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CNET - Cameras General Electric G1 (Black) |
Model Design / Appearance (6.25)
The GE G1 is flat and sexy with its slight frame and shiny surfaces. The slick surfaces aren’t good for handling, but they look great. The front’s glossy panel resembles a refrigerator door – especially with the GE logo, which is more expected on a fridge than a digital camera.
The glossy surfaces are marred by fingerprints that are especially visible on the vast space on the front and the LCD on the back. Another unfortunate characteristic of this glossy surface is that it scratches easily. After only two trips in my book bag (covered with the plastic it came in), a few tiny scratches showed up on that sex bomb of a surface. Just think what it will look like in a few months. The printed G1 logo and other text will easily rub off.
The G1 is made to be trendy. We reviewed the black-colored model, but it also comes in red, white, blue, and silver. Overall, the G1 looks great, but it won't age well.
Size / Portability (8.0)
The GE G1 is light; really light. It’s so light you almost wonder what is inside: are there really gears and motors and digital imaging technology, or is it all just magic? Without the battery loaded, the GE G1 weighs just over 4 ounces (115 grams). With the battery in the camera, it doesn’t weigh much more. You could put the battery in your pocket and not feel a thing.
The ultra-slim camera has miniscule measurements. It is larger than most Casio Exilim Card-series cameras, but is generally smaller than most other models. The GE G1 measures 3.6 x 2.5 x 0.8 inches (92 x 62.5 x 20.9mm). This makes it perfectly pocketable and even light enough to wear as a bracelet. It comes with a cheap gray wrist strap that takes away from the trendy look, but keeps the slippery G1 from falling overboard or to the ground.
Handling Ability (5.0)
The GE G1 is designed to easily slide in and out of a back pocket and snap pictures here and there. It doesn’t have a comfy hand grip for long photo shoots; it’s much too small for that. Convenience and style are the camera’s main draw, but the G1’s surfaces are very slippery and there isn’t much to keep it from hitting the pavement. There is a wrist strap that can be attached to the right side, but that doesn’t necessarily keep it in your palm. The only handling considerations that GE seems to have paid attention to are the slight curves on the left and right sides of the front, perhaps to ease the sharpness where fingers are supposed to grip the camera. This doesn’t make the GE G1 that much easier to handle though. Overall, the handling just isn’t desirable on this model – particularly when the questionable zoom control is considered - though many cameras this size struggle in this area.
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Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (2.75)
The camera’s small size doesn’t lend much to the handling or controls. Generally, the controls are intuitively placed. There is a major exception to that, though: the Zoom control is placed where the shutter release button should be, and the Zoom control almost looks like it could pass as the shutter release. The rest of the controls are intuitively placed, but not necessarily properly spaced. The small size of the camera and the relatively large size of the LCD screen leaves about an inch-wide space for the controls. The mode dial’s grooved edge sits at the top of the G1. The mode dial can be turned with the thumb. It isn’t too hard, but the positions/modes on the dial are placed so far apart that it’s possible to be “stuck” between positions. The camera doesn’t malfunction, but if you’re in the middle there’s a 50 percent chance you won’t be in the mode you actually want.
Below the mode dial are two small buttons colored the same as the background, which makes the eye search for them for an extra few milliseconds. The face detection Auto focus button is on the left side and the Menu button is on the right. Below those buttons is the multi-selector that consists of a central Func/OK button and a ring around it. The ring navigates and does so fairly well. Like many other similar cameras, it has a number of functions. Pushing the left side changes Flash modes. Pushing the bottom turns on the self-timer. Pushing the right side activates the Macro mode. Pushing the top adjusts the exposure compensation. At the bottom is the delete button with a trash can icon on it. The labeling on the buttons is just as it should be.
The prize for the most annoying control of the year goes to the G1’s Zoom control, which looks like it should function as a dial but is instead pushed like a lever and can hardly be felt at all.
Menu (6.25)
The GE G1 has a split menu system similar to other digital cameras, such as Canon PowerShot and Fujifilm FinePix models. In the center of the multi-selector is a Func/OK button that accesses a short menu consisting of frequently used options.
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White Balance
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Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Fluorescent CWF, Incandescent, Manual
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ISO
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Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
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Quality
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Best, Fine, Normal
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Size
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7M, 6M (3:2), 5M (16:9), 3M, 2M, 1M, 0.3M
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Color
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Off, Black & White, Sepia, Vivid
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There are large live previews of the white balance and color options in this menu, which are always helpful. These options aren’t repeated in the main menu, which is accessed easily with the designated button. A menu appears on a blue screen with gray bars behind the white lettering. There are two menu headings at the top: Photo and Setup. The Photo menu consists of the following.
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AF Mode
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Single AF, Multi AF
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AF Assist Beam
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On, Off
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Continuous AF
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On, Off
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Expo Metering
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AiAE, Center-Weight, Spot
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Continuous Shot
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Off, 5 Shots, 5 Shots Last, Time Lapse (30 seconds, 1, 5, 10 minutes)
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Grid
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On, Off
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Quick Review
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1, 2, 3 seconds
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Digital Zoom
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On, Off
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Histogram
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On, Off
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Slow Shutter
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Off, Manual (2-30 seconds)
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When users scroll through the menu with the multi-selector, the text background turns yellow and the font changes from white to black so it is easier to read. The Setup menu shows the following:
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Format Memory
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Yes, No
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Beep
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Volume (Off, Level 1-3), Shutter Tone (Tone 1-3), Key Tone (Tone 1-3), Self-Timer Tone (Tone 1-4), Power Tone (Tone 1-2)
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LCD Brightness
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10 levels
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Power Saver
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LCD Off (On, 30 seconds, 1, 2 minutes), Camera Off (On, 3, 5, 10 minutes)
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Date/Time
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Y/M/D, M/D/Y, D/M/Y
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World Time
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Home (choose from 24 cities), Travel (choose from 24 cities)
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Reset File Numbering
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No, Yes
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Language
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English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese
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Video System
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NTSC, PAL
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Copy to Card
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Yes, No
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Reset Settings
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Yes, No
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FW Version
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Ver 1.04 B6
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USB Mode
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PC, PC (PTP), Printer
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Overall, the menu system isn’t the most elaborate or beautiful, but it is still intuitive. The menu items are properly ordered and the few live previews are helpful.
Ease of Use (5.0)
The mode dial and properly labeled buttons make the GE G1 generally easy to use. It does have some flaws that make it annoying to use, though: the tight Zoom control, the tiny buttons, and the slim shape that is nice for portability but a pain to actually handle. The user manual is 81 pages (and the pages are about 5x7 inches with big print), and there isn’t an alphabetical index or even explanations of most of the features on the camera; that certainly doesn’t help things.
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