Compared to...

It's unusual but good for the buyer that there are three new five megapixel four times zoom digital cameras entering the market at the same time, and all at similar prices. These are the Canon PowerShot G5, Nikon Coolpix 5400 and Sony DSC-V1. The table below provides a quick side-by-side comparison of features and specifications between each of the cameras. Items which are notably better than the other two are highlighted in green.

Features / Specifications comparison

For anyone who's confused the highlighting of what I think is 'better' or 'worse' is my own personal opinion, your mileage may vary.

	Canon PowerShot G5	Nikon Coolpix 5400	Sony DSC-V1
Street price *1	US: $ 799 UK: £ 679	US: $ 799 UK: £ 599	US: $ 699 UK: £ 549
Body	Magnesium alloy	Magnesium alloy	Magnesium alloy
Ergonomics	Small hand grip	Best hand grip	Compact hand grip
Lens zoom	4x optical, 35 - 140 mm	4x optical, 28 - 116 mm	4x optical, 34 - 136 mm
Zoom steps	12 steps	20 steps	16 steps
Lens aperture	F2.0 - F3.0	F2.8 - F4.6	F2.8 - F4.0
Lens thread	With adapter, 58 mm	Various	With adapter, 52 mm
CCD	1/1.8" 5.2 megapixel	1/1.8" 5.2 megapixel	1/1.8" 5.2 megapixel
CCD CFA	RGB	RGB	RGB
Max resolution	2592 x 1944	2592 x 1944	2592 x 1944
Aspect ratio	4:3	4:3 or 3:2	4:3 or 3:2
Lower Resolutions	1600 x 1200 1024 x 768 640 x 480	1600 x 1200 1280 x 960 1024 x 768 640 x 480	2048 x 1536 1280 x 960 640 x 480
Image modes	RAW, JPEG *2	TIFF, JPEG *3	TIFF, JPEG
JPEG compression	3 levels	3 levels	2 levels
Sensitivity	Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400	Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400	Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800
Focus modes	AF, MF	AF, MF	AF, MF
Auto Focus	Center area (3 areas horz.) FlexiZone (345 pos.)	Auto (5 areas cross) Five Area Selectable	Wide area (3 areas horz.) Five Area Selectable
AF modes	Single AF Continuous AF	Continuous AF (LCD on) Single AF	Single AF Monitor AF (LCD on) Continuous AF
AF illumination lamp	White light	No	Laser pattern Night Shot InfraRed
AF distance	Normal: 50 cm Macro: 5 cm	Normal: 50 cm Macro: 1 cm	Normal: 40 cm Macro: 10 cm
MF assist	Center area magnified	Sharpening	None
Auto bracketing	3 images 0.3 - 2.0 EV	3 or 5 images 0.3 - 1.0 EV	3 images 0.3 - 1.0 EV
WB fine tuning	No	Yes	No
WB manual preset	Yes	Yes	Yes
Noise reduction	Auto	Auto, can be disabled	Auto
Exposure modes	Auto, P, Tv, Av, M, C1, C2, Scene, Stitch Assist, Movie	Auto, P, S, A, M, Scene, Movie	Auto, P, S, A, M, Scene, Movie
Metering	Evaluative Center-weighted avg. Spot AF Spot	Matrix (256 segment) Center-weighted avg. Spot AF Spot	Multi pattern (49 segment) Center-weighted avg. Spot
AE Lock	Yes, SET button	Yes, AE/AF-L button	Yes, AE Lock button
AE compensation	+/-2 EV in 0.3 EV steps	+/-2 EV in 0.3 EV steps	+/-2 EV in 0.3 EV steps
Shutter speed	15 - 1/2000 sec *4	8 - 1/4000 sec *4	30 - 1/1000 sec
Aperture priority	Wide: 13 steps Tele: 9 steps	Wide: 10 steps Tele: 5 steps	Wide: 10 steps Tele: 7 steps
Bulb	No	Yes & Timed up to 10 mins	No
Continuous @2592 x 1944	1.3 fps, max 6 frames 1.8 fps, max 7 frames	2.5 fps, max 7 frames 1.3 fps, max 17 frames	2 fps, max 3 frames
Record review	Flick record/play dial	Press QUICK twice	Press review button
Image Params	Contrast (3) Saturation (3) Sharpening (3)	Contrast (3) Saturation (5) Sharpening (4)	Contrast (3) Saturation (3) Sharpening (3)
User memories	2	2	1
Remote control	Included InfraRed	Optional wired	Optional wired
LCD	1.8" Flip-out and twist 118,000 pixels	1.5" Flip-out and twist 134,000 pixels	1.5" Fixed 123,000 pixels
Play magnification	Up to 10x, very fast	Up to 6x	Up to 5x
Histogram	Record review, Playback	Playback	Live view, Record review, Playback
Flash	Built-in	Built-in	Pop-up
External flash	Hot-shoe	Hot-shoe	Hot-shoe
Misc.	ND Filter Focus Bracket Manual Flash power JPEG to RAW in review Time lapse	BSS, AE-BSS WB Bracket Multi-Shot 16 cont. Ultra HS cont. 5 shot buffer cont.	NightFraming NightShot mode
Battery	Canon BP-511 (8.1 Wh) Lithium-Ion rechargeable	Nikon EN-EL1 (4.8 Wh) Lithium-Ion rechargeable	Sony NP-FC11 (2.8 Wh) Lithium-Ion rechargeable
Battery life	4 hr 33 mins	3 hr 06 mins	2 hr 39 mins
AC adapter	Supplied (Charger)	Optional	Supplied (Charger)
Storage	Compact Flash Type I/II	Compact Flash Type I/II	Memory Stick Memory Stick Pro
Storage supplied	32 MB Compact Flash	32 MB Compact Flash	32 MB Memory Stick
Microdrive supported	Yes	Yes	n/a
Orientation sensor	Yes, images tagged	No	No
Weight inc battery	481 g (17.0 oz)	380 g (13.4 oz)	291 g (10.3 oz)
Dimensions	121 x 74 x 70 mm (4.8 x 2.9 x 2.8 in)	108 x 73 x 69 mm (4.3 x 2.9 x 2.7 in)	99 x 65 x 57 mm (3.9 x 2.6 x 2.2 in)
Auto WB	Average	Above average	Below average
ISO noise levels	High	Average	Low
Fringing	More than average	Below average	Less than average
Lens distortion	Below average	Below average	Less than average
Startup speed	4.2 sec	3.9 sec	3.2 sec
Write speed	Average	Slow	Fast
Operation speed	Average	Average to Slow	Fast
AF speed	Average	Below Average	Fast

A quick look down the specs and we can see that features wise its between the Canon G5 and Nikon 5400. Performance and value come from the Sony DSC-V1, it's noticeably faster in operation and some $100 cheaper than the other two, it's also smaller and lighter. Clearly if you're looking for a shutterbug's camera with lots of features then you should be thinking of the G5 or 5400, everyone else should have the DSC-V1 at the top of their list. How does image quality compare, click on Next...