There are so many feature rich cameras being announced this year, and if you’re looking for an advanced compact to buy, Canon is making it even harder to pick one with the addition of the G15.
Set to compete with the Olympus XZ2, Samsung EX2F, Panasonic LX7, Fuji XF1, and at least two or three other cameras with the letter ‘X’ in the model name, the Canon G15 is a high-end camera made for people who don’t quite want to fork out the extra cash for a mirror-less or low-end digital SLR.
Part of a series classes by Canon as “advanced compact cameras for enthusiast and professional photographers,” the PowerShot G15 aims to bring creative controls, image quality, and solid build to a small footprint.
“The Canon PowerShot G15 is a perfect balance of size, creative control, processing power and a sharp lens in a high-performance compact camera,” said Kai Lebens, Canon Australia’s Brand Manager for Digital Still Cameras. “Users of these cameras expect quality and innovation from every Canon G-series model, and they won’t be disappointed with the latest addition.”
This camera takes advantage of a 12.1 megapixel sensor with low-light sensitivity up to ISO 12800, and pairs it with a 5x optical zoom lens capable of bringing the equivalent of 28 to 140mm, with f/1.8 at its widest for low-light shooting.
As is fairly typical for cameras sitting in the advanced compact class, RAW format support comes standard, as does the manual modes and function dials you’re used to seeing on digital SLR cameras. If you don’t want to shoot manually, you can always let the camera automatically select one of 58 scenes to help you out.
Image stabilisation is included too, as is a dual axis electronic level to assist when you’re keen to straighten the scene out.
Surprisingly, the LCD isn’t one of the multi-angle or tilting types we’re beginning to see on more and more cameras, with Canon going old school and keeping it flat on the G15. You do get an optical viewfinder, however, which we’re sure will please quite a few old schoolers.
We had a quick play with it and found that the G15 felt absolutely lovely, with a very solid feel that comes off making you believe it’s a very well weighted camera with some strong design.
Sadly, no pricing details are available, thanks to Canon’s decision to no longer issue recommended retail prices, but we’d hazard a guess that given the features and design, this should come in around $550 to $700 when it becomes available mid-October.
