In case you hadn't noticed, the Canon G1 X series of cameras is super popular right now. As in, crazy popular. As in, people are behaving like crack addicts trying to get hold of this camera.
It isn't just the Canon G1 X family, of course, though the Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark III is certainly leading the charge at the minute. But it's also the likes of the Canon PowerShot G7X Mark III, along with various Ixus models.
Still, the Canon G1 X range is gaining more and more momentum online, whether it's TikToker creators or Depop scammers or eBay hopefuls. Admittedly it's one of the best compact cameras around, but the G1 X Mark III is also a camera that came out in 2017. So why the heck is it more popular in 2025 than ever before?
Canon G1 X – the pocket powerhouse
The company was never short of compelling compacts, but the Canon G1 X was its flagship line. It stuffed the cameras with top-line tech from its DSLRs, taking them from the "just make do" affairs they had traditionally been to serious imaging devices.
Take the G1 X Mark III, for example: it ditched the 12.8MP 1.5-inch sensor of its predecessor and replaced it with a 24.2MP APS-C affair – apparently the same one that was in the Canon EOS 80D, one of the best enthusiast DSLRs of its time.
It was also the first Canon G1 X – in fact, the first Canon compact of any kind – to feature the company's killer Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology, which put its autofocus on par with "proper cameras" like DSLRs and mirrorless models.
It also added the touch-and-drag feature that was becoming popular, enabling you to use the touchscreen like a joystick to place your focus points while shooting through the viewfinder – an impressive 2.36 million dot affair, no less.
The 24-72mm f/2.8-5.6 lens gave you a standard zoom, making it perfect for all-purpose shooting – and all-weather shooting, too, given the camera's weather-sealing.
Throw in a built-in 3-stop ND filter for harsh lighting conditions, a 9fps (7fps with AF) burst mode and 14-bit RAW shooting, the last Canon G1 X camera ever made was way ahead of its time. And perhaps that's why it's so popular, all these years later.
I know, I know – compacts are popular because of Gen Zers, whether it's because they want disconnected tech or they're looking for the aesthetic of their youth. But come on, it's more than that – if you just want an old compact, there are tons of them for 20 bucks on eBay. You're not going to pay hundreds of dollars for one of these.
There's a reason why the Canon G1 X, specifically, is so popular: it's bloody good, even by today's standards. Everyone fawns over the Fujifilm X100VI, but it's got a fixed focal length and it's not weather-sealed. I personally love the OM System Tough TG-7, but I'd love it to have an APS-C sensor. And you're simply not going to find an APS-C camera that offers everything this one does, especially not at this size.
It saddens me to learn that Canon shuttered the factories that made these cameras, meaning that we're unlikely to see more Canon G1 X models despite their resurgent popularity. But the more I look at those eBay listings, and the more I think about the fun I had shooting with these cameras, the harder it's getting not to hit the Buy it Now button…
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