Canon PowerShot G6 Review: Digital Photography Review

Compared to... five $700, 7mp's

On this page we will examine the feature / specification differences between the five other seven megapixel digital cameras in our group test as well as some results from our testing / our experiences with the cameras. On the next page you will find our standard studio comparison.

Primary specification / feature differences

	Canon PowerShot G6	Casio EX-P700	Olympus C-7000 Z	Pentax Optio 750Z	Sony DSC-V3
Lens zoom	4x	4x	5x	5x	4x
Lens adapt.	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Zoom wide (eq.)	35 mm	33 mm	38 mm	37.5 mm	34 mm
Zoom tele (eq.)	140 mm	132 mm	190 mm	187.5 mm	136 mm
Zoom steps	13 steps	11 steps	11 steps	11 steps	17 steps
ND Filter	Yes	No	No	No	No
Lens aperture	F2.0 - F3.0	F2.8 - F4.0	F2.8 - F4.8	F2.8 - F4.6	F2.8 - F4.0
Normal focus	15 cm	40 cm	60 cm	60 cm	40 cm
Macro focus	5 cm	10 cm	8 / 2 cm	15 / 2 cm	10 cm
AF assist	Yes, on/off	No, 'Hybrid'	Yes, on/off	Yes, on/off	Yes on/off
RAW	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Metering modes	Evaluative CW avg. Spot Spot AF area	Multi-pattern CW avg. Spot	Digital ESP Spot Multi-spot	Multi-segment CW avg. Spot	Multi-pattern CW avg. Spot
Sensitivity (indicated)	ISO 50 - 400 4 steps	ISO 80 - 640 4 steps	ISO 80 - 400 9 steps	ISO 80 - 400 4 steps	ISO 100 - 800 4 steps
Sensitivity (actual)	ISO 100 - 640	ISO 100 - 800	ISO 80 - 400	ISO 80 - 400	ISO 100 - 640
Continuous (specified)	2.0 fps, 14 frm 1.2 fps, 23 frm	3.0 fps, 5 frm Variable	2.2 fps, 2 frm 1.1 fps, 10 frm	1.3 fps, ??	2.5 fps, 8 frm 0.9 fps, 15 frm
Continuous (actual)	1.6 fps, 16 frm 0.6 fps, 27 frm	2.1 fps, 5 frm 0.6 fps, unlimit.	2.7 fps, 2 frm 1.4 fps, 15 frm	1.0 fps, 11 frm	2.5 fps, 8 frm 1.0 fps, 28 frm
Movie clips	640, 15 fps * 320, 15 fps	320, 15 fps	640, 15/30 fps * 320, 15/30 fps	640, 15/30 fps 320, 15/30 fps	640, 16/30 fps 160, 8 fps
Image params	Sharpness +/-1 Contrast +/-1 Saturation +/-1	Sharpness +/-2 Contrast +/-2 Saturation +/-2	Sharpness +/-5 Contrast +/-5 Saturation +/-5	Sharpness +/-1 Contrast +/-1 Saturation +/-1 Image Tone	Sharpness +/-1 Contrast +/-1 Saturation +/-1
LCD	2.0" Tilt/Twist 118,000 pixels Anti-reflective	2.0" Fixed 115,000 pixels	2.0" Fixed 206,000 pixels Fast refresh	1.8" Tilt/Twist 134,000 pixels Anti-reflective Fast refresh	2.5" Fixed 123,000 pixels Anti-reflective
Status LCD	Yes	No	No	No	No
Histogram	Record review Playback	Live view Playback	Live view Direct live view Record review Playback	Direct live view Record review Playback	Live view Record review Playback
Ext. Flash	Hot-shoe	PC Sync term.	No	No	Hot-shoe
Storage	Compact Flash	Secure Digital Internal	xD-Picture Card	Secure Digital	MS Pro Compact Flash
Connectivity	USB 1.1	USB 1.1	USB 1.1	USB 1.1	USB 2.0
Timelapse	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Remote control	Supplied IR	Supplied IR	Optional IR	Optional IR	Optional wired
Dimensions (mm)	105 x 73 x 73	98 x 68 x 45	102 x 59 x 43	100 x 62 x 42	120 x 63 x 72
Weight (g)	465	261	254	260	401

* Limited movie length at these settings

From a features point of view none of these cameras are weak, the nice thing about digital cameras is that you can add (and remove) functionality via the software they run and each of these $700 digital cameras come fully loaded with both a wide range of manual control and unique digital features. It's also relatively nice that each has its own strengths and weaknesses and its own 'personality', none are really clones of the next and each will no doubt appeal to a different buyer. If I were to pick out two cameras here (from simply a specifications and features point of view) I would select the Canon PowerShot G6 for its bullet-proof build, excellent feature set and flexibility. The second camera (again specifications and features) would probably be the Casio EX-P700 which convincingly straddles the difficult to achieve compact and prosumer combination.

Performance differences

	Canon PowerShot G6	Casio EX-P700	Olympus C-7000 Z	Pentax Optio 750Z	Sony DSC-V3
Startup	Average	Good	Very Good	Below Average	Average
Off to taken	Average	Above Average	Above Average	Below Average	Above Average
AF speed	Average	Above Average	Average *	Average *	Very Good
Shot to shot	Above Average	Average	Above Average	Average	Very Good
Continuous	Below Average	Average	Above Average	Average	Above Average
File Write	Average	Above Average	Average	Above Average	Very Good
Battery Life	Very Good	Average	Below Average	Above Average	Above Average
Build qual.	Very Good	Good	Good	Above Average	Very Good
Ergonomics	Good	Average	Above Average	Average	Good

* We got very mixed results from the C-7000 and 750Z, fast in good light, slow in low light.

Once more a Sony shows the way to at least three 'camera manufacturers' who should really be able to do better. In almost every respect (apart from startup time) the DSC-V3 felt faster than the rest, most noticeable was its ultra-fast auto focus, shot to shot times and 4 MB/sec write speeds. Joint second best were the Casio EXILIM EX-P700 and Olympus C-7000 Z (which almost inexplicably throws away its 1.9 startup time with a poor off to shot taken time).

Photographic tests differences

	Canon PowerShot G6	Casio EX-P700	Olympus C-7000 Z	Pentax Optio 750Z	Sony DSC-V3
Resolution	Average	Average	Good	Below Average	Good
ISO noise	Good	Good	Good	Average	Good
ISO sens.	~1 stop more	~1/3 stop more	Equal	Equal	~1/3 stop less
Noise red.	Low (None?)	Strong	Low	Strong	Average
Auto WB	Average	Good	Above Average	Good	Below Average
Flash perf.	Average	Average	Average	Below Average	Average
Night exp.	Average	Average	Average	Average	Average
Macro	Good	Average	Average	Good	Good
Distortion	Average	Average	Average	Higher	Average
Vignetting	Average	Higher	Average	Higher	Lower
Fringing	Lower	Average	Higher	Lower	Average
Add. issues	Shallow jaggies	Noise reduction	None	Lens softness	Tendency for F8

The results above are representative of each of the various photographic tests as well as our observation of everyday shots. Cameras which performed well were the Cano PowerShot G6 (although its resolution chart result wasn't as good as the Sony or Olympus), the Olympus C-7000 Z and the Sony DSC-V3 (although with prior knowledge of the F8 issue).