Do You Think We’re Ever Going to See The Canon G1x Mk IV?

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There is one compact camera that I constantly find myself drooling over. That camera is the Canon G1x Mk III. Somehow or another, Canon made an almost perfect high-end compact camera. But in typical Canon ways of old, they found a way to slap consumers in the face. I look at it all the time on eBay. Many times I’ve almost pulled the trigger, but I haven’t yet. There are a fair amount of solid luxury compact cameras on the market, but if the Canon G1x Mk IV ever comes along, it could wipe the floor with the competition.

If you’re paying attention, these photos are of the original Canon G1x. Now, imagine this with me, if you will. The Canon G1x Mk IV could be exactly this:

  • A 30.3 Megapixel full-frame sensor. The same one in the Canon EOS R and the Canon 5D Mk IV.
  • Full weather sealing. The Mk III version has this.
  • A joystick
  • The large touchscreen that the Mk III version has
  • A variant of the pancake Canon 40mm f2.8 lens for the EF mount
  • Autofocus that’s on the Canon RF camera lineup
  • EVF
  • A body style like the Canon Canonet QL-17
  • Leaf shutter
  • Black, silver and brown, or white color variants.
  • Control rings around the lens, on top, and on the back of the camera
  • YouTube live capabilities
  • Headphone jack and microphone jack
  • Hot shoe for flashes

Do I have your attention yet? I mean, wouldn’t this concept of the Canon G1x Mk IV be the coolest camera ever? Wouldn’t it really stand out from the Fujifilm X100v and the Ricoh GR III? And wouldn’t it also still be different enough from the Sony Rx1r Mk II and the Leica Q2? I’d buy it for sure.

Canon will most likely not make a rangefinder-style camera though. It’s very rare of them to do that in their history of digital cameras. So even if it’s SLR style, that would be cool. But the Canon G1x Mk IV is a compact camera. And it should really strive to be that way as much as possible. Heck, I wouldn’t even really need a viewfinder necessarily. But a flippy or a tilting screen would be mandatory. I’d have a ton of fun shooting TLR-style with a camera like this. 

Most importantly, this is something that I really would want. It’s evident in sales that folks are sort of burned out on getting the same thing over and over again. So why not try something different? When I used the Hasselblad 907x 50C, I was reminded of how great ergonomics really can be. Tack onto that the styling of a camera. It’s about time Canon embraces this even more. If possible, my romantic idea of the Canon G1x Mk IV would sell very well. Think of the Instagram camera porn you’d see!

Now, let’s say I’m dreaming a bit too much here. And let’s do an APS-C variant of the Canon G1x Mk IV. It would need to be something similar but with fewer megapixels in the sensor. Canon’s EOS M lineup already feels nice in the hands, but it’s probably about time to retire that camera series. It served its role very well. However, everyone wants a full-frame camera now. And if they’re not reaching for full-frame, the APS-C lineup needs to try much harder. As it is, not a single EOS-M camera is weather sealed and there are no weather-sealed lenses either.

Canon, I know you read this site very often. Please consider this for the Canon G1x Mk IV.