Canon PowerShot G10 Review

The G10 is the third incarnation of Canon’s flagship ‘prosumer’ compact since the G series was reinvented with the G7 in 2006. Announced two years after the G6, the G7 caused quite a buzz; partly because everyone had presumed the budget SLR had killed off this sector of the market, partly because it lacked several of what had become G series trademarks (fast lens, tilting screen, raw mode, secondary LCD panel), and it would be fair to say the response was ‘mixed’. The G9 went some way towards placating the critics, reintroducing raw mode and improving handling, but it still suffered from the fundamental problem that the sensor inside couldn’t deliver on what the fantastic camera promised on the outside.
When we reviewed the G9 last year, we praised it for the styling, handling and build and for its excellent output at low ISO settings. The G10 builds on this by adding handling and control refinements, improving the LCD resolution, and, most importantly, adding a wider lens starting at 28mm (equiv.). It also retains the rangefinder styling and solid build quality, and reduces the amount of silver accents on the camera. All the external controls have been carried over, and a new one has been added (a very useful exposure compensation dial).
The things we criticized the G9 for (the unneeded increase in resolution, and the slow-ish lens) have not been addressed. Instead Canon has increased the resolution for the sensor even more, to 14.7 megapixels. The updated lens, though wider at the wide end, is also shorter at the long end, and has less zoom range overall. The speed of the lens is again almost the same F2.8-4.5, though the wider lens does retain the G9’s relatively compact dimensions. The price remains at around $500