Asian Diver and Scuba Diver No. 2/2018 Volume 150 | Page 4

ADVERTORIAL
The Best-Selling Pocket-Sized
Camera: PowerShot G7 X Mark II
By: William Tan
On my last trip to Lombok, Indonesia, I had the privilege
of testing out the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II on a couple
of projects. This easy-to-use compact camera proved to
be a worthy companion underwater, producing some
fantastic shots with the help of an external strobe and
a close-up lens.
I particularly liked the well-thought-out placement
of the controls. While the cramped ergonomics of some
cameras makes it difficult to adjust settings underwater,
the buttons and dials of the PowerShot G7 X Mark II are
easily accessible, even when the camera is in a housing.
Some photographers doubt the capabilities of a
compact camera, but I found that its small size came
with its own advantages, especially when photographing
macro subjects.
On one of our dives, we found a cowrie moving on its
gorgonian host. When shooting such tiny subjects on large
corals, it is always important to avoid contact with the
subject and its surroundings. The pocket-sized PowerShot
G7 X Mark II in its equally compact housing made it
extremely easy to approach the cowrie without having
to worry about the setup touching, and damaging, the
gorgonian. To compensate for the yellow hue that typically
occurs when compacts get up close to macro subjects,
I simply adjusted the white balance towards blue.
Similarly, the size of the PowerShot G7 X Mark II allowed
me to get very close to a shrimp on a tube worm without
creating water movements that would frighten it. I was
concerned that the camera’s autofocus might lock onto
the tube worm background, so I switched to the enlarged
manual focus screen, which made focusing on the shrimp’s
eyes a breeze.
On another dive, I encountered a tiny green snail on a
seagrass blade. I was surprised at how well the PowerShot
G7 X Mark II coped with the low-contrast scene, easily
focusing on the snail against the similarly coloured
background. The camera’s continuous autofocus even
accurately tracked the snail as it moved, allowing me to
capture a clean shot. The resulting details in the image are
no less impressive than those from a DSLR.
The Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II is ideal for divers
who want a small, intuitive setup for capturing a range of
marine subjects. Coupled with a high-quality close-up lens,
the camera is a serious contender for macro photographers
looking for an economical travel option that’s capable of
producing high-quality images.
To find out more, visit
https://bit.ly/2lttzeu
Canon Waterproof Case WP-DC55
• 8 FPS continuous shooting
• Underwater macro mode
• DIGIC 7 Imaging Processor + 1.0-inch type
CMOS sensor
• 4.2x Optical Zoom 24–100mm
(35mm equivalent), f/1.8–f/2.8 lens
• 3.0 inch touchscreen tilt-type LCD monitor
(180° upwards, 45° downwards)
• Wi-Fi & NFC capabilities