Gordon Laing, Editor of CameraLabs, has shared his latest Retro Review, this time putting the 3.3MP Canon PowerShot G1 to the test 21 years after its release.
The PowerShot G1 was released towards the end of 2000 and retailed for roughly $1,100 (roughly $1,735 in today’s money). It was the first camera in a series that lives on to this day and was similar in size and features to its contemporaries, the Epson 3000Z and Sony S70, but also had a few additional benefits.
At the heart of the G1 was a 3.3MP 1/1.8-inch CCD sensor with a 3x optical zoom in front of it (roughly a 35–100mm full-frame equivalent focal length). On the top of the camera was what Gordon calls a ‘generous information screen’ as well as w hotshot for mounting speed lights and accessories.
The camera featured a mode dial, including a full manual mode that let you control the shutter (8 seconds to 1/1000th) and aperture (F2 through F8), although the shutter speed was limited to 1/500th at F8. There was an optical viewfinder as well as a 1.8″ side-hinged screen that could be used to both compose and review shots.
Images were stored on Compact Flash cards and unlike its aforementioned contemporaries, the G1 offered Raw image capture. Below is a gallery of images captured with the PowerShot G1 and shared by Gordon:
Gordon shares his thoughts throughout the video, but in his written review, he says ‘the G1 was an easy winner back in 2000 and 21 years later still feels like a camera you’d be happy to still use. And thanks to the still-common BP-511 battery and Compact Flash memory, it’s quite practical in 2021.’
You can find more Retro Reviews by Gordon over on his DinoBytes YouTube channel.