Canon PowerShot G15

Bottom Line

The Canon G series is once again the go-to choice for photographers looking for a serious compact camera, reviews say. The Canon PowerShot G15 delivers the total package: It's speedy, durable, easy to handle, shoots very nice photos and videos and fits into a jacket pocket. Only the pricier Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 (*Est. $650), with its big 20-megapixel image sensor, comes more highly recommended in reviews of pocket cameras.

Ease of Use

"A joy to use," say the experts at DPReview.com, where the G15 earns a rare Gold Award. "One of the best-handling compact cameras on the market." The Canon G15 is "a nearly ideal size," says Ben Keough at DigitalCameraInfo.com: pocketable, but big enough to handle easily.

Unlike tiny pocket cameras, the G15 has room for a bunch of high-end features. Two textured grips make the G15 comfortable to hold. It has an optical viewfinder (rare for this class), plus a bright 3-inch LCD screen and "the most external controls in its class," DPReview.com says. No lens ring, but you get two customizable control dials -- one front and one rear -- plus a dedicated exposure compensation dial, "a very nice touch," Keough says.

Add it all up, and you've got a "pocketable photographic tool that offers almost the same degree of control as much larger DSLRs," says DPReview.com. Of course, it also offers the usual auto modes if you prefer to relax and let the camera do the work.

Performance

Fantastic photo shooter, but few video controls. Quick and capable, the Canon G15 simply shoots great photos with no fuss, reviews say. First, image quality: The G15's relatively small, 12-megapixel sensor doesn't grab any headlines. Neither does its extraordinarily bright lens (at f/2.8 fully zoomed, it's the widest aperture in its class).

They just get the job done. Sharp images, beautifully blurred backgrounds and outstanding low-light performance -- better than some Canon DSLRs in DigitalCameraInfo.com's tests -- impress experts. Owners, too: It's one of the top-rated digital cameras at Amazon.com.

Next, speed: Everything about the G15 works fast in tests. It autofocuses quickly, even in low light. It can shoot up to 10 full-resolution frames per second (fps).

One Amazon.com user needed a fast-shooting camera to photograph volleyball and basketball games in dim high school gyms. "Frankly, I was impressed" with the Canon G15, the owner writes. "The camera focuses really quickly so that instead of having to follow one player and wait for the ball to go to them, I was able to follow the play, point and shoot."

Video looks equally impressive, at full 1080p HD, but "bizarrely crippled video controls" irritate Keough at DigitalCameraInfo.com. You can zoom and adjust exposure, but otherwise, it's autopilot-only. DPReview.com's testers agree that video shooters should skip the G15.

Battery life is strong, at an estimated 350 shots per charge with the LCD screen on.

Durability

Built to last. "Bomb-proof build quality" sets the Canon G15 apart from its peers, DPReview.com says. Other experts wholeheartedly agree. "Superb build quality," says Keough at DigitalCameraInfo.com. "Tank-like construction," says Mark Goldstein at PhotographyBlog.com.

Owners confirm this. "The first thing I noticed when I took the G15 out of its box for the first time was its impressive build quality," writes one buyer at Amazon.com. Another chose the Canon G15 over the highly regarded Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 (*Est. $650) for just this reason. "It's built to last," this owner says of the Canon G15. "The battery compartment door feels solid as well as the pop up flash" -- two parts of the Sony that strike reviewers as flimsy.

Features

Big-camera features like a hot shoe, but no in-camera panorama. The Canon G15 boasts two almost unheard-of features for a pocket camera: an optical viewfinder and a hot shoe for an external flash (there's a pop-up flash, too). It can also shoot both JPEG and RAW files, giving you maximum editing control. Zoom is 5x, healthy for this class.

Extra features are class-competitive, too. With the High Dynamic Range mode, the G15 can shoot multiple exposures and meld them into a single, more detailed photo. Handheld Night Scene melds multiple exposures into one steady, well-exposed night shot -- no tripod required. And Picture Effects, which includes 10 different effects, like fish eye, miniature and toy camera, "help spice up your images," says Goldstein at PhotographyBlog.com.

There's no in-camera panorama feature, though, DPReview.com points out. Unlike many pocket cameras -- even cheap ones -- the Canon G15 won't let you simply sweep the camera across the scene to create an instant panoramic shot. You have to stitch your own photos together later, using supplied computer software. DPReview.com doesn't try it with the G15, but when they try it with the pricier Canon PowerShot G1 X (*Est. $750), the software leaves seams, stitching errors and a bent horizon.

Like others in its class, the Canon G15 has a USB port to hook up to a computer and an HDMI port to attach to an HDTV.