Performance improvements raise the G7 X Mark II's grade to excellent, as long as you're not looking for a lot of frills.

The Canon PowerShot G7 X II is nicely designed with good photo quality for its class; and improves noticeably over the earlier model.

Still lags behind the competition with respect to features and some aspects of performance.

The PowerShot range is only one step down from their DSLR offerings; however they are small enough to fit in your pocket but are still extremely powerful units that have a large number of features that started out in their DSLR models.

A trusty premium compact that’s held back from greatness by a few missing features

Lovely chunky build; Photos are bang on the money; Reasonable zoom

No viewfinder; No 4K video; More feature-packed rivals at this price

It’s a tough old time for compact cameras. Canon’s G7 X Mark II is good at pretty much everything, yet it's still not the kind of device you should buy no questions asked. The competition at this kind of price is absolutely ferocious. For sheer point-and-shoot convenience, this camera is almost untouchable. It’s lightweight, has a decent enough zoom and takes a great photo. If you’re not that fussed about 4K video - maybe you don’t have a 4K TV yet - then it’s only really the lack of a viewfinder that’s holding the G7 X Mark II back from a five-star rating. So while it’s frustrating that Canon doesn’t push the boat out a little bit more with its premium compacts, there’s still precious little to complain about with this effort. Buy the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II here from Amazon

Lovely chunky build; Photos are bang on the money; Reasonable zoom;

No viewfinder; No 4K video; More feature-packed rivals at this price;

I like the Canon G7 X, one of the company's 1-inch sensor enthusiast compacts -- the one without the viewfinder -- but that model just can't keep up when it comes to speed. Given that its successor, the G7 X Mark II, is fundamentally the same camera (albeit with some important enhancements), it's not surprising that I like the Mark II as well. But while the $700 (£570, AU$950) camera improves on the earlier model in some respects, the admittedly better performance still lags in places.

Performance improvements raise the G7 X Mark II's grade to excellent, as long as you're not looking for a lot of frills.

The Canon PowerShot G7 X II is nicely designed with good photo quality for its class; and improves noticeably over the earlier model.

Still lags behind the competition with respect to features and some aspects of performance.

Camera takes really good quality photos and love that the scream can move around

With smartphones all but eliminating the existence of the low-cost point-and-shoot camera, manufacturers have pivoted to create pricey, premium pocket cameras that can compete with SLRs on image quality. The Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II ($699.99) fits that mold, capturing images with a 1-inch image sensor that does a solid job in dim light, a zoom lens that's rated at f/1.8 at its widest angle, and a metal chassis. It's a strong performer, but one that exists in a very competitive segment of the market. We're going to stick with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III ($598.00 at Amazon) as our Editors' Choice pick—its zoom range isn't quite as ambitious as the G7 X's, but its lens delivers crisper results, and it includes an electronic viewfinder. DesignThe G7 X Mark II ($499.00 at Amazon) doesn't look much different than its predecessor, the G7 X ($584.00 at Amazon) . There are a couple of subtle changes to the body—the EV compensation dial now operates in the same manner as most oth...

The Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II is a pricey pocket camera with image quality that goes toe-to-toe with much larger models.

Wide aperture zoom lens; 1-inch image sensor; Tilting touch-screen display; Quick autofocus; Raw image capture support; Wi-Fi with NFC

No hot shoe or EVF; Edge softness at wide angle; Occasional autofocus misses; Doesn't support 4K video capture; Omits microphone input

Large sensor; Wide aperture lens; Touch-sensitive screen; Wi-Fi;

Lack of viewfinder; Short zoom; Macro focusing is tricky;

Lovely chunky build; Photos are bang on the money; Reasonable zoom;

No viewfinder; No 4K video; More feature-packed rivals at this price;

The Apple iPhone 14 is no match for the just-released iPhone 14 Pro, but if you ignore that, it’s one of the most effective phones around.

Great cameras, front and back, Fast performance, Good battery life, Innovative safety features

Design too familiar, Some average features