Canon finally puts a fast lens on its G-series camera
While Canon finally gets the lens right with the PowerShot G15, it drops the articulating LCD. Again.
Oh, Canon, how you tease with your articulating LCDs. A staple in the G series until you dropped it six year ago from the G7 to cries of outrage; then you returned it to the sound of cheers with the last model, the G12. Now you take it away again.
It's hard to get too upset over that, though, given that Canon has finally put a fast lens on its high-end enthusiast compact. Not only does it make the camera potentially much better, but it stirs hope in my heart that the company will do the same if/when it revs the G1 X next year. Still, the constant exchanging one type of shooting flexibility for another is one of the frustrations of the consumer camera revision cycle.
The G15 also includes the same new sensor and autofocus performance updates as the S110, though for the G15 the sensor change is more significant: it's bumped to a higher resolution and switched to a CMOS from a CCD. Hopefully, photo quality will improve as a result, since it's never guaranteed when switching sensors.
Its body has been redesigned a bit, though the back control layout remains fundamentally the same. The flash now pops up -- just a little -- and the top has a more multilevel silhouette with no stacked dials.
Here's its competitive field (9/18/12: chart updated with more complete specs):
| Canon PowerShot G12 | Canon PowerShot G15 | Fujifilm FinePix X10 | Nikon Coolpix P7700 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sensor (effective resolution) | 10mp CCD | 12.1mp CMOS | 12mp EXR CMOS | 12.2mp BSI CMOS | 10.1mp MOS |
| 1/1.7-inch | 1/1.7-inch | 2/3-inch | 1/1.7-inch | 1/1.7-inch n/a | |
| Sensitivity range | ISO 80 - ISO 3200 | ISO 80 - ISO 12800 | ISO 100 - ISO 3200 | ISO 80 - ISO 3200/6400 (expanded) | ISO 80 - ISO 6400 |
| Lens | 28-140mm f2.8-4.5 5x | 28-140mm f1.8-2.8 5x | 28-112mm f2-2.8 4x | 28-200mm f2-4 7.1x | 24-90mm f1.4-2.3 3.8x |
| Closest focus (inches) | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Continuous shooting | 1.1fps frames n/a raw | 10fps 10 frames | 7fps 8 JPEG/n/a raw | 8fps 6JPEG/n/a raw | 5 fps 12 JPEG/ n/a raw (11fps without tracking AF) |
| Viewfinder | Optical | Optical | Optical | None | Optional EVF |
| Autofocus | n/a Contrast AF | n/a Contrast AF | n/a Contrast AF | n/a Contrast AF | 23-area Contrast AF |
| Metering | n/a | n/a | 256 zones | n/a | n/a |
| Shutter | 15-1/4000 sec | 15-1/4000 se | 30 - 1/4000 sec | n/a | 60-1/4000 sec |
| Flash | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hot shoe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LCD | 2.8-inch articulated 461,000 dots | 3-inch fixed 922,000 dots | 2.8-inch fixed 460,000 dots | 3-inch articulated 921,000 dots | 3-inch fixed 920,000 dots |
| Image stabilization | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical |
| Video (best quality) | 720/24p H.264 QuickTime MOV Stereo | 1080/24p H.264 QuickTime MOV Stereo | 1080/30p H.264 QuickTime MOV Stereo | 1080/30p H.264 QuickTime MOV Stereo | 1080/60p AVCHD @ 28, Mbps; 1080/60p QuickTime MOV @ 28 Mbps Stereo |
| Manual iris and shutter in video | No | n/a | No | Yes | n/a |
| Zoom while recording | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (Auto only) | n/a |
| Mic input | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Battery life (CIPA rating) | 390 shots | 350 shots | 270 shots | 330 shots | 330 shots |
| Dimensions (WHD, inches) | 4.4 x 3.0 x 2.0 | 4.4 x 3.0 x 1.6 | 4.6 x 2.7 x 2.2 | 4.7 x 2.9 x 2.0 | 4.4 x 2.6 x 1.8 |
| Weight (ounces) | 14.2 | 12 (est) | 12.4 | 13.9 (est) | 10.6 (est) |
| Mfr. Price | $499.99 | $499.99 | $599.99 | $499.95 | $499 |
| Availability | October 2010 | October 2012 | November 2011 | September 2012 | August 2012 |
The G15 really has some promise, especially compared to the P7700; while that camera has also added a fast lens and articulated LCD, it dropped the optical viewfinder (one of the reasons many people choose a camera like this) and switched to a BSI sensor, which tend to sacrifice low-light sensitivity for top-notch photo quality in good light. The X10 has the slightly larger sensor, but it's also a little more expensive. I'm looking forward to seeing how this one fares.