Tags: sample-gallery, canon, studio-samples

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Canon PowerShot G9 X	Canon PowerShot G5 X
19 I own it 41 I want it 8 I had it Discuss in the forums	50 I own it 136 I want it 23 I had it Discuss in the forums

26 customer reviews

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	Canon PowerShot G16 Black Digital Camera	$379.00
	Canon PowerShot G9 X Digital Camera G9X	$429.00
	Canon PowerShot G9 X Digital Camera G9X	$429.00

Comments

Total comments: 36

Hard to justify the price of these cameras, especially the g5x. For the same money you could have an Olympus OM-D E-M10 or Sony A6000 or Nikon D5300 or Fuji XA-2 or any number of excellent mid-range cameras plus a kit lens. I could not see buying a g5x over one of the aforementioned cameras.

0 upvotes

I beg to differ. The G9 X is the one that's especially hard to justify.

Based on the lens specs, the studio scene, and the comments here regarding the user experience with the G5 X, it's the only one of the two which can be well justified.

Please tell me which of the kit lenses you mentioned above has an f/1.8-2.8 aperture? While its sensor is smaller, the G5 X appears to be a well-balanced package.

Since the release of the Olympus XZ-1, I've been critical of Canon for putting such slow lenses on these "premium" cameras. Now that they've finally begun to change I have to give them credit.

1 upvote

1) There are available fast kit lenses, for instance Fuji XF 18-55 f/2.8-4.

2) the new Canon 15-45 is from equalvalency point of view comparative to f/1.8 lens at the wide end.

3) Big sensors aren't diffraction limited untill at around f/11.

both M43 and APS-C are usable at ISO 6400.

0 upvotes

The RAWS of the G5X look good. But the jpegs of the G5X at 1600 are so soft and the detail too smooth...no? The LX100 and the Sony RX100III/IV are better no?

1 upvote

If only the G5 X didn't have such sluggish RAW performance, it would be a great little camera and an ideal compliment to my Canon DSLR. But 0.5fps in this day and age???

0 upvotes

What I`ve seen with great surprise is that Sigma dp2 Quattro has been added to the studio test scene. At low ISO its resolution is astoundig (under 800 ISO).
On the other hand GX5 X images are quite better that those of the G) X and the GX5`s EVF for me is a deal breaker. In broad daylight I simply cannot work without a EVF or a OVF.

0 upvotes

Hello,
Does anybody know if the G5X works with the Canon 600EX-RT and ST-E3-RT and all the functionality.
That would be interesting for some shootings.

0 upvotes

Check the online manual http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/3/0300020273/01/psg5x-cu-en.pdf page 168 it supports canon external flash and trasmitter

1 upvote

It does, I have both. The flash is quite a bit larger than the camera though, tempting to actually hold the flash while shooting.

0 upvotes

too many X rated.. Canon GX ....Fuji X-series...Sony RX...Samsung NX....X-Men, X-Factor,

Comment edited 12 seconds after posting

10 upvotes

LOL!! I'm not the only one who has noticed the marketing fascination with the letter X. No product is safe from it. And now the lower case italic i.

0 upvotes

You'd want to drive a Hyundai iX, for sure ;)

3 upvotes

XDPReview...

0 upvotes

iPhone XXX is the iPadPro!!

0 upvotes

Image quality seems good but I gotta tell ya...the overall user experience with this camera left much to be desired when I was testing it out in the store. I just really hate how everything is so menu-driven. At the very least, anyone considering the G9X should try it out before buying it. Since refurb copies of the G7X are selling for about the same price now, I would take my $500 and spend it on that instead. Same image quality, but much nicer overall user experience.

The G5X, on the other hand, I thought was very nice to use.

Comment edited 33 seconds after posting

3 upvotes

I'm interested in choosing one of the three but not sure I could afford G5X. Do you have experience with G7X to compare to the G9X? DPR's G7X review had some issues with the user interface, sluggish menus, slow autofocus.

0 upvotes

I've shot with it extensively. Autofocus is not lightning fast but I've found it perfectly satisfactory in most situations. It's not as swift as Sony's RX100 III (or presumably IV) but it's not bad either. I've never had issues with sluggish menus or the user interface on my copy. On the G7X you don't have to delve into the menu to change settings and you get dual dials for adjusting settings. In essence, it has the same control layout as the S120 and earlier cameras if you've ever used any of those. Plus it has an external dial for exposure comp which the G9X does not and that really comes in handy.

0 upvotes

I have the S100 so yeah, if it was similar in menu design and overall experience, I would be happy. Thanks for the reply.

0 upvotes

The G5X looks like a formidably sharp camera - wow! At all ISOs superior to other 1" sensor compacts.

The G9X not quite as sharp, but similar to the older model G7X at base ISO. However, the G9X gets far noisier as ISO increases. To my eyes G9X is superior to Sony RX100 mk 1,2,3,4 at base ISO but things go downhill and the Sonys look superior somewhere between ISO800 and ISO1600.

Despite the similarities of the sensor on paper, the electronics must be quite different between G5X and G9X.

1 upvote

"the electronics must be quite different between G5X and G9X."

..and the lens.

1 upvote

Well the lenses are different in both range and aperture, so no expectation of them being the same. The sensors were not obviously different since they are the same size and resolution, and the two cameras were released concurrently.

0 upvotes

G5X looks best. The corners are really bad with the others in the comparison.

0 upvotes

Formidably sharp! How can you tell given how poorly the lenses are performing. Much softer in RAW than the Sony based on the studio test chart.

1 upvote

Well, check out thje Nikon 1 J5. Sharper than the other 1" , surely due to the impressive 32mm f/1.2.

0 upvotes

1J5 Sharper at the center not the edge.

0 upvotes

The GX5 is the sharpest in the corners. (at the tested focal lenghts) But it has pretty much CA. Sony RX100 IV has no visible CA but is the softest. The the on the Canon cameras is only visible in RAW. In jpeg the CA is allready corrected an the image from the G5X looks best. But sure: the Nikon J5 is much better. The used lens is a pretty expensive prime lens.

0 upvotes

Compared to it's closest competitor (IMO, the RX1002), the G9X loses a lot of detail to noise reduction by just ISO400.

1 upvote

The main thing of interest in this comparison is really more lens quality than the sensor or even processing. The G9X seems to have really bad lateral CA in the corners and a little bit softer there as well. Such is the price of miniaturization, I suppose. But overall, not really any worse than the RX100 I and II against which is directly competes, so I guess that's good.

Comment edited 19 seconds after posting

1 upvote

Most of you "Canon PowerShot G9 X Sample Gallery" is composed of photos taken with a Samsung camera.

0 upvotes

We're having metadata issues - the pictures are from the G9 X they're just displaying wrongly. We'll repost the gallery once we've straightened things out!

2 upvotes

It's fixed.

2 upvotes

They all look the same to me now. The comparison tool just ins't as important for making your decision as it was before.

Features and real world use are much more important aspects than the comparison tool now.

I could take great pictures with any of these cameras if they are on a tripod with ample time to choose the best settings. What I need is a camera that can help me select those best settings when I don't have time to stop and think about it.

10 upvotes

The good news for you is that Canon read your mind and developed the Auto setting. Happy shooting! ;)

17 upvotes

And Sony perfected the Auto setting with their latest camera according to the latest Dpreview review. Until now the Auto ISO functions have been severely limited.

1 upvote

Which camera review was that? (I just want to read about it, thanks)

Comment edited 9 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

"Which camera review was that? (I just want to read about it, thanks)"

Look for the Auto ISO section on the page below.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-alpha-7r-ii/4

1 upvote

Total comments: 36


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