Canon G10 Compact Digital Camera
Worthy Flagship of Canon’s PowerShot Compact Digital Camera Range,
Nov 5, 2008
The PowerShot G10 is Canon's entry in the emerging street camera class is looking to assume the mantle from Leica's iconic compact 35mm camera from the twentieth century. The G10 features a combination of compact size and image quality. Canon has updated their PowerShot G9 to produce the new G10. The Canon PowerShot G10 is still a compact digital camera at heart. Canon engineers gave it the controls and functions needed to make it a very useful camera for advanced photographers and still offer excellent value for money.
"With exquisite image quality, the latest image processor and advanced functionality, the Canon PowerShot G10 digital camera brings an elevated level of performance and usability to the PowerShot line," said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. "By enhancing key technologies in this camera, including our proprietary DIGIC 4 image processor, Canon has merged the functions typically found in a DSLR with a smaller body form to provide affordable and portable options to photo enthusiasts of all types."
The Canon G10 created a minor stir in the hands of Toronto photographer Michael Reichmann in a very informal and unstructured comparison with one of the latest high-end medium format digital cameras. No, the G10 is not as good as a Hasselblad, but the difference is not as pronounced as the price difference would suggest. Canon’s suggested price is in the order of $499, you need to add a couple of zeros to get the Hasselblad price.
The electronic brains of the Canon G10 offer arrange of automatic scene and exposure programs to help the novice photographer capture great images. Then for the more serious photographer the G10 offers complete control over aperture, shutter speed, and ISO they could need. At the price, it is a great first camera or handy pocket camera for the serious who want to travel light.
The Zoom Lens
This high quality compact camera does not have interchangeable lenses like the new Panasonic Lumix G1, so Canon made an effort to get the lens right. They changed the focal length of the optically stabilized zoom lens down to 28mm – 140mm (a 35mm camera equivalent), while the widest the G9 zoom lens would go is 35mm. This gives a wider angle of view for large group photos and including everything in sweeping landscapes. This did mean a loss of the longer end of the focal length of the zoom but the 28mm wide angle is very commonly used by photographers.
The Sensor
Canon increased the G10’s sensor from 12 megapixels in the G9, to an impressive 14.7 megapixels. Now it is big for a compact digital camera at a1/17 inch type (make sense of sensor size), it is still smaller than the four-thirds units in the Panasonic Lumix G1, but then again so is the price of the G10. Canon says they have included new powerful noise reduction as part of the G10’s in camera processing to compensate for the smaller sensor at higher ISO settings. However, the PowerShot G010 looks to struggle with noise when the ISO goes over 400.
RAW Image Format
This is a big plus for serious photographer accustomed to making the final image processing decisions themselves, rather than accepting the camera’s view all the time.
The Novice
Finally despite all the features that appeal to the experienced photographer, the Canon PowerShot G10 is flexible enough to offer an easy introduction to photography without breaking the bank. Novices can experiment with composition, and discover their photographer’s view, without being tied down by expensive technical complexity. Then, as photogrpahers mature the G10 offers them control options commonly found on DSLRs.
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