The uncrowned king: the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II was Canon's answer to the Sony RX100 line

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Often overlooked, the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II was a powerful compact camera with a big sensor and a BIG zoom

Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II review
The PowerShot G5 X Mark II is certainly more pocketable than its predecessor, but some might say it's lost a little of its character – it now looks very much like the cheaper PowerShot G7 X Mark III. (Image credit: Future/Digital Camera World)

Psst – the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II is what you're looking for. I know, I know, most people flock straight to the G7 X Mark III – and that's a great compact camera. In fact, it launched alongside the G5 X Mark II in August 2019.

But while the G7 X was and remains the headline-grabber, it's the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II that's always been my pick – especially if you're looking for an alternative to Sony's RX100 series that's as overpriced as it is overpowered.

On first glance, the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II has a lot in common with the G7X Mark III. Both pack a stacked, 1-inch 20.1MP sensor – and that stacked design enables them both to blast out 30fps bursts like a pair of action-capturing Gatling guns.

Digic 8 processor, ISO125-12,800 sensitivity, 4K 30p video, 3-inch 1.04 million-dot tilting screen, 31-point contrast-based autofocus system… there really is a whole lot of deja vu on the spec sheets. But the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II has two major aces up its sleeve that's its sibling lacks.

Yes, it may be a trick that was inspired by the RX100, but the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II's pop-up EVF is a stroke of brilliance (Image credit: Future/Digital Camera World)

The first one will make any photographer giddy: an integrated pop-up electronic viewfinder (EVF). Something that even the mighty Ricoh GR III doesn't have!

The original G5 X was a bulky beast, thanks to the EVF being housed in a classic "pentaprism hump" that jutted out from the top of the camera. So Canon did a very clever thing, making the Mark II way smaller and more pocketable by housing the viewfinder inside the body – so you can just pop it up when you need it.

The second thing that the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II boasts over its stablemate is a more impressive zoom – a 5x affair that goes all the way to 120mm f/2.8, eclipsing the 24-100mm lens on the G7 X Mark III. It's still only f/2.8 at the long end (and f/1.8 at the wide) so you don't even lose any light!

If you're looking at picking up a classic compact right now, there are so many to choose from. But when I want to take a truly pocketable, genuinely powerful camera out with me and I don't want to wrestle with Sony's miserable menu system, it's gonna be the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II. In fact, I might even pack it for my vacation later this month!

Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II being held by James Artaius

The 120mm reach of the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II makes it a superb travel and everyday photography companion (Image credit: Future/Digital Camera World)

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James Artaius
James Artaius
Editor

James has 22 years experience as a journalist, serving as editor of Digital Camera World for 6 of them. He started working in the photography industry in 2014, product testing and shooting ad campaigns for Olympus, as well as clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal. An Olympus / OM System, Canon and Hasselblad shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and he loves instant cameras, too.

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