Canon has added HD video to its latest G series addition, the Canon G12, but is this new feature enough to merit an upgrade from the previous generation, and is it enough to keep the G series at the top of the advanced compact tree? The Canon PowerShot G12 review finds out...

Product Overview

Overall rating:

92%
Overall score:92%
Value:90%
Performance:90%
Image Quality:95%
Design:95%
Features:90%

Pros:

  • Timeless design, HD video addition, New control wheel on the camera's front

Cons:

  • Could maybe of done with a few more upgrades

Product:

Canon PowerShot G12

Manufacturer:

Price as reviewed:

£450.00

Design

Canon PowerShot G12 review – Design

An interesting observation with the design of the G12 is that, despite the few changes made ‘under the hood’ of the compact, the body remains identical in size and weight. This isn’t to say, however, that the body hasn’t been tweaked in some way. The front of the camera now houses a small control wheel akin to a DSLR, offering control over shutter and aperture settings.


Outside of the addition of the front control wheel, much remains as before, and this is definitely a good thing. The G12’s top plate houses a trio of control wheels that have a pleasingly retro and manual feel to them – to the left sits an exposure compensation dial, while to the right is a larger dial to control ISO setting and a smaller mode dial set within the ISO dial.


On the rear of the camera sits the vari-angle LCD screen attached by a hinge on the cameras left. The screen can be pulled away from the camera about 180° on a vertical axis and then rotated around 270° around a horizontal axis.


The G12’s rear also houses the previous configuration of control d-pad, command dial around the d-pads edge and a host of other control buttons. An optical viewfinder also sits on the cameras rear with a useful dioptre adjustment housed to the side of the viewfinder.


The front of the camera houses the adapter ring seen on previous models. This allows for a range of extensions to be fitted, including a 1.4x tele-converter and a filter adapter, which can extend the functionality of the G12 even more so.

  1. 1. Canon PowerShot G12 review - Features
  2. 2. Design
  3. 3. Performance
  4. 4. Image Quality and Value
  5. 5. Canon G12 manual
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