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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.

<<Intro and Highlights :(Previous) | (Next): Executive Overview>>

Page 2:Changes from the Canon PowerShot G5

Review First Posted: 09/28/2004

Changes from the Canon PowerShot G5
(And the G1, G2 and G3, for historical reference)

As some of the most popular high-end "prosumer" digicams of the last few years, many of our readers may already be quite familiar with the Canon PowerShot G1, G2, G3, and G5. The G6 is strongly reminiscent of its predecessors, sharing a number of features from past cameras, along with the same lens used since the G3. The main differences are detailed below:

Feature
 G6 G5 G3
G2
G1
Dimensions (W x H x D) 105 x 73 x 73 millimeters 121 x 74 x 70 millimeters 121 x 77 x 64 millimeters 120 x 77 x 64 millimeters
Weight (body only) 380 grams 410 grams 425 grams 420 grams
Body Improvements / Differences Narrower body, enlarged handgrip. Silver with rubberized black panel on inside of hand grip. Mode dial moved to rear of camera, shutter button moved in front of control dial on top of handgrip. (Similar to G3) More angular handgrip for better finger-traction, Silver-colored metal body panels. Body is more rectangular, boxy-looking
Enlarged Handgrip, Champagne metal cover
Standard grip, gray metal cover
Startup screen, startup sound yes/yes
(Multiple options via "My Camera" menu)
Yes/yes
No/no
Maximum Resolution (megapixels) 7.1 (eff) 5.04 (eff) 3.87 MP (eff)
3.14 MP (eff)
Resolution Settings 3,072 x 2,304

2,592 x 1,944

2,048 x 1,536

1,600 x 1,200

640 x 480		 2,592 x 1,944,

1600 x 1200,

1024 x 768

640 x 480		 2272 x 1704,

1600 x 1200,

1024 x 768

640 x 480
2048 x 1536,

1024 x 768

640 x 480
Filtration RGB
CYGM
Lens 4x
35-140mm equiv.
F/2.0-3.0		 3x
32-104mm equiv.
F/2.0-2.8
Minimum macro area 54 x 40 millimeters 69 x 52 millimeters 74 x 56 millimeters 70 x 52 millimeters 82 x 52 millimeters
Slow shutter speed range 15 sec
8 sec.
High shutter speed and aperture combinations 1/1250 - all apertures

1/2000 - f/4.0 and higher
1/640 - f/2.8~f/3.5 to f/8

1/800 - f/3.5~f/5.0 to f/8

1/1000 - f/8 only
1/640 ~ 1/1000 sec.

f/8 only
Neutral Density Filter 3-stop cut (equivalent to ND 0.9), set via record menu. ----
LCD Monitor 2.0-inch, 118,000 pixels 1.8-inch, 118,000 pixels 1.8-inch, 113,578 pixels
Flash Operation Internal: Total of 9 modes, counting all combinations of on/off/auto and redeye plus slow sync options.

Supports EX-mode Speedlites, Ringlight, Macro Twin Flash, and Remote Transmitter

 Internal: 5 modes

Supports EX-mode Speedlites and Ringlight,

 Internal: 5 modes

Supports EX-mode Speedlites only
Signal processing speed No spec, but cycle time is the same, AF speed is improved, despite larger sensor (40% more image data). Considerably faster than G2, but don't have a specific spec for this.
Faster (twice as fast as G1)
---
Signal processing bit depth 12 bits/channel, through all image processing operations. 10 bits/channel
Noise reduction Considerably improved over G5 Very good
Better
---
Battery Life Excellent, but hard to assess, as I couldn't conduct direct measurements. Canon claims 300 shots with LCD on, 900 with LCD off, but measurement standards may have changed in the last year. Excellent: About another 7% improvement over the G3. Excellent: My measurements indicate roughly a 15% improvement in worst-case battery life over the G2.
400 images/LCD on

1000 images/LCD off

300 minutes/Playback
260 images/LCD On

800 images/LCD off

160 minutes/Playback
Focusing Points "Infinite"- FlexiZone AF/AE allows positioning of the AF/AE area anywhere within about 60% of the frame area.
3
1
Manual Focus Focusing area magnified on LCD monitor, numerical distance values displayed
---
Autofocus Bracketing Focus bracketing option under the FUNC button snaps three shots with minor tweaks in focus setting between them. ---
Metering Modes Evaluative, Center-Weighted, Center Spot, Off-Center Spot

Incorporates Canon iSAPS scene-analysis technology for more accurate exposures under tricky lighting.
Evaluative, Center-Weighted, Center Spot, Off-Center Spot
Center-Weighted, Center Spot
Manual exposure mode improvements A reversion to original behavior? LCD is dark when underexposure is set, only brightens briefly while AF is operating.
Metering display when shutter button is pressed halfway; LCD monitor remains bright even when underexposure is set.
---
Program Shift Yes
No
Intervalometer Option Shoot 2-100 shots, at intervals of 1 to 60 minutes --- ---
White Balance Settings 9, including two separate Custom settings for manual adjustment to standard white card.
6, including new Fluorescent H for daylight fluorescents
5
Color Effects Mode Yes
(Expanded to allow application of color effects (including B/W shooting) in any exposure mode except Auto.
Yes
No
Movie Mode options and durations

640 x 480 - 30 sec.

320 x 240 - 180 sec.

160 x 120 - 180 sec.

 320 x 240 - 180 sec.

160 x 120 - 180 sec.
320 x 240 - 30 sec.

160 x 120 - 120 sec.
320 x 240 - 30 sec.
Continuous Shooting Speeds

Continuous High: 1.57 fps

Continuous: 1.06 fps

(by actual measurement)

 Continuous High: 1.96 fps

Continuous: 1.39 fps

(by actual measurement)

 Continuous High: 2.27 fps

Continuous: 1.46 fps

(by actual measurement)
Continuous High: 2.46 fps

Continuous: 1.04 fps

(by actual measurement)
Continuous: 1.7 fps
Startup time, shutter lag, etc. Faster:
Startup is 3.92 seconds,
full-AF shutter lag is 0.74-0.78 sec		 Slower: Startup is 4.82 seconds, full-AF shutter lag is 1.04-1.17 sec Much faster
(4.2 seconds startup, 0.94 second full AF lag)
Faster
(7.2 seconds startup, 1.3 second full AF lag)
---
Interval between frames in Single frame mode 1.93
(Actual measurement, not Canon specs)		 1.94
(Actual measurement, not Canon specs)		 1.88
(Actual measurement, not Canon specs)
2.3 sec.
(Actual measurement, not Canon specs)
1.12 sec.
(Actual measurement, not Canon specs)
Digital zoom function True zoom up to 16x combined digital and optical True zoom up to 14x combined digital and optical
True zoom up to 11x combined digital and optical
Digital teleconverter, either 2x or 4x for a maximum of 8x combined
Histogram display in Playback mode Yes
No
Image magnification during playback Up to 10x, 10 steps
3x/6x
2.5x/5x
Image erase function
Improved (fewer steps)
---
RemoteCapture functions
Improved: Live video can be shown on attached monitor as well as computer screen. Shutter button on camera remains functional.
Displays captured images only. Shutter can be released with computer only. Video out does not function while RemoteCapture is active.
USB Mounter for Mac OS 9.0 ~ 9.1 Provided.
(Also supports PTP mode for Windows XP and Mac OS X connection with no driver software needed.)
Provided.
No (however, software itself is compatible with G1)
Direct Print mode The big change this year is support for the new PictBridge industry standard. Supports previous printers, as well as newer models CP-200, CP-300, i70, i470D, i450. (G3, G2 also forward-compatible with most new printers, although G2 needs firmware upgrade to support some.) Yes - Also with CP-100, S830D and S530D Bubble Jet printers.
Yes, with CP-10
No
Cropping in Direct Print mode
Yes
---
Accessory Compatibility New bayonet-mount lens adapter, with wider range of wide, tele converters, now covering range of 24.5mm to 245mm equivalents.

Support for both Macro Ring Light and Macro Twin Light units, as well as Remote Strobe Transmitter for wireless flash connection.
Same as G1 plus Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX
Wide, tele converters extend range to ~28 to 150 mm
Wide, Tele and Macro Converters
Supplied CF Card 32MB
16MB
Control Changes Menu interface slightly updated Top controls mirror EOS layout more closely, including the Command wheel. Mode dial and power switch separated, made easier to operate. Tabbed sub-menus for FUNC button greatly improve efficiency of user interface. ---
Position Sensor Position sensor automatically tags EXIF header for image rotation on portrait-format shots. ---
Post-Exposure RAW file save You can choose to save a RAW-mode file on the fly, by hitting the Flash button during the review period. You can choose to save a RAW-mode file on the fly, by hitting the FUNC button during the review period. ---

 

 

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