GE G1
Digital Camera Review
Mar 11, 2007
- By Richard Baguley
1.7
The digital camera market today is a place of razor-thin profit margins and competition more reminiscent of a street brawl than the gentlemanly rivalry we used to see. As such, we don’t see newcomers very often since most companies look at the entrenched hold that the big companies have on the camera market and decide to move into new markets where they are less likely to get a bloody nose. But newcomers do try their luck sometimes, and General Electric is giving it a go.
Actually, General Electric is only sort of giving it a go; the electrical and broadcasting conglomerate is licensing their brand to a new venture called General Imaging. The new company announced a range of 8 cameras at PMA. You can find out more details on their web site or by watching our video tour of the whole range here. Their launches are broken down into four product lines: the budget A series, the intermediate E series, the compact G series and the high-end X series. We decided to take a closer look at the G1, the first of their new compact range. The G1 has a 7-megapixel image sensor and a 3x optical zoom lens. Pricing and availability has not yet been finalized so keep an eye on our news pages for details. We looked at a preproduction model of this new camera at the PMA show in Las Vegas.
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Value
General Imaging hasn’t released the final price of the G1 yet, but it will likely be priced at under $399. We can’t comment on the value for money of the camera without a specific price, but we would expect General Imaging to be aggressive on the price to try and make a dent in a very competitive market.
Who it’s for
Point-and-Shooters – The G1 is an attractive option for those who just want to shoot and go.
Budget Consumers – It’s hard to say without a precise price point, but we would expect the G1 to be aggressively priced.
Gadget Freaks – There are not enough buttons and shiny features to attract gadget magpies to this camera.
Manual Control Freaks – The G1 does have a full manual mode, and that might make it an interesting choice for the manual control freak who wants a compact camera.
Pros/Serious Hobbyists – Nah. Not enough features, not enough control. And it’ll probably be too cheap for pros, who don’t mind paying the price for serious equipment with durable bodies.
