Review: Canon Powershot G12 vs. Nikon Coolpix P7000

January 26, 2011 @ 5:16PM

Review: Canon Powershot G12 vs. Nikon Coolpix P7000

Which One Should You Buy?

By Peter K Burian

Serious photo enthusiasts usually shoot with a digital SLR but most also want a second smaller camera. A family-oriented compact digicam may be fine for snapshots, but prosumer-grade 10 megapixel models are also available. These include the new Olympus XZ-1 http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1530 and two that I reviewed previously: the Panasonic Lumix DMX-LX5 and the Samsung TL500 (EX-1); see http://www.pixiq.com/article/prosumer-grade-compacts-lumix-dmc-lx5-vs-samsung-ex1. This time, let's take a look at the other options: the Canon Powershot G12 and the Nikon Coolpix P7000. One of these two might also be ideal for DSLR owners who do not always want to travel with a lot of gear.

These cameras, with some metal body components, offer built-in flash, a manual focus option, RAW and JPEG capture modes, a large LCD screen, plus a full suite of operating modes and overrides. They also accept add-ons such as an external flash unit and an adapter tube for mounting accessories.

Note: The two cameras were not available for testing simultaneously so this report is not based on a side-by-side "shootout". Still, I used both in similar conditions, for similar subjects and checked the hundreds of photos (and few videos) closely before making quality evaluations. I also made prints from images produced by both cameras as part of the assessment process.

Canon PowerShot G12

The Canon entry features traditional styling with three metal mechanical dials and a full set of other external controls; these include two input dials like those you'd find on an EOS camera. The many buttons may intimidate snapshooters but they do make operation quick and efficient. The G12 is equipped with a 2.8" tilt/swivel LCD screen with 461,000 dot resolution and a 28-140mm equivalent f/2.8-4.5 lens with a double-sided aspherical element. This is also the first G-series camera to include and HDR mode, a 1280x70 HD movie mode, and ISO expansion to 12,800 though at 2.5 megapixels.

Operation: This Powershot camera is intelligently designed with many aspects that will seem quite intuitive to DSLR owners. Granted, some of the high tech features do require reference to the instruction manual for a full appreciation of their value. Press the [Func] button for instant access to many frequently used functions; this minimizes the need to access the multi-page menu with its numerous items.

The electronic level gauge is very useful for guiding camera positioning to ensure straight horizontal or vertical photos. The zooming optical viewfinder is small, providing only 77% scene coverage; the lens barrel blocks the view at wide angle and there's some framing inaccuracy. Still, an optical finder is a blessing on bright days when reflections/glare obscure the LCD preview display.

Video Capture: Before shooting a movie clip, the user can set several features -- including a picture style (My Color) -- and those will be used to provide the desired effects. Exposure and focus are adjusted automatically during the recording. Neither autofocus or optical zooming is available during video capture, so set both before shooting a clip. Digital zooming can be used while shooting a movie but that does introduce artefacts and reduced image quality. Avoid using that feature and the 720p HD movies should be excellent. The sound quality is fine but it's even better with an optional external mic.

Feature Set: Canon has provided numerous automatic and manual functions and DSLR-style overrides. For example, the G12 offers more picture styles than any of its competitors. Other interesting amenities include a histogram in preview and playback mode, built-in neutral density filter, and two dynamic range Correction functions for greater highlight and/or shadow detail. The G12 also provides a feature that's unique in its category, in-camera HDR (high dynamic range) mode.

When HDR mode is set, it will fire thee shots at varying exposure levels; they're then merged into one with incredibly great shadow detail. Highlight detail is slightly better too, but HDR primarily lightens dark areas. Do note that this is a fully automatic mode without user overrides; still, it works surprisingly well. Be sure to use a tripod when shooting the series because the processor cannot micro-align the three photos when creating the HDR image. If you shoot handheld, a strange ghosting effect or problems caused by camera shake will be visible.

The AF system is very versatile. Activate Servo AF for continuous tracking focusing to keep an approaching subject in focus, as long as it's not moving very fast. A full ten picture styles (My Colors), are available for producing entirely different effects; some provide really cool special effects. In the Custom style, levels adjustment is available for sharpness, contrast, colour rendition and skin tone color. If your JPEGs are not quite right -- or if you want to experiment with various special effects -- try the 14 image modification tools in Playback mode.

Speed and Quality: The G12 starts up in one second and acquires focus in a half second when shooting still photos outdoors. Granted, AF slows in low light, taking about one second, but it remains reliable. Select high speed Drive and the camera will fire at 2 frames per second (fps). When Continuous autofocus is active (for quicker focus acquisition), it slows to 0.7 fps. Thanks to a large buffer, the camera can fire numerous RAW or JPEG photos in a series, when a fast (Class 6 or Class 10) SD card is used. Processing is lightning fast so it's usually ready to shoot another burst in under 2 seconds.

At default settings without overrides the G12 produced beautiful JPEGs, with snappy (sometimes overly high) contrast, rich green and blue hues and very vivid reds. In-camera sharpening is higher than average and resolution is impressive at commonly used ISO levels. My only complaint was about slight overexposure; I often needed to set -0.33 EV compensation. In outdoor shooting white balance is slightly warm for a pleasing effect. Caucasian skin tones are often quite attractive but slight over-saturation of reds is not ideal for people with a ruddy complexion.

My best low ISO shots made 13x19" prints that look great as wall decor. By ISO 400 some digital noise is visible but sharpness remains high; the JPEGs made very good 11x15" prints. At each higher ISO, a slight loss of color saturation and slight smearing of fine detail became more noticeable. Even so, sharpness was still quite high so I was able to make very nice 8x10 glossies from ISO 800 shots. Noise reduction processing is more aggressive at ISO 1600 but after some careful sharpening in Photoshop I was able to make very good 5x7" prints. Even better high ISO results are possible by shooting RAW photos and then tweaking noise reduction in the Canon DPP software.

G12 Evaluation: This Powershot camera is very well equipped, unusually fast in both JPEG and RAW processing and it provides beautiful JPEGs right out of the box. In fact, when exposure was correct, it produced the most pleasing JPEGs of all four cameras in its category. A wider maximum aperture would be useful at telephoto but the 28-140mm lens is outstanding in all other aspects. The G12 should certainly satisfy experienced photographers with its classic styling, some old-style controls, convenient manual focus, and great versatility.

Nikon Coolpix P7000

Slightly, slimmer but longer, this is another very solid camera with traditional styling, a small zooming optical viewfinder and some mechanical dials. This Nikon model's LCD is not articulated but it does offer some benefits: a larger 3" LCD and a much longer stabilized 28-200mm equivalent f/2.8-5.6 zoom. The lens is excellent in all respects thanks to two ED and four Aspherical elements. The LCD screen provides a beautifully crisp display thanks to its ultra-high 921,000 dot resolution. The optical viewfinder is similar to the one in the G12; it provides only 80% scene coverage and there is some framing inaccuracy.

Operation: The P7000 also offers many analog controls including a mode selector dial, an exposure compensation dial and a function selector with access to six features. Except for initial setup, there's rarely a need to access the multi-item menu. Nikon also provided two electronic input dials for DLR-style operation. Surprisingly, the camera was slow to activate some features after they were selected, sometimes taking a second or longer to respond. This aspect has not been improved with the new firmware (v 1.1). Overall, the P7000 is not quite as convenient to use as the G12 but it certainly won't pose a challenge for DSLR owners.

Video Capture: Before shooting a movie clip, you can pre-set white balance and picture style as well as Single and Full-time AF. Exposure control is automatic and changes as necessary. The lens' optical zoom feature can be used while shooting a clip, a definite benefit. Autofocus is not very fast in Movie mode and the motor's humming is recorded on the audio track. That can be prevented with an optional external mic. There's very little difference in video quality between the P7000 and the G12; the 720p HD clips look great when viewed on an HDTV.

Feature Set: The Coolpix P7000 is loaded with including a wealth of modes, a histogram, an electronic level gauge, LCD grid lines, four picture styles plus two custom styles with parameter adjustment options. Levels adjustments for sharpness, contrast and saturation are available in every one of the style modes. Useful high-tech amenities include Active D-Lighting for increased shadow detail in high contrast lighting and a built-in neutral density filter.

The versatile AF system includes a full-time mode for quick focus acquisition and Tracking AF for subjects approaching the camera at moderate speed; it's most effective in the 28mm to 100mm zoom range. Manual focus is available and it's quite convenient. While viewing a JPEG in Playback mode, you can modify some aspects with the 8 retouching options; RAW photos can also be converted to JPEG a feature not available with the G12.

Speed and Quality: Press the On button and the P7000 will take the first shot in about 2.5 seconds. As mentioned earlier it can be frustratingly slow to respond to a command made with one of the controls. Autofocus is quick outdoors, rarely taking more than 0.5 seconds. Thanks to the new firmware (v 1.1) autofocus is very reliable. Indoors, AF slows only a bit with nearby subjects but sometimes struggles with distant subjects at long telephoto focal lengths. As with the G12, tracking AF is useful for slow moving subjects but not suitable for fast action.

The P7000 is not as fast as the G12 in drive speed but it's close at 1.5 fps and it can record numerous JPEGs in a single burst. And even after shooting a long series, it's ready to shoot more after a couple of seconds. Processing is slower when shooting RAW photos but the speed is acceptable with the new firmware (v1.1). Use a fast (Class 6 or 10) SDHC memory card and this Nikon camera can record a single RAW photo in 2 seconds or five RAW photos in 9 seconds.

The default picture style produces JPEGs with lower color saturation, contrast and sharpening than you'd get with the G12. Frankly that's only of academic interest. Any desired effect is available of course, with other picture styles and especially with parameter adjustments. Underexposure was a problem with light-toned scenes but that was easy to prevent with compensation.

My low ISO JPEGs are smooth and clean with high resolution and plenty of fine detail; they made very good 13x19" prints. I was able to make very good 11x15" prints from well-exposed ISO 400 shots. At ISO 800, some graininess is apparent (because Nikon provides gentler noise reduction than Canon) but the JPEGs are fine for making decent 8x10" prints. There's some loss of sharpness and saturation by ISO 1600; after some tweaking in Photoshop, I was able to make acceptable 5x7" prints, however. As with the G12 better high ISO quality is possible with RAW capture and the ideal noise reduction setting in a versatile RAW converter program.

P7000 Evaluation: This Nikon camera is very versatile and it produces excellent quality JPEGs at low ISO; it's competitive with the G12 in this respect. Granted, it's not as fast as the G12 in some aspects but its high-grade lens does feature much longer focal lengths. That was a definite asset when I was shooting parades and other events. As with the G12, the lens retracts into the body when not in use, making this rugged, hefty camera acceptably portable.

The Bottom Line

Both of these well-equipped cameras -- with superior lenses, many external controls and rugged construction -- should satisfy experienced photographers. The Coolpix P7000 would be the most attractive initially because of its 28-200mm equivalent lens but the Powershot G12 (with its 28-140mm lens) is equipped with a tilt/swivel LCD. Although both cameras include an optical viewfinder, it's too small for convenience (and inaccurate), making the LCD the preferred method for composing images.

Note: If you're considering a prosumer level 10 MP camera with a high-grade built-in lens, you might also want to read my review on the Panasonic Lumix LX-5 and Samsung TL500 (EX-1) at http://www.pixiq.com/article/prosumer-grade-compacts-lumix-dmc-lx5-vs-samsung-ex1 Those cameras are smaller but do not feature a built-in viewfinder. The LX5 is a particularly attractive alternative to the larger cameras if great portability is important.

It's difficult to choose an overall winner in the Powershot G12 vs. Coolpix P7000 competition. Neither camera has a significant advantage in terms of image or movie quality. But I'll give the nod to the G12 because of its faster response to controls, its articulated LCD and slightly better high ISO performance. Still, the P7000 is a very fine camera with a more versatile zoom lens. A few months ago, the Canon model was more expensive but now the actual selling prices differ by a small amount, at least in the US.

You really could not make a bad decision here but each camera has its own pros and cons. Consider these and the full Specs as a starting point. Then check them both out at a retail store to decide which you personally find the be the most convenient. Take a few RAW+JPEG photos with your own memory card especially at high ISO and evaluate them closely when you get home. Select the one that comes closest to meeting your own prferences and you can look forward to years of making fine images.

Pros and Cons of Each Camera

Here's a summary as to important aspects and the camera that's preferable in each of these categories.

LCD Screen: The P7000 boasts much higher LCD resolution and slightly larger size but the G12 is equipped with an articulated screen that offers great versatility. Frankly, the G12 provides adequate LCD resolution and I really enjoyed using the tilt/swivel screen. Especially for those who plan to shoot a lot of videos, it would be a very useful feature.

Lens: Both cameras are equipped with high grade zooms of comparable quality but the P7000 provides a more versatile 28-200mm versus 28-140mm equivalent lens. This is a strong benefit in favor of the Coolpix P7000.

Versatility: I'll call this a tie since both provide a wealth of DSLR-style features. However, the G12 provides far more Picture Styles (for entirely different effects) and more retouching options in Playback mode. But the P7000 allows for RAW conversion in Playback mode and it's more versatile in Movie mode. However, AF during video capture is slow; for the best results, I would recommend pre-setting focus and turning AF off before shooting a clip.

Speed: The G12 is a bit faster in continuous drive speed, similar in JPEG processing and noticeably faster in RAW processing than the P7000. In truth the Nikon camera is fine in those aspects; it's the sluggish response to a control input that is frustrating.

Image Quality: Neither has an edge in terms of HD video quality. In JPEG capture, the G12 produces more pleasing JPEGs right out of the box. But serious shooters using the P7000 should be willing to take a few minutes to set higher contrast, sharpness and color saturation if they want more "punchy" photos.

High ISO Quality: The G12 provides smoother, more colorful JPEGs at ISO 800 and 1600 in the default picture style. The P7000 photos are definitely acceptable but more grainy and less colorful (although it's easy to set higher color saturation). The difference will be less noticeable if you use RAW capture with either camera and set just the right level of noise reduction in converter software. Canon's Digital Photo Pro is fine for serious shooters but Nikon's View NX is a more entry-level converter; Capture NX2 is much better but it's an optional extra ($129). Of course, many serious shooters already own a versatile converter program; the latest version should be compatible with either camera's RAW format.

Ease of Use: Several friends tried both cameras and we agreed that the G12 was easier to operate without reading the owner's manual. And yet, after a week of shooting with the P7000, I found that everything had become second nature. If your family includes snapshooters, they might prefer the G12. In addition to Scene modes that produce cool special effects, its Function sub-menu is similar to what they would get with a family-oriented digicam.

Price: Shop around and you can find either camera for under $450 in the US. In Canada, the average prices differ: $519 for the G12 and $479 for the P7000 but a few retailers offer them for less.