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Picture Quality / Size Options (7.5)
The image size and compression options are also available from the Func./Set menu. Superfine, Fine, and Normal options are available for the following image sizes: 3648 x 2736, 2816 x 2112, 2272 x 1704, 1600 x 1200, 640 x 480, and 3648 x 2048. The last image size listed is for shooting widescreen-optimized pictures. There is no 3:2 optimized image size for making perfectly cropped 4 x 6-inch prints. User do, however, have the option to use 3:2 guidelines that appear on the LCD screen’s display so users can crop down the images later. The 10-megapixel Canon PowerShot G7 shoots JPEG images only: it does not shoot RAW files like its G-series predecessors. Serious photographers will miss RAW shooting on the G-series; it is one of the camera’s biggest flaws and makes the G7 a little less appealing to enthusiasts.
Picture Effects Mode (8.5)
The Canon PowerShot G7 has a long list of picture effects: Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, and Custom Color. This is what Canon calls its My Colors mode. This mode is available from the Func./Set menu as well as the playback menu, where live views can be seen. Users can add these effects before of after recording the image or movie.
The color can be customized with the last setting in the menu. Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation, Red, Green, Blue, and Skin Tones can all be adjusted in five levels. This My Colors mode is new to the G-series. On some previous PowerShots, the Color Accent and Color Swap modes have been included in the My Colors section of the menu. On the G7 and other more recent cameras, though, they have been positioned as separate modes in the scene menu. Basically they are just picture effects. The Color Accent mode highlights one color that users select by framing it in a box on the LCD, then dulling all other colors to black-and-white. Color Swap replaces one selectable color with another selectable color. The word “swap” is misleading though because colors aren’t swapped both ways. For instance, it isn’t possible to make a blue car turn red and a red sign turn blue in one picture. Only one or the other can happen at a time. These picture effects are neat, but they are no replacement for more flexible RAW files. Serious hobbyists will still lament the exclusion of RAW files on the G7.
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