nwoods
Expedition Leader
This is interesting: http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canong1x/
The Canon PowerShot G1 X may look like the company's existing G-series compacts, but is a very different prospect. It's a large sensor camera with a flexible 28-112mm-equivalent, 4x zoom lens and extensive manual controls. The company says it sees it as a camera for photographers who already have a high end DSLR such as a 5D Mark II or 7D, but at a price of $799, we think it'll appeal much more widely than that. After repeated waves of cameras aimed at point-and-shoot upgraders, it's heartening to see a camera really living up to the billing of a 'serious compact......On top of this the G1 X offers almost all of the extensive external controls that appear on the G12 - a camera that is itself the product of many generations of evolution. The only reservation we have about the G12 is that there's an awful lot of camera for such a small sensor - so the combination of G-series build quality and ergonomics with a sensor to match that capability is extremely promising. The G1 X doesn't replace the G12, but instead supplements it in Canon's lineup, adding a new tier to the G series.
While the G1 X may initially appear to be a G12 with a slightly lumpier lens on the front, putting them side-by-side makes clear that Canon hasn't quite achieved the impossible: it hasn't fitted a sensor six times larger into the same body size. However, it's done a great job of minimizing the difference. With the lens retracted, the G1 X is 5mm wider and 17mm thicker than the already brick-like G12. Note though that the G1 X has a narrower lens range, that extends only to 112mm-equivalent (as opposed to 140mm).
The G12 isn't exactly the smallest of compacts, and the expansion required to accommodate that larger sensor (and the larger lens it requires) have made the G1 X still less portable - although it'll still just about fit into a large jacket or coat pocket. However, for a camera with such a large sensor, useful lens range and a viewfinder, there's little to touch it.