Canon's flagship Powershot G7 is one of those new compact cameras that thinks it's a digital SLR. With a 10-megapixel resolution, brand new DIGIC III image processor, compatibility with auxiliary lenses and EOS speedlites, and an ISO up to 1600, it is easy to see why. Of course, as a compact, it also offers some features you might expect, such as a high resolution movie mode (1024 x 768), 2.5-inch LCD display, 6x optical zoom, and a relatively light-weight 11 ounce body.

The Powershot G7's DIGIC III image processor really stands out as one of its top selling points. This is Canon's newest image sensor, designed to produce very high image quality (especially for a compact), improve overall performance, and increase the life of your battery. TheDIGIC III also has Face Detection (Autofocus/ Autoexposure ) Technology built-in. This handy system finds each face within a frame and uses the correct focus to ensure that common problems like under- and overexposure do not occur. This way everyone should look their best in each photo.


The camera's image sensor also provides an impressive 10-megapixel resolution. Although megapixel number doesn't necessarily equate to image quality, it certainly has its advantages when dealing with optical zoom. With a 6x optical zoom, the 10-megapixels will be appreciated; even photos magnified 6 times will look surprisingly sharp. Of course, the camera's Optical Image Stabilizer is also very helpful in assuring that photos come out sharp. This technology, which eliminates most of the blurring effect caused by natural camera shake, is truly something anyone will want on their digital camera - SLR or compact.

Key Features
  • 10-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 18 x 24-inch prints
  • 6x image-stabilized optical zoom; 2.5-inch vari-angle LCD with wide viewing angle
  • 9-point AiAF, single point AF, Flexizone AF, and Face-priority AF
  • Continuous shooting in other modes besides Sports
  • Stores images on SD memory cards; powered by Canon NB-2LH or NB-2L Lithium-Ion batteries
Full Specifications
  • Total pixel count: Approximately 10.40 megapixels
  • Type: 1/1.8-inch Charge Coupled Device (CCD)
  • Focal length: 7.4 to 44.4 mm, f2.8 to 4.8 (35mm equivalent: 35 to 210mm)
  • Digital zoom: 4x
  • Focusing range: Normal: 1.6 feet to infinity; macro: 0.39 inches to 1.6 feet (wide)
  • Autofocus system: TTL Autofocus
  • CF card type: SD memory card, SDHC memory card, MultiMediaCard
  • Shooting modes: Auto, P, Av, Tv, M, C1, C2, special scene (portrait, landscape, night scene, sports, foliage, snow, beach, fireworks, aquarium, underwater, ISO 3200, indoor, kids and pets, night snapshot, color accent, color swap), stitch assist, movie
  • Shutter speed: 15 seconds to 1/2000 second; long shutter operates with noise reduction when manually set at 1.3 to 15 seconds
  • Light metering method: Evaluative, center-weighted average, spot
  • Shooting speed: Approximately 2.0 frames per second (fps)
  • Viewfinder: 2.5-inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color with 15 brightness levels
  • LCD pixels: Approximately 207,000
  • LCD coverage: 100 percent
  • Maximum aperture: f2.8 (wide) x f4.8 (telephoto)
  • Exposure control method: Program AE; AE lock available
  • Exposure compensation: Plus or minus 2 stops in 1/3 increments
  • White balance control: Auto, preset (daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H), custom
  • Built-in flash: Auto, auto with red-eye reduction, auto with slow synchro, flash on, flash on with red-eye reduction, flash on with slow synchro, flash off
  • Flash range: Normal: 1.6 to 13 feet (W), 1.6 to 8.2 feet (T); macro: 1 to 1.6 feet (W/T) when sensitivity is set to ISO auto
  • Recycling time: 12 seconds or less
  • Photo effects: Vivid, vivid blue, vivid green, vivid red, neutral, sepia, black and white, positive film, lighter skin tone, darker skin tone, custom color
  • Self-timer: Activates shutter after an approximately 2-second/10-second delay, custom
  • Wireless control: No
  • Continuous shooting: Approximately 2.0 fps
  • Image compression: Normal, fine, superfine
  • JPEG compression mode: Still image: Exif 2.2 (JPEG); movie: AVI (image: motion JPEG; audio: monaural WAVE)
  • Number of recording pixels: 640 x 480 (small); 1,600 x 1,200 (medium 3); 2,272 x 1,704 (medium 2); 2,816 x 2,112 (medium 1); 3,648 x 2,736 (large); 3,648 x 2,048 (widescreen); 1,024 x 758 (movie 1, 15 fps); 640 x 480/320 x 240 (movie 2, 30 fps/15 fps) available up to 4 GB; 160 x 120 (movie 3, 3 minutes at 15 fps)
  • Playback modes file: Still image: single, magnification (approximately 2x-10x), jump, auto rotate, rotate, resume playback, my category, histogram, index (9 thumbnails), sound memos, slide show; movie: normal playback, special playback, editing
  • Erase modes: Still image: single image, by date, by category, by folder, all images; movie: part of movie, all of movie
  • Computer interface: USB 2.0 high-speed with mini-B jack
  • Video out: NTSC/PAL
  • Audio out: Monaural
  • Power source: Recharge lithium battery, AC adapter kit
  • Battery shooting capacity: Approximately 220 shots (LCD on), approximately 500 shots (LCD off)
  • Battery playback time : Approximately 300 minutes
  • Dimensions (W x H x D): 4.19 x 2.83 x 1.67 inches
  • Weight: 11.3 ounces