Canon PowerShot G6 Review,
Phil Askey, December 2004

Review based on a production PowerShot G6, Firmware v1.00

Successor to the popular PowerShot G5 the new PowerShot G6 was announced on 19th August 2004. At the beginning of the year it became clear that Canon wouldn't be jumping on the six megapixel 1/1.8" CCD bandwagon, instead they were holding off for the higher resolution seven megapixel sensor and chose to introduce both the G6 and S70 with this CCD in August. The increase in output pixel count from the G5 to the G6 is quite a bit more (2.0 million pixels) than from the G3 to the G5 (1.2 million pixels) and so it's likely that the G6 will be of considerable interest to G5 owners and also those G3 owners who chose not to upgrade to the G5.

Although the G6 looks quite a bit different to the G5 (it's 16 mm narrower) it has the same lens (although apparently with improved coatings to cut down CA) a similar control layout and feature set.

The PowerShot G6 becomes one of the first prosumer digital cameras to utilize the new 1/1.8" seven megapixel CCD. Just to add a little confusion to the mix Canon isn't particularly logical with its naming conventions; PowerShot S60 (5 megapixel), PowerShot S70 (7 megapixel), PowerShot G5 (5 megapixel), PowerShot G6 (7 megapixel).

Canon PowerShot G6 vs. PowerShot G5 (differences)

	Canon PowerShot G6	Canon PowerShot G5
Body color	Silver	Black
Effective pixels	7.1 million	5.0 million
Image sizes	• 3072 x 2304 • 2592 x 1944 • 2048 x x1546 • 1600 x 1200 • 640 x 480	• 2592 x 1944 • 1600 x 1200 • 1024 x 768 • 640 x 480
Movie clips	• 640 x 480 (max 30 sec) • 320 x 240 (max 3 mins) • 160 x 120 (max 3 mins)	• 320 x 240 (max 3 mins) • 160 x 120 (max 3 mins)
Continuous (Large/Fine, LCD Off)	• High: 2.0 fps, max 14 • Std: 1.2 fps, max 23	• High: 2.0 fps, max 11 • Std: 1.5 fps, max 11
LCD monitor	• 2.0" 118,00 pixel • Tilt, twist and swivel	• 1.8" 118,000 pixel • Tilt, twist and swivel
Status panel	• Right side of camera • Illuminated	• Left side of camera
Battery	Canon BP-511A (1390 mAh)	Canon BP-511 (1100 mAh)
Charger	External charger	In-camera incl. AC adapter
Menu languages	14 languages	12 languages
Dimensions	105 x 73 x 73 mm (4.1 x 2.9 x 2.9 in)	121 x 74 x 70 mm (4.8 x 2.9 x 2.8 in)
Weight (incl.)	467 g (1.0 lb)	481 g (1.1 lb)
Other new features	• Safety shift • Flash adjust (Auto / Manual) • Reverse display • RAW+JPEG size selection
Claimed improvements (compared to G5)	• AF 45 - 55% faster • Startup 30% faster • 10% smaller in size • Reduced CA thanks to new lens coatings

Five $700 seven megapixel digital cameras

This review was produced as part of a group test of five seven megapixel digital cameras, all of which offer similar features and all of which cost (at the time of posting these reviews; 2nd Dec 2004) around $700. The 'Compared to...' section of this review is shared with the other reviews. The five reviews (in alphabetical order):

• Canon PowerShot G6
• Casio EXILIM EX-P700
• Olympus C-7000 / C-70 Zoom
• Pentax Optio 750Z
• Sony Cyber-shot DSC-V3

If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this review (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

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This article is Copyright 2004 and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author.