Canon G10 Quick Review
What is it: By now everyone probably knows of the Canon G10. A 14.7-megapixel camera with a wide angle, 4x zoom (28-140mm film equivalent) lens. The camera is rugged rugged. There is an optical viewfinder which is better than most, but DO NOT rely on this to take your photo’s. It’s there for emergency use only like when it’s so bright you just can’t see the LCD. It will give you parallax error and has about 75% coverage.
The camera has the dedicated knobs on the body top for exposure compensation and ISO settings. It also has Auto, P, TV, AV and M modes. The LCD screen is a low resolution 2.5 inch model. It’s good, but no LCD is accurate so don’t judge what you’ve taken from the pic on the back of the camera.
One thing that is excellent is the external hot show. Frankly, until recently it was verging on useless because Canon didn’t have a small flash unit you could stick on top. Now they do, but it’s not available in shops yet. There is movie mode but this is limited to the 640×480 standard. Other cameras have 720p and 1080i so it’s a little dated, but that’s not it’s main function anyway.
Like: The camera is a real enthusiast model in today’s market. It has plenty of control on the body like ISO and exposure compensation settings. Image quality is very good (with exceptions).
With 14.7 megapixels, we expected noise to be a serious issue, but it isn’t. At speeds up to ISO200, the images are flawless, and at 1600 they are simply amazing. There is noise, of course, but it looks like film grain.
Dislike: Way too many pixels for this camera. The lens really doesn’t resolve the detail the chip is capable of capturing. Of course, we’re also comparing this to the brilliant Fuji F30 and Casio Z1200 which are considered by us as the benchmarks for image quality. The Canon G6 is still the last of the great G cameras from Canon. The G7, G9, G10 have somewhat compromises.
The image falls apart at 400 and over. The new Fuji F200 is better here.
Verdict: The Canon G10 will get raptures applause from many folk, especially the die-hard Canon uses. I think the Panasonic LX3 and Nikon P6000 are better bets. The P6000 may not be as good in the high ISO range at unrealistic 100% viewing, but is a smaller and better handling camera. The LX3 is is just excellent. It has an outstanding Leica-branded lens but is ‘only’ 2.5x zoom and has better image quality.
It’s good, you’ll get a lot of great shots. However, it’s not enough to pass the LX3 or P6000. Or for that matter, the Casio Z1200 if you’re looking for the ultimate pocket camera.
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