Canon PowerShot G9
Starting at: $35.00
CNET Editors' Review
CNET Editors' Rating
- Reviewed by: Lori Grunin
- Released on:
- Reviewed on:
The good: This digital camera has a cornucopia of features; it's zippy and built like a tank.
The bad: Relatively significant distortion at the widest angle of view; when zoomed out completely, lens intrudes into viewfinder; no optical zoom during movie capture.
The bottom line: The Canon PowerShot G9 is a solid enthusiast digital camera for those who want something compact to complement a dSLR.
No, you're not having déjà vu--the Canon PowerShot G9 is physically virtually identical to its predecessor, the G7; the sole differences are an optical viewfinder shrunk to make way for a larger 3-inch LCD and the lens ring and release button darkened from silver to black. Many of the components are identical as well. It incorporates the same f/2.8-4.8 35mm-210mm-equivalent, optically stabilized 6x zoom lens and uses the same Digic III image processor. (You can find a tour of the similar G7 body here.) In fact, the only significant updates are a bump to a ... Expand full review
No, you're not having déjà vu--the Canon PowerShot G9 is physically virtually identical to its predecessor, the G7; the sole differences are an optical viewfinder shrunk to make way for a larger 3-inch LCD and the lens ring and release button darkened from silver to black. Many of the components are identical as well. It incorporates the same f/2.8-4.8 35mm-210mm-equivalent, optically stabilized 6x zoom lens and uses the same Digic III image processor. (You can find a tour of the similar G7 body here.) In fact, the only significant updates are a bump to a 1/1.7-inch 12-megapixel CCD from a 1/1.8-inch, 10-megapixel version, and the much-wished-for return of raw-format support.
Weighing about 0.2 ounce more than its predecessor--likely the result of the larger LCD--the G9 nevertheless still comes in at just under 13 ounces. Controls cover the areas of the top and back of the camera not covered by the LCD or the optical viewfinder, leaving just enough space for a decent handhold. It's still true that those with large hands may find it difficult to firmly grip the G9 without accidentally covering one button or another. I also found myself wishing that the shutter button and zoom switches were just a bit larger.
Though most of the G9's menu interface and navigation is consistent and easy to follow, there is the occasional bewildering design choice. For instance, the high-resolution (1,024x768 15fps) movie mode isn't a resolution option under the Func menu, where you'd expect to find it. It's considered a different movie mode, and you must cycle via the scroll wheel through mode selections of Color Accent, Color Swap, Time Lapse, Compact, and Standard to find it; sensible from an engineering standpoint, but not so much for users.
Like its predecessor, the G9 offers all of the exposure, focus, and shooting controls any enthusiast would want. They include a spot meter, user-selectable focus zones, two custom settings modes, continuous- or shot-only IS settings, manual ISO settings up to 1,600 plus a High mode that reaches up to 3,200, voice annotation, and a hot shoe.
Performance remains essentially unchanged from the G7. Time to first shot is a quick 1.7 seconds, though not quite as fast as the G7's 1.5-second start. In bright light, a relatively quick focus helps keep the shutter lag to a manageable 0.5 second. In dim light, that increases to a second. Two shots in a row have a decent 2-second gap between, and adding flash recycle bumps that to only 2.3 seconds. Continuous shooting is down from 36 in the G7 to somewhere between 17 and 19 frames, but it's faster--2.3 frames per second (fps) at a low resolution, but more typically 1.7 fps.
The 3-inch LCD is reasonably easy to see in bright sunlight and has a wide viewing angle, but on playback, images tend to look a bit softer with more blown-out highlights than they actually do--you may want to hold off deleting images until you view them on a full-size display. Though the viewfinder remains larger and more usable than most, I think I was happier with the smaller LCD and bigger optical model on the G7. Despite its decent movie-capture quality, without the ability to zoom the lens during video, I find the feature less useful on the G9 than on other cameras.
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Compare selected Senior Editor Lori Grunin has been covering digital imaging and all types of tech for two decades and photographing for four, but the stat she's proudest of is the approximately 5,000 photos she's taken of cats (and some dogs) for the animal rescue where she volunteers.
User Reviews
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Most Helpful User Review
stars 24 of 24 users found this review helpful
"I really like my G9!" By Gordon Katz
Pros Good photos, jog wheel, excellent interface, EZ manual shooting, big LCD, image stabilization, long zoom, preview histogram, face detection, alignment grid, RAW, hi-res video, ISO knob, hot shoe
Cons Heavy for a point and shoot (but lighter than a SLR)
Summary I really like my new G9! I got it yesterday and have pored over the manual, camera in hand, learning its ways. I've practiced with most of its features, but (full disclosure) I haven't done any real shooting yet.
For context, I'm a serious amateur. My prior ... Expand full review
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Specifications
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- Product Type: Digital camera - Prosumer
- Resolution: 12.1 megapixels
- Digital video input format: AVI
