As regular readers will be aware, I have recently been sharing my thoughts about the Canon G7X camera recently. My previous posting on the subject was a little critical as I had found that on very long exposures, light appeared to be leaking into the camera through the lens barrel. I would now like to balance this with a brief post demonstrating the image quality that’s now possible with even compact cameras.
The image above is a long exposure of Burton Falls in West Yorkshire. To avoid the problem with the light leaking into the camera I wrapped a cloth around the lens barrel. On processing the image in Lightroom the image quality is evident. Below you can see a close up of the image at 100% magnification prior to processing.
Depending on your screen resolution you may need to click on the image to review it properly.
What I found interesting is how clean the image was when I then went to touch it up in Alien Skin Exposure 7. I started with a Fuji Provia slide film simulation but turned off the grain. I then adjusted the sharpness and clarity very slightly. Below you can see the same sections from the image after processing.
If you would like to see a full resolution JPG of the image you can find it here (I had to drop the JPEG quality to 10 due to the file size).
You don’t need to look back too many years to find this beats the pants of many DSLR’s.
The Lightweight Photographer 
Some nice images again Robin….. I just can’t wait for the new camera to start shooting again
Thanks Richard, appreciated. Surprising isn’t it how a new camera helps boost the pleasure from our photography.
If I’m reading the technical data correctly, you shot at 30 seconds which implies the use of a tripod. This only underscores that a tripod is an essential piece of equipment in providing ultimate sharpness. While this is obvious for a thirty second exposure, I still believe that with small cameras that I use like the EM5, Epl5/6, and GX7 that a light carbon fiber pod is still essential for any shutter speed to achieve best sharpness. I actually enjoy carrying a light tripod because it offers the almost guaranteed sharpness, it helps with all kind of angles, it provides better composition (especially at waist and lower levels), and provides a chance to shoot long exposures such as the beautiful you’ve shot here.
Spot on John, it was a 30 second exposure. I used a Lee Little Stopper filter and a tripod. As you say, it’s a vital piece of equipment. I don’t actually use a Carbon Fibre tripod but my lightweight option described in this post (https://thelightweightphotographer.com/2012/10/23/excellent-lightweight-travel-tripod/). It’s easy to forget the advantages of a good tripod whn you are working lightweight.