So besides the aspect ratio of the Canon G10, the images looked pretty good. One thing I did notice was the images from the G10 looked very “digital”. I KNOW, I KNOW...it IS a digital camera after all! I am just so used to shooting my Leica M8.2 with its very RICH film like files. Again, just nitpicking here! The M8.2 is a $6000 camera. The G10 is a $500 camera. What I am trying to find out is if this Canon is WORTH the $500 of if your hard earned money is better spent on another camera model.

My first results were good, no issues, no problems. The lens did at times seem a little slow to me. As soon as you zoom a little you lose that 2.8 and most of my shots had to be taken at F4.5 or smaller. I have to be honest here. I MUCH prefer the little F2 lens in the Leica D-Lux 4 and if Canon comes out with a G11 they should add HD video and put in a faster lens. Ok, Ok..I will stop with my nitpicking now :)

You are here and reading this to find out how the quality of this camera is. Most likely, you have already read all of the technical reviews out there (and there are a ton of them) so I am concentrating on real world use. How does it do out there in the field? The answer to that is that it does GREAT!

What I love about the Canon Powershot G10:

1. ★ Again, I am in love with the design and build of this camera. Looks like a classic and feels like one as well. You do not see many compact with this look and feel.
   

2. ★ Manual controls via DIALS. YES. I am a manual dial kind of man and love to be able to set my camera with dials on the camera. I hate having to dig through the menus to set the ISO, shutter, etc.
   

3. ★ The LCD is BIG and BEAUTIFUL.
   

4. ★ It has a viewfinder! I never used it but it is good to know it is there as an option.
   

5. ★ Tons of customizable features with color and filters in the camera.
   

6. ★ It has an option for RAW shooting, UNLIKE the Sony HX1 (review).
   

7. ★ Has macro!
   

8. ★ Face detection is here and works as advertised. Whenever a face was in the frame, the focus box followed the face.
   

What I do NOT love about the Canon Powershot G10:

1. ➡ Higher ISO could be better (samples later in the review)
   

2. ➡ While it has RAW as an option, why no RAW and JPEG?
   

3. ➡ The 4:3 aspect ration of the images. I prefer 3:2 though it does have a 16X9 option.
   

Honestly, this camera has much more to like about it than NOT to like. The color mode I really enjoyed was the VIVID mode. I shot the image of the mailbox below in that mode and the color is bold without being over the top.

So after shooting more with it, and even letting my son take it for a while I was starting to really dig the Canon G10. It was growing on me and I soon started to take it with me everywhere.

While in the beginning the soft JPEGS bothered me a bit I realized that I was just so used to seeing the super sharp RAW files from my M8.2 that the JPEGS of the G10 seemed a little off. I took a shot of this tree to test for detail and sharpness. Below is the image and a crop.

CANON POWERSHOT G10 - FF5.6 - ISO 80

100% CROP

So for a JPEG of a small sensor compact camera, this is actually very good for a 100% crop.

I also wanted to test the full digital zoom of this guy. When zooming you can zoom all the way out and it will stop at its optical limit. Push the zoom again and it keeps going, kicking into digital zoom territory where usually we get soft mush. Here is how the G10 handled the image when zoomed out to the full digital max.

and of course, the 100% crop to show you what is really going on...

100% CROP OF FULLY DIGITAL ZOOMED IMAGE

So while the digital zoom would be great if you are just shooting web sized images, I would not use it for any kind of “real” shooting for prints. BUT it is very nice to have the option. You never know when you may see something in the distance like a rare bird in a tree or what have you.

OK...

Now that I have established that the G10 can deliver the goods in the image quality department in real world shooting, lets see how its high ISO performance is...

MORE ON PAGE 3 OF THE REVIEW - CLICK HERE >>>