Canon G7X Mark II vs Sony RX100 V

Introduction

The endless fight of the two brands that dominate the camera market for ages, once again have to face each other with their products, the well-known Canon G7 X Mark II and Sony RX100V.

Firstly introduced in February 2016, the Canon G7 X Mark II has quickly achieved significant popularity because this is the first Canon camera that started using the new DIGIC 7 processor which significantly enhances the capabilities of this camera in various ways.

On the contrary, the Sony RX100V has quickly established itself on the market as an ultimate point-and-shoot compact camera at the same year, in 2016, and throughout its existence, it has become a worthy member of Sony’s line up of premium compact cameras.

From the very beginning, you may already have a clue that the battle is going to be intense because both cameras are exceptionally good, and therefore, choosing which camera wins the battle is not going to be easy, but rather hard.

I’d recommend you read this article until the end, because I will make an in-depth overview of both products, so that after you know their strengths and weaknesses, you will be able to give the right decision.

Similar Comparison: Canon M3 vs Sony A6000

Head To Head Comparison

Canon G7X Mark II

To begin with, the Canon G7 X Mark II looks nearly identical to its predecessor, the G7 X, if you set them side to side, with some changes, of course.

For your information, this unit is very compact, it measures 2.4 x 4.2 x 1.7″ (HWD), weighs approximately 11.3 ounces, and although it isn’t the smallest, 1-inch sensor camera that you can find on the market, it is still compact enough to be taken anywhere you go.

Also, its compactness and stylish look does not mean that this camera isn’t tough, since Canon has implemented a solid metal throughout the manufacturing process which adds a lot in terms of sturdiness, because it will be able to withstand years of use and you will unlikely notice any significant decrease at its look.

Moreover, the control layout is pretty simple, because all of the buttons are set on the right-hand side of the camera, on the top and on the rear which is pretty good due to the fact that you will be able to have an easy access and tailor the camera settings according to your preferences.

On the rear, you won’t find an electronic viewfinder, but, you will be greeted by a 3″ fully-articulating touch-sensitive screen that has a 1,040k-dot resolution. Personally, I really like the screen because of many reasons, including its sharpness and its flexibility that allows you to have a huge freedom in terms of capturing photos or recording videos.

In terms of the connections, the Canon G7X Mark II packs a micro USB port and an HDMI port that can be found on the right side of the body, while the removable battery and the memory card slot that supports SD/SDHC/SDXC cards are accessible through the bottom plate of the unit. But, Canon did yet another great job here, they’ve made this camera Wi-Fi and NFC-enabled, hence, the process of transferring images and videos to both, Android and iOS services is butter-smooth! All you have to do would be to download the Canon Camera Connect app, and that’s it!

Performance-wise, the Canon G7X Mark II utilizes a 20.1MP CMOS sensor, burst shooting rate of 8 fps, contrast-detect autofocus system with 31 points, ISO range that stretches from 125-12,800 and a DIGIC 7 processor that makes the difference between this camera with its predecessor in terms of fast-processing speed.

Namely, it takes approximately 1.9 seconds for this camera to start, focus and fire which is pretty fast though, while on the other side, the integrated processor aids the camera a lot in maintaining the image quality throughout the ISO sensitivities.

For instance, when shooting JPGs at ISO 1600, they look exceptionally good and you will unlikely notice the presence of noise, not because it doesn’t exist, but because it takes a lot of effort to recognize it. At 800 and 1600, details are preserved and they look completely fine, although some smudging is present. If you push the boundaries up to ISO 12,800, well, images appear blurry and I don’t think that you will like it, so, I’d recommend you avoid it instead.

The Raw format images shot throughout the ISO range are better, because details remain quality and this is really helpful. If we compare the JPG imagery at ISO 6400 with Raw images, the latter appears better because the blurriness isn’t pronounced as much as at JPGs.

At ISO 12,800, Raw images the noise is pronounced, but the imagery are still usable in comparison to JPGs.

Before we finish, I’d also like to mention that the G7X Mark II records 1080p60 videos in Mp4 format, but you can also adjust the fps rate and set it at 24 or 30 fps. Once you’re done with recording, I’m sure that you will appreciate the quality of the footage because it is strong, and when we add the fact that you can take advantage of the touchscreen for setting focus from a specific area of the frame to another while recording, I really think that your video recording sessions will be very convenient.

Nikon D7500 Sample Images:

Similar Comparison: Sony A6000 vs Nikon D3300

Sony RX100 V

 

Aesthetically speaking, the Sony RX100V features a metal solid, pocket-friendly construction that measures 2.3 x 4 x 1.6″ with an approximate weight of 10.6 ounces, and if you take a closer look at its body, you will undoubtedly recognize the similarities with its predecessor, the RX 100 IV!

In addition, this unit does not have a grip positioned on the usual, front part of the body which is normal though considering its compactness, but this doesn’t mean that your shooting experience will be poor. In order to “fix” this issue, all you would have to do would be to get an optional grip, and that’s it!

For your information, the control layout is similar to the opponent, the Canon G7X Mark II, because all of the available buttons are well-organized on the right-handed side. In fact, there is a mode dial, shutter release, zoom rocket, power button and a button for enabling the pop-up flash, and all of them are set on the top.

On the rear, there is a control dial that supports 4 customizable directional presses along with dedicated buttons such as the Menu, Play, Delete, Fn and a specific buttons for Movie recording.

Also on the rear, there is a 3″ OLED, flip-screen has a resolution of 1,228k dots, and what’s interesting is that even if you’re capturing photos or recording videos under a bright light, you will still have a clear sight! Unfortunately, the screen lacks touch sensitivity, and clearly, the RX100V appears to be a better performer at this point.

However, the Sony RX100V has a hidden ace here, and that’s the inclusion of a 0.39-inch retractable electronic viewfinder with an impressive, 2,360k-dot resolution which will offer you a really good sight even though it is small!

Speaking of the performance, the RX100 V packs an unbelievably strong, phase-detection auto-focus system with up to 315-points, 20.1MP, 1″ Exmor RS back-illuminated CMOS sensor with DRAM, BIONZ X processor, a continuous shooting rate of 24 fps, and an ISO sensitivity range of 125 to 25600!

In practice, the Sony RX100V lets you achieve fantastic results when shooting between ISO 800 and 3,200, because the color saturation is nearly perfect, and the presence of noise is set to the very minimum, if not to 0! As expected, at ISO 6,400, the noise is starting to overtake the image quality, since details are getting somewhat smudgy, while at ISO 12,800, noise becomes tougher and sometimes you can expect that details may be lost completely.

What got my attention as well is that this model performs incredibly good at low ISO settings, because if you shoot through ISO 100-400, you will be able to notice well-defined details, and without a doubt, this camera knows how to render details at these settings.

Finally, the Sony RX 100 V is capable of shooting 4K video, and even videographers would have an opportunity to taste the benefits of having such a quality camera, and at this part, in comparison to the G7X Mark II, without a doubt, the RX100 V wins the race! As a matter of fact, this camera has even an extreme slow-motion mode that lets you capture videos at 240/480/960/fps for playback at 24/30/60 fps!

Sony RX100 V Sample Images:

 

Similar Comparison: Nikon D5300 vs Canon 70D

Canon G7X Mark II vs Sony RX100 V Feature Comparison

	Canon G7X Mark II	Sony RX100 V
Camera Type	DSLR	Point-And-Shoot
Megapixels	20.1	20.1
ISO Range	125-12,800	125 to 25600
Flip-Out Screen	Yes	Yes
AF Points	31 AF points	315 AF Points
Viewfinder	No	Yes
Touchscreen	Yes	No
Video Recording	Yes	Yes
Sensor Size	BSI-CMOS	BSI-CMOS

Similar Comparison: Nikon D5600 vs Canon 80D

Conclusion

Since we reach the point where we have to say the final words and decide which camera wins the race here, prior to doing this, I would like to express my compliments towards both cameras, because they are insanely good for their price tag and category.

First of all, I would like to mention the key areas where the Canon G7X Mark II beats the Sony RX100 V and vice versa, so that after you read this, I’m sure that you will find it helpful and it will mean a lot in shaping your final decision.

Namely, the Canon G7X Mark II has less buttons, hence, it is less bulky than the RX100 V, has a stronger battery life ( 265 vs 22 respectively) on a single charge, it is more affordable, employs a touchscreen, something that its opponent lacks, and has a longer tele reach in comparison to the RX 100 V.

On the contrary, Sony RX100 V has a higher resolution screen( 1229k-dots vs 1040k-dots), packs an electronic viewfinder, shoots at faster speeds, and allows you to record 4K footage.

The final decision would entirely be up to you, whether you prefer recording 4K videos and have a built-in electronic viewfinder, or you simply ask for a touchscreen and 1080p video recording.

If you ask me, I’d go for the Sony RX 100V, because although it is more expensive, its advantages overcome the cons and I think that you will be very satisfied by having it as a part of your shooting arsenal.

Similar Comparison: Canon 70D vs Canon T6I