Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II
Surely this is the perfect design for a high- end travelzoom?
CANON’S original G5 X was introduced back in 2015. It placed the guts of the firm’s well-received G7 X, including a largeaperture 24-100mm equivalent f/1.8-2.8 zoom and a 20.2MP 1-inch type sensor, into a compact SLR-like body with a centrally mounted electronic viewfinder and fully articulated screen. We loved the design, which handles much better than almost any other fixed-zoom compact, but were a little disappointed by its sluggish performance. We’re even more disappointed that the camera hasn’t been uprated to Mark II standard, like the smaller G7 X and G9 X designs.
Since then, Canon has also come out with the excellent G1 X Mark III, which uses the G5 X’s body design coupled with a larger APS- C sensor and a short 24-72mm equivalent f/2.8-5.6 zoom. So is there space in its line- up for Canon to introduce a G5 X Mark II without treading on that model’s toes? Using the same lens as before would give it a longer zoom than the G1 X Mark III, along with similar theoretical low-light and background-blur capabilities. So there’s a real risk that a direct Mark II update of the G5 X would essentially kill sales of the firm’s flagship compact.
An enthusiast travelzoom
One solution for Canon would be to make a camera type that’s rarely been attempted: a pocketable superzoom with a design to suit enthusiast photographers. This is a concept I’d really like to see. At the moment if you want a long zoom, you either have to put up with a fiddly control layout like the Panasonic TZ or Sony RX100 series cameras, or buy a bulky bridge-type camera. So I’d love to see Canon take the G5 X and update it with a 24-300mm equivalent f/2.8-5.6 zoom, while still keeping the dimensions reasonably small. This would be pretty much my perfect travel camera.