Psst – the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II is what you're looking for. I know, I know, most people flock straight to the G7 X Mark III – and that's a great compact camera. In fact, it launched alongside the G5 X Mark II in August 2019.
But while the G7 X was and remains the headline-grabber, it's the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II that's always been my pick – especially if you're looking for an alternative to Sony's RX100 series that's as overpriced as it is overpowered.
On first glance, the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II has a lot in common with the G7X Mark III. Both pack a stacked, 1-inch 20.1MP sensor – and that stacked design enables them both to blast out 30fps bursts like a pair of action-capturing Gatling guns.
Digic 8 processor, ISO125-12,800 sensitivity, 4K 30p video, 3-inch 1.04 million-dot tilting screen, 31-point contrast-based autofocus system… there really is a whole lot of deja vu on the spec sheets. But the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II has two major aces up its sleeve that's its sibling lacks.
The first one will make any photographer giddy: an integrated pop-up electronic viewfinder (EVF). Something that even the mighty Ricoh GR III doesn't have!
The original G5 X was a bulky beast, thanks to the EVF being housed in a classic "pentaprism hump" that jutted out from the top of the camera. So Canon did a very clever thing, making the Mark II way smaller and more pocketable by housing the viewfinder inside the body – so you can just pop it up when you need it.
The second thing that the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II boasts over its stablemate is a more impressive zoom – a 5x affair that goes all the way to 120mm f/2.8, eclipsing the 24-100mm lens on the G7 X Mark III. It's still only f/2.8 at the long end (and f/1.8 at the wide) so you don't even lose any light!
If you're looking at picking up a classic compact right now, there are so many to choose from. But when I want to take a truly pocketable, genuinely powerful camera out with me and I don't want to wrestle with Sony's miserable menu system, it's gonna be the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II. In fact, I might even pack it for my vacation later this month!
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