Canon PowerShot G7 X: Screen

The Canon PowerShot G7 X has a 3-inch display of 1040k dots – a reasonable resolution sitting between the 921k-dot Panasonic Lumix LX100 and the 1229k-dot Sony RX100 III.

It’s a good display, and needs to be, because there’s no viewfinder built into the camera. Both the Panasonic and Sony rivals use one – but both are significantly more expensive.

There’s a preconception among some photography fans that a camera isn’t really a ‘proper’ camera if it doesn’t have some form of viewfinder, so bear this in mind if that’s your view. An EVF would come in handy in bright daylight, where even the best LCD screens become a little hard to use.

In just about all other conditions we found the Canon G7 X display more than adequate. Image quality is good, and colour accuracy is strong – we compared the results with those of a calibrated monitor.

The screen is also thoroughly modern in design, in that it has a 180-degree tilt hinge. As well as making shooting below head height easier, this simplifies selfies. You can see the preview image rather than just pointing the lens vaguely at your mug and hoping for the best.

The Canon G7 X display is also a touchscreen, unlike the Sony RX100 III’s one. It’s perfect for more casual-style shooting, letting you pick the focus point with a finger, rather than using the rear controls, just as you would on a phone. We found its capacitive touch operation to be very responsive, too.

While touchscreens are yet to be embraced by truly high-end cameras, there are less amateur excuses for its use, too. When changing settings during video shooting, for example, we found using the touchscreen was far less likely to cause jolts in the footage than using the physical controls.

Canon PowerShot G7 X: Features

The array of other features in the Canon PowerShot G7 X is pretty good, too. You get Wi-Fi and NFC, which let you hook the camera up to a phone or tablet wirelessly to transfer images and for wireless shutter control.

These have become very common functions in all cameras these days, though, so it would have been more remarkable if they’d been left out.

The Canon PowerShot G7 X’s neutral-density (ND) filter is a little less common. This can cut down the amount of light that gets through the lens, meaning you can shoot at wide apertures even on bright, sunny days without having to take drastic measures on shutter speed or exposure compensation.

There’s also a pop-up flash. While – as usual – it’s pretty small, we found its performance to be good, offering even coverage and reasonable range.

You need to make sure you’re happy with a built-in flash before buying, though, because the Canon PowerShot G7 X does not have a hotshoe. You won’t be able to attach an external flash.