G1X vs a 'real' compact: Fujifilm F300 EXR
G1X with maximum zoom
G1X has a good grip, though the grip might not be big compared to a dslr, but the rough texture provides sufficient friction for steady handling. There's also a thumb grip at the back beside the big red video recording button.
At the back, the buttons layout is similar (not identical) to my 500D, so canon dslr users might find the layout familiar and not totally new. There is a circular dial at the back, which to my opinion is a little loose and you might accidentally rotate the dial while pressing the four buttons: Macro, flash, ISO and DISP. On the top left there is a 'S' button whereby you can customise a special function to it. The 'play' button is on top right, and while your camera is in off mode, press the play button to review the pictures without activating the lens into standby mode.
From the top view on left is the flash button whereby the flash will pop out manually. On the right there's a dual dial, the bigger one is the exposure compensation and the smaller dial are various modes. These dials are tight and that's a good thing because you won't want to accidentally switch the dial to other modes. It is also easy to keep track how much have you turned the dials as the clicks while turning is very "well defined". Beside the dual dials is the on off button and the shutter release together with the electric zoom.
At the front, there's another dial for adjusting aperture, shutter speed while in each's piority mode. This is similar to DSLR's dial, tight and clicky. There is this huge AF assist beam which is very bright. I remembered Digirev's review saying it can blind people. One can remove the outer ring cover with the wording "CANON ZOOM LENS..." and inside is the mount for lens hood and other accessories. There is a lens cap just like any DSLR lenses and one may be not careful and drop the lens cap somewhere.
More updates on the review will be posted soon.