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Pre-Photokina 2000: Today Canon unveil their latest digital camera, the G1. Aimed squarely at the "prosumer" marketplace the G1 enters the arena as a direct competitor to the Coolpix 990, Sony F505V and Olympus C-3030Z. Canon have listened, the G1 supports CF Type II (for IBM Microdrive) has a flash hotshoe and (Pro 70 users will love this) and flip out and twist LCD screen for viewing at any angle, and there's RAW mode images too..
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| Canon PowerShot G1 | Top view, note the inner mode dial and outer record / off / play dial. Top mounted hotshoe, Zoom lever surrounds shutter release. Nice big LCD readout on the top of the camera. |
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| Here's that lovel flip-out and twist LCD we first saw on the Pro 70, coated with a special anti reflective layer. Rear controls seem logical enough, plenty of control over camera settings without having to navigate LCD menus. | Anyone else think this would just topple over on its own? The G1 with Canon's new 420EX speedlight, it'll take the 220EX, 380EX and 550EX too. |
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| Standard "in-the-box" items (contents may vary by region), PowerShot G1, AC adapter / charger, 16MB CF card, AV cable, USB cable, Lens cap, Li-Ion rechargeable battery, WL-DC100 InfraRed remote (supplied), Wrist strap. | Some of the other goodies you may wish to splash out on, top: G1 Soft case, CF cards, bottom: Conversion lens adapter LA-DC58 (58mm thread), Close-up Lens 250D, Tele adapter TC-DC58, Wide adapter WC-DC58. |
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| Record Menu, Page 1 | Record Menu, Page 2 |
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| Setup Menu, Page 1 | Setup Menu, (scrolled down) |
| Imager | 1/1.8" 3.34 megapixel CCD (3.14 megapixel effective) |
| Image sizes (still) | 2048 x 1536 1024 x 768 640 x 480 |
| Image modes | RAW (2048 x 1536 approx. 3.2 MB) JPEG Super Fine (@ 2048 x 1536 approx. 2 MB) JPEG Fine (@ 2048 x 1536 approx 1 MB) JPEG Normal (@2048 x 1536 approx 500 KB) |
| Sensitivity | Auto (ISO 50 - 100), ISO 50, 100, 200, 400 |
| Lens | 3 x zoom, 34 - 102 mm (35 mm equiv.) 8 elements in 7 groups (F2.0 - F2.5) |
| Digital Zoom | Yes, 2x or 4x |
| Focusing | TTL Auto focus (continuous or single
AF) AF Lock Manual Focus |
| Focus range | Normal AF: 70 cm - Infinity Macro AF: 6 cm (W) / 20 cm (T) - 70 cm Manual AF: 6 cm (W) / 20 cm (T) - Infinity |
| AF Assist Light | Yes |
| Shooting Modes |
Auto |
| Manual Exposure modes | Programme AE (Auto) Shutter Priority Aperture Priority Manual AE Lock |
| Metering modes | Center-Weighted Average Spot |
| Exposure compen. | +/-2 EV in 0.3 EV steps |
| Bracketing | Yes |
| Shutter Speed | 8 sec - 1/1000 sec (8 sec only in
Shutter Priority or Manual) Aperture value is fixed to F8 if users set the shutter speed from 1/640 to 1/1,000 s in Shutter priority AE mode or Manual mode. |
| Tv Shutter Speeds | 1/1000, 1/800, 1/640, 1/500, 1/400, 1/320, 1/250, 1/200, 1/160, 1/125, 1/100, 1/80, 1/60, 1/50, 1/40, 1/30, 1/25, 1/20, 1/15, 1/13, 1/10, 1/8, 1/6, 1/5, 1/4, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 1.3, 1.6, 2, 2.5, 3.2, 4, 5, 6, 8 |
| Av Apertures | F2.0, F2.2, F2.5, F2.8, F3.2, F3.5, F4.0, F4.5, F5.0, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8.0 |
| Noise reduction | At exposures less longer than 1.3 secs |
| White Balance | Auto, Five presets, Custom white balance |
| Movie | 320 x 240, 15 fps, 30 seconds per clip (AVI) |
| Audio recording | Yes, WAV file |
| Viewfinder | Optical (with dioptre correction) |
| LCD | 1.8" TFT flip-out & twist with anti-reflective coating (97% coverage) |
| Internal Flash | Range: 0.7 - 4.5m (W), 0.7 - 3.6m (T) [at ISO100 equivalent] |
| Flash Modes | Auto, Red-eye reduction auto, Red-eye reduction on, On and Off |
| Flash Compen. | +/-2 EV in 0.3 EV steps |
| External Flash | Via Hot-shoe: Canon Speedlite 220EX, 380EX, 420EX and 550EX |
| Burst Shooting | 1.7 fps @ 2048 x 1536 / Fine with LCD off |
| Self-Timer | Yes, 10 seconds |
| Playback Operation | Single, Multi, Magnification [approx. 2.5 xor 5 x on built-in LCD monitor screen] and Slide show |
| Media | CompactFlash Type I & II (Microdrive
supported) 16MB CompactFlash Type I card supplied |
| Connections | USB (cable included), RS-232C (optional
cable) Audio/Video Output (PAL or NTSC selectable) |
| TWAIN acquire | (Required for RAW format). PC Windows 95/98 (including SE) / Me / NT 4.0 (Service Pack 3 or higher) / 2000, Mac OS 8.1 or higher |
| Remote Capture | Yes, USB (similar software to that seen in my EOS-D30 preview) |
| Power | BP-511 Li-ion rechargeable battery
(supplied) AC adapter (supplied) Car battery adapter (optional) |
| Dimensions | 119.7 x 76.8 x 63.8 mm |
| Weight | Approx. 420g (excl. batteries & CF card) |
| Price | Europe: 2,499 DM (€ 1,277, £ 780, US$ 1,100) |
| Availability | End October / Early November in Europe |
Notes: TWAIN RAW acquire for the G1 doesn't support 16-bit or Linear acquire.
At the time of publication the links to sample images on the Canon page don't work, we've provided thumbnails and correct links below.
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| Originally shot RAW, resaved as JPEG 1/160s, F2.5, +2/3 EV compensation ISO 50, Custom WB |
JPEG FINE 1/160s, F4.0 ISO 50, Custom WB, Close-up lens 250D |
18th September 2000. Canon launches a new and fully featured 3.34M pixel digital camera for the advanced amateur and semi-professional photographer, the PowerShot G1.
Pin sharp focusing combined with sparkling performance and exceptional photographic flexibility makes the Canon PowerShot the only sensible choice for advanced digital photographers.
With class leading image quality and twelve flexible shooting modes - including; Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE and full manual, the Canon PowerShot G1 offers sophisticated levels of creative functionality and delivers simply stunning images.
The professional user will appreciate the advanced design of the Canon PowerShot G1 especially Canon's new high performance Lithium-Ion battery pack letting the user take approximately 800 images*1. With impressive features like Auto Exposure Bracketing, ISO-equivalent speed controls and a custom white balance the PowerShot G1 will meet all of your creative needs.
Downloading high quality images from the Canon PowerShot G1 is fast, simple and reliable thanks to USB technology, while exceptional hard copy photographs can be created that rival conventional photographic prints. Canon's RAW mode delivers the ultimate image quality and the CF type II slot offers class leading storage capability. Install the highest capacity storage card and it is possible to store thousands of images*2. The PowerShot G1's movie clip mode comes into its own capturing sound and video clips*3 - a first for a PowerShot Camera.
The PowerShot G1 is fitted with an integral flash and hotshoe to extend the cameras already phenomenal photographic versatility. Canon's Speedlite 220EX, 380EX, 420EX and 550EX flash units offer power and control for any PowerShot G1 shooting situation.
To make the PowerShot G1 even more versatile, Canon has developed a range of dedicated accessories including a 1.5x tele-converter and 0.8x wide-angle converter for the fast f2.0, 3x zoom (34-102mm - 35mm equivalent) lens. Canon's advanced TTL spot or centre-weighted average metering and auto white balance means that users can concentrate on the image whilst the Canon PowerShot G1 takes care of the science.
*1 (With the LCD monitor off, measured under Canon's standard conditions)
*2 (With a 340MB microdrive it is possible to store more than 3,000 images
in small/normal mode)
*3 (With a 340MB microdrive it is possible to store upto 1,400 seconds
of movies. The maximum length of each movie clip is 30 seconds)
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