Picture perfect, price imperfect

The author goes out with the Canon G16 and comes back with his verdict on the compact camera

Canon's "G" models have always been aimed at photographers who want a responsive and relatively compact, general-use point and shoot digital camera with SLR-like performance. The G16 is Canon's newest in the well-loved series and takes almost all of its features from the G15. The camera boasts a 12.1 megapixel with 1/1.7 inch CMOS sensor. The major difference between the G15 and the G16 is the addition of built-in Wi-Fi capability - which is fast becoming a sought after feature in cameras.

The Canon G16 could easily be the poster child for a well-designed point and shoot. The body has a retro-looking rectangular body with rounded corners. It has a shallow hand grip matched with a back deck thumb-grip for stable handling. This camera fits comfortably in your hands and all controls are logically placed, allowing users to instantly access what they wish to adjust, change, or modify rather than having to search for those options in the menu. The G16's back deck is dominated by the LCD screen and features the majority of this camera's controls, but there is no sense of clutter.

The camera features a 3-inch TFT LCD monitor with a 922,000-pixel resolution for a bright and accurate view. The screen has anti-glare/anti-reflection coating, making it suitable for use even in bright outdoor ambience. Also, you will find an optical viewfinder, something that is not very common in point and shoots. The real-image zooming unit that graces the G16 is small and rather dim. But it may be useful during daytime shoots.

This Canon device is remarkably fast in finding and locking focus on the subject. From turning the camera on to the first capture takes about 2 seconds. With the new image processor called DIGIC VI, the G16 can capture up to 9.3 frames per second (JPEG, without continuous AF) and there's no buffering - which means you can keep shooting until the memory card is filled or the battery dies out. There is no discernible shutter lag in good lighting, and exposure is essentially real time.

The Wi-Fi connectivity in the G16 allows you to either connect to your smartphone or tablet via a free app or to your desktop/laptop via a home Wi-Fi network.

The G16's built-in flash works about as well as any on-board flash is likely to work. It is too close to the lens axis to provide red-eye free supplemental lighting, especially for close portraits, but it can be useful for fill lighting and balancing ambient lighting. What's much more useful is the inclusion of a dedicated hot shoe - which means that Canon's external speedlights can be used (with all/most features) for supplemental lighting chores.

The lens comprise an f1.8-f2.8/6.1 mm to 30.5 mm (28mm-140mm equivalent) 5x optical zoom. This is a useful focal length range because almost 75 per cent of all photos are shot in the moderate wide-angle to short telephoto focal length range and this is the optimal range for street shooters who tend to work fairly close to their subjects. In addition to the useful focal length range and impressive speed of the G16's 5x zoom - it is first rate across the board optically - sharp, bright, and accurate.

Verdict: Sturdy design, DIGIC VI, powerful zoom, ability to capture sharp image, all make the Canon G16 a brilliant camera. I can even say that it might be the best we have in this segment. But there is the question of price. Would you pay Rs 34,995 when you can easily get a good DSLR, such as Nikon D3300 or even D5300 at a lesser price? I wouldn't.

Pros:

• Detailed image quality
• Robust build quality

Cons:

• Dim viewfinder
• Ineffective AF in poor light