Another Step Toward The Perfect Camera

Author's Rating:

Pros: Solidly built; endless features; easy to handle; excellent images; very versatile for amateur to pro.

Cons: Priced rather high; no articulated LCD screen; slow lens in aperture; some noise.

The Bottom Line: 
This camera will grow on you and may very well be the last camera you will ever need to buy because of its abundant features and options.

Author's Review
Introduction
 
This is the 6th Canon PowerShot G series camera that I have owned since buying the G2 a number of years ago. Each new model has offered improvements from the previous model and a few have removed some nice features that some people wish they had not. For the most part, I would safely say that the current G10 is probably the best G series camera that Canon has produced.  This camera can be recommended to the amateur photographer as well as the more experienced semi-professional user because it has settings that can be used as a simple point and shoot and many more advanced settings and features for the more serious photographer,
 
Features
 
~14.7 Megapixel digital camera for the highest image quality
~5x optical zoom with optical image stabilizer
~28mm wide-angle lens for better close-ups and more frame capture
~DIGIC 4 image processor improves face detection
~Servo AF, Face detection self-timer and ICC for greater flexibility
~Wide array of shooting & recording modes incl. RAW+JPEG
~Large 3 inch PureColor LCD
~Many available accessories incl. teleconverter lens, speedlite flash
~Print/Share button for easy direct printing
~i-Contrast boosts brightness & retains detail in dark areas
~26 shooting modes with manual control & custom settings
~Smooth, 30fps VGA movies

Changes from G9
 
~Higher resolution (14.7 vs 12MP)
~New wider coverage lens (starts at 28mm)
~Redesigned front grip with textured cover
~Improved face detection technology
~DIGIC 4 for improved image processing
~New higher capacity battery (1050mAh)
~Improved LCD screen resolution (461K vs 230K)
~Exposure compensation dial
~New flat and tilted buttons

Overall Performance
 
The Canon G10 is a fun camera to use and solidly built. There are so many features and potential setting to play with that one can explore almost endlessly the variable ways that this camera can be used. Even when used with the automatic settings, the images produced are as good or almost as good as those taken with a top of the line digital SLR,
If you area serious photographer, you can tweak the settings to produce images that even exceed those from cameras in the $1000. price range. The menu is a bit complicated at first but after several uses, it becomes more intuitive. The  manual provided has always been, and still is, a bit difficult to navigate through and its tiny size makes it difficult to use. Canon needs to work on this and provide a larger and more easily laid out manual.
There is much that can be written about the details and performance of this camera and attempting to provide all of it here would be tiresome to the reader, so I am trying to give a general overview of this camera to the individuals who might be interested in purchasing it. For a more extensive review, I would recommend visiting the site:dpreview.com where you will find an in-depth analysis of the performance and workings of the G10  For the purpose of this review, I will detail some of the more prominent pros & cons of this camera below.

Pros:
 
*Very good results at lower ISO settings
*Very little vignetting & good edge-to-edge sharpness across zoom range
*Very low lens distortion
*RAW mode & RAW+JPEG very fast & useful
*Classic rangefinder styling looks great
*Fit and finish superb
*One of the best handling compacts
*Huge feature set
*Higher capacity battery
*Effective image stabilization
*Excellent software bundle includes full version of Digital Photo Professional
*Built-in flash performs well
*Wide range of image color and sharpness
*Excellent movie quality

Cons:
 
*Rather slow lens in terms of aperture
*No articulated LCD (as in previous G series models)
*Price is rather high ( I paid approx. $418)
*Some noise visible even at ISO 80
*Focus sometimes hunts in low light and in macro mode
*Continuous mode slightly slower than the G9
 
Specifications:

Specifications:
 
Type of Camera:
 Compact digital still camera with built-in flash, 5x Optical/4x Digital/20x Combined Zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer System
 
 Image Capture Device:
Type
 14.7 Megapixel, 1/1.7-inch type Charge Coupled Device (CCD)
 
Total Pixels
 Approx. 15.0 Megapixels
 
Effective Pixels
 Approx. 14.7 Megapixels
 
Lens:
Focal Length
 6.1-30.5mm f/2.8-4.5 (35mm film equivalent: 28-140mm)
 
Digital Zoom:
 4x
 
Focusing Range:
 Normal: 1.6 ft./50cm-infinity
Macro: 0.39 in.-1.6 ft./1-50cm (W)
 
Autofocus System:
 TTL Autofocus
 
Viewfinder:
 Real image optical zoom viewfinder
 
LCD Monitor:
 3.0-inch TFT color LCD with wide viewing angle
 
LCD Pixels:
 Approx. 461,000 pixels
 
LCD Coverage:
 100%
 
Aperture and Shutter:
Maximum Aperture
 f/2.8 (W) - f/4.5 (T)
 
Shutter Speed
 15-1/4000 sec. (settable in Tv and M)
 
Exposure Control:
ISO Sensitivity
 Auto, High ISO Auto, ISO 80/100/200/400/800/1600 equivalent (Standard output sensitivity. Recommended exposure index)
 
Light Metering Method:
 Evaluative*, Center-weighted average, Spot**
* Control to incorporate facial brightness in Face Detection AF
** Metering frame is fixed to the center
 
Exposure Control Method:
 Program AE, Shutter Speed-Priority AE, Aperture-Priority AE, i-Contrast, Manual; AE Lock, Safety Shift, Auto ISO Shift
 
Exposure Compensation:
 +/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increment
 
White Balance Control:
 Auto, Preset (Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Underwater), Custom1, Custom2
 
Flash:
Built-in Flash
 Auto, Auto w/ Red-eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On w/ Red-eye Reduction, Flash Off; FE lock, Safety FE, Slow Synchro, Second-curtain synchro
 
Flash Range:
 12 in.-15 ft./30cm-4.6m (W), 1.6-9.2 ft./50cm-2.8m (T) (when sensitivity is set to ISO Auto)
 
Recycling Time:
 10 sec. or less (battery voltage=7.4V)
 
Flash Exposure Compensation:
 +/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increments
Shooting Modes:
 Auto, P, Av, Tv, M, C1, C2, Special Scene (Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Sports, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Sunset, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, Indoor, ISO 3200, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot, Color Accent, Color Swap), Stitch Assist, Movie
 
Photo Effects:
 My Colors
Vivid, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Custom
 
Self-Timer:
 Activates shutter after an approx. 2-sec./10-sec. delay, Face Self-Timer, Custom
 
Wireless Control:
 N/A
 
Continuous Shooting:
 Normal: approx. 1.3 fps; AF: approx. 0.7 fps; LV: approx. 0.7 fps (Large/Fine)
 
Image Storage:
Storage Media
 SD/SDHC Memory Card, MultiMediaCard, MMC Plus Card, HC MMC Plus Card
 
File Format:
 Design rule for camera file system, DPOF Version 1.1
 
Image Compression:
 Normal, Fine, SuperFine
 
JPEG Compression Mode:
 Still Image: Exif 2.2 (JPEG)
Movie: MOV (Image: H.264; Audio: Linear PCM (Monaural))
 
Number of Recording Pixels:
 Still Image: 4,416 x 3,312 (Large), 3,456 x 2,592 (Medium 1), 2,592 x 1,944 (Medium 2), 1,600 x 1,200 (Medium 3), 640 x 480 (Small), 4,416 x 2,480 (Widescreen)
Movie: 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) available up to 4GB or 60 minutes
 
Time of Recordable Movies:
   Standard, Color Accent, Color Swap
640 x 480 320 x 240
30 fps 30 fps
Movie Size (KB/sec.) 1,316 394
2GB 23 min. 49 sec. 1 hr. 13 min. 10 sec.
8GB 1 hr. 35 min. 11 sec. 4 hr. 52 min. 24 sec.
Note: N=Normal F=Fine SF=SuperFine
Storage Capacity varies depending on camera settings. This data is estimated from Canon's standard shooting conditions. Figures for Movie Mode represent total capacity of the particular media. 
 
Playback Specifications:
Playback Modes File
 Still Image: Single, Magnification (approx. 2x-10x), Jump, Auto Rotate, Rotate, Resume, My Colors, My Category, Transition Effects, Histogram, Overexposure Warning, Index (9 thumbnails), Sound Memos, Slide Show, Red-eye Correction, RAW playback, Trimming, Resize, Image Inspection Tool, i-Contrast Movie: Normal Playback, Special Playback, Editing, Auto Rotate, Resume
 
Erasing Specifications:
Erase Modes
 Still Image: single image, select range, select by date, select by category, select by folder, all images
Movie: part of movie, all of movie
Interfaces:
Computer Interface
 USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (mini-B jack)
 
Video Out:
 NTSC/PAL
 
Audio Out:
 Monaural
 
Other:
 SD Memory card slot; direct connection to Canon CP and SELPHY Compact Photo Printers, PIXMA Photo Printers and PictBridge-compatible printers via camera's USB 2.0 Hi-Speed cable
 
Power Supply:
Power Source
 1. Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery NB-7L
2. AC Adapter Kit ACK-DC50 (optional)
 
Shooting Capacity:
 Still Image: approx. 400 shots (NB-7L/LCD on)*, approx. 1,000 shots (NB-7L/LCD off)
* LCD screen on. The above figures comply with CIPA testing standards and apply when fully-charged batteries are used.
 
Playback Time:
 Approx. 600 min. (NB-7L)
 
Physical Specifications:
Operating Temperature
 32-104°F/0-40°C
 
Operating Humidity:
 10-90%
 
Dimensions (WxHxD):
 4.30 x 3.06 x 1.81 in./109.1 x 77.7 x 45.9mm
 
Weight:
 Approx. 12.3 oz./350g (camera body only)
 
 
 Note: 26 display languages provided (English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Thai, Arabic, Romanian, Ukrainian, Farsi)