Canon PowerShot G9

Connectivity
Software (6.75)
The Canon PowerShot G9 comes with version 32.0 of Canon’s Digital Camera Solution Disk CD-ROM. It contains the following Mac-friendly programs: ImageBrowser 6.0, PhotoStitch 3.2, and EOS Utility 1.1. Windows operating systems can take advantage of ZoomBrowser EX 6.0, PhotoStitch 3.1, Camera TWAIN Driver 6.8, and EOS Utility 1.1a. Apple’s QuickTime is also included so users can watch uploaded videos.

The ZoomBrowser EX program has basic viewing and editing features. There are buttons along the left side of the window for quick access: acquire & camera settings, view & classify, edit, export, and print, and e-mail. Along the top edge are a few access points for viewing images, properties, slide show, search, delete, and rotate. Viewing can be done in zoom, scroll, or Preview mode.

There aren’t very many editing options: Red-Eye Correction, Auto Adjustment, Color/Brightness adjustment, Sharpness, Trim, and Insert Text. Users who want to have more control over images should invest in other editing software.

Panoramas can be made in the PhotoStitch 3.1 program with the tutorial-like setup. The program walks users through opening images and arranging them before merging them. Pictures can be aligned vertically, horizontally, or in a matrix or 360-degree wrap.

Jacks, ports, plugs (5.0)
The Canon G9 has a plastic door on the right side that closes tightly to block the separate USB and AV jacks from the elements. The door doesn’t have rubber seals, though, so don’t hold it under running water or anything. The mini-B USB jack and separate AV-out jack come with appropriate cables in the box so pictures can be viewed on televisions, transferred to computers, and directly transferred to printers.

Direct Print Options (7.0)
The Canon G9 has most of the right components for direct printing. It has a USB cable and jack and even a designated transfer button. Users can create print orders and easily select which and how many pictures to print from the print tab of the Playback menu. The camera is PictBridge compatible and can print ID photos and movie prints with select PIXMA, CP, and Selphy Canon printers. The only problem is that there is no 3:2-formatted image size, so users can’t directly print perfectly cropped 4 x 6-inch prints. To its credit, the camera has 3:2 guide lines that can be set to display on the live view, but images still have to be loaded into software and cropped before printing.

Battery (4.75)
The G9 comes with a rechargeable lithium NB-2LH battery pack. It lasts 240 shots with the LCD turned on but lasts much longer with it off. The optical viewfinder is horribly inaccurate, but if relied on in place of the LCD, the battery can last up to 600 shots. The camera also comes with a wall-mount charger that takes almost two hours to recharge the battery. An optional power adapter can be purchased that fits in the same compartment as the battery.

Memory (3.75)
The G9 comes with a 32MB MMCplus card that can capture five shots at full JPEG resolution. It can capture only one single RAW file. The camera also accepts SD, SDHC, MMC, and HC MMCplus. No internal memory is included, so don’t forget to pack the memory cards. Users will need a lot of memory for the 12.1-megapixel files.

Other features (6.5)
Stitch Assist – This feature shows a live view that aligns images right to left or vice versa. It can also align pictures vertically or in a square-shape so images can be stitched into high-resolution posters. The stitching doesn’t actually happen inside the camera; that only happens on select Kodak and GE digital cameras. The Canon G9’s pictures are merged together when loaded into the included software program.

ND Filter – This feature is located in the Function menu, and can be turned on and off. According to the user manual, the ND filter "reduces light intensity to 1/8 (3 stops) of the actual level." This is for situations like photographing a bright moon. The use of a tripod is recommended with this feature.