Canon PowerShot G11 Review
Product overview
- Launch price:
- £569
- Launch date:
- 19th August 2009
- Manufacturer link:
- www.canon.co.uk
- PhotoRadar rating:
- User rating:
Best Price: £366.00 from AJ Electronics Ltd.
Other retailers
- £366.00 AJ Electronics Ltd.
- £376.80 B4U Cameras
- £384.00 Pixmania.co.uk
- £398.00 Warehouse Express
- £399.00 Park Cameras
Technical Specification
- Image sensor: 1/1.7” CCD, 10MP
- Image Processor: DIGIC 4 with iSAPS technology
- Lens: f/2.8-f/4.5, 6.1 - 30.5 mm (35mm equivalent: 28-140mm). Optical 5x. Digital approx. 4x (with Digital Tele-Converter approx. 1.4x or 2.3x and Safety Zoom¹)². Combined approx. 20x
- Lens construction: 11 elements in 9 groups (1 double-sided aspherical element)
- Image Stabilisation: Yes (shift-type)
- AF System/ Points: AiAF (Face Detection / 9-point), 1-point AF (Any position is available, fixed centre or Face Select and Track)
- AF Modes: Single, Continuous, Servo AF/AE¹
- AF Point Selection: Manual selection using FlexiZone AF/AE, Size (Normal, Small)
- AF Lock:On/Off Selectable
- AF Assist Beam: Yes
- Manual Focus: Yes
- Focus Bracketing: Yes
- Closest Focusing Distance: 1cm (W) from front of lens in macro
- Metering modes: Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF frame), Centre-weighted average, Spot (centre or linked to Face Detection AF or FlexiZone AF frame)
- AE Lock: Yes
- Exposure Compensation: +/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments, Enhanced i-Contrast for automatic dynamic range correction
- ND Filter (3 stop)
- AEB: 1/3 - 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments
- ISO sensitivity:AUTO, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
- Shutter Speed: 1 - 1/4000 sec (factory default)
- 15 - 1/4000 sec (total range - varies by shooting mode)
- White Balance: Auto (including Face Detection WB), Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Underwater, Custom1, Custom2. White Balance Correction
- Viewfinder: Real-image zoom, optical viewfinder
- Dioptre Correction: Yes
- LCD Monitor: Vari-angle 2.8” PureColor II VA (TFT), approx. 461,000 dots, 100% coverage, brightness adjustable to one of five levels. Quick-bright LCD
- Flash modes: Auto, Manual Flash On / Off
- Slow Sync Speed: Yes. Fastest speed 1/2000 sec
- Red-Eye Reduction: Yes
- Flash Exposure Compensation: +/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments. Face Detection FE. Safety FE.
- Flash Exposure Lock: Yes
- Manual Power Adjustment: 3 levels with internal flash (up to 19 levels with external EX Speedlites 270EX and 430EX II. 22 levels with 580EX II¹)
- Second Curtain Synchronisation: Yes
- Built-in Flash Range: 50cm-7.0m (W) / 4.0m (T)
- External Flash: E-TTL with EX series Speedlites¹, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX, Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX, Canon High Power Flash HF-DC1
- Shooting modes: Auto*, Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, Custom (2 modes), Low Light¹, Quick Shot, SCN (Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Sports, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Sunset, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, Color Accent, Color Swap, Stitch Assist), Movie
- *with Scene Detection Technology and Motion Detection Technology
- Photo Effects: My Colors (My Colors Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Color)
- Drive modes: Single, Continuous, Self-Timer, FaceSelf-Timer
- Continuous Shooting: Approx. 1.1 shots/sec.¹, AF: Approx. 0.7 shots/sec.¹, LV: Approx. 0.8 shots/sec.¹ (until memory card becomes full)²
- Image Size: (L & RAW) 3648 x 2736, (M1) 2816 x 2112, (M2) 2272 x 1704, (M3) 1600 x 1200, (S) 640 x 480, (W) 3648 x 2048. Resize in playback (M3, S, 320 x 240)
- Compression: Fine, Normal
- Movies: 640 x 480, 30fps, 320 x 240, 30fps
- Movie Length: Up to 4GB or 1 hour¹
- Still Image Type: JPEG compression, (Exif 2.2 [Exif Print] compliant) / Design rule for Camera File system, RAW.
- Red-Eye Correction: Yes, during shooting and playback
- Self Timer: Approx. 2 or 10 sec., Custom or FaceSelf-Timer
- Memory card type: SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, HC MMCplus.
- Batteries: Rechargeable Li-ion Battery NB-7L (NB-7L battery and charger supplied)
- Battery life: Approx. 390 shots, approx. 420 min. playback
- Dimensions: 112.1 x 76.2 x 48.3 mm
- Weight (body only): Approx. 355g
PhotoRadar review
It's no DSLR and it's not really compact either, so where does Canon's PowerShot G11 fit in the digital camera market?
The PowerShot G11, successor to the ever-popular PowerShot G10, is Canon’s new top-of-the-line compact. As far as its place in the market go its features outweigh what you’d expect from a compact camera and are much more in-line (but just short of) what we’d expect from an entry-level DSLR.
So what’s the point?
The G11 is a fantastic, discreet travel, street and documentary camera – if you want a well-built compact with tons of manual freedom and exceptional picture quality, you’ll love it.
If you want all the versatility of a DSLR, you can get an entry-level one around the same price and it won’t actually be much bigger. Similarly, if you just want a clever compact, the G11 isn’t for you - its bulbous size and 112x76x48 mm proportions mean only MC Hammer is likely to fit one in his pocket.
What’s new?
The G11 confirms that the megapixel race is well and truly over (thank goodness) with Canon equipping the camera with a ‘high sensitivity’ 10MP sensor, as opposed to the G10’s 14.7MP sensor. Might sound like a downgrade but it’s not – Canon say that image quality and noise are improved by up to 2 stops, and our test pictures back this up. The 10MP sensor works in conjunction with Canon’s new Anti-Noise System, enhanced DIGIC 4 processing and i-Contrast technology, which prevents high-light blowout while still allowing you to capture low-light detail.
Also worth mentioning is the addition of a tilt and swivel LCD, although this is 2.8inches and the G10’s LCD was 3inch.
Usability
Like the G10, the G11 is one of those cameras that you’ll really want to use. It’s classic styling and study shell make you feel like you should sling it over your shoulder and shoot a lot.
The G11 features the same quality 28-140mm wide-angle zoom lens is the same as the G10, which is a good thing and it’s versatile enough to shoot most subjects without feeling like you’re compromising.
I found the tilt and swivel LCD to be a really nice addition too, and would even go as far as to say this added to a range finder type feel.
Other than the superb image quality, I’d say the best thing about using the G11 is how assessable the top-of-the-camera controls are: unlike with most compact cameras, it feels like a camera build for serious photographers who want to take creative photographs and need to be able to change settings quickly. There are three dials: ISO speed, shooting mode and exposure compensation, which are a bit cramped together (but we wouldn’t want the G11 any bigger…).
The main control on the back of the camera is a d-pad with button in the centre, which isn’t so great. It’s small proportions mean its easy to accidentally change settings – flipping to manual focus without noticing for example. Would probably grate in time.
The swivel flip-out LCD has made the G11 even more suited to street photography and is wonderfully bright – a good job as the viewfinder is useless – it’s irritatingly small. Quick shot mode, where the G11 takes pictures almost instantly after pressing the shutter and constantly updates AF and AE to capture fast moving subjects is a bit of a waste because you have to use the viewfinder, rather than LCD.
New for the G11 is Low Light mode, which allows you to shot at ISO 12,800 in 2.5 MP resolution for great indoor shots without flash, an obvious bonus.
Test shots:
Best Price: £366.00 from AJ Electronics Ltd.
Other retailers
- £366.00 AJ Electronics Ltd.
- £376.80 B4U Cameras
- £384.00 Pixmania.co.uk
- £398.00 Warehouse Express
- £399.00 Park Cameras
Posted by Rachael DCruze on Tuesday, 1st December 2009 at 12:29pm GMT.
love it i travel a lot with work and have to cary quite a lot of work related items in my backpack so my 400D and 2 lenses was just too much to cary, i wanted a smaller camera with full manual and i wanted a view finder the G11 was the only one i could find, i almost dismissed it due to comments about it being almost as big as a DSLR, im glad i didnt its way smaller than a DSLR and lens (that covers the same range) its perfect for what i wanted and the image quallity is superb, its never going to replace my DSLR but its the perfect travel camera when space is tight
#1. Posted on Friday, 19 Mar 2010 at 01:40pm GMT. Report this
to add to my review after using it a little more one of the main reasons i went for the G11 was it had a view finder, one thing i notice though is that its just a passive view finder no information is displayed so if you want to know what f stop or shutter speed you are using you have to look at the screen, almost makes it redundant in anything but snapshot mode, i would have prefered to at least see speed and fstop, i still think its a very good peice of kit but get the feel canon added the wiew finder at the last minute
#2. Posted on Thursday, 25 Mar 2010 at 10:54am GMT. Report this
This compact G11 is a great little camera. If your looking for high end photo’s go out and buy a high end DSLR. I shoot all types of photos from portraits to macro and everything in between. When I am out on a shoot I lug a bag of photo gear that would brake the back of the weak, now I take one DSLR and my Canon G11 as a back up to get the job done. The G11 is a fun loving work horse. I am about to do a shoot with an up and coming fashion model, I will start the job with my G11 to put it to the test, so far the G11 can hold it’s own up against the big DSLR’s. I am a Nikon guy and realy like the Canon G11. It get’s the job done and does it well. http://www.digitaldesires.net/canon-powershot-g11-good-option-for-photog...
#3. Posted on Saturday, 21 Aug 2010 at 07:07am GMT. Report this
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