GE G1

Reviewed June 2007

Characteristics

The GE G1 is equipped with a 7.4 megapixel, 1/2.5 inch CCD of which 7.07 million pixels are effective. A total of seven image sizes are available:

All image sizes can be saved at any one of three JPEG compression levels:

CCD sensitivity starts at 80 ISO and provides additional settings of 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 ISO, but only when the camera is set to the Manual shooting mode as all other modes control the sensitivity automatically.

The 3X optical zoom has a focal length range of 6.4 to 19.2 mm, equivalent to a 38 to 114 mm in the 35 mm format. Constructed of 13 elements in 10 groups, the lens has apertures, fully controlled by the camera, that start at f3.5 at the wide end closing down to f5.7, while at the telephoto end apertures start at f4.3 and extend to f7.1.

Similarly, the G1 has a shutter speed range that covers from 1/2000 second to 4 seconds in most modes and which are controlled by the camera. The Manual mode, however, adds a slow shutter mode that can offers exposure times as long as 30 seconds.

The G1 is also provides a 4.5X digital zoom, set to On in the menu by default. The digital zoom of the G1 crops the central part of the image and interpolates the cropped image to the image size currently selected, lowering the overall image quality more and more as the digital magnification increases.

The digital zoom is controlled in the Photo Menu, unlike the image size and quality settings which are set in the Function menu. The Photo menu is the first of two menu sections that are displayed when the menu button is pressed, the other being the Setup menu which is shared with other modes (see the Interface and Software section of the review for details on the Setup menu):

• AF Mode controls the way the auto focus operates:
  • Single AF: focuses at the centre of the frame.
  • Multi AF: wide area focus that allows the camera to find the subject automatically.
• AF Assist Beam: On or Off. When set to On, the camera emits a red beam from an LED located next to the lens that assists the auto focus when there is insufficient ambient light.
• Continuous AF: On or Off. When On the camera continuously adjust the focus, allowing it to track a moving subject.

• Exposure Metering selects the metering mode:
  • Spot metering
  • Centre-weighted metering
  • AiAE (Artificial Intelligence Auto Exposure) metering
• Continuous Shooting:
  • Off
  • 5 Shots: captures 5 photos sequentially, the rate depending on the available shutter speed.
  • Last 5 shots: captures images continuously, but only records the last five shots.

• Grid: On or Off. When On, the camera superimposes a composition grid on the monitor.
• Quick Review: serves to how long an image is shown on the monitor post capture (1, 2, or 3 seconds).
• Digital Zoom: On (default) or Off. Controls the digital zoom which takes over from the optical zoom when it has reached its maximum telephoto.
• Histogram: On or Off. Displays a real-time histogram for the image, indicating the brightness of the frame.
• Slow Shutter: Off or Manual. Allows capturing long exposures using a selectable exposure time that covers from 2 to 30 seconds. The camera remains in charge of the aperture.

In all modes other than the Manual mode, the number of settings accessible in the menu varies greatly. Access to the Setup mode, however, is always provided. In the Movie mode, for example, only three settings are available: Continuous AF, Exposure Metering, and Stabilization, an electronic image stabilization system.

Set to the Playback mode the G1 offers Playback mode settings in the first tab of the menu while presenting the access to the Setup menu through the second tab. The first section of the playback menu offers options that are related to the images and movies that have been captured:

• Protect: serves to protect images, One or All, so that they cannot be accidentally erased.
• Delete: serves to delete one image at a time, or all at once.
• DPOF (Digital Print Order Format): allows selecting images that will be printed. Images can be selected individually, or all at once, or Reset, clearing all DPOF tags. In addition, the GE G1 is compatible with PictBridge, and can be connected directly to a PictBridge compliant printer to print photos directly.

• Info Box: On or Off. When set to On, the camera displays each photo with a small box containing its histogram, the aperture and shutter speed used, the exposure compensation if any, and the image size and ISO value superimposed on the right side of the image.
• Trim: allow zooming into an image and capturing as a new image, at a smaller image size, the section that is currently on the monitor.
• Resize: serves to resize an image to a smaller size, either 1024 x 768 or 640 x 480, and saving it as a new image.

• Rotate: makes it possible to change the image orientation by 90° to the right or 90° to the left.
• Slide Show: allows viewing captured images as a slide show, using one of two transition effects or none, with an on-screen time of 1, 3, or 5 seconds. In addition, the slide show can be set to loop or not.
• Red-eye Removal: serves to automatically remove the red-eye effect.

With an image on-screen in Playback, a sound clip up to 60 seconds long can be added by pressing the shutter release, and played back the same way. Moreover, with a movie on screen, the func/ok button, which has no particular role when a still image is on-screen, serves to display a playback panel. The panel, superimposed at the bottom of the monitor, provides controls for Play, Slow Motion, First Frame, Previous Frame, and Edit Movie, the latter making it possible to cut movies and save the edited movie as a new movie.

The GE G1 is not retailed with a memory card. Instead, it offers a 26 MB internal memory and an SD card slot compatible with SD cards up to a maximum capacity of the 4 GB. The SD card slot is located underneath the camera, next to the battery.

The chart below indicates capacities for still images and movies using both the camera's internal memory and an optional 1 GB SD memory card:

The G1 is powered by a very compact Lithium Ion rechargeable battery (GB-20) that is held in place by a small orange spring-loaded clip; preventing it from sliding out when the memory card — in the slot next to it — is removed. A wired charger, (GB-20C) is supplied with the camera that takes approximately 4 hours to recharge the battery.

The GE G1 has only one external connection, next to the tripod mount, covered by a flexible plastic door that fits into the bottom of the camera. Depending on the cable used, the connection serves as a USB (2.0), or AV Out (NTSC or PAL as selected in the Setup menu).