Why the Canon PowerShot G2 from 2001 is so loveable

I won’t try to argue that this is the best camera in the world. Low resolution, annoying storage media, terrible viewfinder, utterly unusable screen, and more. Even though I own nearly 15 different cameras, and even in spite of its many flaws, I constantly find myself grabbing this camera when going out for a casual shoot. A combination of an excellent sensor, excellent build quality, and a fast, wide lens make the photos that come out of this camera full of life and character.

General Specs

The Canon PowerShot G2 released in 2001 comes with a 1/1.8” CCD sensor, which is pretty solid sensor size for a “compact” camera. I say “compact” because it really isn’t. It’s a pro-ish point and shoot digicam that is both chunky and heavy, weighing 510g. That’s into the modern mirrorless category in terms of weight. The sensor is 4.0 MP at a 3.8 MP maximum image size. Of course, that’s quite small nowadays. Believe it or not, its still more than enough for Instagram and most online media posts that aren’t filling up the ENTIRE screen.

As for the lens, the G2 is equipped with a 3x f2.0-2.5 zoom lens. I’ll talk more about my gripes with the lens in a later section, but I both love and hate it. As for shutter, it can do anywhere from 15-1/1000th sec and can shoot continuous at 2.5 FPS and 1.5 FPS with AF (I think). In addition, it can do 10-bit RAW, which is great to see.

The storage media is the beloved (by old camera nerds) Compact Flash. Easily USB-adaptable to modern computers, this is the best it could be in 2024. At least it isn’t SmartMedia.

The Lens

The lens is generally great. Super wide and fast, with a little bit of zoom to make it more useful. The f2.0 is excellent at the lens’ widest, providing a much shallower depth of field versus what you usually see with compact cameras, even today. I don’t tend to zoom in much with this lens, as I feel that the strength of this camera is the wide lens, but it works reasonably well too.

The camera is excellent for macro photography, complete with the dedicated macro focus button.

I have complaints with the lens though. The autofocus is brutally slow sometimes. In addition, there’s only three AF points. In addition, there’s some serious softness and warping in some photos at the widest focal length and aperture. Take this one for example:

It’s not great. The softness isn’t that bad, but the warping is. If you’re ever shooting with this camera, be careful near straight lines at wide angles.

The Sensor

I’m sure you’ve heard about the CCD craze at this point. Whether you think it’s the CCD technology or (more realistically) the way they process colors. Either way you put it, if you get the white balance just right (which it often doesn’t) the colors are just gorgeous. They do have a retro feel to them, but the colors still pop. The blues are vibrant, the reds are rich, and the greens, although somewhat finnicky, are gorgeous. I just wish the AWB was more accurate. I often find myself having to set the white balance manually, as it will often wash out all the colors in cloudy conditions.

The Little Things

It Sucks

The LCD is unusable. The viewing angles on the cheap display are basically nonexistent. You have about a 2 degree window for where the colors are even somewhat accurate. The viewfinder (at least on mine) is completely inaccurate and doesn’t show the actual frame of the shot. And that’s in addition to the fact it’s tiny. Zooming in and out is really slow.

It’s Great

The buttons all feel wonderful. The top LCD is crazy to have on a compact camera. The dedicated macro button is great to have. The flash is bright and frequently exposed accurately. Any picture taken in the dark with the flash looks excellent. The build quality and ergonomics are top notch. The Compact Flash card is still easily useable today. The shutter is clickly and satisfying. The fold-out display is wonderful for a camera of this age. The list goes on and on…

Conclusion

All in all, this camera has its problems. But I still love it. It’s brings the challenge of photography back to life and, when used properly, can create amazing photos that can be easily posted on social media or on websites. Prints? Probably not. Maybe a coaster. But its such a fun camera to use. Considering you can often find them working for under $50, I’d say grab it if you can find one for cheap. Further, you can often find “untested” examples for $20 or less.

The Canon PowerShot G2 is awesome. Go get one!