Canon PowerShot G9: An SLR wannabe

Today's entry-level, point-and-shoot digital cameras do much of the "grunt work" you used to have to do yourself. Almost all include autofocus, auto exposure, and auto modes. A few can even set the camera in the appropriate scene mode for the subject you're shooting. Sony recently included a model that detects when your subject is smiling before snapping the shot. At the same time, many new cameras have fewer external dials, buttons and controls on their body, which further enhances this zeitgeist of relinquishing control.

However, there are some shutterbugs who want to take back the controls without stepping up to a bulkier digital SLR, the ultimate camera for the control freak. If you're one of them, consider the Canon PowerShot G9. It's not that you can't shoot in auto mode on this PowerShot. You can. But if you're looking to immerse yourself in options, the G9 gives you ample opportunity.

Like its predecessor, the PowerShot G7, the G9 has a 6x zoom lens, an image stabilizer, manual controls, manual focus and a hot shoe (for an external flash). But it has increased the megapixel count to 12 (from 10 megapixels) and also expanded the LCD to 3-inches while still maintaining an optical viewfinder, which many camera manufacturers are doing away with. It has lots of dials, buttons and controls that make it easy to set up your camera the way you want to.

(Since we haven't fully tested the G9 yet, it isn't in our digital camera Ratings, available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers. Its predecessor, the G7, which has been discontinued, did very well in our tests and was a CR Quick Pick, also available to subscribers. We hope to add the G9 to our Ratings soon.)

A "new" old feature

One feature on the G9 that has excited many camera enthusiasts is the return of the ability to shoot RAW. (Although featured on the older G6, the G7 didn't have this feature.) You can shoot in JPEG mode, RAW file mode or in a combination setting that stores your shot in both formats. Shooting both will, of course, take up more space on the memory card as well as on your computer's hard drive.

What's the difference between the two file formats? When you shoot a JPEG file, the camera uses its internal software to set such parameters as color and sharpness, among many others, and then processes the file accordingly. When you shoot a RAW file, the camera does not process the shot in-camera, but gives you the chance to process it yourself when you import your photo into your image-editing software on your computer. So, if you want to control, say, the exact quality of a subject's skin tone and color, or the exact amount of sharpness in an image, RAW files provide more control.

The downside is that shooting RAW is labor intensive. JPEG files pretty much do the work for you. With RAW, you have to make all the decisions, which is why they will also produce the best quality images and provide you with the most flexibility in manipulating the shots. (Very soon, we'll be posting an entry on this blog covering the pros and cons of shooting RAW files. Stay tuned.)

Incompatible with CS2?

There was one problem I experienced when shooting RAW on the G9. However, it didn't have to do with Canon, but with the software I was using. When I attempted to import RAW files into Adobe Photoshop CS2, there was an error message that said the files were not supported. Since the G9 is a new camera, and RAW files require a special plug-in for most image-editing software, I realized I would have to update the plug-in for Photoshop CS2, which is common when a new digital camera comes to market.

But when I went to Adobe's website to download the update, the instructions stated that the Camera Raw plug-in needed to read the G9's RAW files would only work on the very latest version of Photoshop, CS3, which meant I would need to purchase an upgrade to Photoshop. It's surprising and annoying that previous versions of Photoshop can't read the G9's RAW files because the plug-in itself is incompatible with the software. And although the G9 ships with Canon's ZoomBrowser EX software, which can read and process RAW files, Canon's software isn't as easy to use or versatile as Adobe's.

Some enhancements

Canon's made a number of other enhancements to the G9, including to its autofocus features. One mode allows you to actually resize the nine AF frames, which, according to Canon, makes it easier to achieve sharp focus in specific areas of the frame. Another mode, called FlexiZone, lets you set a specific point of focus, even at the extreme far right or left of the camera frame. Canon claims it's enhanced several face-detection features, which optimizes the focus, exposure and flash on specific subjects. They also claim its Face Select and Track feature will allow you to select a primary subject from up to 35 identified faces.

For the record, Canon isn't alone in offering a full-featured compact with some of the features found in SLRs. Other cameras competing with the PowerShot G9 include the Nikon Coolpix P5100 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18. Like these high-end point-and-shoot models, the G9 can shoot video clips, something an SLR can't do.

But at just under $500 the G9, like these other high-end models, isn't much cheaper than an entry level SLR like the Nikon D40. And despite the fact that it has many features you'll find on an SLR, it does differ significantly in that you can't change lenses. The best you can do is buy two teleconverter lenses (one wide-angle and one telephoto) that fit over the camera's fixed lens. This means you won't have access to the scores of lenses as you would with many SLRs.

Another big difference is the G9's sensor size, which in a digital camera serves the same purpose as film used to. Even the most inexpensive SLRs have a much large sensor than the G9 does. The difference will be most noticeable in low-light situations: An SLR can produce higher picture quality since its larger sensor is more sensitive to changes in light and more accurate in detecting changes in tonal values.

An SLR's larger sensor also minimizes another common problem in cameras with smaller sensors: noise, or the unwanted appearance of random patterns of pixels. Often, by adding more megapixels to the same size sensor, there is an increased tendency for it to produce noisier images at high ISO settings. Unless Canon took measures to compensate for this, it may be the case with this new Canon: the sensor size on the 12-megapixel PowerShot G9 is roughly the same size as the one in the 10-megapixel G7.

Still, there's much to like about the PowerShot G9, especially for if you need to fine-tune before you fire off your shots. Be sure to look for how well this PowerShot fares in the upcoming update to our digital camera Ratings.

—Terry Sullivan

Comments

[Ian Edward]

"the G9's RAW files would only work on the very latest version of Photoshop, CS3, which meant I would need to purchase an upgrade to Photoshop."

Wrong. You can download the Adobe DNG Converter for free. This converts all .CR2 files to .DNG files which are open-source uncompressed RAW files that can be opened by most editing software, including Photoshop CS2.

[Bernie Andreoli]

Nice review but along with all other info I've read the one important piece of information missing from the review is, what is the shutter lag time. With most P&S cameras the lag time is intolerable. I am used to the responsiveness of DSLR's will the G9 be comparable?

[Jim Stubchaer]

Regarding pixel cram and noise in small sensors, does anyone know if using a smaller image size, such as 3,264 x 2,448 (8 megapixels)instead of the 4,000 x 3,000 (12 megapixels) maximum capacity reduces noise at higher ISO's?

[Jon Barkley]

Terry Sullivan does an excellent job with this Canon G9 preview to address a lot of confusion among consumers in regards to digital camera choices in general. Not just discussing the G9, but more importantly describing the differences between camera types formats like JPEG and RAW, etc. I especially like the explanations of sensor size and the effects on the image quality in lower light. ISO and digital "noise" are very important to any serious photographer, but too technical for most consumers to grasp. The discussion of compact cameras vs the larger digital SLR cameras is timely in that the price points are merging and the differences are significant.
I own 7 digital cameras and have been a hobbyist film photographer for over 30 years, and regularly contribute to one of the largest photography forums on the Internet, but with digital photography, I still have much to learn!
I am happy to see that you have someone on staff that is not only technically competent in regards to digital photography (rare in non-photography review sites), but can also explain it to the average consumer in a way they are likely to understand.
I am looking forward to reading more articles from Terry Sullivan!

Jon Barkley