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Canon G5 press release and specifications table
Canon G5 Microdrive Kit press release

The wait has been long, but a 5MP version of the G3 has arrived

We enjoyed our brief play with the new G5

Canon has, at last, announced a 5 megapixel version of its much-acclaimed Power Shot G3 camera, called the G5. You may well ask what happened to the G4, but our best guess is that there is something about the number ‘4’ that is considered undesirable in some cultures.

The new G5 is physically identical in terms of size and weight, though there are some detail changes to the basic specification apart from the increase in sensor resolution. As with the G3, the G5 is an enthusiasts model, fitted with a fast (f/2.0-f/3.0) 4x zoom, with a range equivalent to 35-140mm. The sensor remains a 1/1.8 inch device, but maximum actual resolution increases from 2308x1712 to 2592x1944 pixels.

There has been a great deal of speculation about the G5 in the weeks leading up to its official debut today. The original G3 was a bit of an enigma when it was launched in September last year because a 5MP model had been expected to succeed the 4MP G2. Instead, the G3 heralded Canon’s Digic image processor and that 4x zoom.

Guesses at the new G5 specification we have seen on Internet forums and news groups have included a new body design and 6MP sensor. The actual G5 is less radical than that. Guide European pricing is set at €999, or about £700. We should have a more accurate UK price once we receive the official UK version of the G5 release later today. A bundled package in including a 1GB Microdrive mini hard disk compact flash Type II form factor card is also on offer.

The G5 will also be available in black finish. Here at dpnow.com we have had a short time with the camera and can report that the black version of the camera looks very good. Image quality is also impressive, with low noise and beautifully saturated colours and sharp detail. Contrary to Canon’s claim of having ‘all but eliminated chromatic aberration’ (CA) with the G5, some tell-tale CA blue fringing was detectable in some high contrast detail areas, although whether it’s worse than the G3 as a consequence of the new increased resolution sensor, is not immediately obvious.

Shot to shot speed in continuous shooting mode has suffered with the increased sensor size, reduced to a maximum of 2 frames per second (fps) for up to 11 frames compared to 2.5fps and 14 frames with the G3. If digital zooming is for you, the good news is that its range has widened from 3.6x to 4.0x max. This gives the G5 an overall optical and digital zooming range of 16x compared to the G3’s 14x.

An interesting feature is a switchable internal neutral density (ND) filter. ISO range is the same as the G3 (50-400), as is the shutter speed range (15-1/2000th second), but the ND filter can be switched in to reduce light transmission by 3 stops in order to allow shooting at a wide aperture, even in bright conditions, for more creative use of limited depth of field, which is often not possible with many digital cameras.

The G5 is also blessed with Canon’s direct printing protocols that make it compatible with an increasing number of Canon photo printers for printing without the need for a host PC.

Undoubtedly, the G5 has a formidable specification. The curious thing about the G5 is just why it has taken so long to arrive. After all, apart from the Power Shot S50, this is Canon’s first 5MP ‘serious’ compact digital SLR. But from what we have seen of the images the G5 can produce, it looks like the wait has not been in vain.