Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon PowerShot G9 Digital Camera - Black (12.1MP, 6x Optical Zoom) 3.0 inch LCD

I have been using the G9 for a month or two now and can say I quite impressed with it's quality. Like others I own a couple of professional DSLR's and needed a compact point & shoot for when I didn't want to lug the big cameras around. All I can say is that the DSLR's have stayed in their bags a lot lately!
1) Image quality is good- the lens is excelent litte or no chromatic abberation (colour fringing) and excelent for macro work.
2) The CCD is good- the only artifacts I've seen have been introduced by the jpeg compression algorithms (banding in dark areas). Avoid this by shooting RAW.
3) ISO settings- use the lowest ISO where possible- like all digital cameras the G9 starts to get noisy over 400 ISO. I'd rather shoot at 80 or 100 and use a tripod.
4) RAW shooting mode lets you get the best out of this camera- use it for all your critical shots.
5) Accessories- I love the hotshoe flash (the built in flash is not good for real close macro shots). The bayonet style adapter on the front is also good for attaching filters and other add-ons.

Well done Canon!

When i spend a £100 on something, i do so much research to make sure i am getting the best item, so you can only imagine how much research i did when i was spending £300 on a camera, so please, dont do research, i have done it all for you, if you want a top notch camera, get this one short and sweet, it is head and shoulders above all (apart from the world of SLR), but its as simple as this, SLR's are big and this camera is compact. Now about the camera...

PICTURES - Fantastic, clear, focused, extremely quick and a massive step away from point and shoot. You can have the auto setup, and this makes the shooting of photos brilliant and so easy, but there are so many settings, but i will explain later. Someone took a photo from across the room with the zoom and it picked up stubble on my chin ( i just shaved) WOW

THE CAMERA - Brilliant. It is extremely well built. Metal casing, massive screen, 3 inches, it like its got a digital photo frame built in and it is really clear. It is so valuable though, i look after like nothing else, i made the mistake, i didnt get a case, if you get the camera, get a case, its worth the extra tenner or so, youll fall in love with it and wont want anything to happen to it.

SETTINGS - Well so many, if your an ametuer like me, you wont know where to start, but there are so many, you be playing it for weeks, i promise you that, but i can certainly see why professionals love the freedom, i took a picture in a dark room with no flash, and with messing with certain settings, you can have a picture like its daylight. I certainly havent used RAW before, but now i can appreciate what people mean. RAW gives you more freedom with editing photos, and with the photo being taken with this camera, i can see how it would be such an advantage to have more freedom with editing. There are so many settings, you wont know where to begin, but there is the auto setting, which means, basically it a fantastic point and shoot in this mode.

MOVIE MODE - Bascially is is a camcorder, the quality is so smooth and the sound recording is excellent, so no need for a cmacorder in todays world.

SPEED - Its not a SLR. An SLR means basically the amount of photos you can take is merely limited to the amount of time you can press the button, and this camera isnt that, but it is quick. I mean really quick, please dont worry about the speed of the camera, i thought i was going to be a bit disappointed because i want SLR speed in a small camera, but this camera is so fast, it doesnt become a problem, unless of course you need a million shots in couple of seconds to see who won the hundred meteres. I took a photo of a car moving at 40mph, its like its parked in the middle of the road, the wheels are still, not blurry, again WOW

COMPARED TO POINT AND SHOOT - Well, this can be a point and shoot, especially in auto mode, but i urge you not to buy this for the sake of buying it for a point and shoot camera. There are plenty of good p&S out there. My research shows the sony cybershot w90 is the best £100 camera, without a doubt, but you wont go wrong with the CANON ASUS 950 at a about £170. It has the same sort of quality of this camera, without all the settings, and is half the price so it was seriousely considered by me. I want the freedom to learn about photography and this camera gives me the choice.

EXTRAS - you get a 32mb card but this is only really for the user to enjoy a couple of photos upon purchase. I recommend a 4gbsdhc class 4 card, class 6 if you can afford it, the class is the transfer rate between the card and the pc, it means nothing in terms of quality of storage, so if you dont mind waiting when transferring photos, then class 2 is fine, the class MAKES no difference when the camera is using the card, despite what others say. The battery is good for a day of photography, but not much more, so be prepared. You get usb leads , cds, booklets and the rest. The camera has a timelapse mode and other cool stuff (in the settings), but you soon get bored of this. The camera is here for the photos and this is where it excels.

CONCLUSSION - If you buy this camera, you have just bought a great camera, the 6x zoom is fantastic and quick, if you see it with your eyes, this camera will reproduce what you see, no problem whatsoever. It is fantastic, dont worry about other cameras, YOU WILL NOT GO WRONG with this. £300 is a lot in todays market of cheap good quality cameras, but i still do not regret spending every penny on it, it in a different class. Ever miss a sunset, or a mountian range because of your point and shoot not living up to the quality you wanted it to, well if you get this camera, no more of that. Professional photos with a fantastic camera. its as simple as that, i love this camera, IT IS SUPERB!!!

I purchased this camera on the advice of my stepson (a professional photographer)and to date, have not regretted it one bit! The G9 has done everything I expected it to do and so much more in fact! It looks good and feels good too, and heaps better than the Nikon Coolpix S1 I owned previously. I still own a Pentax SLR with all the lenses and flash guns etc, but this is pre digital and oh so bulky compared to the new stuff nowadays. The G9 has now given me the control of my photography I used to have with the SLR once again , however it is quite compact and therefore a delight to take with me almost anywhere.I am truly delighted with it and would suggest it as a suitable purchase for the amateur who wants more out of his or her photographs, as well as professionals who will find it a useful spare, to keep handy for the moments when they dont have time to set up all their equipment!

(January 2009 update: if the price differential is large enough, buy the G9. If not, the G10 is viewed by many - and I concur - as overkill with noise issues. The Panasonic Lumix LX3 is probably a better bet as a comparable camera with the G9.)

Don't buy this camera if you want something small and simple. Do buy it if you want a wide range of features and RAW format functionality.

I love my DSLRs and, like many amateur photographers (I suspect), I'm something of a control freak, which rules out my picking up a compact or point-and-shoot because I'm given little or no say in what I do. I also despise the long, long, long shutter lag and complete inability to shoot fast-moving objects or in low light. The other gripes common to *all* compacts - chromatic aberration, distortion, noise - would normally prevent me from buying a compact at all.

I've owned two: the Nikon Coolpix 5100 and the Canon G9, which I've used when I needed something small. I gave away the Nikon. I've kept the Canon. Below are the reasons why.

The G9 is solid, well-built (some might say `chunky') and only just qualifies (IMO) as a compact. It does have a tiny, but usable, optical viewfinder. If you have small hands, I would imagine the weight and no grip would make shooting one-handed difficult. If you have large paws like mine, the zoom dial is not easy to use. The Nikon is admittedly more ergonomic. I wonder why Canon bothered with an ISO dial on the top (nice touch, I confess), as only 80, 100 and 200 settings are of any use. There is the usual, pointless print button which is thankfully customisable. If you're used to recent Canon models, the interface and buttons are not too complex. Highly useful functions, such as changing the white balance, EV settings and focus modes are all easily accessible. The Nikon interface is quirky, bordering on irritating.

Both cameras feature a 12 million pixel count, resolution presumably being the only number camera manufacturers think we can understand. Noise in low light conditions or at anything above ISO 200 makes the Nikon useless, the Canon just about OK. (I admit I'm spoilt, being used to Canon and Nikon DSLRs.) If you want to take family snaps indoors, don't waste money on the Nikon.

The internal flash on the Nikon is poor and weak; it's only weak on the Canon. Both cameras have a hot-shoe for speedlite flashguns. My Canon 580 Mk II is twice the bulk of the G9, which doesn't improve handling.
I was struck by the sharp and vibrant colours of the Canon. In normal photo formats, chromatic aberration (colour fringing) and distortion were not noticeable - they can be corrected afterwards, if necessary. Neither offers an impressive zoom range, but the Canon's wide angle is a bare 30 mm (full-frame equivalent).

Video quality on the G9, I am told, is excellent.

After image quality and relative speed, the best feature on the G9 for me is the RAW format function. This is a godsend and one not offered by the Nikon, but even without it, the Canon G9 is simply a better camera.
Compacts don't really deserve their bad reputation. Trying to please everybody inevitably lowers overall quality, but the G9 tries hardest to achieve such an impossible goal. Does its wide range of features and improvement in image quality over other compacts justify the high price tag? If you're unfamiliar with the terms `white balance' and `RAW', then the answer is definitely no. If you're looking for the next step down from a DSLR, I would say yes.

i wanted something with SLR features but not with the bulk, so along comes this camera , the quality of pictures are amazeing, ive had sony cameras & have been satisfied with the rusults but their not in the same league as canon, their are to many features to mention, also the build has a great feel of quality gives you a nice sense of possesion. get one , you wont be dissapointed