The Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III is Canon’s large sensor compact camera, with a 24 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, 3x optical zoom lens, 3inch vari-angle touch-screen, electronic viewfinder (EVF), FullHD video recording, and built-in Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth. Has Canon made a true miniature DSLR in the size of a compact camera? 

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Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III Features

The G1 X Mark III is the first G series camera with an APS-C sensor, using the same sensor generation as the Canon EOS 80D, with gapless microlenses, dual pixel AF, and fast sensor readout. It's also the largest sensor in a G series camera, updating (and replacing) the G1 X Mark II, which featured a smaller 1.5inch sensor.

Above you can see the relative size of the different APS-C, Four Thirds, 1inch and 1/2.3inch camera sensors - more examples can be found here. 

With a 24mp APS-C CMOS sensor, the camera offers a higher resolution than alternative 20 megapixel 1inch CMOS sensor cameras, such as the G5 X, and Sony Cyber-shot RX100 series. The only other APS-C camera with a zoom lens, is the Leica X Vario, which has been discontinued. 

Canon Powershot G5 X (left) Vs G1 X Mark III (middle) Vs G1 X Mark II (right).

Nearest competitors compared:

*equivalent 35mm terms

The G1 X Mark III is weather-sealed and weighs 398g. It’s the big brother to the G5 X, and whilst not much larger, it features an APS-C CMOS sensor, rather than a 1inch sensor. Weather-sealing is said to be to the same standard as the Canon EOS 80D and Powershot G3 X.

Optical image stabilisation is built-in, with the camera featuring a gyro sensor to help the camera combat image blur. The IS system is said to give up to 4 stops of image stabilisation. The lens can focus down to 10cm at the wide-angle end of the lens, and 30cm at the telephoto end of the lens. AF is said to be fast thanks to Canon’s Dual-pixel AF system, with sensor pixels featuring phase detection auto-focus.

There are a number of external controls on the camera, including a control ring around the lens, a front control dial, plus a rear control wheel. There’s also an exposure compensation dial on top. The shutter release designed to feel like an EOS DSLR.

On the back is a 3inch vari-angle touch-screen with 1.04m dots and reinforced glass.The electronic viewfinder (EVF) has a high-resolution of 2.36million dots. 

Wi-Fi, NFC, and low-power Bluetooth are built-in (for image transfer while the camera is off). While remotely controlling the camera over Wi-Fi you can adjust the AF point during movie recording from your smartphone or tablet.

For the first time ever in a Canon camera, there is now an automatic Panoramic sweep mode, letting you take a panoramic photo with the camera automatically stitching the photo as you pan the camera from one side to the other! The maximum resolution for panoramic photos is: 24064x2800 (67mp, horizontal), or 16000 x 4200 (67mp, vertical).

There's a built-in pop-up flash, which you manually pull up and push down. Flash hot-shoe on top of the camera. A 3 stop ND filter is built-in with options of - On / Auto / Off.

An optional underwater housing, the WP-DC56, gives waterproofing down to 40m / 130ft, whilst still giving access to all the controls available on the camera (excluding the touch-screen).  

The camera records FullHD video at 60, 50, 30, 25, 24fps, using MP4 / MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 compression, and records stereo sound with the built-in microphones.

Key Features

• 24mp APS-C CMOS sensor, Hybrid AF
• Dual Pixel AF (sensor PDAF)
• DIGIC 7 image processor
• 3x optical zoom lens, 24-72mm equivalent, f/2.8-5.6
• Optical Image Stabilisation + Gyro IS
• 2.36m dot EVF (0.39inch), with dioptre adjustment
• 9fps continuous shooting, 7fps with C-AF
• Star-shooting mode, in-camera raw processing, 14-bit raw
• Touch-AF Pad (customisable)
• ISO100 to ISO25600
• FullHD, 60fps video with stereo sound
• 5-axis IS for video recording
• 10-30cm macro focus
• Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth

Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III Handling

The Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III is really small considering the APS-C CMOS sensor inside, measuring 115mm x 77.9mm x 51.4mm. When switched off, the camera lens retracts a good amount, making it easy to put the camera in jacket pockets. The build quality is very good, with the camera featuring a mostly plastic body. The front grip protrudes enough to give a good hold on the camera, and on the back is a good sized lip for your thumb to hold on to.

The layout of controls should be familiar to EOS DSLR users, and Canon has specifically designed the camera so that it’s easy for EOS DSLR users to use. There’s a locking mode dial on the top left, with a central button, which needs to be pressed in order to turn the dial, and there are two custom positions. On default settings, the front lens ring can be used to control the optical zoom. The front and rear wheels can be used to change settings quickly. 

The Canon Powershot G1 X III is smaller than the Canon EOS 600D body on its own. See how the G1 X III compares in size next to the Olympus OM-D E-M10 II, or the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II. 

Underneath the camera is where you’ll find the battery and memory card compartment. On the side is a HDMI connection, MicroUSB, and remote cable socket. Unfortunately, there is no external microphone socket.

The electronic viewfinder (EVF) features a rubber surround, making it comfortable to use. There’s an eye-detection sensor so that it will automatically switch between the rear screen and the EVF when you hold it up to your face. If you want to manually switch between the two, you need to go into the menus to change the settings - it would be nice if there was a quicker way to do this, although you can customise one of the buttons to get quicker access. The refresh rate on the EVF is good, unless you switch on the display power saving setting.

The screen looks great, with good viewing angles, and a gapless design. There's a dual-axis electronic level that can be displayed on the screen or EVF. You can use the touch-screen to change the focus point, as well as change settings, either in the Quick menu or in the menus. 

Menus – The menus should be familiar to anyone who’s used a recent Canon camera, with the menu design following the same layout as Canon’s EOS cameras, and other Powershot G series cameras. The menus are clearly laid out in to Shooting options, Settings, and MyMenu is where you can add your favourite settings. You can use the Q. / Quick Menu button to quickly access settings on the back of the screen, and these options can be customised.

Continuous shooting is rapid, with the camera offering 9fps when shooting JPEG images, and you can take up to 24 shots before the camera slows. If you’re shooting raw, the number of shots is less, at 17 shots, but this is still a reasonable amount. If shooting with continuous AF, at 7fps, you can shoot up to 29 JPEG images. 

Battery life is rated at 200 shots, which is not particularly impressive. There’s the option to switch on ECO mode, which should extend battery life to 250 shots. Therefore we'd recommend the purchase of a second battery straight away.