Highly Recommended
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Highly Recommended
Reviewed:
Oct 2007
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Incremental upgrade to the G7 increases resolution to 12MP, increases screen size, adds raw mode and throws in a few new features. The G9 may be a relatively minor upgrade but it does knock a few of the rough edges off its predecessor and - most importantly - brings RAW capture (and highly usable RAW capture at that) back to the G series. The new screen is nice too, and the handling performance tweaks might not be enough, but they do bring a noticeable improvement. The big issue is image quality - especially at higher ISOs - which is no better than all the budget cameras using the same sensor. The G10, G11 and G12 are far better all-rounder performers.
| Quick links: | Announcement | Review | Sample gallery 1 | Sample gallery 2 | Forum |
| Announced: | Aug 20, 2007 |
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Average rating:
4.44
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Opinion: such an amazing point and shoot camera!
Problems: none
Opinion: I needed a new Point and Shoot camera that I could take place with me where my dSLR was just too big and inconvenient to bring. I wanted all the features of my dSLR though. The PowerShot G9 gives me all that and more. The DIGIC III chip is a big step up from the already amazing DIGIC II. The ability to use an external flash is also a big plus. RAW + Large is really important if you want to fine tune your photography. This camera is great for the avid photographer who wants complete control over their images. I wouldn't reccomend this for anyone who just wants a camera to take pictures, and doesn't care about all the extra features packed into the G9.
Opinion: If you own and love a Powershot G7 and were considering upgrading, save your money because the G9 is more of the same...unless you need RAW. General image quality is very close. The handling is slightly improved by the small tweeking of the grip. There's many incremental improvements but both seem to work equally well. While the G7 claims a 2.0 fps burst mode to the G9's 1.5 fps, my best case testing (P mode, bright lighting, Large, Superfne) put both units at 1.7 fps.
Opinion: I purchased this to slip in my hand luggage on business trips not primarily for photography and it looks like it will be excellent on the basis of one weeks usage.
I did use a Power Shot Pro1, but this had shutter lag from hell and a very slow electronic zoom. These problems have been overcome on the G9.
Problems: There is a fairly major problem with the G9:-
1.The software provided with it is disk v32 with Zoombrowser, which will read the RAW files but will not convert them into JPEG or TIFF.
2.I own a 1Ds, a 1Ds MkII and a 400D, thus have all the relevant EOS viewer and digital photo professional software that came with these cameras, BUT none of these programmes will read the RAW format from the G9!
3. CS2 does not read the G9 RAW format
What is the point of having a RAW format on the G9 if Canon do not provide the software to manipulate and decode it - Zoombrowser just comes up with the helpful error message "cannot edit RAW files or videos" or some such nonsense - if you can't edit them, why have them??
Reviews and specs
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 | 22.3 megapixels 3.2" screen Full frame sensor |
