The Canon Powershot G7 is a ten megapixel digital camera with a 6x optical zoom lens. It is one of the most advanced compact digital cameras you will find and the layout of the camera helps to bring some its more advanced features to the fingertips of the more serious photographer. For example the Powershot G7 has a manual focusing ring on the back of the camera and an ISO settings dial on the top. It also has a hotshoe for adding an external flash unit. These are rare on a compact model.
Therefore I would say this camera is more likely to appeal to someone who sees photography as a hobby or would like to become more involved in the technical aspects of taking pictures.
Image Quality
Checking through the outdoor shots produced by the Powershot G7 three things strike me. First focusing is very sharp. When I look at the first outdoor test shot each brick of the building in the middle of the photograph can be clearly made out. As I move away towards the edges focusing remains sharp and I can see little evidence of the sharpness slipping away. The second photo is taken without the zoom being used at all. This is a shot where many cameras struggle, but I am happy with the results achieved by the Powershot G7.
Next are the colours. On the whole the colours are strong and true. This is also supported by the dedicated test for colours. I did notice though that when the zoom lens was fully extended as in the third test shot the sky has lost some of its blue. The sky had a deeper shade than this when I took the photo and other cameras I tested at the same time produced a stronger colour showing in this test.
The third point is that the camera handles the glare of the sun well. At the time of the year the photo was taken glare is often a problem for a camera. This is because the sun tends to be lower in the sky in winter. Looking at the white wooden beams under the roof of the building in the first test shot the individual beams can be seen clearly. The degree of detail in each boat is also very good.
I like the outdoor portrait. Skin tones have a pleasant balance and focusing is sharp again. Colours are natural without being too strong.
Indoors the camera is very strong. This is another area where it outperforms many other digital cameras. Looking at the indoor portrait shot it is the level of detail the camera has been able to pick out that really catches my eye. There is a touch of red eye, but my test shot suggests the Powershot G7 should be able to control this to a degree. As with any compact digital camera you are likely to see red eye in some lowlight portrait photos.
The second indoor test of beer bottles produces another good performance. Here focusing is good and the camera is able to control flash so that it does not blast out detail in the label of the first bottle.
In terms of clarity and colour the macro shot is impressive. The Powershot G7 is able to focus from just 1cm away from a subject. Combining this fact with the quality of the shot this camera is a good choice if you are interested in close up photography.
The final two tests check how the camera reacts to using higher ISO settings. These are often used in darker conditions, especially when flash cannot be used or you are outside the range of the flash unit. Up to ISO 400 the results are encouraging. At ISO 400 the camera outperforms the majority of other digital cameras. There is a degree of noise that creeps into the picture at this setting, but this is low compared to other models. Not surprisingly as you move above this level picture quality deteriorates more and more until at 1600 the Powershot G7 is really struggling.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
I must admit to a degree of disappointment when it comes to shutter lag. The times I recorded are:
- For a single photo without flash 0.53 seconds
- For a single photo flash 1.85 seconds
- For five photos without flash 10.09 seconds
- For five photos with flash 14.89 seconds
These times place the camera well down the list and there is a significant difference when flash is being used. I would have liked to have seen faster times, especially on such an advanced camera.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Features
The 6x optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 35 - 210mm in 35mm format. In addition to the optical zoom there are also special zoom features that can boost zoom by a further 2.3x if you decrease the number of megapixels you are shooting at. The Powershot G7 also has 4x digital zoom. Image stabilisation is also available.
There are a variety of focusing options including manual focusing. You can select between single and continuous auto focusing modes. For close up photography the camera can focus from 1cm away from the subject. Focus bracketing is also available.
For composing images there is an optical viewfinder. This has dioptre correction. Dioptre correction allows you to adjust the focusing of the viewfinder to suit your own eyesight. If you prefer there is a 2.5" LCD screen. This is made up of around 207,000 pixels.
The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 4m. This falls to around 2.5m when the zoom lens is in use. The basic flash modes are on, off and automatic. You can also use red eye reduction, second curtain synchronisation and slow sync speed. The power of the flash unit can be adjusted and you also have access to flash exposure lock and flash exposure compensation.
There are also a number of built in scene modes. These are: Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Sports, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, ISO 3200, Color Accent and Color Swap. When you use a scene mode the camera will use what it considers to be the best settings for the photo.
To add something different to your work there are a number of colour options available. These are Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red and Custom Color.
As you get to know the camera there is a lot to explore. As well as fully manual mode there are shutter priority and aperture priority modes as well. Shutter speeds work in the range from 15 seconds to 1/2500 seconds. The maximum aperture of the lens is f/2.8 (wide) and f/4.8 (tele).
More advanced features you have access to include metering (Evaluative, Centre-weighted average, Spot (centre or linked to Face Detection AF or FlexiZone AF frame)), exposure compensation (+/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments), auto exposure bracketing (1/3 - 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments), ISO sensitivity (AUTO, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600) and white balance (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Underwater, Custom). Auto exposure lock is also available.
Other features include a special wide aspect ratio. This is suitable for displaying your photos on a widescreen television. There is also a histogram available, a self timer (delay 2 or 10 seconds) and continuous shooting at top speeds of either 2 frames per second or 0.8 frames per second. For panoramic type shots there is a special stitch assist mode.
Movies of up to 4GB or one hour in duration can be recorded. The maximum resolution available is 1024 x 768 pixels. At this resolution the maximum frames per second speed is 15. A speed of 30 frames per second can be used at a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. Zoom is available during recording and sound can be captured.
The Powershot G7 can be connected to a compatible printer, television set or computer. All the necessary cables and software are supplied with the camera.
A number of useful accessories are available. These include a case that is waterproof to a depth of 40m (WP-DC11), a 2x tele converter lens to increase the power of the lens (TC-DC58C) and a 0.75 wide converter to increase the wide angle capabilities of the lens (WC-DC58B). To enhance the built in flash unit you may consider Canon Speedlites (220EX, 430EX, 580EX) or High Power Flash HF-DC1.
Ease of Use
A camera with this number of features is never going to be easy to use if compared with a typical point and shoot camera. It can be used in fully automatic mode. This allows you to get up and running before you get to know all the features that are available to you. Be prepared to spend time getting to know the camera and how it works before you will be in a position to get the most out of the camera.
Cost
At the time of putting this review together you can pick up a Canon Powershot G7 for around £310. It is difficult to find other cameras to compare it against as none are exactly like it. A camera with similar features, but a bit larger is the Fuji Finepix S9600. The Finepix S9600 is around £50 cheaper. The next level down in the Canon range is the Canon Powershot A640 and you can expect to save around £90 if you were to opt for that model over the G7. The next step up takes you to Digital SLRs and you would expect to pay an extra £150 to get started at that level.
Style
The camera reminds me of some rangefinder cameras in appearance. Although the body is plastic based it does have a very solid feel to it. The Powershot G7 is available in black.
Without the battery the Powershot G7 weighs 320g. It has dimensions of 106.4 x 71.9 x 42.5 mm.
Batteries
A lithium ion battery is used to power the camera. Canon estimates that around 220 can be taken between charges. This will vary depending on how you use the camera. Both a battery and charger are supplied with the Powershot G7 as standard.
Memory Card
The camera is compatible with SD and SDHC cards. Canon has popped a 32mb SD card into the box. Owing to the power of this camera when it comes to megapixels I was only able to take 10 photos before the card was full. So although this gives you a quick test you will need to buy a higher capacity card before you can really get serious with the camera.
Click here to save money on SD cards.
Points I like:
Build quality
Good set of features
Reasonable price for features
Where it is not so hot:
Shutter delay
Summary
Overall there is a lot to like about the Canon Powershot G7. It is a camera aimed at enthusiasts and you will need to commit time to learning how the camera works in order to get the most out of it. You will find that it is time well spent.
Canon Powershot G7 Front View
Canon Powershot G7 Back View
Canon Powershot G7 Top View
Sample Menus
| Canon Powershot G7 Summary |
| Description: | 10 megapixels with a 6x zoom lens |
| Ease of Use: | 7 |
| Features: | 9 |
| Colour: | 8 |
| Macro: | 9 |
| Indoors: | 9 |
| Value for Money: | 8 |
| Style: | 9 |
| Movie Mode: | 9 |
| Image Quality: | 9 |
| Build Quality: | 9 |
| Total: | 86 |
| Verdict: | The Canon Powershot G7 may cost a bit more than other compact digital cameras, but in my view it is money well spent. It has many advanced features and its picture quality is very good. This type of camera has fallen a long way in price over the last couple of years and is now affordable to many more serious photographers. |
| Review Date: | February 2007 |
| Click for: | Specification Sample Images |
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