Canon PowerShot G7

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Performance
In our tests, we found the PowerShot G7's performance to be good. We disabled the startup themes and the unit powered up in 1.1 seconds. Shutting down was a hair longer at 1.2 seconds. We fired our first shot in 1.8 seconds and managed to shoot thereafter every 1.8 seconds without flash or 2.8 seconds with flash.

The zoom mechanism on the G7 was quiet and autofocusing in conditions with adequate lighting averaged a second, or less. Canon claims a continuous shooting rate of two frames per second but we managed to clock only 1.7fps using our Imation 1GB SD card at 10 megapixels (Fine compression).

Image Quality

	Click for test shot at ISO 1,600

Granted that most people don't shoot in RAW, it was still a disappointment that the PowerShot G7 records only in JPEG. That said, image quality from the G7 was generally acceptable. We began to see noise only from ISO 400, though that's still barely noticeable until you scrutinize the shot. At ISO 800, noise was clearly visible but it's at the camera's maximum sensitivity setting of ISO 1,600 that you find your pictures looking like they're coated with a layer of sand. Unless you intended it to be that way, we don't recommend that you shoot at ISO 1,600.

The camera's auto white balance worked fine under most lighting conditions except for tungsten where our pictures turned out with an orangey shade. Switching to the Tungsten preset solved the issue. In addition, we also noticed slight barrel distortion at the wide end.

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