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 |
 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 |
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):
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).
Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (normally 1024 x 768 or smaller if cropped) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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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.
Canon PowerShot G6 7.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom | $95.95 |
Canon PowerShot G6 7.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom | $95.95 |
Canon PowerShot G9 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom | $1,049.99 |
Canon PowerShot G7 10MP Digital Camera with 6x Image-Stabilized Optical Zoom | $949.00 |
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