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Canon Powershot G6 By: Dave Etchells The next generation of Canon's popular "G" model updates the line with a larger, 7.1-megapixel CCD and a redesigned camera body. Select a topic Reference: Datasheet G6 Sample Images G6 Imatest Results G6 Photo Gallery! --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Changes from the Canon PowerShot G5 3. Executive Overview 4. Design 5. Viewfinder 6. Optics 7. Exposure & Flash 8. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 9. Operation & User Interface 10. Camera Modes & Menus 11. Image Storage & Interface 12. Video, Power, Software 13. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on G6 Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Camera Modes & Menus :(Previous) | (Next): Video, Power, Software>> Page 11:Image Storage & Interface Review First Posted: 09/28/2004

Image Storage and Interface

The G6 uses CompactFlash memory cards for image storage, accommodating both Type I and II card sizes. This means that the camera is also able to store images to an IBM MicroDrive for increased storage capacity. A 32MB CompactFlash Type I memory card is supplied with the camera. Entire CompactFlash cards cannot be write-protected, however, the G6's Play menu allows you to write-protect individual image files, protecting them from accidental erasure, unless the card is formatted.

Still images can be saved at one of five resolutions ( 3,072 x 2,304; 2,592 x 1,944; 2,048 x 1,536; 1,600 x 1,200; or 640 x 480 pixels), while movies are recorded 10 frames per second at a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, or approximately 15 frames per second, with a choice of 320 x 240- and 160 x 120-pixel resolutions. Still images also have three JPEG compression levels available: Superfine, Fine, and Normal, plus a RAW setting that records the image straight from the CCD, without any processing. The benefit of the RAW data file format is that it compresses the image file without any loss in image quality (that is, the compression can be completely reversed) and the color isn't adjusted to match any particular file format, such as RGB TIFF. All of the image color parameters are kept in their original state. (RAW images require the Canon Zoom Browser software for processing on a computer.)

Following are the approximate resolution / quality and compression ratios for a 32MB card (compression numbers are based on our own computations):

Image Capacity vs Resolution/Quality		Fine	Standard	Basic	RAW Format
High Resolution 3,072 x 2,304	Images (Size)	10 3.1 MB	16 1.9 MB	34 923 KB	6 3.9 MB
	Approx. Compression	7:1	11:1	23:1	2-3:1 (lossless)
Medium 1 Resolution 2,592 x 1,944	Images (Size)	12 2.5 MB	22 1.4 MB	44 716 KB	-
	Approx. Compression	6:1	11:1	21:1	-
Medium 2 Resolution 2,048 x 1,536	Images (Size)	19 1.6 MB	35 907 KB	69 462 KB	-
	Approx. Compression	6:1	10:1	20:1	-
Medium 3 Resolution 1,600 x 1,200	Images (Size)	31 1.0 MB	55 573 KB	105 302 KB	-
	Approx. Compression	6:1	10:1	19:1	-
Low Resolution 640 x 480	Images (Size)	118 271 KB	182 175 KB	287 111 KB	-
	Approx. Compression	3.4:1	5.3:1	8.3:1	-

A full complement of interface software comes with the G6, as does a USB cable for speedy connection to a PC or Macintosh computer. The G6 supports "PTP" image transfer mode, which means you can connect it to a computer running Windows XP or Mac OS X without the need for additional driver software, although it refused to appear on my Mac PowerBook's desktop, which was running OS 10.3.4 at the time. (Drivers are included for other flavors of Windows and Mac OS though, so no worries if your computer is running an older OS.) I measured the G5's transfer rate on my Sony Vaio desktop computer (2.4 GHz Pentium, Windows XP), and clocked it at 570 KB/second using the Windows XP camera-connection software. This is a pretty good clip, and a slight improvement over the prior G5 model, but a little disappointing, in that it probably means that the G6 is still using a USB v1.1 interface. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)

 

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Since we're talking about memory and image storage, this would be a good time to mention the following: I get a ton of email from readers who've lost photos due to a corrupted memory card. It's tragic when it happens, there are few things more precious than photo memories. Corrupted memory cards can happen with any card type and any camera manufacturer, nobody's immune. "Stuff happens," as they say. A surprising number of "lost" images can be recovered with an inexpensive, easy to use piece of software though. Given the amount of email I've gotten on the topic, I now include this paragraph in all my digicam reviews. The program you need is called PhotoRescue, by DataRescue SA. Read our review of it if you'd like, but download the program now, so you'll have it. It doesn't cost a penny until you need it, and even then it's only $29, with a money back guarantee. So download PhotoRescue for Windows or PhotoRescue for Mac while you're thinking of it. (While you're at it, download the PDF manual and quickstart guide as well.) Stash the file in a safe place and it'll be there when you need it. Trust me, needing this is not a matter of if, but when... PhotoRescue is about the best and easiest tool for recovering digital photos I've seen. (Disclosure: IR gets a small commission from sales of the product, but I'd highly recommend the program even if we didn't.) OK, now back to our regularly scheduled review...

 

Direct Print/PictBridge Printing

Besides the USB computer connection, the G6 also supports direct printing (no computer needed) to a number of Canon printers, as well as PictBridge-compatible printers from other manufacturers. Canon Direct Print-compatible printer models that can be directly connected to the G6 include the compact Card Photo Printer models CP-200, and C-300 (as well as the earlier CP-10 and CP-100), and the i70, i470D, and i450 (as well as the earlier S830D and S530D Bubble Jet (inkjet) printers. The Bubble Jet printers support the EXIF 2.2 standard, which takes advantage of special "metadata" stored in the JPEG file header to optimize print quality.

PictBridge is a new industry-wide direct printing protocol standard that is supported by a wide variety of both printer and digital camera manufacturers. PictBridge supports not only specifying print quantity, but (depending on the printer and camera in use) other parameters such as paper size, paper type, image cropping, etc. Canon's support of PictBridge appears to be pretty robust, as the camera will let you control a fair range of print settings, if the printer you're connected to supports them.