Canon PowerShot G6

Opinion: Picked one up for a steal and found this to be a pleasantly delightful camera to use, as well as producing quite stunning image quality. Low noise to ISO 200 and decent at ISO 400, but images at base ISO outdoors just shine. Colours are accurate jpegs seems as sharp and good as the RAW, so I didn't even bother shooting RAW. The grip is fantastic and makes holding the camera secure and comfortable. The hotshoe is always a great idea and welcomed.

Opinion: Highly regarded by others and myself, having owned G series from the first G1 through to this unit, you can NOT go wrong with Canon. I had a G5 unit that just stopped working one day. Canon, with warranty expired, said they'd try to fix it. A couple of weeks later I was informed I was getting a replacement. I expected another G5 but instead they gave me a new G6! And they were so good about it, they included my battery from my G5 and the neck strap so I could use both on the G6! That is definitely a company and a product I STRONGLY recommend. Pictures are of course excellent and with 8GB CF cards quite cheap, you can never fill it even in RAW format. Read the review on the G7, and you'll look for a G6 on eBay pretty fast!

Opinion: Recently purchased the Canon G6 and to date I am extremely pleased with it! I particularly like its heft and feeling of solidness. The swivel LCD is an absolute must-have on this or any digital camera. I also own the S3 IS, A620, and have passed on an A95 and A80 to my wife and daughter; I will never buy another camera without the swivel LCD, and that includes the G7. This camera (G6) has given me consistent results over the past six weeks or so, and I expect it to continue to serve well (until I pass it on!).

Opinion: I was very impressed with this camera. Any experienced photographer should be able to coax very high quality shots from it. And, I'm sure that fact is not a revelation to anyone. I used the 30D and the G-6 to shoot similar scenes in Glenwood Springs, CO. The results were close enough that I'd call it a draw up to and including 11 X 14. Usually, a little more work is required in Photo shop for the G-6 photos. This is a perfect back-up camera for the 30D to use during wedding ceremonies and for shooting candids.

Opinion: The Canon G6 is a great 7 MP CCD surrounded by a sadly inadequate body and interface. The battery life is excellent, but trying to view the LCD in daylight is very difficult. The flip screen is great, but the camera's flash is almost useless. I've had good results doing diopter macro work. However, the G6 sits somewhere in between an everyday point-and-shoot and a powerful photographic tool. That is what you pay for with this one.

Opinion: Only mostly negative aspects will be covered in this opinion, as Phil Askey has done a superb job covering all else in his 12/04 full review.

For the extended features and price of this camera, I feel that the zoom range should have been wider-say 28mm- 140mm, rather than the 35mm-140mm it is. I found that the lower end 35mm is frequently less than helpful.

The cheap plastic hinged door that covers the A/V Out. DC-In and USB connector is in a very precarious position. It can inadvertently be flicked open while you are rotating the LCD monitor. This can easily result in bending or even snapping off the door. It should have been designed to click shut tight.

The viewfinder has very noticible parallex error, and is reallt too small to be useful. Although, the ability to adjust its magnification to match you eyesight is a nice feature.

The LCD monitor should have been made larger , as well as brighter. In bright light it is all but useless.

The camera, itself, feels and looks cheap. It should have been made heavier. I also would have liked to see it made in black, as opposed to the silver, almost fake metal look it has. It gives an impression that it costs too much.

The bayonet style lens ring is really rinky dink, as is the loose lens cap that covers it. The camera should have been designed to retract into the body and close without the necessity of a lens cap.

The hot shoe is a very good addition. And the tiny pre-flash button became my favorite feature. I use it constantly. I only wish that it would have been better located for easier access, and that it was usable in all modes.

I found that the LCD is way too dim, especially in contrasty situations. And rotating it really doesn't help much. Canon really should have increased the brightness level for this larger screen.

One really annoying problem I encountered was having the camera switch "on" when I put it into its carry-case. This occurs because of the placement of the "on" switch-a really poor design. The only way to solve this issue was to place the camera in its case in a backward position.

But, you can't beat the quality of the picture the camera produces. There is very little noise. And, I found the menues very easy to use. However, it is a bit large to throw in a jacket pocket for a "just-in-case-I-see an opportunity" camera. It disuades you from taking it along. And I have yet to find a decent case that's small enough to carry confortably.

Opinion: Several years ago following the praise from numerous internet reviews I purchased an Olympus C3030 (3.3mp), however I was disappointed over image quality and as a consequence purchased the Canon G6 during spring 2005. Once again the purchase was made following praiseworthy reviews, yet whilst I was expecting to be knocked off my feet by superior image quality from 7.1mp this alas has not really been the case. Exposure and colour saturation straight from the camera are certainly much better than the Olympus, but in the majority of instances I find the need to sharpen up the image through software.

Whilst I use the camera for architectural interiors via the wideangle attachment lens (equal to 24mm) I also photograph many products for magazine advertising production, and have been disappointed to find that even at ISO 50 pure white display noise under magnification - which greatly annoys me. I might add that the wide angle lens is way inferior to what would be expected from a 35mm style 24mm lens, but thankfully the “Transform” command in Photoshop greatly helps straighten up those leaning verticals.

Having recently tested out a friends Canon dSLR (8.0mp), and requesting a replacement due to poor focussing problems the results from that replacement did impress me. Sadly I cannot afford nor do I desire a battery of heavy bulky cameras and lenses to drag around, that’s why I purchased the G6, but today I strongly wonder if I made the right choice. For sure I often wonder if the designers of the G6 are only technical geeks as opposed to being photographers, and this I say when I find many controls totally confusing. Its true that in my old age I am more at home with a 6x7cm format manual focus mechanical film camera on a tripod with a Weston Master light meter for when I feel I cannot “guess“ correctly, but I contend photography is all about imagination and subject matter which should not require a science degree and a lengthy user manual before pressing that magic button. Many individuals would argue that advanced technology brings about improvement, but often I wonder if this is really the case when going backwards could be the result of technology - meaning making a mountain out of a mole hill. A silly example of this can be related to my old 35mm Canon Sureshot Z135 used for holiday snaps, where in selecting “Portrait” mode the lens automatically racked out to about 100mm and an infill flash was fired giving a very pleasant result (especially in back lit situations). This facility is/was great, yet when it comes to the design of the prestigious G6 there is no such feature - just a daft “Portrait” button that simply provides a shallow depth of field. How can you classify that as beneficial technology ?

As to elements of the G6 which I like, well call me a heathen if you wish but I like the visual styling and colour of the camera. The swivel LCD is a great asset, and the viewfinder is bright and crisp providing that the content matter within the frame is not that critical. The battery performance is superb and still constantly amazes me. I make much use of the remote control module, so that is on my list of assets.

Opinion: Like many have said...excellent images, but horrendous low light focusing. It's one thing for the focus to slow down, but this camera misses in low light and misses ALOT. I have plenty of experience with digital gear with both DSLR and P&S cameras and this is the worst low light focusing peformance I've ever encountered in a camera. Of course, contacting Canon about this was a wasted effort as 3 emails got no replies. Very disappointed as the images were outstanding but I can't have my subjects always standing around lamps to achieve focus.

Opinion: This is an excellent camera - a good compromise between a bulky DSLR and a
compact lacking many featured. I like the fast F2 lens, the good flash, the flash shoe,
the good macro performance and much else. The camera is a bit bulky and I'm not
enamoured with the ergonomics.