The Canon PowerShot G series has been satisfying demanding photo enthusiasts for a number of years and the Canon PowerShot G11 is the most recent edition of the flagship line. Rather uncharacteristically but admirably, some of the biggest news regarding the new device revolves around returning to features of previous models that, with the test of time, have proven to have been good design ideas that were unfortunately abandoned.
Features:
The Canon PowerShot G6 featured an articulated viewing screen which was handy for taking photographs at angles other than straight on. The folks at Canon have realized what a good idea it was and have brought it back. It swings out 170-degrees horizontally and can be rotated through 270-degrees vertically to accommodate a wide variety of shooting angles. It measures 2.8-inches diagonally which is actually just a bit smaller than the 3.0-inch display of the predecessor G10 but it contains the same 460k resolution so images seem even crisper and more detailed. In addition to the viewing screen, the PowerShot G11 is the only such shooter available that actually has an optical viewfinder recognizing that this is often a more precise tool for framing pictures than an LCD screen.
The other big news associated with the G11 seems, superficially, to be a step backwards but it results in an improvement in performance. Whereas the G10 featured a whopping 14.7-megapixel sensor, the G11 has dropped back to 10-megapixels. The change is, in fact, recognition that all the hoopla about ever increasing megapixel quantities has been driven more by PR departments than it has by technical necessity. The reduction is part of Canon’s efforts to provide better low-light performance and less noise than the G10 and it seems to work. Despite the MP rating being the same as the much older G7, other improvements including a much more advanced chip, allow the G11 to produce higher sensitivities and overall better results thanks in large measure to the DIGIC 4 Image Processor.
The PowerShot G11 allows for RAW shooting and image recording without JPEG compression of any sort giving a degree of creative control that is often not available. There’s also a broad spectrum of shooting modes including Auto, Program, portrait, landscape and quick shot. Aperture or shutter priority can be selected or both can be left manual for the ultimate in control. Special scene modes include Night Snapshot, Sunset, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Sports, Fireworks, Beach, Aquarium, Snow and others. Both RAW images and JPEG images can be recorded simultaneously for maximum editing flexibility.
The Canon G11 has a wide angle lens that is equivalent to a 28mm optical lens and, with 5x optical zoom, can produce telephoto images up to the equivalent of 140mm. Optical image stabilization is available throughout the focal spectrum for blur free images.
There is an HDMI output on the camera which allows for viewing still images on an HDTV. That is not, however, to imply that the PowerShot G11 will shoot HD video. Indeed that’s among the chief criticisms of this otherwise up-to-date camera. It will shoot video but only in VGA format so don’t be tricked into thinking that it shoots HD or even wide angle. That’s a pretty major omission at this stage of the game.
The Canon PowerShot G11 features ISO sensitivity from 80 to 3200 as well as a host of portrait aids such as blink detection, motion detection, face detection and face detection self-timer to allow the photographer to get in the shot, and red eye correction.
Summary:
The Canon PowerShot G11 is a fitting next step in the evolution of the popular and highly competent G series of cameras. Combining the newest electronic advances with some out-of-the-box thinking about previously discarded features provides for a camera that will be a great choice for a wide variety of photo enthusiasts as well as those who want an outstanding back-up to their dSLR camera.| LCD Panel Size: | 2.8 in. |
| Resolution: | 10.4 Megapixel |
| Digital Zoom: | 4x |
| Focal Length: | 6.1 - 30.5 mm |
| Main Features-Continuous Shooting Speed: | 1.1 frames per second, 0.7 frames per second |
| Additional Features-Self Timer Delay: | 2 sec, 10 sec, Custom |
| Battery-Required: | 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery ( Included) |
| Width: | 4.41 in. |
| Height: | 3.0 in |
| Depth: | 1.9 in. |
| Weight: | 12.5 oz. |
| Memory / Storage-Supported Flash Memory: | SD/SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, HC MMCplus |
| Optical Zoom: | 5x |
| Manufacturer Warranty-Full contract period: | 1 year limited warranty |
| Lens Systems-Lens Aperture: | f/2.8 (W) - f/4.5 (T) |
| Built-in Memory Size: | None |
| Main Features-Image Stabilizer: | Optical |
| Display-Resolution: | 461,000 pixels |
| Lens Systems-Macro Focus Range: | 0.4 in.-1.6 ft./1-50cm |
| Main Features-Max Shutter Speed: | 1/4000 sec |
| Main Features-Min Shutter Speed: | 15 sec |
| Lens Systems-Min Focus Range: | 19.2 in. |
| Camera Flash-Red Eye Reduction: | Yes |
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