Is a Canon G7X good enough for portraits (on a scale of 1-10)?

If not which one is? (budget:$500, it has to take video as well)

"Good enough" is very subjective. For me? No. For someone else? Maybe.

The G7X has a crop factor of 2.7x. That means that at f/2.8, it produces the same amount of depth of field as a full-frame camera at about f/8 (aperture of 2.8 x crop factor of 2.7 = 7.56).

So it will be okay, but nothing like what you'd get by using a camera with a larger sensor. The larger the sensor, the longer the lens will need to be for any given angle of view. This is why there's crop factors to allow people to calculate the equivalent focal length of their lens in 35mm format. The longer the lens, the shallower your depth of field will be for any given combination of focusing distance and f/stop (both affect dof too).

Take your $500 and get a camera with a larger sensor such as a Pentax K50, Canon T series or a Nikon D3xxx series. It will be a better camera with better optical quality for your needs.

If you don't want to go with such a larger camera like a DSLR, then the mirrorless cameras from Sony or Fujifilm has the same types of sensors found in DSLRs, and in some cases the exact same sensor is being used in both.

Whether the G7X is good for portraiture boils down to how you're taking your portraits. Are people moving? If so, then the G7X is going to be frustrating to use because of its slow AF system. The G7X doesn't have the quick reaction time as do mirrorless or DSLRs. There's going to be a longer lag time between pressing the shutter button and the image actually being taken. This alone can be a huge deal breaker.

I recommend going with a larger format instead of the G7X, but that's just feeling. I've not used the G7X, but based on my experience with 35mm, medium format and large format cameras, I have a feeling you may not like the G7X for what you intend to do with it. 11 I have the G7X and love it as a compact, all-round camera, particularly for travel. Although I have used it for informal portraits, I don't think it would be my camera of choice if I specialized in portraits. I would use my DSLR for such purposes.

I have the G7X and love it as a compact, all-round camera, particularly for travel. Although I have used it for informal portraits, I don't think it would be my camera of choice if I specialized in portraits. I would use my DSLR for such purposes.