Influencers love the Canon G7X Mark III, but as a photographer, this is what I would buy instead

The compact camera trend combined with the limited number of new models is driving up popularity for older models. A prime example? The Canon G7X Mark III. While the compact camera is now nearly six years old, social media trends mean the camera is nearly impossible to find. But the reason the Canon G7X Mark III is so coveted is for the zoom lens in a compact body, and there’s actually a camera that offers both of those features that I would buy instead: The Leica D-Lux 8.

The comeback of the compact camera means the rising popularity of the Canon G7X Mark III isn’t surprising. But the G7X series seems to have newfound success not among photographers but influencers. In fact, the New York Times went as far as to call the G7X the “it girl” camera.

The reason the G7X series is trendy among social media circles is that the compact camera still has a zoom lens. Popular high-end compacts like the Fujifilm X100VI and the Ricoh GR III have a fixed lens, which means you can’t get in any closer without physically moving your feet. But the Canon G7X Mark III has a 4.2x zoom lens, which is equivalent to a 24-100mm lens on a high-end mirrorless camera.

Besides getting closer to distant subjects, a zoom lens is far more flattering than the selfie lens on a smartphone – which is one of the reasons that the G7X Mark III is so popular among influencers. A lens with a longer focal length, such as the far end of that 100mm equivalent on the G7X, compresses distance which in effect does things like make noses look smaller. The wide-angle selfie lenses on smartphones are incredibly unflattering because they are wide angle lenses – and the G7X Mark III has a much longer zoom lens.

Cameras like the Fujifilm X100VI and Ricoh GR III don’t have that ability to zoom in for a more flattering portrait, then zoom out for a wide landscape shot. But while modern compact zooms are rare, they aren’t non-existent. And one of the top compact cameras with a zoom that I would consider is the Leica D-LUX 8.

Leica cameras are typically expensive, but the D-LUX 8’s under $1,600 / £1,500 / AU$2,800 list price actually feels fairly reasonable as demand drives up compact camera prices. Yes, the Canon G7X list price was originally about $800, but the camera’s rarity means that the black version is selling for $1,569 on Amazon in the US right now.

The Leica D-LUX 8 has a zoom lens that’s equivalent to a 24-70mm lens, with the long end offering that excellent portrait compression, despite not being quite as long. But where the Canon G7X Mark III has a one-inch sensor, the D-LUX 8 has a much larger Micro Four Thirds Sensor. That’s going to translate into more background blur in those portraits – and not the fake kind like from an iPhone either. That also means the D-LUX 8 is going to do better in low light.

The D-LUX 8 has more than just a larger sensor though – it also has a metal body and a classic design. Leica is a luxury camera brand, and cameras with that red dot logo tend to hold more of their original value. G7X fans should note, however, that the 17MP resolution on the D-LUX 8 is slightly lower and the video features aren’t best-in-class.

The Leica D-LUX 8 is the camera that I would buy if I had $1,600 to spend on a compact camera with zoom – I certainly wouldn’t reward the scalpers and pay more than twice the original list price for the Canon G7X Mark III.

If your budget is more along the lines of the original G7X list price rather than that inflated cost, another compact camera with zoom to consider is the Sony ZV1. It’s more vlogging oriented, but it has a 20MP one-inch sensor like the G7X Mark III and a 24-70mm equivalent lens, which doesn’t reach quite as far but is still a good option.

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Before you decide, browse the best compact cameras, or you could even consider putting a pancake lens on a mirrorless camera instead.