LCD Size:
3 inches
Resolution:
14.7 MP
Optical Zoom:
5 x
Ease of use
1
Show what experts say (3 reviews)
"However, most of the new capabilities … are probably more important to the audience of snapshot-camera users than the manual enthusiasts who tend to buy the G series models."
The G10 really is a great camera to use for beginners and more experienced users alike.
"On a digital SLR there are simple, dedicated manual controls for those options that save you from going to a menu system. On a digicam, the controls generally serve double duty and can be obscure. On the G10, Canon has taken the digital SLR approach."
Picture Quality
8
Show what experts say (4 reviews)
"The primary reason to buy a camera like this, however, is the photo quality, and here the Canon G10 doesn't disappoint. Color and exposures are great. There's some wide-angle distortion at the 28mm-equivalent maximum, but photos have very good center and edge-to-edge sharpness at longer focal lengths."
"Overall the Canon G10 acquits itself very well in the area [of Image Quality], with noise at ISO 400 and above the only notable complaint."
"This compact powerhouse produces sharp images that show pleasing exposure, vivid colors, and nice contrast. The camera even did well on a very overcast snowy day, where there wasn't much outdoor light to be found."
"The level of detail that the G10 captures is simply amazing, possibly the best of any compact camera I've ever tested. However there are some problems; the lens produces noticeable chromatic aberration at the wide-angle end, with red/green fringes visible toward the edges of the frame."
Low light shooting
10
Show what experts say (3 reviews)
"In bright light, a relatively quick focus helps keep the shutter lag to a zippy-for-its-class 0.4 second. In dim light, that increases to a 0.8 second."
"Great for night photography, and the quality of the after-dark images is excellent."
“The autofocus system … works reasonably well in low light.”
Video Quality
8
Show what experts say (6 reviews)
"One capability I wish Canon had enhanced is the movie capture: it's still 30fps VGA without optical zoom."
"Various features [are] obviously subtracted when shooting video clips – although you still get white balance, My Colors, and use of the ND filter if required – which adds the options of being able to shoot at 320x240 pixels or 640x480 at 30fps or 15fps depending on end usage."
"Movie files from the G10 look very good when played back: smooth motion with lots of detail and few artefacts to mention. The maximum file size for movies is 4GB, or one hour in length, whichever occurs first."
“Canon's true Lens-Shift type Optical Image Stabilization system will … help you capture better handheld movie clips.... this unit does capture nice, smooth video. The microphone is located in a relatively good position, and overall produced pleasing sound.”
“Although [video] quality is good and sound quality isn't bad, the fact that zoom is locked while shooting further limits the G10's power in this area. If you're looking to do lots of video shooting with your still camera, there are better options out there.”
“The movie quality is excellent (the MOV files are large; about 1.7MB/s for VGA/30fps) with no really obvious artifacts and good exposure, there is still a lot of noise at high ISO. As stills cameras go, the G10 remains a pretty good movie camera.”
Build Quality
10
Show what experts say (5 reviews)
“Canon’s build quality here is superb, with the G10 feeling like a solid block.”
"It feels like it could be dropped, bashed around a bit (possibly shot at) and still come back for more, like some war photojournalist's trusty Leica."
“The G10's overall build quality is simply fantastic, as one should expect from a £340 camera. The body is all aluminium over a steel chassis, and is finished in a scratch-resistant matt black crackle texture.”
"The PowerShot G10 looks a whole lot like its predecessor, and for the most part, that's a good thing. Constructed mostly of metal, it's very well built."
"As with its predecessors, the Canon G10's metal body feels like a tank."
Battery Life
7
Show what experts say (4 reviews)
"The camera's 1050mAh battery is only rated for 400 shots with [the LCD] on but 1,000 without it."
"With 1050mAh [the G10] sports around 50% more power. Along with additional power savings in the camera itself, this allows Canon to claim the G10 can take 400 photos under CIPA conditions with the monitor, or a whopping 1000 with the optical viewfinder alone."
“I had no problems capturing all of our sample images (about 220 shots and several short movie clips) as well as concluding all of our other tests on a single charge with power to spare.”
“Our G10 wasn't even able to hit Canon's claimed 400 shot mark: with some flash shooting and, admittedly, a lot of image review, I was never even able to inch over the 300 shot threshold between charges.”
Size show formula
We simply calculate the volume (length x width x height) of the camera.
Large
Average
Small
Travel Capabilities show formula
We combine our Battery Life Score with our Build Quality score.
Bad
OK
Awesome
