Smart_Photography_-_January_2016_

Ergonomics

The Canon G5X is quite comfortable

to use with protruding rubber grips

both at the front and the back. The

top panel features mode dial and

exposure compensation dial. There is

a control ring around the lens, which

can be assigned various functions.

There is a vertical command dial near

the shutter release button, on the

front panel in addition to the one near

the four-way button. The interface is

intuitive, and menu self-explanatory.

The buttons are small, yet easy to use.

Performance

The Canon G5X performed well in our

tests. Autofocus was fast and spot-

on, and the system did not have any

problem locking on to the subject

even in low light. All metering modes

ISO 800 ISO 1600 ISO 3200 ISO 6400 ISO 12800

NOISE

performed well as expected.

The LCD monitor is of good quality,

and the images were displayed crisp

and clear. The electronic viewfinder is

too small and tedious to use especially

if you use it for a long time. However,

this is still helpful to reduce camera

shake at low shutter speeds.

A tinge of darkening was observed

at the corners at the wide-angle end

with the lens wide open, though it

was barely noticeable. Images were

reasonably sharp. At the wide-angle

end, sharpest images were obtained at

f/2.8, and f/2 to 5.6 were reasonably

sharp. At the middle of the zoom

(around 50mm equivalent), the sweet

spot was found to be f/4, while f/2.8

to 8 were sharp enough. This sweet

spot was maintained till the telephoto

end, where f/4 to 8 were reasonably

sharp. The images were free of any

distortion in the practical sense, which

is quite good.

Native print size was 12.16 x 18.24

inches at 300 ppi. At 25 percent, the

images were noise-free up to ISO

3200. The images were usable up to
      ISO 6400. Enlarged to 50 percent, the
      images remained noise-free up to ISO
      800, and were usable up to ISO 3200.
      Observed at 100 percent, we observed
      slight noise throughout the ISO range,
      but the images could be used till ISO


3201. 
      

The lens produced prominent flare

along with heavy purple fringing

at the wide-angle end with the lens

COMPACT

REVIEW

100 http://www.smartphotography.in

Smart Photography January 2016