world's best compact camera

the powershot g9 is the new flagship of canon's midrange digital cameras and it does deliver! First I must add that for those of you who think this camera looks familar, yes... it is based on the powershot g7 design and is in fact an update to the g7. The powershot g9 is not just an update though, it is an entirely new revolution in digital photography and will deffinately make a mark in the way things are done in the industry.

To start, this camera has 12 megapixels. This means that you get 12 million pixels of color in the image sensor... in simple english, this means that you will get a bright, colorful picture that captures every single detail AND when you enlarge the picture you will get the same quality without getting a blurry image. the G9 can make a 10 x 13 photo look like a professional portrait.

the main way to see what you are taking a picture of is through the large sharp and bright (very important) three inch LCD viewscreen. there is also a nice viewfinder with an optical adjustment (for those with eyeglasses). The LCD is viewable in the brightest of light.

the camera has built in technology that really does recognize a face and it automatically focuses on that face. This is great when there is so much going on the in background of a shot and the autofocus wants to zoom in on everything but what you are trying to shoot. To me this is one of the greatest advances in camera technology, the ability to recognize a face and focus on it is a great help to an amateur like myself.

In addiiton, this camera has a lithum ion battery. Unlike cameras that take AA batteries, this device will snap pictures all day without changing the battery every thirty minutes or twenty pictures. And when the battery does get low, this camera comes with a small charger that plugs directly into a wall outlet (no messy cords) and charges the battery. My powershot charges to a full charge in just under an hour.

As if that was not all. This camera has several different options that allow you to take custom professional shots (different settings such as Appeture, shutter and ISO speed adjustments for all you professionals that want the picture done your way right away!)

Just in case you are not a professional, there are many preset settings that you can use to help make your shots look as if you were professional. Of my favorite are the beach setting (which adjusts the camera to take into consideration the glare of the water and the bright sun as well as the the color of sand) the aquarium setting, which makes the camera adjust to take the perfect picture of a fish behind glass. the night scene setting, which makes night lights and colors come alive in the darkness (like a lit up ferris wheel or city lightscape). Also, there is a setting which gives you a black and white picture BUT allows one color to remain. I took a piture of my daughter in her dance class with this setting and got a black and white photo of her dancing and the tutu around her was stood out as bright red. This looked like something out of a photography magazine. There are many other settings to fit the need, children and pets, outside, snow, sports ( for catching fast movement without the blur).

the flash is extremely bright and there is an additional preflash (a green light) that helps reduce redeye. if these things are not good enough though, the g9 does have a universal hotshoe for professional flashes.

One other thing I will mention is how great the zoom is on this camera. It has a 6x optical zoom which can capture many things up close. There is also an option to buy a conversion piece to allow canon high quality zoom lenses to be added to the camra/ You can also buy a waterproof case for the g9 to take great underwater shots.

This camera does have pictbridge, which allows for fast transfers to photo printers or the canon pixma inkjet printer.

The camera uses an SD card slot which is located under the battery cover. It has plugs for USB and an AV plug to plug into a television or media projector.

It takes great video also! The image on the video is crisp and clear. the small built in mike also picks up everything. you would almost think you were taking video with a camcorder.

Did I mention that you do not need a computer to enhance your photos? The g9 has a built in photo lab so to speak where you can resize images, tweak colors and reduce red eye. You literally can get professional images straight from camera to printer without removing your card.

I am upgrading this device from a konica minolta dimage A2 dSLR 8.0 megapixel and I will not miss the dimage (as good as it was) one bit. The powershot g9 is truly a revolution for those who want a great compact (though it is a little heavy) digital camera. this product is just another reason why I am switching everything to CANON!!! Try ti and you will agree that there is no sweeter camera on the market unless you are willing to pay a thousand dollars or more!