Canon PowerShot G11
August 19th, 2009 Rob SheppardToday, Canon announced a new camera for their G-series, the PowerShot G11. Those of you who might have read my articles over the years might remember that I had always been a big fan of the G-series of cameras. My first “professional” digital cameras (i.e., cameras that I used for published photography) were the G-2 and G-3. I still have a G-6 that I converted to a great little infrared camera. But I quit being interested in the G-series cameras as they dropped the swivel LCD and increased megapixels. The G10 is a great little piece of engineering, but I missed the swivel LCD, and I felt the small sensor had too many megapixels for today’s sensor technology so the images looked, to me, overprocessed to compensate for that.
Canon announced the G11 today and promises delivery by late October (who knows what is real in that area, but then, Canon has usually been pretty good about meeting delivery dates for this type of camera). I think this could be my next compact digital camera. Why?
- The G11 uses a 10-MP sensor (that’s right, a lower megapixel sensor than the G10!). I think that is a realistic size for the physical size of sensors for this type of camera. This is a brand-new sensor design that Canon calls their “High Sensitivity System” which includes the highly respected Digic 4 processor. Canon says this is “proven to enhance image quality in low-light situations and reduce noise at high ISO speeds.” We’ll have to see the actual results of the camera when it is available, but I am encouraged because if you read between the lines, this means a higher quality sensor which is far more important than chasing megapixels.
- The G11 has a 2.8-inch “vari-angle PureColor System LCD” — I am not sure exactly what the PureColor means, but since all manufacturers have been working on improved LCD’s, I am sure it is good. But it is the “vari-angle” or swivel LCD that really excites me. That makes this camera a winner for me right away!
- The camera includes the type of dials that were so good with the G10 — they really make the camera function like a serious camera, like a digital SLR without the interchangeable lenses.
- The camera allows shooting of both RAW + JPEG.
Of course, one can never be sure about a camera’s performance until you get one in hand, but knowing a bit about Canon and the G-series, I would be very surprised if this camera did not offer anything except excellent performance in a compact camera. I have long been a fan of compact digital cameras because they offer a lot in a small package, and this promises to up the stakes for this type of camera.
