Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon PowerShot G7 Digital Camera - Black (10.0MP, 6x Optical Zoom) 2.5" LCD

I paid for this at Amazon on Thursday about 4.00pm it arrived Friday morning 8.00am, they don`t hang about when the extra postage is paid.
Now to what I think. I have only been able to use it for 3 days so far but I am well experienced with digital cameras so I may be able to just help you decide if its for you. Build quality is nothing short of superb, no photos could do the actual item justice. It is an absolute dream to use one handed, I usually have to get used to handling cameras in this way as I always have my 140 pound dog with me and she can be a bit of a handful, especially if she smells food.
I have not used the neck strap as find a good quality wrist strap far easier to handle camera with. It has a very fast start up time, in fact if you are looking down switching it on, by the time it is raised up you are ready to shoot. I always shoot in ap. priority and have found that f4.5 or f4.00 seem to be the best or sweet spot of lens. I have set custom colours to +1 for all 3 settings. I use auto wb and iso is always set at 80, the lowest. I would, without any reservation state that at these settimgs quality at the A4 I always print is every bit as good as a dslr costing many times more. Plus you can shove this in your pocket, try doing that with a Canon 5D and zoom lens, oooo Henry do you love me that much.
The lens at 35-210 35mm equivalent is just about a good size for pulling in distant objects, plus with having 10mp to play with you can crop out quite a lot and still maintain good quality prints. Screen is a dream to use as is very clear indeed, I don`t use the viewfinder as my eyes are not too good for that. I shot 210 pics one day and battery level was still fine, though I cannot say how long that would have lasted as the battery remaining indicator is as per Canon worse than useless, a minor point as I always carry a spare. I only managed 185 to fill a 1 gig card on second day, I assume as it was a better day more detail was being taken up per picture. Well at least one is not getting too many shots per card, that would worry me as compression would spoil pictures, so at least it is not over compressing pictures which is a good sign. Thats all I can honestly comment on at moment but suffice to say I am most pleased with camera, and as a plus it surely looks like a very well made piece of equipment which you will be well pleased with.
I have read some adverse comments regards its handling with not having a grip so to speak, I can promise you that at least in my case that is not an issue as holding it is so easy done and anyway I think a grip sticking out would have spoilt its very clean lines. Hope you enjoy as much as I am if you buy one.

I am fairly new to the world of digital cameras, so this review will contain no "techy" talk.

After having owned a Samsung V700 for 18 months, I decided that I would like one out of the current crop of 10 mega pixels cameras - Casio Z1000, Mju 1000, Sony N2, Canon Ixus 900 Ti, and Canon G7. I spent hours researching each model, and eventually decided on the G7.

The first thing that hits you about the camera is the size (particularly the depth) and it's weight. Both aspects being bigger and heaver than the models mentioned in the 2nd paragraph. It has a real solid feel to it, and the controls are positioned nicely. Because of it's depth, it feels bigger than a compact digi, but it's certainly not bigger than an SLR. It's a sort of cross between an SLR and compact digi.

There is no point discussing the camera's features as Amazon have already done that above. The separate dial for ISO settings is a nice feature, and the LCD screen is large enough. To access different scene modes is through the turn of a dial next to the screen. I have only taken pictures so far in daylight, and the quality is crisp and sharp. I really like my Samsung V700 but in my opinion, the quality of the G7's images are far superior.

My only gripe is the battery life. However, that could be because I have spent lots of time with it switched on, exploring it's features. When I return home in a few days' time from holiday, having taken literally hundreds of photos, only then will I know for sure how good the battery life is.

The G7 does cost a lot more than any of the models mentioned in the second paragraph. I spent many hours researching which camera to get, and every time I was left with one question - was spending the extra bit of money on the G7 justifiable? From the research I did, the answer was yes. Having now owned the camera for a few weeks, it is a resounding yes from me.

Lovin' this camera!

Re the well-known criticisms: I don't miss raw - you can set a live on-screen histogram, and do a bit more work at the time you take the shot. I'm not a pro though ...

Yes, you get some noise in low light - but get Noise Ninja or similar software and you're sorted. You can then shoot in low light no problem.

Lens is sharp. Macro is great (missed that in my last camera). Focusing good - but occ hunts at tele. Fringing almost non-existent. Movie mode very very good and you can zoom (silently) during recording. Photo stitch great fun and well thought out, and makes up to some extent for the 35 minimum wide-angle.

After a month or so, this black beauty is now churning out great pics and I feel in control. I have mastered the button/menu system, and it is fast and good.

I put in a 4 gig SD card - and it works fine with this. That's about 1000 pics at highest JPG quality! Batteries: nearly-out indicator only. But that might be the fact that the power output is maintained till nearly running out - so the camera could have no way of knowing ... Don't know, but if it's important to you then you'll need a spare.

Slightly chunky (not really pocket) but reassuringly solid. Preset modes are actually very good! Manual modes do what they say on the tin.

I don't regret this purchase for a second! I used to do a lot of photography - film SLR, own processing stuff. That sense of fun has now come back!

Th G7 replaced my Lumix FX01 which was a superb digital compact but suffered from being only a point and shoot compact.

I have had the G7 for about a month now and can honestly say it is a superb bit of kit. It is not a dSLR - I have a 30D and 1D MkIIN for that side of things - but as a high end compact I cannot really fault it. It can be used as a point and shoot but has the potential to be much much more.

IQ is very good, the IS and lens range does make it very versitile, the video is class leading and that all metal body just oozes class. The lack of RAW is not an issue for me. If I want RAW files then I use my dSLR's which are more suited to the job of captureing RAW images. They have bigger sensors and better lenses and argueably are more up to exploiting the RAW format. 10 megapixel fine jpgs are pretty good quality.

If there was one gripe, that would be the lens being only the 35mm equiv rather than 28mm equiv at the wide end of the zoom range.

If The G7 is your only digital camera then it really is all you will need for general photographic needs - if it is to compliment your dSLR, then remember its not a dSLR and so is different and you use it differently as such. For me it allows me the option of capturing very high quality images in a smaller, much more discreet package that doesn't cost the £3k of a Leica M8.

No one camera can have every feature you need and be strong in every area you use it in. The 1D series of Canon EOS dSLR's is argueably the daddy of digital SLR cameras but their size makes them very impractical for certain situations - the point I am making is that for the what it is the G7 a class leader.

Its not pocket size but is is much easier to carry around than a dSLR. The Canon G7 is a superb camera that when looked as a complete package has few peers in this sector of the market. It gets a 9/10 from me.

For some time I have been looking for a creative compact to compliment my DSLR.

Strangely, as a very keen photographer and Nikon DSLR user, I have always preferred Canon compacts. I have had so many Digital Ixus (Ixii - whatever the plural is!!) and love their build quality and ease of use, but they never provided the manual control I craved.

This 10MP monster gives me all the manual control I need plus a whole host of programme modes that make quick, spontaneous 'moment-catching' just as easy.

Full manual control on a digital compact however, should always be taken with a pinch of salt (admitedly only a small pinch). Whilst you can select independent shutter speeds and apertures - the range of choice in each may not be what you can expect in an SLR. Although very respectable wide open (i.e. small aperture values) - f2.8 being possible, you don't get access to very small apertures which DSLR users need for very deep depths of field. However, these compacts use a different sensor size and lens construction so these issues are less important. Add to the mix the now mandatory face detection and pleasantly, Image Stabilisation and it becomes even more compelling.

The camera itself has an almost bomb-proof construction, with a satisfying weight to its metal body - although still light enough to slip in a small bag or pouch, don't expect to drop it in a jacket pocket without a bulge.

Overall, I'm very impressed. Those used to Canon compacts will be very happy and those who use Nikon or other DSLR brands will be similarly impressed. Those who have experienced pixel problems with the LCD have been simply unlucky I think. Build quality at Canon has always been extremely high - and that continues with this model.

Very highly recommended.