canon powershot G5 digital camera review

Big and inelegant, the Canon PowerShot G5 is a powerhouse camera with all the bells and whistles. And it takes very good shots.

Underneath its utilitarian exterior is almost every function serious photographers need, including full manual control, bracketing options, RAW file saves, numerous white balance presets, time-lapse shots, and even a wireless remote control. It's also equipped with an intelligent hot shoe, a control panel, and a fully articulated LCD viewfinder.

Canon G5 Specifications

• The 5.0 Mpixel Canon PowerShot G5 camera


• 32MB CompactFlash card


• BP-511 Li-ion rechargeable battery


• AC Adapter / battery charger


• Neck strap


• Lens cap w/strap


• Wireless remote control


• USB cable


• A/V cable


• CD-ROM featuring Canon Digital Camera Solutions, ArcSoft Camera Suite, and drivers


• 209 page camera manual + software manual (both printed)

While a 32MB card is larger than you'll get with some other 5 Megapixel cameras, it's really just a starter card. I highly recommend getting something much larger -- 256MB is my recommendation. I've long been a fan of the 1GB IBM Microdrive, and that is supported by the G5, but keep in mind that it puts extra strain on the battery. There are plenty of "regular" 1GB CompactFlash cards out there, so you may want one of those instead.

The G5 uses the same BP-511 Li-ion battery as its predecessor. The battery has a very respectable 8.1 Watt/hours of power. Here's a look at battery life on the G5 and the competition:

Nikon doesn't publish the same kind of information about battery life as Sony and Canon, so I can't put any CP5400 data in the chart, aside from the power rating. Nikon does say that you can use the camera for 110 minutes with 100% LCD use. My guess is that the 5400 lies somewhere between the V1 and the G5.

The downside of proprietary batteries like the BP-511 battery is the cost and the fact that you can't use standard batteries (as you can with AA-based cameras) if you're in a bind. That's why I personally prefer cameras that use AA batteries.

When it's time to recharge, you just plug the included AC adapter into the G5. This same AC adapter can be used to power the camera in the studio, or when you're transferring photos to your computer. It takes 80 minutes to bring the battery back to 90% capacity, and then 2 more hours to fill it to 100%.

If you like accessories, then you'll love the G5. In the lens department, you can purchase the WC-DC58N wide-angle converter to shorten the focal length to 24.5 mm, or the TC-DC58N tele converter to bring the zoom up to 245 mm. A 58 mm close-up lens is also available. Note that the LA-DC58B conversion lens adapter is required in order to use any of these.

The G5 is compatible not only with Canon's EX-series Speedlites, but also their Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX and Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX ($650).

Other accessories include a soft carrying case and dual battery charger w/car power adapter .

The G5 can also print directly to all of Canon's Card Photo Printers, as well as any of their Bubble Jet printers that support the direct print function.

Obviously G5 image quality is a critical factor. There are numerous sites on the web that offer test images, particularly useful when several cameras are compared. I find that I can get good prints at 8x10 on an Epson 2200, “good” meaning that they rival good lab or darkroom prints. I don’t get the quality from these prints that I do with a 4000dpi scan from a 6x7 negative, but that’s expected. Beyond 8x10, there can be noticeable image deterioration in the prints.

The most serious problem with the images that I have taken is a small amount of chromatic aberration, seen as purple “fringing” on some images. This takes quite a bit of time to correct in Photoshop and is annoying when it shows. It’s not an issue on very many images, it seems to happen with bright highlights. This is the one serious issue with the resulting image quality produced from the camera – otherwise, it’s sharp and has good color characteristics and contrast. Noise level is an issue at ISO 400, but can be smoothed with some of the software that’s available.

The flip-out-and-around LCD screen completely changes the way one shoots. Except for a few large and somewhat cumbersome (compared to the G5) medium-format cameras, there is nothing being made today that allows waist-level shooting. With the screen out, it is very easy to shoot at waist level. If it’s important to shoot without being noticed, the flip-out screen makes this very easy. It also simplifies shooting at ground level, something that I like to do, and which can now be done on the knees instead of prone on the ground.

The G5 hasn’t been available long, and although I bought it within a few days of its availability, this still doesn’t constitute a “long term” test that really determines how comfortable a camera is to work with and how close the results are to what the photographer wants. For my kind of shooting and what I want it to do, it works well. Despite the shutter lag and the finder, it’s excellent for street shooting because of the ability to compose with the camera at a lower level. Except for the chromatic aberration, the image quality is excellent. It’s easy to control the camera.

Do I recommend it? In its class, there are specific choices that have to be made, such as the tradeoff between lens speed and focal length. It can certainly do the job, but it definitely won't be the last camera in this class. If I had my way, I'd put a fixed 35mm (equivalent) lens on it, shorten the shutter lag, and put in a brightline finder. Then I'd have the Hexar I've used so much, but digital. Otherwise, Canon has done a good job putting together a camera that does what I want it to do.