We take the mighty G10 to two different coasts for the ultimate photographic expedition. Does it live up to all the hype? Read our full Canon PowerShot G10 review here, complete with an extensive selection of image samples.
Review summary of the Canon PowerShot G10:
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Scoreboard » Features » Side-by-side » Gallery » |
 Rarely does a camera leave us feeling so fulfilled after a brief photographic adventure throughout urban landscapes and balmy coastal scenery. The Canon PowerShot G10 is a lot of camera, so right off the bat beginners are not going to dig its advanced features and extensive shooting options. For the advanced amateur looking for manual versatility, the PowerShot G10 is the golden choice. Between the multitude of dials and controls, large LCD screen and various shooting modes, there’s plenty of room for creative expression. In this class, no other compact can touch the PowerShot G10, until we get to image quality. The PowerShot G10 cranked out some astounding images, but the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 still held a slight edge in the image quality department. That’s not to say we weren’t impressed with the PowerShot G10's image performance, but shooters looking for the best in this price range will want a Lumix DMC-LX3. Those who want an everyman camera that still captures beautiful images will be all about the Canon PowerShot G10. Release: October 2008. Price: $400.
Pros: Great image quality. Awesome architecture and build. Full gamut of features.
Cons: Image quality fell a few inches short of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. Canon should have capped the PowerShot G10 at 10-megapixels.
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Full Canon PowerShot G10 Review:
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Design - Excellent
Architecturally, few fixed lens compacts can grapple with the Canon PowerShot G10. From afar, the PowerShot G10's bulky, rectangular chassis teleports us back to time when 35mm compacts roamed the earth. We love the PowerShot G10's faux leather paneling and durable metal housing, and there's no denying the fact that this camera stands out in a sea of generic and uninspiring designs that exist within the current digital camera landscape. There's something special about this middleweight black sheep, for we felt as if we were clutching onto a solid slab of photographic equipment that enabled us to unleash our creative wild side. The Canon PowerShot G10 is a harbinger of advanced control and exceptional design, and we haven't had this much fun with an advanced compact since our romp with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3.
Dials abound on this camera. The Canon PowerShot G10 is equipped with a mode dial that rests atop an ISO dial, a configuration that resembles a two-layer cake. We loved the instant gratification of shifting to a particular ISO level right after choosing our intended shooting mode. As if an ISO dial wasn't enough, Canon included an Exposure Compensation dial to the left of the hot accessory shoe. Shooting with the Canon PowerShot G10 was a smooth ride down Convenience Boulevard, and we were spoiled after shooting with this powerhouse. What other compact in its class offers such a tactile and strategic arsenal of image control? To fortify the advanced nature of the PowerShot G10's structure even further, a large, circular menu selection dial sits unobtrusively next to the ample 3-inch LCD. The circular dial has a four-way directional pad embedded in the middle for additional menu control.
But we're not done yet. The Canon PowerShot G10 has a semi-protruding optical viewfinder positioned above the LCD screen, a feature we took advantage of in the blazing Miami sun. The 5x optical zoom lens extends approximately an inch from the façade of the camera's body, so the danger of obscuring the lens with a finger is miniscule. If you're not impressed with the PowerShot G10's flash intensity and spread, the hot shoe will accommodate a range of aftermarket flashes. We weren't very impressed with the PowerShot G10's shutter button and zoom toggle configuration. Canon should have shifted the Power button back to make room for a shutter button/zoom toggle duo at least 20% larger than the current setup. Regardless, our fingers gradually acclimatized to the munchkin-sized controls. All in all, the Canon PowerShot G10 is a prime example of what a camera should look and feel like.
Interface – Very Good
The first feature that hit us was the Canon PowerShot G10's generous 3-inch LCD. The screen size was large enough to obtain an adequate preview when we had to hold the camera with arms outstretched. On the downside, the screen resolution was not the greatest, given the PowerShot G10's high caliber status. Don't get us wrong, the PowerShot G10's LCD screen is sharper than most and maintains a high viewing angle, but we've been toying with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 and that's pretty much the caviar of LCD picture quality. Most of our issues could be attributed to image playback, in which images would appear pixelated and noisy.
We love Canon's menu system for its intuitive and organizational structure, and we found that the circular selection dial and four-way directional pad complemented each other nicely. For instance, in the Function menu we used the circular selection dial to scroll up and down while the directional pad shifted back and forth between options. Selecting a Scene mode was even easier, as all we had to do was spin that big dial whenever we happened upon a corresponding shooting environment. After a solid 10 minutes of shooting, we were interface pros with the Canon PowerShot G10.
We felt the full effects in Manual mode, where the circular selection dial dictates aperture, shutter speed and metering modes. Not having to wade through a clunky menu structure for all of these image adjustment options was a definite windfall for speed and efficiency. The Canon PowerShot G10's battalion of buttons expedited our shoots even further; especially the metering and AE lock features. Playback mode is exceedingly smooth, and loved the fact that we could view vertical images within the full frame just by tilting the camera. We also liked the instant camera mode transportation from Playback via one tap of the shutter button. The PowerShot G10's interface is like the Canon PowerShot SX10's on steroids.
Features – Very Good
The Canon PowerShot G10 is one of those high performance compacts that enabled us to capture a broad range of shots in many difficult shooting environments. It wasn't so much the number of features that impressed us, but the quality of the PowerShot G10's toolbelt that inspired us to keep shooting, even when our fingers were beginning to turn blue from the New York City winter wind. We were reminded of the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS, as both cameras share nearly the same features. However, the PowerShot G10 was much more fun to shoot with, particularly due to the external dials. One unconventional control we liked was the AE lock, in which we could lock an exposure in Aperture or Shutter Priority mode so that the shutter speed and aperture would be adjusted together, rather than selecting them individually. That's something we've seen on Nikon DSLRs, and it's certainly welcome in the consumer circuit.
We loved the fact that the Canon PowerShot G10 has a shutter speed that can reach 15 seconds and an aperture that can dip down to an f/2.8 stop. This came to our aid at night, but a tripod was necessary of course. Auto mode will fire off the flash whenever there's even a shred of doubt, but why would we want to shoot in Auto mode with this camera? That's what the Canon PowerShot SD990 IS is for. For the most part, we kept the PowerShot G10 in Program AE mode, allowing the camera to select the proper aperture and shutter speed ratio while we fiddled with the ISO and white balance. Like the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS and PowerShot SD990 IS, the PowerShot G10 has a handy light meter located along the right side of the LCD. There's also a grid accompanied by a histogram, which is something we took advantage of in highly contrasted locations.
We found the auto white balance to perform very well, but Canon packs in a horde of white balance modes including an Underwater setting and two Custom presets. Canon also hypes color with a handful of various filters, such as Positive Film, Sepia Tone and Vivid. In addition to AE Bracketing, the PowerShot G10 also offers Focus Bracketing, but we had trouble with that feature. The PowerShot G10 only seemed to capture one image, when it should have netted three at three different focus points. The AE Bracketing worked, but not Focus Bracketing, and we were even shooting in Program AE mode with the flash off. The PowerShot G10 even has manual focus, but it's hardly worth using because the LCD resolution is not up to par, especially at a magnified display. It's nearly impossible to discern sharp lines because of the LCD jaggies, so auto focus was our best bet. Despite the few tribulations we had with the PowerShot G10's bevy of features, this camera allowed us to do what many could not.
Hardware – Very Good
The Canon PowerShot G10 has a 14.7-megapixel 1/1.7-inch CCD, which is larger than most other contenders in this class. However, we wish Canon had capped the PowerShot G10's resolution at 10-megapixels like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. Our PowerShot G10 images looked great, but certain images exhibited a fair amount of noise and compression artifacts at full resolution. We'll address this in a moment, but we wish the megapixel wars would end and manufacturers would focus on quality rather than size. So far, Panasonic seems to be one of the few manufacturers to believe that size doesn't matter.
The 5x optical zoom was sufficient enough for most shooting environments, though we were reminded at times that this is certainly not an Ultra-Zoom. The Canon PowerShot G10 also has a 28mm wide-angle lens, though some of our landscape images appeared warped along the corners due to the curvature of the glass. The PowerShot G10 runs on one of the bulkiest rechargeable Lithium Ion battery packs we've seen to date and can capture JPEG or RAW images to SD/SDHC cards. Transfer is a simple drag and drop to the desktop, and we loved the fact that we could record in RAW.
The Canon PowerShot G10 fires up rapidly, as we were able to capture an image in less than two seconds from a powered-down state. Fleeting action was no match for the reflexes of the PowerShot G10. This is one well-rounded camera.
Image Quality – Very Good
The Canon PowerShot G10 captures some magnificent images, no bones about it. In bright light, we found the dynamic range to be broad enough to accommodate highly contrasted portions of the frame, though there were moments when we were forced to shift positions depending on the light source. In all of our testing we stumbled across a modicum of blown out white levels, though at full resolution we could detect some purple fringing along certain borders. And that's the general quandary we had with this power plant camera; resolution. At 14.7-megapixels, we lose those crisp lines and that bold detail we saw with the 10-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3.
That's not to say the Canon PowerShot G10 didn't bless us with a plethora of photographic magic. But after working extensively with the Canon PowerShot G10 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3, we'd have to side with the Panny. The DMC-LX3 held a slight consistent edge over the PowerShot G10 in nearly every shooting environment, especially low light. If Canon had churned out a 10-megapixel G10, we think the scenario would be a bit different. If image quality is at the top of your digital camera wish list, then we say go for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. If you're looking for the ultimate in functionality, the Canon PowerShot G10 is your winner.
Daylight Scene Shooting
Coconut Grove Cactus
This is a great image, thanks to the Canon PowerShot G10's accurate rendering of palm tree shadows juxtaposed with a flawless blue sky. There are no major contrast issues to speak of here, though we feel that the cactus is a bit overexposed. For a scene image, colors look true and noise is barely noticeable. We can catch a little fringing within the leaves along the left hand side of the image, but that's primarily noticeable at full resolution.
Brooklyn Bridge
Here's an example of the Canon PowerShot G10 at its best. We're not looking for color in this image as much as we're searching for crisp lines and sharp detail, which is rendered beautifully along the suspension cables, beams and skyline of Evil Town. Detail is exceptionally realistic and noise is missing in action. Even the pavement toward the bottom of the frame is detailed, thanks to a tight aperture.
Hudson River Sunset
We preferred to shoot this image in Program AE mode, rather than the Sunset scene mode for a few reasons. We tried the Sunset Scene mode and the white balance was too blue. In addition, ISO was pumped up and detail was lost. In Program AE mode at an ISO level of 80, all we had to do was rely on that faithful Canon color, which came through beautifully in this image.
Representin' the BK
At a semi-close range, we can't believe the detail and contrast we were able to attain with the Canon PowerShot G10. The spray can graphic upon the brick façade is lifelike, though we prefer to view this image at a smaller resolution. The reason is due to the miniscule blown-out dots gleaming within the shiny black paint. As far as shadows, the PowerShot G10 digs right underneath the fire escape and we can even make out the "D.A.A." tag. Jolly good show.
A Little G10 Detail
Bamboo and Baskets
Here's where we begin to run into a few road blocks. The detail within the bamboo is spot on, but the wicker spheres appear slightly out of focus and exhibit a minor dosage of fringing along the edges. We've also got a blown-out plastic bag orb. Again, size this image down and it's magazine-worthy in terms of quality.
Miami Flower Macro
The Canon PowerShot G10 allowed us to burrow the lens barrel right into our subject matter, thanks to its Macro mode. The focused portions of the plant are rendered with extreme detail and the colors look beautiful. We highly enjoyed the PowerShot G10's large aperture range.
Coconut Grove Cactus Up Close
Mr. Horse
Weathered Gears
Now there's a properly exposed cactus! Also, check out the mane of the Central Park horse and the rusty cracks within the dock gears. When the light is right and we had the Canon PowerShot G10 dialed correctly, we were able to attain detail of this caliber.
Gimme Some of that Canon Color
123K ~ Bad Graffiti
123K ~ Bad in Color Accent
Canon color is a force to be reckoned with, as evidenced in both of these images. We didn't utilize any filters in the first image, and we were able to capture a vast spectrum of vivid color. Colors are rich and do not bleed into each other. We took advantage of the Color Accent Scene mode in the second image, which allows you to select one color to be highlighted while the rest of the image is rendered black and white. We had a blast with this feature, and it opened many doors to our creative expression.
Old Skool Graffiti
Old Skool Graffiti in Color Swap
Here's more Canon Color, though this time we used the Color Swap feature, which enables the shooter to select two colors via an eye dropper tool and exchange them. In the second image we swapped red and blue, which put a funky spin on the original image.
New York and Miami Nights
Times Square
Bryant Park Ice Rink
There wasn't much we could do about the blown out advertisements in Times Square, but the highlight here is certainly exposure. In Program AE mode, we were able to capture a bright image at night, amidst the insanity. We have to admit that this is not the greatest night shot we've taken, due to the fact that certain areas of the image fall out of focus. However, noise is minimal and this image looks great sized down. We had more success with focus at Bryant Park, and we can see the detail of the skate grooves in the ice and sharp lines of the blue and red party hangar in the background. Exposure is great here as well, but we lose out on some motion because of the slower shutter speed.
2 AM Starry Night at the Ritz
This is what a four second shutter speed can do for a Miami sky late at night. Between the colors and the exposure, we were very pleased with this image. However, you'll notice the slight loss of focus at full resolution, due to the fact that we braced the camera on a railing. With a tripod, we would have attained a much better focus, but this image is an example of the Canon PowerShot G10's versatility at night.
The Romance of the Flame
Creatures of the Candlelight
Creatures of the Candlelight in Manual Mode
Creatures of the Candlelight in Black and White
The first image was captured in Program AE mode, but we felt that the exposure was unacceptable, so we broke out the tripod and captured the second image in Manual mode at a 3 second shutter speed. The difference was great, and we can even catch a kindergarten picture of our digital imaging editor in the shadowy right side of the image. This is why the Canon PowerShot G10 should not be used in Auto mode. It takes all the fun out. The last image was captured in the Black and White filter, and possesses the best exposure of the lot as a result.
Price and availability
The Canon PowerShot G10 is available online for approximately $400.
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