Canon PowerShot G3 Specifications


Street Price   US: $ 799 [check / order]
UK: £ 599 [check / order]
EU: € 999
Body Material   Front magnesium alloy, back high-impact plastic
CCD effective pixels Click for help 4.0 megapixels
CCD size Click for help 1/1.8" (7.2 x 5.3 mm - more info)
CCD Colour Filter Array Click for help G - R - G - B
Max resolution   2272 x 1704 (3.8 megapixels)
Lower resolutions   • 1600 x 1200
• 1024 x 768
• 640 x 480
Image ratio w:h   4:3
Image formats Click for help • RAW
• JPEG (EXIF 2.2)*
* Any image shot as JPEG can be instead saved as RAW by pressing FUNC during record review
Quality Levels   • Super-Fine
• Fine
• Normal
Sensitivity equiv. Click for help • Auto (ISO 50 - 150)
• ISO 50
• ISO 100
• ISO 200
• ISO 400
(In reality this range is closer to other manufacturers ISO 100 - 800)
Lens Thread   With optional bayonet fit adapter, 58 mm
Zoom wide (W) Click for help 35 mm
Zoom tele (T) Click for help 140 mm (4 x)
Zoom steps   12 steps
Lens Aperture Click for help F2.0 - F3.0
Digital zoom Click for help Yes, Equiv. of 5.7x, 7.1x, 8.9x, 11x, 14x
Auto Focus   • Center Area AF
• FlexiZone AF/AE area selection (over 300 areas)
AF Illumination lamp Click for help Yes, visible light (white)
Manual Focus Click for help • Wide: 5 cm - Infinity (2.0 in - Infinity)
• Tele: 15 cm - Infinity (5.9 in - Infinity)
Normal focus range Click for help Wide/Tele: 50 cm - Infinity (19.7 in - Infinity)
Macro focus range Click for help • Wide: 6 - 50 cm (2.4 - 19.7 in)
• Tele: 15 - 50 cm (5.9 - 19.7 in)
Focus bracketing   Yes, 3 positions
Exposure modes   • Auto
• Program
• Tv (Shutter Priority)
• Av (Aperture Priority)
• Manual
• Custom 1
• Custom 2
• Scene
• Movie
Scene modes   • Portrait
• Landscape
• Night Portrait
• Sports
• Stitch Assist
Metering Click for help

• Evaluative
• Center-Weighted Average
• Spot (can be tied to selected focus point)

Shutter type   Mechanical and Electronic
Min shutter Click for help • Auto: 1/8 sec
• Program / Aperture Priority: 1 sec
• Shutter Priority / Manual: 15 sec
Max shutter Click for help • Wide: 1/2000 sec from F4.0 - F8.0 (otherwise 1/1250 sec max)
• Tele: 1/2000 sec from F5.6 - F8.0 (otherwise 1/1250 sec max)
Aperture priority Click for help

• Wide: F2.0, F2.2, F2.5, F2.8, F3.2, F3.5, F4.0, F4.5, F5.0, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8.0
• Tele: F3.0, F3.5, F4.0, F4.5, F5.0, F5.6, F6.3, F7.1, F8.0

Shutter priority Click for help 15, 13, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3.2, 2.5, 2, 1.6, 1.3, 1, 0.8, 0.6, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/8, 1/10, 1/13, 1/15, 1/20, 1/25, 1/30, 1/40, 1/50, 1/60, 1/80, 1/100, 1/125, 1/160, 1/200, 1/250, 1/320, 1/400, 1/500, 1/640, 1/800, 1/1000, 1/1250*, 1/1600*, 1/2000*
* Only Wide angle F4.0 - F8.0, Telephoto F5.6 - F8.0
Noise reduction   Yes, for shutter speeds of 1.3 seconds or slower
Exposure compensation Click for help -2 EV to +2 EV in 1/3EV steps
Exposure bracketing Click for help • 3 images
• 0.3 - 2.0 EV in 0.3 EV steps
Manual exposure Click for help Yes
White Balance Click for help • Auto
• Daylight
• Cloudy
• Tungsten
• Fluorescent
• Fluorescent High
• Flash
• Custom preset 1
• Custom preset 2
Photo Effect   • Off
• Vivid
• Neutral
• Low Sharpening
• Sepia
• B&W
• Custom (Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation: all +/-1 level)
Continuous Click for help • High: 2.5 fps, max 14 frames (Large/Fine, LCD off)
• Low: 1.5 fps, max 14 frames (Large/Fine, LCD off)
Movie clip   • 320 x 240, 15 fps, max 3 mins (including audio)
• 160 x 120, 15 fps, max 3 mins (including audio)
(3 mins requires high speed CF card)
Time-lapse mode   • Interval: 1 - 60 mins
• Shots: up to 100
Built-in Flash   Yes, fixed internal
Flash Range (ISO 100)  

• Wide: 0.7 - 5.0 m (2.3 - 16.4 ft)
• Tele: 0.7 - 4.0 m (2.3 - 13.1 ft)

Flash modes  

• Auto, On, Off
in combination with:
• Red-eye reduction On / Off
• Slow Sync On / Off
• Flash adjust Auto / Manual

Flash compensation   +/-2 EV in 0.3 EV steps
External flash
(via hot shoe)
  • Canon 220EX
• Canon 380EX
• Canon 420EX
• Canon 550EX
• Canon MR-14EX (Macro-Ring-Light)
• Canon MT-24EX (Macro-Twin-Light)
• Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2
Orientation sensor   Yes, can be disabled. Images are tagged with orientation.
* Note: Works with ACDSEE 5.0 "auto" lossless rotation feature
Tripod mount   Yes, metal
Self-timer   Yes, 2 or 10 sec delay
Remote control   Yes, supplied Infrared
Video out   Yes, selectable NTSC / PAL
Storage Click for help • Compact Flash Type I or Type II
• IBM Microdrive supported
Storage included   32 MB Compact Flash Type I card
Viewfinder Click for help • Optical with dioptre adjustment
• Approx. 84% frame coverage
LCD Click for help • 1.8" TFT, 118,000 pixels
• 100% coverage
• Tilt, twist and swivel
Histogram display   Record review and Playback (includes blinking highlight warning)
Playback zoom   Yes, 10x (10 steps)
Operating system   Proprietary
Connectivity Click for help • DC-IN
• USB 1.1
• A/V out
Print Compliance   • DPOF
• EXIF 2.2 (ExifPrint)
• Direct Print (Canon)
Remote Capture   PC control via USB
Battery Click for help Yes, BP-511 Lithium-Ion Battery or BP-512 Lithium-Ion battery
Battery charger Click for help Yes, supplied AC adapter / charger
Weight (inc. battery)   481 g (17.0 oz)
Dimensions (inc. grip)   121 x 74 x 70 mm (4.8 x 2.9 x 2.8 in)

Click for help Click for glossary entry / help