Canon Powershot G3 X

[Colin McDonald]

Perhaps not the kind of camera we would normally be interested in here, but this caught my eye yesterday.

Canon Professional Network - Canon reveals the PowerShot G3 X: a 25x 'Premium Expert' compact

Canon has revealed the new PowerShot G3 X compact – the first superzoom model to join Canon’s ‘Premium Expert’ range of cameras – which combines a 25x optical zoom lens, a large, 1.0-type, 20.2 Megapixel sensor, a dust-proof and drip-proof body and an extensive range of manual controls over exposure settings to deliver advanced performance for shooting stunning stills and recording Full HD movies.

The PowerShot G3 X’s bright f/2.8-5.6, 25x optical zoom gives an amazing focal length range of 24-600mm, and also features a 9-blade aperture, to ensure the camera is ideal for capturing an incredibly wide range of subjects; everything from wide-angle landscapes to stunning portraits with beautiful background blur and distant subjects in exquisite detail at the telephoto end of the zoom range.

Richard Trestain, Photo and Video Product Launch Manager, Canon Europe explained: “The PowerShot G3 X is an impressively specified and robust superzoom camera that puts photographers and filmmakers in control of all shooting settings. It will appeal to both enthusiast and advanced photographers who want to shoot a wide variety of subjects and represents the latest major development in the PowerShot ‘Premium Expert’ camera range; it delivers superb quality for shooting stills as well as Full HD movies.”

SUPERB IMAGE QUALITY

A large 1.0-type, back-illuminated, 20.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor and DIGIC 6 processor combine in the HS System to deliver exceptional image quality (up to ISO 12,800) even in extreme low-light conditions, making it easy to capture the real atmosphere of the moment with great detail.

Thanks to an intelligent, advanced 5-axis Image Stabilizer, the PowerShot G3 X automatically adapts and ensures sharp, detailed photos and videos even when shooting at the telephoto end of the zoom or handheld in low-light.

ADVANCED MOVIE FEATURES

Shooting stunning Full HD movies is easy with the PowerShot G3 X with full manual control over aperture, shutter, ISO and focus pull plus a choice of variable frame rates of 24p, 25p, 30p, 50p or 60p.

Filmmakers can achieve perfect focus with the MF Peaking function and use Aspect Markers to frame in popular movie formats; your creativity can be easily monitored whilst shooting with HDMI live output to an external monitor.

High quality stereo sound can be achieved via a range of versatile sound recording options that allow the use of an external microphone and headphones (via 3.5mm jacks) and Full HD movies are recorded in MP4 container format for improved compatibility with mobile devices.

EXPERT MANUAL CONTROL

A large, 8.0 cm (3.2”), 1.62 million dot, tiltable touch screen has an EOS-like interface and ensures excellent colour accuracy, image clarity and contrast. The touch interface enables more intuitive control, with pinch zoom capability in review mode and Touch AF for instant selection of focus points and for ensuring accurate and smooth focus pull in movies.

Quick access to advanced manual controls and settings is made easy thanks to a dedicated mode dial, an exposure compensation dial and a customisable, smooth, Lens Control Ring that allows for control over subtle focus adjustments – the Lens Control Ring also allows you to incrementally adjust settings such as aperture and shutter speed. Full Manual and RAW with multi-aspect support can be used to get just the shot required, whilst there’s also a BULB exposure mode, plus a built-in 3-stop ND filter extends shooting capabilities, such as shooting in daylight with slower shutter speeds.
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At the moment I am doing more still photography than video, and my experience with an early Canon EOS model is putting me off changing lenses in the field. The video possibilities with this look interesting, certainly better than the iPhone I am currently using for rapid workflow :-)

Is this worth considering adding to the toolkit? I could not afford the lenses necessary to do the equivalent with a 5D or 7D kit or similar. Comments welcome.

[J. Stephen McDonald]

Too bad it doesn't have 4K. The only specs I've seen on video format are MP4----H.264 and nothing about the bitrate. If not high enough, maybe the Canon Hackers group could give it 50 Mbps capability.

[Colin McDonald]

Can't find the bitrate on the Canon website.
I'm always a bit nervous about quoting external reviews on this site but according to Photography Blog, the bit rate is 35 M/bits per second.

[Wacharapong Chiowanich]

My best guess is 36Mbps at 1080/50,60p and 24Mbps at 1080/24,25,30p. Standalone MP4 container not AVCHD.