Canon PowerShot G15 Preview

by Roger Slavens
Posted 09/17/2012

With their latest enthusiast powerhouse camera, Canon leapfrogged the G13 and G14 names for the superstitious among us, landing instead on PowerShot G15. Luckily, this jump wasn't in name only. The Canon G15 boasts a bevy of advanced technologies, especially the 28mm wide-angle 5x zoom lens which starts out at a G-series-best of f/1.8 wide open and ends at a G-series best f/2.8 at full telephoto. That's some impressive speed and brightness throughout the entire zoom range. Add in the upgrade to a 12.1-megapixel, 1/1.7-inch High-Sensitivity CMOS sensor and a DIGIC 5 processor, and the G15 definitely has more imaging firepower to compete against its competitors' flagship compact digital cameras, which have arguably leapfrogged the G12 in recent months. It's nice to see that Canon's paying attention.

Sensor and AF performance. The new CMOS sensor is the same one built into the new S110, and it includes technology brought over from Canon's EOS DSLR sensors. The company says the sensor has "a wide range in the light-receiving surface area per pixel," thus improving light reception even in low light. ISO ranges from 80 to 12,800 -- a huge upgrade. The new sensor and the DIGIC 5 processor work together to help make AF speeds and shutter lag considerably faster in the G15 (53% and 45% reduction compared to the G12, respectively), according to Canon.

Keeping up appearances. The Canon G15's appearance hasn't strayed too far from formula. One instantly noticeable difference is the pop-up flash that replaces the embedded flash of the G12; this should help a little with red-eye issues. The top dials have also radically changed configuration.

The Exposure compensation dial, which now has a range of ±3 EV (up from ±2) and used to be on the other side of the flash hot shoe, has moved to just behind the Mode dial; a flash release slider has replaced it.

Meanwhile, the Mode dial remains in roughly the same place, but it no longer sits on top of a manual ISO selection dial (which has apparently disappeared altogether from the G15).

The Power button moves over a bit to make room for the Exposure compensation dial, and the Shutter release button is still ringed by a zoom control. The grip seems about the same.

Dominating the back of the Canon PowerShot G15 is a 3-inch, 922,000-dot, fixed LCD screen. That's right, Canon ditched the hinged, vari-angle screen of the G12 -- definitely not a plus. Canon kept the optical viewfinder, though we hope it's much improved, as well as the hot shoe on top for adding a Speedlite or other accessories. The button layout on the back of the Canon G15 should be fairly familiar to those who've shot with the G12, with only a couple buttons changed, namely the video record button replacing the AE Lock/FE Lock button at the top right, and the asterisk button moved down to one of the four surrounding the navigation disk.

Some thought the Canon PowerShot G12 was a bit too chunky, but the G15 has slimmed down a bit. The G15 measures 4.2 x 3 x 1.6 inches with the zoom lens retracted, and weighs almost 12.4 ounces, nearly 2 ounces less than the G12. Unfortunately, it's still too big to be considered a pocketable camera; that is, unless you're wearing cargo shorts or a jacket.

Video and other features. The Canon PowerShot G15 boasts Full HD video shooting capabilities, recording 1080p at 24 frames per second, and 720p at 30 fps, while the G12 only filmed at 720p. The Canon G15 permits you to zoom while recording, and has a built-in stereo microphone.

High-Speed Burst HQ mode provides up to 10 frames per second at 12.1 megapixels, and the camera uses Canon's Intelligent IS, specifically of the four-stop correction, lens-shift variety, to keep the camera image steady during both still shots and video.

Smart Auto now detects 58 scenes, and creative modes include the oft-useful Handheld Night Scene, and add filters such as Toy Camera Effect and Soft Focus. There's even a Super Slow Motion Movie function to slow down fast action. The Canon G15 can also accommodate accessories such as a Teleconverter Lens, a Conversion Lens adapter (to allow for a Macro Ring Lite or Macro Twin Lite), and a threaded Filter Adapter for 58mm filters.

Price and Availability. The Canon PowerShot G15 comes at a suggested retail price of US$500 at launch, and will be available in October 2012. An optional WP-DC48 Waterproof Case, rated to depths of up to 130 feet, will be sold separately.

 

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