While the new Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II won’t be officially announced until tomorrow, images and specs have leaked out early, leaving few questions as to what we can expect from the camera. The lens is, as rumored, a 5x zoom lens with a f/2-3.9 variable aperture and a 24-120mm equivalent zoom range.
The G1 X features 13.1MP resolution in 4:3 format and 12.8MP in 2:3 format. The sensor is a 1.5″ format sensor, which is slightly smaller than the sensor found in the original G1 X. It is just slightly larger than the Micro Four Thirds sensors, with the G1 X Mark II providing a 1.92x crop factor. Recall that the original G1 X had a 1.85x crop factor and Micro Four Thirds has a 2x crop factor.
The reduction in sensor size probably helps Canon get to a lower aperture at the telephoto end (f/3.9 on the Mark II vs. f/5.8 on the Mark I). I’m not going to complain about the smaller sensor. In fact, I wish Canon would have gone even smaller to shrink that lens a bit more and make the camera more pocketable. No one is complaining about the smaller 1″ sensor on the Sony RX100.
More on the G1 X Mark II specs…
It has a DIGIC 6 processor with 3fps continuous capture with AF and 5fps capture with AF locked. Additionally, the G1 X Mark II sports WiFi and NFC, along with Canon’s ‘N’ branding, which suggests a similar social media sharing integration as found in the PowerShot N and the PowerShot N100. The NFC will allow users to connect to compatible Android devices by just touching the devices together, while a dedicated sharing button links both Android and iOS devices by pressing a single button.
In addition to the tiltable 3″ LCD on the back, Canon is offering a optional EVF that mounts in the camera’s hot shoe. No word yet on availability, but is should be here this spring at around $700.
More details when the official announcement drops.
Your description says the LCD screen is “tiltable.” The original G1X has a fully articulated screen that is very useful for vertical still photography, among other things. If the “new, improved” version has only a tilting screen, Canon just lost a buyer. A simple tilting screen probably works just fine if you take only videos or horizontal still photos, but for low-angle or other difficult still photography, an articulated screen can’t be beat. This may surprise Canon, Sony, Olympus, and others, but there are still some camera users who aren’t trying to be movie makers! Give us articulated screens!
This looks like a well-spec’d camera. Love the zoom range and speed of this lens. It’s really perfect for my uses. Hopefully the IQ is as good as the specs. Size works for me too. I agree that I’d rather have a slightly smaller sensor mated with a faster zoom lens.
But speaking of the sensor, that’s the potential deal killer. Other’s have speculated that this is the *same* sensor that is used in the G1 X but that less of its surface area is being employed. True or not, that is consistent with Canon’s lack of attention to improving their sensor tech over the last five years. The RX100 uses as smaller sensor but it’s an EXMOR sensor. I would bet on the EXMOR sensor every time over a larger Canon sensor. I’ve made up my mind that the next camera I purchase is not going to be plagued by pattern noise and the red shadows that I get from my 5-series Canon DSLRs.
That being said, I may not be the target market Canon has in mind for this camera.