Canon PowerShot G5

Test shots were well exposed under a range of conditions, iSAPS doing its stuff admirably, and overall quality was predictably high. Indoor flash shots were good, but the flash lacks power and exposure falls off dramatically with distance. Fill flash was a touch over-exposed occasionally and some colours were a bit disappointing, with skin tones coming out overly pink - something I've noticed before with Canon cameras. Given that there's a Speedlite-compatible hotshoe, however, you'll be able to get round the flash problems without too much difficulty.

The G5 does, however, have one definite drawback: image noise. While the ISO sensitivity is a reasonable ISO 50 to 400, with an auto-selection option if desired, there was too much noise in many shots. The fast lens mitigates the problem to some extent and allows you to keep the ISO rating down, but noise performance still isn't good enough for a camera in this class.

The G5 certainly doesn't disgrace the reputation built up by previous G-series cameras, but it definitely is an evolution, not a revolution. Those who tend to work in well-lit situations will probably love it, but sports and indoor photographers may wish to consider something with fewer noise issues.

Author: John Clements