Canon PowerShot G9 Digital Camera Review – 6X optical zoom

June 5, 2009

Around 3 years back, Canon launched its amazing Canon PowerShot G7 that created havoc in the market. In 2007, Canon astonished its customers with another similar camera; the Power Shot G9 that was found to be more advanced and efficient in performance.

Canon PowerShot G9 has three major functions that distinguishes it from its former counterpart i.e., The Raw mode, the LCD screen and its sensor. The Raw image recording when supported by RAW and JPEG recording allows the user to have better image processing. Raw Image Task available in the zoom Browser software takes care of minor effects in the image such as setting of white balance, color tone and temperature and exposure of light in various areas of the scene. Moreover, the Raw images can be converted to JPEG or TIFF file as you may like it. As for the LCD screen you can’t ask for more! The camera has a magnificent pure color 3 inch LCD II screen providing high resolution in photos and clips. And the larger than before 1/1.7 inch sensor offering 12.1 mega pixel resolution and an exceptionally broader viewing angle will enable you to take beautiful shots and then crop the image according to your convenience. Not only this, they can be printed up to a maximum of A2 size print. The photo shooting is made easy and fast by the DIGIC III processor and ISAPS function ensures better picture integrity and noise reduction. Further improving the results, Auto ISO shift and ISO 1600 is present that gives a new life to your photos.

Canon G9 has around 25 shooting modes and two white balance custom settings and has full manual control thus giving you the power to shoot according to your will. The new Face detection option will make the camera automatically recognize a human face and focus it to produce a snap with perfect settings. And those red eye effects are now history since the Red Eye Correction function can be used in the playback. Other common problems observed while taking snaps or recording movies are the annoying blurring or shaking of the camera. But with the Optical Image Stabilizer function, the problem is solved in no time.

Coming to the optical performance, the lens offers a 6X optical zoom with a 35-210 mm focal length equivalent to 35 mm. The chromic observation is corrected by the SR coating whereas the double sided lens with a spherical surface prevents lens distortion. The 3.0 inch LCD screen gives around 230,000 pixels which is a very large count i.e., aided by the safety zoom option which avoids interpolation. The optical zoom can be increased to 15X with the resolution of a satisfactory level to give a 10×15 post card size prints, which are easily obtained by any Picture Bridge printer without requiring any PC. And don’t worry about the memory/space as the camera has a built-in memory card of 32MB and supports SD, SDHC and MMC cards in addition to MMC PLUS and HC MMC Plus formats which has a capacity of up to 32GB. Wow! Now you can shoot a whole wedding or a surprise birthday without any stop.

If you are considering to buy a digital camera then you should seriously consider this great camera. The price of this master piece is a bargain deal around £300 which is quite affordable keeping in view the functions it performs. In addition to the suitable price, one can’t refrain from admitting the comfortable features it offers in holding and taking great photos. Almost identical to the G7, Canon Power shot G9 has an anti reflective textured coating that protects the camera from sun, rain and tough climatic conditions as well as physical harm. The lens has a black alumite ring that not only acts as protective but also adds to the classy look. The camera is no doubt heavy, but a nice thumb rest ensures that you don’t get tired of holding the camera. All in all, Canon Power shot G9 is a wonder to have…so go own it now!