As the newest member of Canon's G Series cameras, the Canon G15 does not disappoint. It is an all around excellent point and shoot for anyone ranging from amateurs to seasoned professionals. The 12.1-megapixel sensor paired with the Digic 5 image processor makes for a great combination.

Great image quality; Professional level mode dial with lots of physical buttons; Fast f1.8-f2.8 lens; * button; Solid build

Below average viewfinder; Non-articulating screen will bother some; Some AF hunting in very low light

Like a Canon EOS DSLR without a lens mount is a good way to think of the manufacturer's high-end PowerShot, the G15 . It sports a similar rock solid build – here aluminium – and control layout to an EOS camera, but is of course more compact.

Built-to-last aluminium construction; solid feature set; optical viewfinder; 5x optical zoom usable during capture of video and stills; manual top plate dials; pop-up flash

LCD screen is fixed; bulkier overall than all but Nikon's P7700; pricey given that a DSLR could be bought for even its lower street price around £440

As with previous G series PowerShots, whilst quality is not an exact match, the G15 will appeal most greatly to existing DSLR owners looking for a smaller backup for those shoot-from-the-hip photo opportunities.

Now that compact system cameras (CSCs) are available for as little as ￡350, is anyone going to buy a conventional compact camera that costs over ￡500? Canon clearly thinks so, but then, the G15 doesn't bear much resemblance to most compact cameras.

The Canon PowerShot G15 is a very good compact camera with good standard features that help attract the attention of both expert users to novice users. One of the most interesting features of the camera is definitely the front ring that gives you quick access to various modes of use.

Intelligent IS, 5x optical zoom with wide-angle lens, front control dial, RAW Multi Aspect, Smart Auto to 58 scenes; Full HD 1080p; DIGIC 5; Wide opening on all zoom, manual control aperture and shutter speed, ND filter, HS System, mini-HDMI port; HDR Mode, Display 3-inch PureColor II G, High-speed...

Battery Pack; Price

Canon's PowerShot G-series of compact digital cameras has everything it takes to bring smiles to enthusiasts. Tough build, brilliant optics, lots of external controls and stellar performance are only a few of the many great things about the cameras belonging to the series.

Although the PowerShot G15 is a good camera, reluctantly we're getting off the small-chip G-series merry-go-round – especially at its list price of $499.

Bright f/1.8-f/2.8 5x zoom; Quality stills and videos; Excellent image stabilization system

Better alternatives available; Pokes along in RAW; Very noisy at high ISOs

Don't know about you, but I shudder when I read that a camera company has described a lens or a camera as being ‘bright'. I presume they mean that the lens involved is what used to be described as ‘fast' … you know, with a maximum aperture of f1.5 or f2 or nearby. But bright …?

The Canon G15 premium compact digital camera steps up its game over its predecessor, the G12, in many ways. The most notable is the 5x optical zoom (28-140mm equivalent) lens that's very fast for a camera of this type, ranging from f/1.8 at wide to f/2.8 at tele.

Excellent; fast f/1.8-2.8 5x optical zoom lens with 28-140mm equivalent range; Intelligent IS with up to 4-stops of correction; Upgraded to 12-megapixel; 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor; Comfortable and ergonomic build; with a slimmer design than the G12; High quality images for enthusiast compact camera,

LCD screen no longer articulated (unlike its predecessor; the G12; Lens slightly soft at wide and tele; High chromatic aberration and barrel distortion at wide angle in uncorrected RAW files; Optical viewfinder has limited coverage (about 80%) and demonstrates significant parallax; Full HD videos

A wonderful point and shoot camera which also,has an optical viewfinder which is most useful. it works as fine as some Canon SLR's.