Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II Camera Review

The Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II is decent for landscape photography. It delivers good image quality out-of-the-box, with a relatively wide dynamic range and adequate noise handling capability for its class. You can use the pop-up viewfinder to line up your shots more easily while the camera is mounted on a tripod, rather than framing your shots with the screen. Its lens' built-in ND filter allows you to use a wider aperture or a slower shutter speed in brightly lit environments. The camera's compact size and comfortable-to-use design also make it easy to bring with you to remote shooting locations, and the screen should be bright enough to see under direct sunlight. Unfortunately, the camera isn't rated as being weather-sealed.

The Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II is decent for sports and wildlife photography. Its JPEG burst mode and decently rapid max shutter speed should be sufficient for capturing clear stills of fast-moving subjects. If you're comfortable with working with RAW images, you can use its separate RAW Burst feature to capture RAW images at up to 30fps. Out-of-the-box image quality is very good, and the camera is comfortable to hold. Unfortunately, its autofocus performance in photography is mediocre, and the max focal length of its built-in lens might not be enough to capture clear images of far-away subjects, like athletes in a stadium. It also lacks a silent continuous shooting mode, making it a little harder to capture photos of fast-moving, easily spooked wildlife.

The Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II captures decent RAW image quality. While it isn't the best option for low light, with mediocre noise handling, it does capture images with a good level of fine detail, thanks to its relatively high-resolution sensor. It also has decent dynamic range, although you'll still lose out on highlight or shadow detail in very high-contrast scenes.

The Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II is good for vlogging. Its tilting, flipping screen allows you to see yourself when the camera is pointed at you, and you can tap on it to quickly adjust settings on the fly. The camera's lightweight design makes it comfortable to hold for extended periods. It also does an impressive job of smoothing out camera shake in 4k and FHD, though its digital stabilization feature does incur a somewhat noticeable 1.3x crop in its most powerful mode. Unfortunately, it can overheat easily when recording video, leading to frequent interruptions in your recording sessions. Video quality is also mediocre in 4k and poor in FHD, while the camera's autofocus system struggles to maintain focus on subjects' faces.

The Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II is a mediocre option for studio video. Video in 4k is somewhat grainy, while footage recorded in FHD is soft and noisy, particularly in dark environments. Its autofocus system can also struggle to maintain focus on moving subjects, and the camera overheats easily during extended recording sessions. It lacks a microphone jack to bolster the quality of the audio in your recording too. Still, the camera's menu system is easy to use, and you can easily pair your phone with the camera to control it remotely.

The Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II isn't designed for action video. Despite being lightweight and compact, it isn't meant to be attached to a chest or helmet rig. It also lacks any kind of waterproofing or water resistance. It's limited to 30 fps in 4k, but it does have a 'High Frame Rate' mode in FHD that captures slow-motion footage at 120 fps. It also does a great job of smoothing out camera shake in either resolution.