Canon PowerShot G16 Pro Reviews

The G16 may be starting to look a little dated, particularly when you compare it to something like Sony’s sleek RX100, but that doesn't stop the Canon remaining a top-notch snapper all round. When something's right, it's just right - and the G16 largely represents that. It won't suit all photographers on account of its bulky size, but for those that it will, it'll be spot on. The camera delivers image quality that's consistently good, certainly among the best in class. Shoot raw, shoot JPEG, share with Wi-Fi - it's all pro. And when it comes to build and functions you’d be hard-pressed to find any fault. We'd like a vari-angle screen to make a return - even if it'd add to the physical size - for more creativity, but the G15 was a success without this so we can see why Canon's maintained the trend in the G16. Ultimately then, unless the somewhat hefty price is an issue, buying a G16 isn’t a decision over which you need agonise for too long. Because it's a brilliant camera that's professional at every turn and you can fit it in a (rather large) pocket.

The PowerShot G16 further reinforces the position of Canon's G-series as the standard by which all other advanced compacts must be judged. It is fast, light, easy to use, exceptionally well made, packed with features and offers excellent image quality and performance. If you're looking for an advanced compact for hobby photography, or as a lighter camera to use alongside your DSLR then it remains one of the best choices on the market. In fact the only reason not to buy one is if you already own a G15, because apart from the addition of Wi-Fi smartphone connectivity and a slightly faster processor it is a very similar camera.

The Canon PowerShot G16 is a rather modest update of last year's G15 camera, principally making things faster and adding wi-fi connectivity, focus peaking and some new shooting modes into the now familiar mix. We like the faster auto-focus and burst shooting speeds and the debut of wi-fi on a G-series camera, but overall there's not too much to tempt G15 owners to upgrade. This new model still lacks an articulating LCD screen, GPS is only available via pairing with a smartphone, the optical viewfinder is beginning to look outdated, you can't control the camera remotely, and the price remains sky-high. Image quality also remains excellent, though, with a perfectly usable ISO range of 80-1600 and fast f/1.8 maximum aperture, albeit only at the 28mm wide-angle lens setting, making the G16 very well-suited to low-light, hand-held photography. It's also possible to capture the blurred backgrounds and sharp subject that most compacts struggle to achieve, while the 5x zoom offers a longer reach than some rivals. Full 1080p video at 60fps with continuous auto-focusing, stereo sound and full use of the zoom is the icing on the imaging cake, although there's still little creative control on offer.

The G16 is an easy camera to underestimate, on the face of it, it doesn't seem like it has a lot to offer one year on from its predecessor and at first glance you'd probably guess that existing G15 owners would hold off for whatever the G17 might have to offer. But I think G15 owners will see it differently, and that means anyone else looking for an advanced compact as a DSLR understudy should probably think likewise and give the G16 some serious consideration. Yes, the lens and sensor are the same, but while the new Digic 6 proessor may not be a headline-grabbing upgrade it does endow the G16 with some significant advantages over its predecessor which serious photographers won't be slow to recognise. Faster AF response, shorter shutter lag times and vastly improved continuous shooting are all the kind of improvements that make a real difference to your chances of coming away with more keepers from any photographic encounter. And built-in Wifi makes it all the easier to quickly share those results. Beyond that, Canon has added some nice features which will doubtless broaden the appeal of the G16. The Star shooting modes are one, and coupled with longer timed exposures of up to 250 seconds increase the potential of the G16 as a tool for night photography of all kinds. Focus peaking has also made manual focusing much easier.

Superb controls and competitive image quality among increasingly stiff competition

A fantastic compact camera with great image quality and nippy performance

The Canon PowerShot G16 offers an impressive control layout and Wi-Fi, but its underwhelming optical viewfinder disappoints.

The Canon Powershot G16 offers a number of improvements over the previous model, including a number of new and useful shooting modes including Handheld HDR, Star modes, and built in Wi-Fi for quicker sharing, although the lack of remote shooting will be disappointing to many. Photos are impressive with excellent colour, detail and exposure, with numerous options to expand dynamic range. Video quality is very good with 60fps full HD video recording and 5-axis image stabilisation making even handheld videos very smooth, with quick focusing speeds. Continuous shooting is extremely rapid, shooting at 12fps, and shot to shot times are also good, even when shooting raw. While the Canon Powershot G16 may look almost identical to the previous model, it has a good number of improvements to make this camera highly recommended.

If you're sensitive to price and don't care about Wi-Fi or speed, I'd look for price drops on the G15. And if you want better photo quality and have the budget, I'd probably suggest paying a little more for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 -- or finding an inexpensive ILC paired with a small lens for maximum compactness. But as long as you stay in the light, the G16 is still a fine choice.

Although Canon has made some strides with the G16 – closing the spec gap with CSCs and DSLRs on paper – we can’t give it our strongest recommendation. At $550 it’s just too expensive for the level of quality it delivers. We suggest anyone looking for an enthusiast pocket zoom to take a serious look at the Sony RX100 II and spend the extra bucks ($749) or check out the less expensive RX100, which is the same price as the G16 but doesn’t have Wi-Fi. Both have much larger sensors that are so important for superior results. In the advanced point-and-shoot category, read our review of the Sony and you’ll understand why the G16 is falling behind in getting our full recommendation.