Canon Vintage Review: PowerShot G1, 21 Years Later

Canon Powershot G1

Here is a new Canon vintage review. This time it’s the glorious Canon PowerShot G1 to get reviewed.

Gordon Laing reviews the PowerShot G1. The PowerShot G1 was released 21 years ago and was an important Canon consumer camera. The PowerShot G1 was introduced in 2000:

The PowerShot G1 features a 1/1.8″ CCD sensor with 3.34-million pixels, a newly designed fast and precision 34mm-102mm (35mm equivalent) 3x optical zoom lens, and a wide exposure-sensitivity range including an ISO 50-equivalent setting.

A new RAW mode preserves maximum image quality without degradation and achieves superlative color reproduction. The PowerShot G1’s dedicated digital signal processing integrated circuit (IC), realizes high-speed and complete processing of image detail.

And here is Gordon’s review.

More about the PowerShot G1 can be found at Gordon’s page.

The Canon PowerShot G, backside

Canon Vintage Review: Canon PowerShot Pro90 IS

Canon Vintage

Here is another Canon vintage review. This time: the Canon PowerShot Pro90 IS, released in 2001.

While having a 3MP imaging sensor, the PowerShot Prto90 IS was rather feature-packed for its time. At a glance:

  • 2.6-megapixel CCD delivering up to 1,856 x 1,392-pixel resolution images.
  • Electronic viewfinder and 1.8-inch color LCD monitor with swivel design.
  • 10x, 7-70mm lens (equivalent to a 37-370mm lens on a 35mm camera) with Image Stabilizer.
  • 2x to 4x digital telephoto. Auto and Manual focus.
  • Automatic, Program AE, Shutter Speed-Priority, Aperture-Priority, and Manual exposure modes, plus seven special “Scene” shooting modes.
  • Shutter speeds from 1/1,000 to eight seconds.
  • Apertures from f/2.8 to f/8.0. Variable ISO with five settings.
  • Center-Weighted Average or Spot metering, with AE (Auto Exposure) and FE (Flash Exposure) Lock.
  • Adjustable White Balance with seven modes.
  • Built-in, pop-up flash with five operating modes.
  • External flash hot shoe. Movie mode with sound recording.
  • Auto Exposure Bracketing, Self-Timer, and Continuous shooting modes.
  • Infrared remote control included.
  • Images saved in JPEG or RAW file format; movies saved as AVI files.

The Canon vintage review comes from renowned gear reviewer Gordon Laing of CameraLab‘s fame.

For sample images shot with the Canon PowerShot Pro90 IS head over to Gordon’s site. More information about the PowerShot Pro90 IS can be found at the Canon Camera Museum.

A Retro Review Of Canon’s First PowerShot Camera, Released In 1996

Canon

Few will remember the Canon PowerShot 600. I do. Was a cool camera.

At a glance:

  • Built-in CCD with a 570,000-pixel matrix
  • High-resolution lens (160 lines per mm)
  • B/W Text mode for shooting text clearly
  • CCD RAW mode permits images to be recorded without being compressed
  • Also compatible with PCMCIA Type II and III hard-disk cards
  • Can take wide-angle shots using a wide converter (optional) equivalent to 28mm

Coming from Dino Bytes by Gordon Laing here is a true retro review of the Canon PowerShot 600.

Here is DPReview’s review of the Canon PowerShot 600.

Canon Patent: In Body Image Stabilization For EOS M Or PowerShot Camera

Canon Patent

After all those Canon patents referring to RF mount lenses, here is a different one: IBIS on a small camera body.

Canon patent application US20210105391 (USA) discusses In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) for a small camera body. According to the drawings in the patent literature it’s either an EOS M camera or a PowerShot camera. IBIS coming to the EOS M system is already rumored. This patent seems to consolidate it.

Drawing seems to show an EOS M camera

This one looks more like a PowerShot camera

More Canon patents are listed here.

Canon Might Announce Two New Cameras….This Week!

Canon Rumors Canon Full Frame Mirrorless

Canon might announce two new cameras within this week. We have so far no idea about what Canon is going to announce.

It’s not clear what kind of cameras Canon is going to release. The new cameras are in a “new segment for the company“. However, the rumor also suggests that the cameras have an internal model number that’s similar to those usually used or PowerShot or EOS M cameras. And that’s not a new segment.

The cameras might also be remotely-controllable Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) HD cameras with a price tag around $4,000. Canon has some offering in this segment, so not sure how much this is a new segment.

Might also be one of Canon’s concept cameras.

Stay tuned, stay safe.

Source: Canon Rumors

More About Canon’s AI-Powered Camera, The PowerShot Pick (price below $400)

Canon Powershot Pick

More details about the Canon PowerShot Pick, a camera with artificial intelligence on board, emerged on the crowdfunding page.

It seems the Canon PowerShot Pick is having a huge success on the Makuake crowdfunding site. They already surpassed the goal by 5,900%. This is how the PowerShot Pick is introduced (machine translated):

Bringing together Canon’s advanced technologies! With optical technology and video processing technology, the camera itself makes smart decisions and automatically takes pictures and videos.

The small and cute design blends into the family circle and automatically records “memories of the whole family” with “natural and rich facial expressions”

The app automatically selects recommended photos and videos. It’s also fun to find the “best shot taken by chance”!

Canon touts the ability of the camera to determine when it is best to snap a picture:

With Canon’s image processing technology, PowerShot PICK itself automatically finds a person’s face and notices changes in the image reflected on the lens, so it automatically determines “now is the photo opportunity” and shoots.

The camera is meant to just stay there, without being noticed, and to take “memories” at the best time:

Small and light, this camera is designed to blend in with your family so that you can forget about it, so you can stay close to your family at home or out.

The Canon PowerShot Pick…

[…] recognizes the faces of people around you and automatically tracks them. The angle of view is automatically adjusted while making full use of pan, tilt, and zoom based on face information such as the number / position / orientation / size of the face using a unique algorithm while observing the state of the subject.

In addition, the characters shown in PowerShot PICK will be registered automatically. If you want to shoot more specific people, you can add a favorite mark to that person to automatically shoot photos and videos with priority.

The Canon PowerShot Pick understands voice commands:

The price in Japan for the Canon PowerShot Pick is 42,900 yen, which amounts to approximate $390. At this price it might become a huge success for Canon.

And here is an overview:

[via PetaPixel]