Powershot G3

With a revamped body, the G3 feels a bit more comfortable in the hands. A mid-sized camera, you'll notice it hanging around your neck, but its 14.5 ounce frame won't weigh you down terribly. With a high-speed CompactFlash card, the G3 can take video clips of up to three minutes complete with sound.

You'll want to consider an upgrade to one of those cards, as the G3 ships with only a 32 MB standard CF card--not bad for bundled memory, but you'll be happier with more storage room. Images taken at the highest resolution quickly filled up the 32 MB card, but were highly detailed as well as bright with realistic colors.

The G3 features the same large, bright 1.8-inch LCD as its predecessor, making it easy to frame your shot in anything except direct sunlight. Like earlier G models, the LCD flips out and can be rotated around completely, letting you view it from any angle.

This works well with the G3's two options for self-timing, 2 and 10 seconds, so you can see what you're doing from the target viewpoint. And the G3's above-industry-standard 4x optical zoom lets you get in closer than the G2's 3x zoom as well.

Compatible with Canon's Direct Print feature, you can output images from the G3 directly to any of Canon's Direct Print line of printers. The G3 is a great choice for a 4 megapixel, 4x optical zoom camera with a wealth of features. --J. Curtis

Pros:

• 4 megapixels and 4x optical zoom
• Three minute video clips with sound
• Well designed

Cons:

• Only 32 MB CF card

Optics and Resolution
The PowerShot G5 uses a 5.0 Megapixel CCD sensor, providing a file with 2,592 x 1,944 pixels for stunning clarity and color in even your biggest enlargements of up to 20x30 inches in size. Primary color filters reduce noise while enhancing the natural colors of the scene photographed. At the heart of the PowerShot G5 is Canon's powerful 4x optical, 4x digital zoom lens. With a 35mm equivalent range of 35 – 140mm, a large maximum aperture of f/2.0 – 3.0, and macro focusing down to 2 inches, there's virtually nothing this lens can't do. A 4x digital zoom feature extends the telephoto capabilities even further, effectively making it a 16x zoom.

The PowerShot G5 achieves sharp focus with both single and continuous focusing systems, perfect for any photography from sports to still life. With two types of AF, including FlexiZone, where the user defines the focus point anywhere in the composition, and a unique focus-bracketing feature, the PowerShot G5 can achieve perfect focus anywhere.

Storage and Transfer
Images are stored on CompactFlash Type I or Type II cards in uncompressed RAW format or one of three compressed JPEG formats. The camera uses a USB 1.1 interface and also outputs NTSC or PAL video with monaural sound. It can connect directly to Canon Card Photo Printer and select BJ Printers.

Movie Mode
It is possible to record video with mono sound in either 320x240 or 160x120 resolution. Total recording time varies depending on the size of the installed storage media, but individual clips may not exceed three minutes in length regardless of the available storage space.

More Features
The G5's DIGIC Imaging Processor revolutionizes how you shoot digital by allowing the camera to process images faster and improving the accuracy of the autofocus. DIGIC also reduces the effects on noise in your images. The camera also incorporates Canon's iSAPS scene-recognition technology. Using an internal database of thousands of different photos, iSAPS works with the fast DIGIC Imaging Processor to improve focus speed and accuracy, as well as exposure and white balance.

Other features include:

• Intelligent Orientation Sensor can tell whether you shot your photo vertically or horizontally
• 12 EOS-based Shooting Modes, including two user-defined custom modes
• The user controls every aspect of the shot, including aperture and shutter speed
• Compatible with Canon Direct Printing technology
• 1.8-inch TFT LCD

Power and Size
The G5 uses an included rechargeable Lithium-ion battery that allows for up to 360 minutes of playback time or enough time to take approximately 450 pictures with the LCD turned on. The camera measures 4.76 x 2.91 x 2.75 inches and weighs 14.5 ounces without batteries or storage media installed.

What's in the Box
The camera comes with a lens cap, neck strap, AV cable, remote control, and 32 MB CompactFlash card that can store approximately 32 compressed images. It also includes a BP-511 Li-ion rechargeable battery pack, an AC adapter, a USB interface cable, and two software CD-ROMs.