G5: Abundant features and more pixels, too

Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta, zatni@cbn.net.id

As you may well imagine, there are lots of electronic gadgets on my shelves. Among them, I still keep my first digital camera ever, which is already several years old.

In reality, it is still my only digital camera so far. It is a beautifully designed Canon PowerShot A50. While it still works perfectly -- perhaps because I have rarely used it -- its picture resolution has turned out to be inadequate for publication purposes. That is why I still have to rely on my film-based Olympus when traveling or visiting exhibitions.

The long-discontinued PowerShot A50, as you recall, is a one- megapixel camera. It means this camera can only capture pictures with 1.2 million pixels (picture elements) -- or 1280 x 960 pixels, to be more precise. A picture with this number of pixels does not have enough details for photo-quality prints, and it cannot be enlarged very much beyond its original size, either.

So, for several years, I have been looking for a digital camera that can give me a picture resolution four times higher than one megapixel. The problem is, the moment I thought I had found one that would fit my needs and budget, a more interesting, more capable and more feature-rich alternative emerged on the market. It sounds very familiar, doesn't it? But I may be closer to a decision now.

* User Controls

Canon is my favorite brand when it comes to digital cameras. I have tried many, including the point-and-shoot models and the tiny, credit card-size Digital Ixus. However, I like the PowerShot G series most of all. These models allow you to control a lot of settings, including the ISO speed level. Yet, in case you need a point-and-shoot camera to capture quickly an interesting moment before it passes, they have all the necessary automated features to give you fairly good results.

Courtesy of Datascrip, which has been so kind as to let me play around with almost every new generation of their Canon digital cameras, despite the fact I also highlight the cameras' shortcomings in my reviews, I had the opportunity to play around with the Canon PowerShot G5, the latest of the G series.

First, let us take a look at the nice and sometimes unique features of this camera. The other PowerShot and Digital Ixus cameras -- even the PowerShot G3 -- all came in silver. The PowerShot G5 is the first PowerShot to come in black. Note also that, for some reason, Canon has chosen to skip the PowerShot G4 model name.

The G5 is a five-megapixel camera that gives you a 30 percent increase in the number of pixels when compared with a four- megapixel camera. Like the G3, the G5 is also equipped with Canon's Digic image processor, which helps expedite the setting and ensures best possible photo results.

Like the G3, too, the G5 has a bright, sharp LCD screen that can be flipped out of its well in the back of the housing and then twisted through 270 degrees to allow you to aim at an object from a very odd angle. While the back panel is full of controls, the buttons are well-placed and can easily be recognized.

* Features galore

On the top panel is an LCD display showing all the indicators and settings. You can tell how much battery power you have left, how many frames you can still capture, which white balance compensation has been chosen, etc., just by glancing at this clear, LCD panel.

The camera also comes with an infrared remote control, which may not actually be of much use. The lens cap drops easily, but luckily it has a strap that is tied to the body so you will not lose it altogether. The battery is charged inside the camera, so you do not have to take it out and place it on a separate charger. There are advantages and disadvantages of this approach. For example, if you have a spare battery for the road, you might also have to buy a separate charger for it.

The camera comes standard with a 32 MB CompactFlash, which can hold up to 11 pictures in large (2592 x 1944 pixel) Superfine mode. However, if you save your pictures in the camera's native RAW format, you can only store five pictures on it. If you want to use lens accessories, there is a plastic ring around the lens barrel that has to be removed first. The lens is a 4x F 2.0 to F 3.0 zoom and has a focal range of 7.2 to 28.8 mm.

Unfortunately, the lens barrel does two unwelcome things. First, it partially blocks the viewfinder. Luckily, you still have the LCD screen to resort to. More difficult to overcome is that the barrel also blocks light from the flash and creates some shadow on the bottom right-hand corner of the resulting photo. You may need to use extra flash if you want a really clean picture from corner to corner.

Another interesting feature is the diopter correction knob on the optical viewfinder. If your eye is less than normal, you can adjust the lenses on the viewfinder so that you will still have pictures with good focus. Unfortunately, though, the diopter adjuster knob is difficult to use.

The G5 connects to a PC or Mac via a USB cable. I like the Digital Camera Solution (DCS) software that Canon bundles with the camera. It includes a Remote Capture function, which allows you to take pictures using your PC. The good thing about this feature is that the file is stored directly in the PC hard disk rather than the CompactFlash.

The PowerShot G5 is heavier than other PowerShot cameras from Canon, and it does not fit easily into your pants pocket, either. The good thing about the extra weight is that it creates the feel of a more serious camera. Like any other digital cameras from Canon, the G5 is also very well-built.

However, I think for now I will go with the G3 rather than the G5. Both are certainly high-end digital cameras, but four megapixels is enough for me and I personally prefer silver to black. Besides, some reviewers have claimed that the G3 produces slightly better colors than its newer sibling. One thing to note here, though, that no matter what brand or model of digital camera you buy, you will have to spend time experimenting with all the settings. You should experiment with different uses of the flash. Each camera has its own peculiarities, and you have to find them out through trial and error.