My story and review
I shot DSLR for a long time, and SLR before digital came
along. Not professionally, but I've always had a passion for good photography. My
first “real” camera was a Minolta X-700 that my parents got me when I was in
high school around 1980, and I gradually upgraded bodies, lenses, and other
gear for the next 25 years.
At some point when our daughter was in single digits, I got
tired of lugging around all the extra gear associated with a DSLR setup. By
2010, I was shooting with compact point-and-shoot cameras more often. Around
that same time, smartphone technology had advanced to where the cameras in
those were pretty good, too. I willingly traded convenience and portability for
resolution and picture quality.
In recent years, I realized that I missed "real"
photography, but still didn't want to deal with all the gear. I kayak and hike
a lot when the weather is permits it, so I also started looking into compact waterproof
cameras. I found some good ones at reasonable prices, but was frustrated with
the zoom range of every one I tried. Most of the zooms in them were digital, as
well, so I was still frustrated with picture quality.
After some research, I started reading about the Canon G3X “bridge”
camera, and eventually decided to buy one. Now that I’ve been using it for a few months, here’s my review.
The
Pros –
It’s
rugged. The magnesium-alloy body
feels solid and heavy, although not nearly as heavy as a DSLR. It is certainly
not shockproof but does feel like it could take a few minor bangs now and then
and not have to be sold for parts afterward. When I’m using it, it definitely
has the feel of a “real” camera in my hands. The grip is quite comfortable.
The
body is weather sealed. This isn’t the same as being waterproof, I
know, but it’s important to me for a camera to be able to withstand a bit of dust,
dirt, and light rain without starting to malfunction. Reportedly, this has the
same level of dust and moisture resistance as Canon’s EOS 7D DSLR. As of this
writing, there don’t appear to be ANY completely waterproof bridge cameras.
Trust me, I looked.
It’s
compact. Calling this a “bridge”
camera means that it’s trying to bridge the gap between ultra-compact point-and-shoots and DSLR cameras. As such, it’s much smaller than your average DSLR, yet admittedly
larger than the ultra-compacts. Having a powerful zoom on it, though, means you
don’t have to carry around a bag full of lenses for different shooting conditions.
I will be the first to admit that this is also
one of the limitations of the camera, but you still get an incredible amount of
flexibility in shooting with the G3X.
That
ZOOM! The G3X has an
8.8-220mm optical zoom range, which is the DSLR lens equivalent of 24-600mm. My
initial interest in a “superzoom" like this came from all the wildlife
shots I missed by having nothing more than my phone or a 5x digital point-and-shoot
while hiking or paddling. This camera has significantly
changed my game in that regard! The aperture range is a respectable f/2.8–5.6,
although it does arrive at f/5.6 pretty quickly into the telephoto position.
There are certainly more powerful "superzooms" out
there. Nikon does 60x, 83x, and now 120x! Sony and Panasonic bridge cameras have
impressive zooms, as well. I opted for less reach than those because I wanted
something more weather protected and compact but with a relatively large sensor.
To the best of my knowledge, the G3 X has the farthest reach for a large sensor
bridge camera.
The
sensor. Another big plus
with this camera is that it has a 1" CMOS sensor, which makes it great for
low light photography as well as capturing a lot of detail. The majority of
bridge cameras and superzooms have sensors that are less than 1/4 that size.
The average DSLR sensor is still bigger but, again, I was trying to find
something that fit several other parameters for me. As far as this kind of (bridge)
camera goes, that 1" sensor is definitely as good as it gets. The only
problem with it is that it bumps up the cost. The image resolution of the G3X
is 20.2 megapixels.
Five-axis
image stabilization. Whatever that means, the image stabilization
on this camera is excellent. Apparently, the five-axis bit is pretty rare among
its most direct competitors. All I can say is that it works really well.
The
view screen.
One criticism that I remember reading in reviews before I bought the
camera was that it only had a view screen and no built-in viewfinder. Having
shot through viewfinders for almost three decades now, I thought this might
really be a problem. You can buy an electronic viewfinder separately, although
that creates an additional cost. When I bought my G3X, I decided to wait on the
EVF to see if I would miss it. … Most of the time, I do not.
Now that I’ve gotten used to using the view screen, I think
I actually prefer it. It’s a 3.2 inch high-resolution, touch sensitive, tilting
LCD monitor. Because the angle of the screen is adjustable, it allows you to
experiment with shooting at different angles like way up above your head or
down low on the ground, all from a normal standing, seated, or just crouched
position. (However, the screen only tilts forward/up and backward/down. Allowing
it to swivel as some other models do would have been really nice.) Since the
screen is touch sensitive, it can be used for a variety of functions in shooting
mode, playback mode, and within the camera’s various menus.
The
Cons –
Frustrating
manual focus.
The G3X does not appear to be designed for someone who prefers to manually
focus on subjects. From what I can tell (and I haven’t played around with it a
lot) manual focus requires you to hold a button on the focus ring while turning
the focus ring through many more arcs than should be necessary. There are a
variety of auto-focus modes and fields, but adjusting focus manually is not
easy. This can be frustrating for tight macros as well as long zooms. Autofocus
speeds are not terrible but not surprisingly good either.
It’s
compact. (Hey, wasn’t that
also one of the ‘Pros’?) The body of the camera is definitely more compact than
a typical DSLR. People (like me) with big hands have to be careful how we hold
the camera so as not to change a setting by accidentally hitting a button or
dial. I’ve discovered first hand (ha!) that this is frustratingly easy to do.
No viewfinder. As mentioned above, this camera has no
built-in viewfinder. I feel like I quickly got used to using the view screen
instead and now actually prefer it, but anyone who feels that they absolutely
need a viewfinder will have to spring for the optional EVF accessory that
connects to the camera’s hot shoe. Warning: It’s not cheap. If I have anything
bad to report about using the view screen only, it’s that it can occasionally
be difficult to read in bright sunlight. Often, tilting the screen a bit takes
care of this issue for me.
Wrapping up, this Canon G3X is exactly the kind of camera I
was looking for in terms of its portability, versatility, and image quality
without having to lug around all kinds of gear. Not mentioned above is that the
G3X also shoots video and appears to do it quite well. I have not played around
in video mode much so that hasn’t been part of this review.
The best part about this camera is that it has totally
rekindled my love for good photography. I fully realize just how much I was
missing by stepping down to point-and-shoot cameras. Although I can see myself
moving back into DSLR gear in the future, I’m completely happy with the Canon
G3X for the time being. Even when I think it might be time to pick up another
DSLR, I'll definitely be keeping this bridge camera for the many times when I
need the combination of compact portability and a good camera. In short, I love this thing.
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