Canon G7 Performance

Camera Reviews / Canon Cameras i Full Review

Navigate Review Jump to review page...

Canon PowerShot G7 Performance

Timing and Performance

Good to slightly slow speed for a consumer digital camera.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	1.5 seconds	Time it takes for LCD to turn on and lens to deploy
Shutdown	1.5 seconds	How long it takes to retract lens
Buffer clearing time	1 second (LSF JPEG)	Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.
Mode switching
Play to Record, first shot	1.2 seconds	Time until first shot is captured
Record to play	3.0 seconds	Time to display a large/superfine file immediately after capture
Display recorded image	1.4 second	Time to display a large/superfine file already on the memory card.
Shutter response (Lag Time):
Full Autofocus Wide	0.54 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	0.55 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Prefocused	0.073 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Manual focus	0.23 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused"
Cycle time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large SuperFine JPEG	1.54 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots
Single Shot mode 640x480 Normal JPEG	1.45 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots
Early shutter penalty?	No	Some cameras refuse to snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer
Continuous mode Large SuperFine JPEG	0.63 second (1.59 frames per second); 1 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Continuous mode 640x480 Normal JPEG	0.62 second (1.60 frames per second); 1 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Flash recycling	7 seconds	Flash at maximum output
Download speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	1164 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-770=USB 2.0 Low; 771-4000=USB 2.0 High
Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a Kingston Ultimate 120x SD memory card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode.

The Canon G7's performance ranged from good to a little sluggish in some cases, depending on the job. Startup time is on the slower side of average at 1.5 seconds, but shutter lag is good at both wide angle and telephoto. "Prefocus" time (half-pressing and holding down the Shutter button before the final exposure) is pretty good at 0.073 second. Shot-to-shot cycle times are on the slow side, at about 1.54 second for large/superfine JPEGs, but the camera captures frames continuously at this rate, though it only takes about one second to clear the buffer. Continuous-mode speed is fair, at about 1.59 frames/second, for the buffer length. The flash is a little slow to recycle at seven seconds after a full-power shot. Connected to a computer, download speeds are quite fast, however, so you won't feel a need for a separate card reader. Bottom line, the Canon G7 performs well enough for most consumer uses, despite slightly slow shot-to-shot cycle times. Performance is about average overall.

Battery and Storage Capacity

Battery
About average battery life with the LCD on, though better results with the LCD off.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
Li-Ion rechargeable battery, LCD on	220
Li-Ion rechargeable battery, LCD off	500

The Canon G7 uses a custom rechargeable LiIon battery pack for power, and both a battery and charger are included with the camera. Though runtimes are increased with the LCD switched off, I strongly recommend picking up a second battery pack and keeping it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery as appropriate), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Canon G7 accepts SD/MMC cards, and a 32MB card is included with the camera.

Image Capacity with 32MB Memory Card		SuperFine	Fine	Normal
3,648 x 2,736	Images	7	12	25
3,648 x 2,736	File Size	4.4MB	2.6MB	1.3MB
2,816 x 2,112	Images	11	18	36
2,816 x 2,112	File Size	2.3MB	1.7MB	872KB
2,272 x 1,704	Images	14	26	50
2,272 x 1,704	File Size	2.1MB	1.2MB	637KB
1,600 x 1,200	Images	28	50	95
1,600 x 1,200	File Size	1.1MB	637KB	335KB
640 x 480	Images	106	163	256
640 x 480	File Size	302KB	196KB	125KB

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity SD/MMC memory card at least a 512MB card, preferably a 1GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)