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

Were having a lot of trouble importing the photos and videos from the camera, with no one available to help. We ended up seeking help from a gentleman with 2 degrees in IT and he was having the same troubles importing. Nothing seemed to work. Overall the camera quality is good.

The Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II is a well-designed enthusiast compact that's a pleasure to use. It offers a versatile focal range, very good image quality, a large buffer for continuous shooting and 1080/60p video capture. Sharpening and noise reduction in JPEGs are heavy-handed, and battery life still needs work, but aside from those issues Canon has done an impressive job with the second iteration of the G7 X.

Travelers seeking a pocketable camera that performs well in low light and offers good control over depth-of-field.;

Peak action and sports photography. Those hoping to get a full day of shooting day with a single battery.;

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;