Robust, powerful yet compact. An apt description of Canon’s PowerShot G10, the perfect camera to get if you don’t want to lug around a big DSLR.

Canon has added a number of sweet improvements to its predecessor, the G9, our favourite being the widening of the lens from a restrictive 35 mm to the new 28 mm, even though the G10 is now a 5x zoom instead of 6x. You’ll find the 28 mm very helpful in landscape photography and the bit of zoom you are sacrificing is well worth it. The 3\" LCD screen benefits from the doubling of pixels on it (to 460 000), making it a dream to work on, especially when reviewing photos. The battery life is also improved, and you now have servo-av plus, an exposure control dial to your service. 

Where the G10 can be faulted, is the lack of HD video as seen on the PowerShot SX1 and there is also a lot of graininess on ISO above 200.  

Although the G10 is a spectacular compact camera, if not the best, you should still not expect the same quality pictures as DSLRs with their bigger image sensors. 

The RRP on the G10 is a steep R7599 (incl VAT) and is available from good camera shops.