Canon PowerShot G11

Canon's PowerShot G11 digital camera is a direct successor to last year's PowerShot G10 model, and external styling of the two cameras remains fairly similar. Probably the most notable difference when comparing the cameras side-by-side is that the PowerShot G11 now has a tilt/swivel LCD display in place of the G10's fixed LCD panel. To achieve this, the size of the panel has been decreased from a 3.0-inch diagonal to 2.8 inches, while retaining the same dot count. The Canon G11's body size has also grown just slightly since the G10, with an extra tenth of an inch (2-3mm) added to the width and depth, although a similar amount has been trimmed from the height.

Canon PowerShot G11 Overview

Perhaps the most significant change in the Canon G11 is to be found under the skin, though. While it retains the same 1/1.7-inch CCD image sensor size as its predecessor, the G11 reduces the sensor resolution from 14.7 to 10.0 effective megapixels. This marks the first time we've seen resolution being reduced as a camera lineup progresses, and it's an important step in the direction of sanity. With the megapixel war now thankfully in its death throes, we'd like to see a few more manufacturers dialling back their sensor resolutions in the interests of improved dynamic range, image noise and low-light performance. Canon says the G11 offers a two-stop improvement in noise performance as compared to the G10. The lower end of the ISO range is slightly expanded from the previous camera, with the Canon G11 offering sensitivities from a minimum of ISO 80 through to a maximum of ISO 3,200 equivalent. A special high sensitivity scene mode allows images to be shot at as high as ISO 12,800 at a reduced resolution of 2.5 megapixels.

The Canon PowerShot G11 retains the same 5x optical zoom lens from the PowerShot G10, which offers 35mm-equivalent focal lengths ranging from a useful 28mm wide angle to a 140mm telephoto. Maximum aperture varies from f/2.8 to f/4.5 across the zoom range, and as with its predecessor, the Canon G11 includes true optical image stabilization to help combat blur from camera shake. The Canon G11 is based around the same DIGIC 4 processor that featured in the G10. This allows an autofocus system with both face detection and subject-tracking capabilities. Available shutter speeds for the PowerShot G11 range from 1/4,000 to 15 seconds, and metering modes include evaluative, center-weighted and spot. Exposure modes are also unchanged, with the Canon G11 including program, aperture- or shutter-priority, or a fully manual mode. Flash sync speed has been improved to 1/2000 second, and the range when set to Auto ISO has also increased, with the PowerShot G11 rated at 1.6 to 23 feet (50cm to 7m) at wide angle, and 1.6 to 13 feet (50cm to 4m) at telephoto.