PHOTO QUALITY. This 20-megapixel advanced point-and-shoot camera captured images with very good quality. Pictures were very sharp, which means you can see even tiny details and very subtle patterns in the image. In low-light situations without a flash, pictures were not quite as sharp as those of most recommended models. We judged this model excellent for outdoor performance, such as shooting landscapes in the daytime; very good for indoor performance, such as photographing a well-lit basketball game in a gym. And good for low-light performance without a flash, such as capturing a birthday party. Photos taken in our low-light performance tests displayed very little image noise; subjects retained correct detail and color.
FLASH. The Powershot G5 X Mark II captured flash shots that were good.
LENS. This camera includes a 5x zoom lens, a bit more zoom than a standard 3x. The lens also has very wide-angle (24mm) capability that's very useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance. The lens has a bright f/1.8 aperture (at its maximum), which gives you a shallower depth of field for producing more professional looking portraits and images.
IMAGE STABILIZATION. This is an important feature; taking hand-held shots at the telephoto end of the zoom range can generally blur or soften images due to the slight movement of your hands. Shooting telephoto in well-lit scenes, this model did an excellent job of minimizing the effects of camera shake. In low-light settings, it performed excellently and almost never produced blurry photos. Overall, the shake reduction results from our tests were excellent.
SPEED. In terms of performance, the Canon Powershot G5 X Mark II powers up very quickly. It has a very short interval between shots, which can be important when shooting fast-moving or unpredictable subjects.
VIDEO. The Canon Powershot G5 X Mark II takes very good video. It also captures 4K-UHD video at 3840 x 2160 30i.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. Like most advanced point-and-shoot models, this camera does include an electronic viewfinder, which means you have flexibility when composing your photo or video; this viewfinder has excellent quality. This advanced point-and-shoot is smaller and thinner than most in its class.
