Canon PowerShot G11 First Thoughts

[Jim Keenan]

Now that Canon has introduced the PowerShot G11 as its top range compact digital, the G10 can no longer claim that distinction. Both cameras share a strong physical resemblance, 5x optical zooms that start at 28mm and 1/1.7" sensors.

The G10 packs 14.7 megapixels on its sensor and sports a 3.0 inch LCD monitor while the G11 makes do with 10 megapixels and a 2.8 inch articulating monitor.

Since when does a lower resolution sensor and a smaller monitor (even one that twists) represent progress? Well, in compact digital camera land, sometimes less is more.

When DCR wrung out the PowerShot G10 in November 2008, reviewer David Rasnake found "...that noise is visible almost immediately (certainly by ISO 200) at lower sensitivities; if you're a stickler for such things, the G10's soft edges at ISO 100 and 200, even, will undoubtedly have you up in arms."

David went on to note that "...it's easy to make up for the Canon's lack of sharpness at higher ISOs by downsampling, assuming you're not printing larger than 8x10.

The other side of that argument, though, is that it might have been just as easy to build the G10 as an 8 megapixel camera with class-leading low noise that produces the same effective results in terms of noise and sharpness at 8x10."

Sounds like Canon has decided to go for the low noise edge of the performance envelope by dropping resolution on the G11 while retaining physical sensor size.

The G11 has joined me on the road on a swing through the southwest, midwest and south before returning home to the west coast. So far, shutter lag seems very good and auto focus acquisition times seem on a par with other cameras in the class. Image quality and color look to be typical Canon compact digital - that is to say good and accurate. The camera can shoot RAW, RAW/JPEG or JPEG for still images; somewhat surprisingly a 640x480 video resolution is as good as it gets in that arena.

In addition to the articulating monitor, the G11 is equipped with an electronic viewfinder with diopter adjustment for eyesight. However, coverage of the viewfinder is about 77% - not accurate at all for image composition. In the photo of the picture on the wall I cropped the image through the viewfinder so the edges of the picture frame just touched the edges of the viewfinder. The resulting image has significant borders around the picture frame that were not apparent through the viewfinder.

So, very early into the shooting experience with the G11 it looks to focus and shoot in a timely fashion, and produce nice images. The viewfinder is not so hot and the ISO performance... let's just say we're cautiously optimistic the lower resolution will do nothing but good in that regard, and our hats are off to Canon for taking a step backward from the megapixel race. A lot more shooting is in store for the G11, and we'll have the final verdict down the road a bit - literally and figuratively.

Sample Images

Related Articles:

• PowerShot G10 updates Canon's advanced compact
• Canon PowerShot G10 Review
• Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Review
• Canon refreshes point and shoot lineup with PowerShot G11 and more

[Jostian]

I think to pick out Davids thoughts on the G10 and use those as the basis for the first take on the G11 is quite harsh to the G10, which as I remember was and probably is regarded as the best super compact on the market, and review after review confirmed this.

I know that the low light performance isn't sterling but given that 90% of the time the G10 will be used in decent light making noise not such an issue. In addition I recall the G10 pulling out card detail that some DSLR's didn't even manage to get, and still dont, so I think to say that the G10 had people up in arms is too dramatic, or maybe the other reviews were all lying about their accolades for the G10??? A more balanced attitude that mentions the brilliance of the G10 together with it's short commings would be more appropriate. I even remember the comparative between the G10 and a Hasselblad where in 90% of the shots digital camera pro's couldn't tell which was from which camera... come on, give the G10 its due!!

[Beam]

Thanks for the great review. I don't like reading reviews that sound like the reviewer is on the payroll of the company producing the item. You gave a fair balance to the pros and cons.

I am excitedly awaiting the arrival of my Canon PowerShot G11.

Regarding the coverage with the viewfinder, I won't mind because I would rather have everything I hoped to capture in the frame than the other way around. I guess once I get used to it, I can let the anticipated edges go beyond what I see in the viewfiner.

I had a Nikon Coolpix 5000 that did a great job since 2002 until the strap broke and it hit cement. In the interim, I got a cheap pocket digital that always left me disappointed. I would use it as though it would capture images the way my Nikon did and, of course, it couldn't. I was advised by a professional photographer that the G11 would be something special and I hope it comes true.

[Jim Keenan]

I think to pick out Davids thoughts on the G10 and use those as the basis for the first take on the G11 is quite harsh to the G10, which as I remember was and probably is regarded as the best super compact on the market, and review after review confirmed this.

I know that the low light performance isn't sterling but given that 90% of the time the G10 will be used in decent light making noise not such an issue. In addition I recall the G10 pulling out card detail that some DSLR's didn't even manage to get, and still dont, so I think to say that the G10 had people up in arms is too dramatic, or maybe the other reviews were all lying about their accolades for the G10??? A more balanced attitude that mentions the brilliance of the G10 together with it's short commings would be more appropriate. I even remember the comparative between the G10 and a Hasselblad where in 90% of the shots digital camera pro's couldn't tell which was from which camera... come on, give the G10 its due!!

I didn't shoot the G10 personally, but David Rasnake and I have collaborated on reviews from time to time and we generally think much alike with regard to camera performance. Since I was never hands-on with the G10 I made no judgements as to its performance, but rather incorporated portions of his review to lay the foundation for a review of the G11. We're not reviewing the G10 now, but since the G11 is the follow on to the G10 that makes it the logical starting point.

Canon has announced the G11 as the successor to the G10, and the fact that resolution has been dropped nearly 31.5% on the same physically-sized sensor suggests in the strongest possible terms that ISO performance was an issue in the G10. Canon USA's website says about the G11 that "you asked and Canon not only listened but delivered big time" - and when you look at the specs for the two cameras it becomes obvious that the lower resolution is the major difference between the two, and the lower resolution is there to improve noise performance, plain and simple.

I looked at the ISO shots on our site's review of the G10 before writing the G11 first impression and you're right that low light performance isn't sterling - Canon must have thought so too, or they wouldn't have brought out a follow-on camera with changes aimed primarily at improving noise peformance. I'd have to think they feel it's a much more important issue than you suggest.

[Jim Keenan]

[QUOTE=Beam;39184
I am excitedly awaiting the arrival of my Canon PowerShot G11.

Regarding the coverage with the viewfinder, I won't mind because I would rather have everything I hoped to capture in the frame than the other way around. I guess once I get used to it, I can let the anticipated edges go beyond what I see in the viewfiner.

I was advised by a professional photographer that the G11 would be something special and I hope it comes true.[/QUOTE]


I don't think you'll be disappointed at all with the G11 if our demo unit is typical. I've had a lot more time with the camera since writing the first impression piece and aside from the viewfinder coverage there's not much to dislike with the camera. I did a bunch of low light shooting at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton yesterday to supplement our usual studio ISO shots, and I'm going to include a comparison of a shot taken with the G11 and a DSLR.

Right now, I'd say the G11 produces the best overall image of any compact digital I've ever reviewed.

[Andy Stanton]

Right now, I'd say the G11 produces the best overall image of any compact digital I've ever reviewed.

That's quite a definitive statement, considering all the fine point and shoots you've reviewed over the years. I'm looking forward to your review of the G11.

[KCook]

Blasphemy for sure, but a pixelpeeping shootout at various light and DR levels between the G11 and the new Fuji S200EXR could be amusing ...

the Devil made me do it

[leonaholaday]

Is there any difference in shutter lag times between the Canon G9, 10 and 11?