Canon PowerShot G1 X hands-on pictures and video

We got to play with the Canon PowerShot GX 1 at CES’ Pepcom, and got a chance to see if the shooter is worth $799.

by David Pierce

Jan 10, 2012, 3:18 AM UTC

Canon PowerShot G1 X

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The cameras of CES 2012

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David Pierce is editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.

Canon’s big news at this year’s CES was the PowerShot G1 X, about as high-end a point-and-shoot as you’ll ever find. The $799 shooter has a gigantic 1.5-inch, 14.3-megapixel sensor, native ISO range up to 12,800, and plenty of the manual controls and shooting features pros love in their DSLRs. We got to play with the camera for a bit, and we really liked the G1 X — though we still can’t afford it.

The camera's pretty big for a point-and-shoot, but it is legitimately small enough to be out of the DSLR category. Its articulating LCD is a great feature, letting us flip the camera around and start shooting video of ourselves or see our footage while holding the camera up high. The most frustrating thing about the G1 X was its lack of interchangeable lenses: the rest of the camera feels so professional, and being limited by a single lens was tough. But for a pro who needs something a little simpler and more portable, it certainly seems like an option as good as the Fujifilm X10 and its other competitors. We'll be on the lookout for a review unit soon, so stay tuned for even more from this juiced-up point and shoot.