Verdict

FOR ANYONE looking for a stylish, truly pocketable pointand-shoot camera that gives much better picture quality than a smartphone with the minimum of fuss, the Canon Powershot G 9 X Mark I I ticks all the right boxes. It produces very attractive JPEG images in- camera, and Canon’s well-implemented Wi- Fi makes it really easy to copy your favourite shots to your phone for sharing on social media.

Whether you’ll enjoy using the camera, though, is likely to depend on how well you get on with its heavily touch screenbased operation. Novice users graduating from smartphones will probably find it logical and welcoming, but enthusiast photographers could find it a turnoff. If you enjoy tinkering with settings on a shot-by-shot basis, then Canon’ sG 7 X Mark I I would probably be a better choice, albeit for £100 more. Another alternative is the £400 Sony Cyber-shot DSC- RX100 II, which has a tilting screen and more enthusiast-friendly controls, but it’s bulkier and doesn’t deliver as consistently attractive JPEG files.

What’s clear, though, is that the G9 X Mark II is a huge advance on its predecessor and fixes its most problematic faults. It may not be the best choice for creative photographers, but as a casual snapshot camera it’s very good indeed.