Canon G3 X Compact Bridge Camera

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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