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Introduction
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01.Product Tour
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02.Color
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03.Noise
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04.Resolution
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05.Video
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06.Sample Photos
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07.Playback
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08.Hardware
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09.Controls
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10.Design & Handling
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11.Panasonic ZS3 Comparison
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12.Samsung HZ15W Comparison
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13.Canon SX120 Comparison
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14.Conclusion
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15.Photo Gallery
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16.Comments
Canon PowerShot G11
Previous: Page 2
ColorNext: Page 4
ResolutionNoise
Noise was very low across the 80-3200 ISO range, but there is still visible noise at higher ISO levels.
Noise (11.76)
Noise is the stuff that shows up in photos as a grainy patina on your images, which can ruin an otherwise good image. All digital cameras introduce some noise into images, but good ones keep this to a minimum. We found that the G11 did a good job here: although it has a very wide ISO range, noise didn’t become a big issue until we cranked the ISO up to 800 and higher. We test point and shoot cameras at two light levels: 3000 lux (about the same as outdoors on a cloudy day) and60 lux (about the same amount of light as you would get from indoor lighting). The G11 had lower noise when shooting in the brighter setting, but the two sets of results are not significantly different. More on how we test noise.
Overall, the G11 performed well in our noise tests, producing just a small amount of noise in the ISO range of 80 to 800. The noise was significant in the 800 to 3200 range, but it was still significantly less than other cameras.
| Noise Comparisons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 80 | ISO 400 | ISO 800 | ISO 3200 | |
| 60 Lux |  |
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| 3000 Lux |  |
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If we compare the performance of the G11 with other cameras, you can see that it does a decent job of keeping the noise low across the ISO range.
ISO (6.50)
The G11 has a wide ISO range, starting at 80 and going up to 3200, all while maintaining the full resolution of the camera. In addition, a dedicated low light mode is available which increases the ISO to 12800, but at the cost of reduced resolution: t the image size in this mode is restricted to 1824 by 1368 pixels. An example of a photo taken in this mode is in the controls section.
| ISO Comparisons | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Canon PowerShot G11 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 | Samsung HZ15W | Canon PowerShot SX120 IS |
| ISO Low | |||
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ISO 80
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ISO 80
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ISO 80
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ISO 80
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| Canon PowerShot G11 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 | Samsung HZ15W | Canon PowerShot SX120 IS |
| ISO 200 | |||
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| Canon PowerShot G11 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 | Samsung HZ15W | Canon PowerShot SX120 IS |
| ISO 400 | |||
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| Canon PowerShot G11 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 | Samsung HZ15W | Canon PowerShot SX120 IS |
| ISO 800 | |||
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| Canon PowerShot G11 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 | Samsung HZ15W | Canon PowerShot SX120 IS |
| ISO 1600 | |||
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| Canon PowerShot G11 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 | Samsung HZ15W | Canon PowerShot SX120 IS |
| ISO 3200 | |||
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| Canon PowerShot G11 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 | Samsung HZ15W | Canon PowerShot SX120 IS |
NOTE: The images above are not used in our testing or scoring, but are included here to show real-world examples of the differences between cameras at the various ISO settings.
Shop for the Canon G11
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