Used Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II Digital Camera, 12.8MP, 5x Optical Zoom, WiFi, 1080p Video, 3.0" LCD, Optical Image Stabilizer

2019-07-09T20:00:00

Was pleased with the quality of photos I was able to capture with this camera, nice to find a large sensor in a point-and-shoot, but incredibly disappointed that in less than 2 years the the shutter won't close rending the camera entirely un-usable. Spending hundreds to get it fixed doesn't seem to make sense, half again the cost of the camera. Had done TONS of research before purchasing this and spent not a small amount to get what I thought was a good camera that would last at *least* a few years. Expected better from Canon.

hrowan

Originally posted at

2017-12-02T12:44:25

I purchased this camera for compact travel. Images are of high quality and can be printed at large sizes. The operation and dials are set up a little different from other Canon cameras so it takes a little getting used to as it is not as familiar a feel.

Greg M.

2017-07-31T20:00:00

I bought it, but the zoom is not great. Going to end up buying cheaper camera with more zoom.

janno25

Originally posted at

2017-05-09T13:36:40

Right out of box, once the battery was charged, my wife started shooting photos of her roses in the back yard. Focus and color are great. Easy for her to use, heavy enough to decrease hand shack but light enough for her to carry around easily. Controls are like my EOS Mark II so I was able to explain to her a lot of the basic functions of her new camera. She really likes it compared to her last camera. Canon rules!!

GARY O.

2017-04-25T08:33:49

It is good with great bundle accessories at a great price. Happy to have it.

Manish M.

2017-03-05T19:00:00

Only had it a few days, but I love everything about it so far- great image quality, compact size (not too large or too small, nice weight (light enough to handle well, heavy enough to give it stability in use), beautiful build quality, great features, tilting up/down screen. Canon refurbs are just like new, and a great price! I thought I would want to use the included bigger grip, but I actually prefer the feel of the standard grip.

mrgossett

Originally posted at

2017-02-08T19:00:00

I bought the G1XII nearly 2 years ago and it continues to impress with the photos it delivers. Yes, it is only 12.8 megapixels. Yes, it is slow to focus at times. Yes, the controls are not handy at times. But the more you use and get to know this camera and what makes it unique and where its strengths are you play to them and it yields beautiful photography. I carry mine in a small case on my belt and it has become quite the travel partner and enables me to capture beauty and interest wherever I go. I am looking forward to the evolution of this "all-in-one" camera! Canon, any idea on G1XIII?

NWlightscapes

Originally posted at

2016-12-23T12:25:47

Camera takes great pictures. I wanted a second camera where my SLR would be inconvenient to carry and use. I have used this camera for a week. The photos on the LCD display are great. I haven't printed photos yet, but I am confident they will be outstanding.

ROBERT M.

2016-03-25T20:00:00

I normally shot with a Nikon D800 and two D200s. I decided to go much lighter on this Viking River Cruise. The cruise was great and the pictures fro the trip kicked butt. I shot with several people packing the big iron and at least matched them in each outing. The camera is fully featured so I wanted for little. One thing that I found inadequate was the manual focus in which I could get it close then the camera would "fix" it for me. I really like to use manual focus in many situations and missed that capability. I also like to bracket exposure and the "C1 and C2" functions could be set up for that purpose with good result. It would be nice to be able to have more exposures or greater increment between exposures though. I REALLY like the sensor size. I previously used a G15 for this sort of thing. Big is good! Not necessarily for the pixel count, but for the value of the sensor real estate. One thing that I worried about was the way that the lens extends. I found it necessary to shoot in the rain a lot because you only got a short window of opportunity for each situation. The wet lens would get withdrawn into the body of the camera so I make a real effort to dry it before removing power. Never had a problem. I am going on another European Cruise and I will be carrying my G1X again (unless Canon comes out with something better

Denny R.

Originally posted at

2015-11-10T19:00:00

The strength of the G1X II is it's wide, long, fast and macro-capable lens married with a large 1.5" sensor. In low light situations (or indoor with no flash thus preserving the natural light and shadows giving your images a natural look) it completely dominates without a hitch. This bad boy can (almost) keep up with my 5D III between it's 1.5" sensor married with the 2-3.9 lens, it's not my Full frame obviously, but, highly capable in low light (12,800 ISO looks good), portraits, and also macro photography. Point and shoots utterly fail in all three, but not the G1X II. The faults in the G1X II are it's chromatic aberration when shooting wide angle wide open (24mm F2, it's really a problem, I've never had a notable CA issue until the G1X II). Stopping down to F4 eliminates this when shooting wide, but leaving Av on F4 or using M frequently is less fun than P/Auto so it takes some thinking to get the shot you want vs if you're used to P/Auto... Especially, since P/Auto gravitate towards wide open which will create unwanted softness in well lit scenarios thus adding insult to injury. The other issue of the G1X II is it's metering is not as rock solid as my old 5D III. In bright backlit scenes, highlight blowouts are common, with the low DR adding insult that that injury as you can't recover them in post so you have to be mindful of your exposure comp, which thankfully with all the dials you can assign it to one full time, plus the built-in ND filter you can also compensate for when you expose your shot. If you know your G1X II and it's limitations and how to use it, it creates stills that other Point and Shots can't touch as it has a highly capable lens and sensor in a small package. Ultimately though, this leads to more thinking and less feeling your shot making it less "fun". However, being able to shot the whole gamut of 24-120, at F2-3.9, with macro leads to extraordinary potential in portraits (low F-stop), food photography (macro), sports (long reach plus fast lens), and indoor or night events (great low light). Overall the G1X II is an excellent second camera for a pro-shooting DSLR setup where you have power for personal use, and don't mind something more than pocketable, and if live on modes other than P and Auto you'll enjoy. If you are a P/Auto shooter, The G5X and G7X peers are a better fit, unless, you want to dable further into the pro world without buying a DSLR setup which to buy an equivalent lens, and camera, you can't get for the price of the G1X II...

thetechhimself

Originally posted at

2015-10-12T20:00:00

Canon G1X MkII .. I've had this several months now, and shot about 1,000 frames over 5 states and 4 countries. My review is based on using it as a high-end "carry camera", i.e., for business/pleasure travel and local events, when you want decent IQ but can't take a big DSLR. .. So, the Good, the Not So Good, and the Bad… .. First, THE GOOD: IMAGE QUALITY is very good and with a 1" sensor, is much better than other cameras with smaller sensors. Images are crisp and sharp (at least at less than full-aperture.) This is what you are paying for in a camera like this. .. STURDY, WELL-BUILT: The camera is well made, sturdy, and feels good in the hands. I use a grip strap (the kind that attaches to the side and underside) for extra security and balance. It has a hotshot, which should be standard for this kind of higher-end camera. More on the integrated pop-up flash later. .. - BATTERY LIFE: if you keep it on econ mode, and have a short shut-off setting, the battery life is quite acceptable. This was nothing that I found bothersome. Certainly not as good as the old G12, but just fine. .. - TOUCH SCREEN CONTROL: Very nice! You get used to this very quickly and find yourself trying to do it on your other cameras. Especially useful for quickly selecting the focus point in a shot. Great feature and makes focusing quick and easy. .. - TILT SCREEN: This is not the 360? rotating flip out screen of the G12 and other models. However, I did not get into a situation where I wished I had or thought I needed the older style screen. Yes, it would be nice, but this is quite workable. Only a few times when holding the camera above my head, I could have used a little more "angle" than the 45? max provided. But it was quite workable. Also, using the flip out screen horizontally to mimic the old rage finder cameras brings the G1 X MKII to waist level, and I found myself shooting like a street photographer with a twin-lens Rolliflex. It gives your shots a different dimension, and certainly is less intimidating that wielding a big gun at eye-level. The 180? vertical flip is good for composing self-timer shots. A little awkward, but very workable. .. - HI-RES VIDEO AT THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON: very quick and convenient to start shooting video with a dedicated video button. .. Next, the NOT SO GOOD BUT LIVEABLE: - POP-UP FLASH is convenient, but weak, and certainly does nothing to prevent red-eye. In fact, I found absolutely no difference in red-eye reduction with any of my family and friends who normally have red eyes from flashes in photographs. So, the off-to-the-side positioning to reduce red-eye is totally ineffective. Moreover, now you have an uneven lighting problem. This is noticeable in close ups where the right end of the frame (flash is left) is darker. In wider angle distance shots, depending on ambient light, it can be just as noticeable. .. - DELAYED CONTROL RESPONSE: this has been reported before, and I'll just confirm it. This camera has got some confusing "push-here-turn-there" controls that are further confounding when they are not responsive and you then move on to push some other combination thinking you've got it wrong. It's overly complicated and buttons are easy to confuse. When you're shooting, you want to make adjustments fast. This camera does not lend itself to that. .. - SHORT CUT BUTTON IS NO SHORT CUT: inexplicably, there are limited menu items to assign to the short-cut button, and some of those options you wonder why you'd ever want to assign it to a frequently-used short cut button…?! .. - DITTO for the "MY MENU" options. A bewildering selection of weird options to choose for a custom (i.e., frequently used) menu. .. - LENS DISTORTION AT THE EDGES AT WIDE ANGLE AND OPEN APERTURE is noticeable. You need to shoot at least f4 or better, 5.6 if shooting wide-angle. This is noticeable in group shots. The people at the end will appear fatter or wider. .. - LIMITED LONG EXPOSURE SHUTTER SPEED - This camera that limits exposure to 1" except in Manual mode. One second isn't very long, especially for tripod shots. .. Finally, the BAD: NO VIEWFINDER: Sorry, but this is not a minor issue. The LCD screen is impossible to see in the sunlight or bright outdoors. No amount of LCD brightness can compensate. Composing pictures through this screen is a guess. This was very frustrating. .. - NO GPS. The "workaround" that's advised requires the integration of your smartphone and a wifi-setting, then uploading the data into your camera pictures, that is after you've set up the wi-fi network and paired the devices….Can't say I would ever bother with this - or have time to bother with it! .. This definitely is a travel camera/back up camera for those who know how to use a camera and are familiar with Canon's system. (Although lack of a GPS is a negative for travel photography to some degree.) The sensor is a big one (1") and has a very good IQ as a result. This is a good compromise between not wanting or being able to lug a big DSLR around and yet not having good photo opps wasted with a smart phone or tiny-sensor point-and-shoot camera. It has a hot shoe so you can use an off-camera flash, which is a big plus. This then is a good choice among several other choices out there. But this is not a beginner's camera either in price or in the ability to shoot around its shortcomings.

GMak

Originally posted at

2015-06-18T20:00:00

I love this camera! It is a cinch to upload images to your other devices. I like that the lens is not removable because it is much easier to carry while traveling. Light enough for travel and photo quality remains exceptional. I am very pleased with my purchase of the MARK II camera!

kjm

Originally posted at

2015-04-07T20:00:00

G1X Mark II produces very sharp images, best I have seen from a point and shoot. A little slow to focus but outstanding especially in low light situations without a flash. Built like a tank, I would recommend the optional grip. Love it!

warren

Originally posted at

2015-04-06T20:00:00

Wanted to buy a camera for the occasions that I don't want to lug around my pro dslr's. That is exactly what I got. It takes great photos with that big lens and great features. Wi-Fi makes it easy to transfer photos. Really happy with the build quality.

richy

Originally posted at

2015-04-06T20:00:00

Excellent camera. It is capable of shooting such great pictures unbeatable by a DSLR. Good Canon, keep going.

Javier M.

Originally posted at

2015-04-06T20:00:00

Excellent camera. It is capable of shooting such great pictures unbeatable by a DSLR. Good Canon, keep going.

Javier

Originally posted at

2015-03-13T20:00:00

Excellent camera for such a small package. Perfect companion for traveling

Tanguy

Originally posted at

2014-06-09T21:00:00

This camera was bought to replace my Canon G11. I normally used the LCD which folded out and was fully articulated. The G1X MarkII has an LCD that tilts and nearly provides the same flexibility. The rest of the camera is outstanding. I also purchased the filter adapter and the Lens Hood. The quality of the pictures is amazing. This camera will probably also replace my Canon SLR on trips, as this one has so many features, and quality of photos, that I am sure it will be my "go-to" camera. The optional viewfinder is something that I had not been using anyway, so no big deal for me. I also bought the optional "larger" grip, which seemed rather something that Canon should have put on the camera and sold as part of the camera to me.

BuffaloBob