Robert’s Photography Blog

Did Canon ‘lay and egg’ with the new PowerShot G7 digicam? You know from reading this blog that I am an unabashed Canon fan. My last four dSLRs have been from Canon and I have drybox full of Canon lenses! However, looking at the specs of the recently announced G7, I have to wonder about their marketing strategy and product positioning.

The rumors of the death of the G-series turned out to be pre-mature. Yet, it’s been nearly 2 years since the PowerShot G6 was introduced. Now, Canon has gone from 7MP up to 10MP with the same dinky (read: very small) 1/1.8″ CCD sensor. Yes, the G7 has a DIGIC III processor, a 2.5″ LDC screen, and image stabilization - however, gone are the tilt/swivel screen and RAW file format. Yikes! No RAW! Only JPEG?

Perhaps one of the longest threads ever (142 posts at last count) on dpreview.com is concerning the elimination of the RAW file format on the G7. It is clear that Canon users are not happy with this decision. Can you blame them? This camera is not exactly small and is aimed at more serious amateurs and commercial applications that do not require a dSLR. What happens if you need to adjust images for exposure errors or generate 16-tiffs for high-quality prints? Sorry - can’t!

Was it a marketing decision to force buyers towards the 400D to get RAW capability? It doesn’t make sense. The 300D/350D/400D series of Canon entry level dSLRs keep getting smaller and cheaper. Why does Canon even need the G-series?

Getting rid of the tilt/swivel screen was another big mistake in my opinion. It makes the G7 look more like every other digicam on the market! I still have a Canon PowerShot G3. With the G3, I can get candid shots because of that screen that are impossible with any other camera.

Here are the Pros/Cons of the PowerShot G7 as I see them:

Pros
• 10MP resolution
• 2.5″ color LCD
• Image stabilization
• Flash hotshoe
• DIGIC III processor
• Face detection AF/AE
• Hi-res movie
• Black color

Cons
• No RAW file format
• No tilt swivel screen
• 1/1.8″ CCD (could be bigger)
• f/2.8-4.8 lens (could be faster)

We will have to wait for more detailed reviews to appear before we know whether the image quality is better or worse than the PowerShot G6.

Shop for the Canon G7 on eBay. Or, order it from Amazon.co.uk.

Additional press photos are here.

Prices in Singapore can be found on the Canon Street Prices page.

Addendum: Michael Reichman over at The Luminous Landscape agrees with my opinion about the lack of RAW capability.

Idiom: ‘to lay an egg’; informal: to fail, especially in a public performance.

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