Fridae

The good: Fantastic high-ISO performance; very solid build; vivid yet natural colors; generous feature set.

The bad: Can't shoot macro; bulky; focusing speeds could be improved; expensive for an advanced compact.

The bottom line: If you're after the perfect advanced compact, the PowerShot G1 X isn't it. However, it does produce some breathtaking images--with APS-C-rivaling low-light performance--and has a very solid build. 

Review: 

It's no secret that every major dSLR manufacturer has released a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (ILC) of sorts, ranging from the Nikon 1-series with its small CX-sensors, to the APS-C-imbued NEX-series cameras from Sony. Canon is the notable absentee in this category and it appears as if it may never join the ILC fray. However, the company's latest PowerShot G1 X advanced compact could very well be a worthy contender with a CMOS sensor that's even larger than the Micro Four Thirds varieties found in Olympus' and Panasonic's ILCs. 

Can a camera with a fixed lens put up a good fight against the current crop of interchangeable lens shooters? We'll say outright that it very well might. 

Design and Features 

Saying this camera is solid would be a bit of an understatement. Many of my CNET Asia colleagues have used the phrase "built like a tank" on this advanced compact and I doubt many folks would disagree. It has a stainless steel chassis (as opposed to the G12's magnesium alloy), and used textured rubber and knurled metal to good effect on the grip and dials. This makes the camera feel substantial in hand, although the G1 X's "boxier" build (compared with the G12) makes it a little less ergonomic than we liked. 

As the most advanced compact Canon has released to date, the camera also comes with a generous feature set. The most distinguishable one would be the 18.7mm x 14mm CMOS sensor, that's just 20 percent smaller than Canon's APS-C variant and 6.3 times larger than the one in the PowerShot G12, the sensor in the latter being of a similar size to most midrange compacts.