Canon Powershot G6By: Dave EtchellsThe next generation of Canon's popular "G" model updates the line with a larger, 7.1-megapixel CCD and a redesigned camera body. <<Intro and Highlights :(Previous) | (Next): Executive Overview>> Page 2:Changes from the Canon PowerShot G5Review First Posted: 09/28/2004 |
Changes from the Canon PowerShot G5
(And the G1, G2 and G3, for historical reference)
As some of the most popular high-end "prosumer" digicams of the last few years, many of our readers may already be quite familiar with the Canon PowerShot G1, G2, G3, and G5. The G6 is strongly reminiscent of its predecessors, sharing a number of features from past cameras, along with the same lens used since the G3. The main differences are detailed below:
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G6 | G5 | G3 |
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| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 105 x 73 x 73 millimeters | 121 x 74 x 70 millimeters | 121 x 77 x 64 millimeters | 120 x 77 x 64 millimeters | |
| Weight (body only) | 380 grams | 410 grams | 425 grams | 420 grams | |
| Body Improvements / Differences | Narrower body, enlarged handgrip. Silver with rubberized black panel on inside of hand grip. Mode dial moved to rear of camera, shutter button moved in front of control dial on top of handgrip. | (Similar to G3) | More angular handgrip for better finger-traction, Silver-colored metal body panels. Body is more rectangular, boxy-looking |
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| Startup screen, startup sound | yes/yes (Multiple options via "My Camera" menu) |
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| Maximum Resolution (megapixels) | 7.1 (eff) | 5.04 (eff) | 3.87 MP (eff) |
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| Resolution Settings | 3,072 x 2,304 2,592 x 1,944 2,048 x 1,536 1,600 x 1,200 640 x 480 |
2,592 x
1,944, 1600 x 1200, 1024 x 768 640 x 480 |
2272 x
1704, 1600 x 1200, 1024 x 768 640 x 480 |
1024 x 768 640 x 480 |
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| Filtration | RGB |
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| Lens | 4x 35-140mm equiv. F/2.0-3.0 |
3x 32-104mm equiv. F/2.0-2.8 |
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| Minimum macro area | 54 x 40 millimeters | 69 x 52 millimeters | 74 x 56 millimeters | 70 x 52 millimeters | 82 x 52 millimeters |
| Slow shutter speed range | 15 sec |
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| High shutter speed and aperture combinations | 1/1250 - all apertures
1/2000 - f/4.0 and higher |
1/800 - f/3.5~f/5.0 to f/8 1/1000 - f/8 only |
f/8 only |
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| Neutral Density Filter | 3-stop cut (equivalent to ND 0.9), set via record menu. | ---- | |||
| LCD Monitor | 2.0-inch, 118,000 pixels | 1.8-inch, 118,000 pixels | 1.8-inch, 113,578 pixels | ||
| Flash Operation | Internal: Total of 9
modes, counting all combinations of on/off/auto and redeye plus
slow sync options.
Supports EX-mode Speedlites, Ringlight, Macro Twin Flash, and Remote Transmitter |
Internal: 5 modes
Supports EX-mode Speedlites and Ringlight, |
Internal: 5 modes
Supports EX-mode Speedlites only |
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| Signal processing speed | No spec, but cycle time is the same, AF speed is improved, despite larger sensor (40% more image data). | Considerably faster than G2, but don't have a specific spec for this. |
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| Signal processing bit depth | 12 bits/channel, through all image processing operations. | 10 bits/channel | |||
| Noise reduction | Considerably improved over G5 | Very good |
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| Battery Life | Excellent, but hard to assess, as I couldn't conduct direct measurements. Canon claims 300 shots with LCD on, 900 with LCD off, but measurement standards may have changed in the last year. | Excellent: About another 7% improvement over the G3. | Excellent: My measurements indicate roughly a 15% improvement in worst-case battery life over the G2. |
1000 images/LCD off 300 minutes/Playback |
800 images/LCD off 160 minutes/Playback |
| Focusing Points | "Infinite"- FlexiZone AF/AE allows positioning of the AF/AE area anywhere within about 60% of the frame area. |
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| Manual Focus | Focusing area magnified on LCD monitor, numerical distance values displayed |
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| Autofocus Bracketing | Focus bracketing option under the FUNC button snaps three shots with minor tweaks in focus setting between them. | --- | |||
| Metering Modes | Evaluative,
Center-Weighted, Center Spot, Off-Center Spot
Incorporates Canon iSAPS scene-analysis technology for more accurate exposures under tricky lighting. |
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| Manual exposure mode improvements | A reversion to original behavior? LCD is dark when underexposure is set, only brightens briefly while AF is operating. |
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| Program Shift | Yes |
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| Intervalometer Option | Shoot 2-100 shots, at intervals of 1 to 60 minutes | --- | --- | ||
| White Balance Settings | 9, including two separate Custom settings for manual adjustment to standard white card. |
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| Color Effects Mode | Yes (Expanded to allow application of color effects (including B/W shooting) in any exposure mode except Auto. |
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| Movie Mode options and durations |
640 x 480 - 30 sec. 320 x 240 - 180 sec. 160 x 120 - 180 sec. |
320 x 240 - 180 sec.
160 x 120 - 180 sec. |
160 x 120 - 120 sec. |
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| Continuous Shooting Speeds |
Continuous High: 1.57 fps Continuous: 1.06 fps |
Continuous High: 1.96
fps
Continuous: 1.39 fps |
Continuous High: 2.27
fps
Continuous: 1.46 fps |
Continuous: 1.04 fps |
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| Startup time, shutter lag, etc. | Faster: Startup is 3.92 seconds, full-AF shutter lag is 0.74-0.78 sec |
Slower: Startup is 4.82 seconds, full-AF shutter lag is 1.04-1.17 sec | Much faster (4.2 seconds startup, 0.94 second full AF lag) |
(7.2 seconds startup, 1.3 second full AF lag) |
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| Interval between frames in Single frame mode | 1.93 (Actual measurement, not Canon specs) |
1.94 (Actual measurement, not Canon specs) |
1.88 (Actual measurement, not Canon specs) |
(Actual measurement, not Canon specs) |
(Actual measurement, not Canon specs) |
| Digital zoom function | True zoom up to 16x combined digital and optical | True zoom up to 14x combined digital and optical |
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| Histogram display in Playback mode | Yes |
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| Image magnification during playback | Up to 10x, 10 steps |
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| Image erase function |
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| RemoteCapture functions |
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| USB Mounter for Mac OS 9.0 ~ 9.1 | Provided. (Also supports PTP mode for Windows XP and Mac OS X connection with no driver software needed.) |
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| Direct Print mode | The big change this year is support for the new PictBridge industry standard. | Supports previous printers, as well as newer models CP-200, CP-300, i70, i470D, i450. (G3, G2 also forward-compatible with most new printers, although G2 needs firmware upgrade to support some.) | Yes - Also with CP-100, S830D and S530D Bubble Jet printers. |
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| Cropping in Direct Print mode |
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| Accessory Compatibility | New bayonet-mount lens
adapter, with wider range of wide, tele converters, now covering
range of 24.5mm to 245mm equivalents.
Support for both Macro Ring Light and Macro Twin Light units, as well as Remote Strobe Transmitter for wireless flash connection. |
Wide, tele converters extend range to ~28 to 150 mm |
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| Supplied CF Card | 32MB |
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| Control Changes | Menu interface slightly updated | Top controls mirror EOS layout more closely, including the Command wheel. Mode dial and power switch separated, made easier to operate. Tabbed sub-menus for FUNC button greatly improve efficiency of user interface. | --- | ||
| Position Sensor | Position sensor automatically tags EXIF header for image rotation on portrait-format shots. | --- | |||
| Post-Exposure RAW file save | You can choose to save a RAW-mode file on the fly, by hitting the Flash button during the review period. | You can choose to save a RAW-mode file on the fly, by hitting the FUNC button during the review period. | --- | ||
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