I retro-review Canon's legendary PowerShot G1 from the year 2000! Buy Gordon a coffee: www.paypal.me/cameralabs Gordon's In Camera book: amzn.to/2n61PfI / Amazon uk: amzn.to/2mBqRVZ Cameralabs merchandise: redbubble.com/people/cameralabs/shop Canon PowerShot G1 sample images: www.cameralabs.com/ Music: www.davidcuttermusic.com / @dcuttermusic Equipment used for producing my videos Sony A6400: amzn.to/3hul53c Sony e 24mm f1.8: amzn.to/2TqWNzk Rode NT USB mic: amzn.to/3AdHcUp Rode Wireless Go II mic: amzn.to/3xkCvGo Rode Lavalier Go mic: amzn.to/3ygzzKY MacBook Pro 13in (16GB / 512GB): amzn.to/3hrwMYD As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

I'm still using a G2 as my main/only camera. It was the camera that got me into photography when I was around 5 years old. I have fond memories playing around with the dials and menus at the zoo... and I would have never guessed that many years later, it would become my only camera. The truth is, for photography, I haven't run into many limitations. With a bit of work, it still takes incredible photos (4 megapixels is plenty, and the lens is capable of very shallow DOF), and the retro factor gives it character and makes using it an experience in itself.

Old tech weather it be cameras, computers, software ect is just so much more interesting then the new flashy stuff, and this second channel does a great job of revisiting these photographic machines that shaped what we know today.

I have the powershot G9 for years. Great compact camera.

This is incredible. I was waiting for this camera review from you. Thank you, Gordon!

Excellent review! These early mid 2000 mega pixel cameras are just so much fun. I have a Pentax MX4 (2004), that I still use occasionally and manage to get some good results. So glad to see these camera get the spotlight again!

Wow, the guy running this small channel does such a great job. He only has about 2K subscribers now, but I bet he could easily get over 200K! Certainly deserves it. I love this new channel, Gordon, the videos are terrific, the idea is very appealing, the format works great, and the camera choices are obviously more than just a collection of random thrift store finds, they’re the result of years of consideration and deep experience. It feels quite special seeing the channel still in its infancy, too; kind of like getting in on the ground floor or something :) Wish you all the best, and so glad I found these! I’m really enjoying them, I hope they were as fun to make as they look!

Love this. Thanks for making these videos. I remember a lot of the cameras you talk about. Great work!!

Thanks Gordon for this retro review, I really enjoyed it! I have a G5 myself and take it out of the cupboard every now and then for a 'spin'. It has a fantastic F 2.0 lens that I really enjoy. My best photo's of the kids were taken with this camera, so it also has quite an emotional value for me.

Protect this man at all cost.

I've been looking for a channel like this for awhile now. Great review! I knew 8mp was enough for me but I wasn't expecting 3mp to be just as good. Good color can carry an image a long way

I had a G5 back in the day. In many ways an excellent camera. It even had a built-in ND filter. My biggest gripe was the shutter delay which made it almost impossible to capture action shots.

Great video, Gordon. I just discovered your retro channel. I remember when that G1 came out, a friend of mine bought one and I was sooooo jealous. Fast forward to now, I own every G Series camera from the G1 through the G9, as well as my beloved G16. Keep these coming! :-)

Totally enjoyable Gordon. I still have my G5 that I bought in 2003 and does get used from time to time. I originally bought it as a 'partner' for my D30 dslr and used it for when I didn't want to carry loads of gear. However one G camera that still gets used a lot is my G9 as a kind of 'pocket camera', in fact the main way it shows its age is that it is a little bit slow on writing RAW files compared to more modern cameras but the RAW files are still good. Both these cameras I bought from new and after a few years gave them away to family/friends and both of them came back to me a few years ago so are now part of my 'collection'.

i still remember my dad giving me this camera when i was like 6 years old (as a hand me down ahah) and it being so so so cool! i was digging through some stuff the other day, and found my camera, and looking through all the photos was so fun. i really know nothing about cameras, even this one; that ive had for as long as i could remember, so it was really helpful seeing this video and learning more about it! thank you!

Wonderful review! Before the silly megapixel wars got going. There were a lot of very good compact cameras with 2 - 5 megapixel sensors!

A really thorough review (as you would expect from your good self). A good camera in it's day, a touch on the expensive side but a great little buy now for a retro camera collector.

It's now summer 2024. I've had my G2 since almost when it launched. I just bought a used G5 for dirt cheap. I love these cameras, even in today's world, they produce entirely usable images.

Enjoyable retro-review. I liked the Canon G series cameras a lot. Over the years I owned the G1, G2, G3, G5 and G6. I still have a pristine example of the G2. I just dug up and recharged the batteries for it, after I watched this video.

This review is so good thank you 🥰💖

Nice drive down memory lane! I had a G1 (and a 1GB microdrive). It was my first digital camera and I wish I still had it, though back in the day I was always selling my current camera to help fund the next, and the next, and the next. After a few bodies, I ended up with a 1D Mk II and used it for 10 straight years before moving on. Thanks for these reviews on this channel, great fun.

I love this series!

OK I see this Gordon. Great review!

Nice! I bought the G1 in 2000. My first camera buy after my Pentax MV somewhere in the 80's. Still own it, your review makes me going to use it again :) Thanks!

As always Gordon interesting and a great presentation

Hey Gordon I feel like this is the kind of review that you used to do way back! I miss those early days! I just subbed with notification!

I've got a G2. Still works! Had the 1GB IBM drive too, but it died many years ago.

I'm a little bit late to the channel, but really enjoyed this review. My first PowerShot was the G15. Since then, I found a G2, G3 and G6 at estate sales for $5-10 each. I use the G6 occasionally. Mostly I use my G5X Mark II. All are great cameras.

I love these historical videos

I tested the Canon G1 and Olympus P-400 8x10 dye-sub printer at a camera store back then and liked what I saw, hence I bought both of them. While the G1 was good by quickly replaced by the D30 since I preferred shooting with an SLR liked body.

Thanks as always! The images actually look really nice, sharp and pleasant. I have a Pro 1 on the way (thanks to your other video) but am also now curious on this! GAS oh dear!

After decades as a film photographer/processor, the G1 was my first digital camera. I jumped on board due to the inclusion of RAW format and extensive external controls that had previously been lacking. It did have a noticeable magenta color cast to most images, which was argued ad-nauseum in the photo forums of the day, but I rapidly saw the potential of the then-new digital photography technology, and began switching from my film bodies after further learning on the Minolta DiMage 7, and then jumped in fully with the introduction of the Canon EOS 10D DSLR.

cool review. This was my first digital camera and I loved it. Your pictures have a very similar vibe like mine from then. What you omitted in your review was different sensor the G1 had. It didn't have RGB filters but yellow magenta and cyan. Something never done again. it was a hassle to do panos though, but I made so many nice pictures with it...

I owned the G1, G3 and G6 (as well as the Pro1). Loved them all but the G3 and Pro1 were my favorites and the ones that delivered most on functionality and image quality. I actually used the G6 and Pro1 for some early professional documentary and portrait work. Canon really was swinging for the fences during this era with products that were simply beyond what the competition was offering.

Awesome video.

Great series! My favorite digital dinosaur is my Nikon D1H - CF cards and power are still readily available, and my copy was carried to the sandbox as a press camera covering the GWOT and bears appropriate battle scars to match :-) It still takes fantastic images!

The trick to making pictures from old cameras look good is jazzy beats. Confirmed.

Great review Gordon. I still have my copy, in its original box, with packing, manuals etc, plus the telephoto adaptor and a couple of spare batteries. After seeing your review, I was inspired to take it out and found the batteries still had charge, so I plugged in a 3GB CF card and fired some shots. Sure, it doesn't have the DR of today's cameras, and the chromatic aberration was a bit fierce, but PS took care of some of that. I'm glad I kept my copy! If you are on a roll to review vintage cameras, I recommend the Canon EOS D30. This was not the first DSLR I got. My first was the EOS 400D, but I was intrigued by this unit when I saw it given a double-page spread in Tom Ang's book: "Photography the Definitive Visual History. In it Tom explained how this camera was the first ASP-C CMOS sensor DSLR to come on the market, making it significantly cheaper than previous CMOS-sensor cameras, and with great DR and little noise. Intrigued, I thought it would be great to have a sample for a class I was preparing on the technical history of photography, so I did a search on the web and found one from a shop in Japan on e-Bay, unused, for $60. It turned out the camera had been damaged by being scored across the LCD during unpacking and it was never sold. Since it was so cheap I purchased it and when it arrived I found it otherwise worked perfectly. So, I bought a dead camera with a good body for a few dollars, and got Canon to marry the two together and give me a report on its condition. They confirmed it was essentially unused, and I have taken numerous shots with it, being amazed at the quality of the images from its 3.3MP sensor. Interestingly, although it had an APS-C sensor, it uses only EF lenses as the EF-S mount was not developed until the EOS 20D a few years later. I was further intrigued to read a detailed report by the late and highly-respected photographer Michael Reichmann, who created the Luminous Landscape website and was the author of numerous books, and featured in many exhibitions. In his report he made the stunning comment that for the first time a DSLR had bettered the best printed images scanned from a top of the line SLR, printer and scanner combo up to 11"x14". He got a lot of flak for that, but others confirmed his findings and certainly I am impressed by the results.

I had the G2 and it was an impressive camera at the time. It brought me to the 350D!

My G2 is still in great condition. I bought it because it had basically the same controls as my SLR. My thinking was I could test all my settings on the G2 prior to shooting the same image on film.

Nice mirrorles,but loved how every camera had an ovf.

After watching this video, I ended up tracking down a decent G2 with the Tele converter for 60$ Canadian. Love the thing, appreciate the video!

The G1 was my first digital camera in the spring of 2001. I read alot of reviews and finally got this expensive piece of equipment. Along with it I bought the 340 MB IBM microdrive since the 128 and 256 MB flash cards were way too expensive and the supplied 16 MB was kind of small :-). It replaced my Canon Epoca 135 which was a funny looking camera. In 2008 I took the leap to DSLR with a 40D and as you said it used the same battery. In 2015 I got the 7D mkII and that's still my camera today with almost enough money spent on equipment. I still got the G1, charger, microdrive and original 16 MB card. The camera is on display next to my Epoca. I also sometimes use my dad's Canon AE-1 program or my Braun Imperial medium format with B&W film which I develop myself. I'm not a collector but more of a hoarder :-D Should ask the son of my sister in-law if he sell me my old 40D... Thank you for this video, it brought back memories.

Wow just one generation from mine of the G2. These are so fun. Mine the battery had gone bye bye time for another. Actually my brother uses it now.

While the subject is the Canon G1, this video made me nostalgic for my old Sony S70. The S70 was the first digital camera I had that was good enough to take around when traveling, though only having 32MB or maybe a 64MB MemoryStick meant I used it relatively sparingly like a film camera. Later on I used it in the office to snap pics of whiteboards. I probably should've kept it as a collectable but the zoom motor was failing, it had an odd small USB-B connector and based on other devices I felt it was only a matter of time for the sensor to fail. Still, lots of good memories!

Wow, what a coincidence! I just bought this camera because it has a very unique "CYGM" color filter. I like your channel very much, it makes me know many old cameras.

Interesting Video, Gordon. ,, I have an old G1 in the original box packed away in my closet somewhere. Haven't shot it for years,, guess I'll have to dig it out and see if the batteries will still take a charge.

Wow very nice. I have used tons of these old Canon digital cameras, several of them definitely look a lot more like film than any new digital cameras. I've had a few G Series cameras but I mainly use the S cameras now because a lot of these have the same sensor you can find in the G but the cameras are smaller sometimes there's some differences in the lens but you pretty much can get pretty close to the same results in a much smaller package. My favorite are the Canon S cameras in the 4 to 7 megapixel range can do some amazing shots. I used to sell cameras on eBay and I tried quite a few of these and I've been blown away how good some of the pictures were from some cameras I only paid like 10 or 15 dollars for at a thrift store. And believe me they are not all created equal just use a canon don't waste your time on the other ones. IMO

That was a nice trip to the past

My first Canon G-series camera was the G3. One time I set it on a plastic chair to take a group photo and it fell onto the lens. The resulting damage was not worth repairing. I replaced it with a G6. My subsequent G cameras were the G11, G1 X, and G5X Mark II. While I also have DLSRs and now a mirrorless camera, I always like having a quality compact camera for those occasions when I want to carry less gear. Thanks for the video.

Great review of a great camera (at the time) ... I bought the G2 at the end of 2001 for around 2000 german mark or 999 Euro, my most expensive camera except the 20D in 2005 (1350 EUR). I liked the 4 MPix more than the 3 MPix (as former IT specialist or better generalist :). I was not shure if this would be a real photographic tool but I thought it would be a good "photocopier" for visits to libraries and I needed - during writing a book - a device to capture photos/drawings in original literature to derive my own works from these (mostly photos / drawings of energy conversion devices). But this little camera brought me back to photography. I enjoyed the fast process between taking a photo and getting the results - a much faster learning cycle. And the flippy screen + the fast lens gave me lots of freedom about camera position and reduced DOF. Nowadays I really love my 1100 EUR combo of the M50 and the EF-M 32 which has roughly the same size but gives me stellar IQ in photo (and video). The flippy screen and the high max aperture are paramount to me in that newer walkaround combo!

not sure about seaside shots, but colours on closeups have a really original feel..also you are a good actor ')

WOW it even has a JUMP button. G4 was skipped because the number 4 in Japanese sounds like death oddly enough Nikon did make a D4

I bought a G11 new & still use it. I also bought a used G5 that was IR converted that I acquired around the same time as the G11. And these were my first Canons. I was teased about it because most people at my retail photography job were team Canon or team Nikon. I shot with Nikon film & dslr gear, but outgrew the point & shoot coolpix cameras that I started with. Getting an employee discount from the dealers encouraged me to play for both teams. I love them both, but my G series models cover most of what I shoot these days.

Thanks! I like these retro reviews. Gordon, where can I get one of those t-shirts?

One of the first digital cameras I ever used

Ahh, the G1. I got one used as my second 'real' camera, after the auto-only Sony DSC-P92. Very chunky, but it was my first foray into editing RAW files, and was a great intro. I still have it around somewhere; it's surprising how well it holds up these days. The dynamic range is shockingly good. Manual focus is a little goofy, but worked. I think the mode dial on mine is equally as beat up, too.

Muchas gracias por el Review,actualmente me han prestado una cámara de este modelo,y estoy aprendiendo como configurar y utilizarla.

My G10 has been a great machine even to this day. It has many things on the body of the camera I love, including an optical viewfinder. When you're in bright sun, that gets the job don when the LCD is not easily visible. I would say that the only good replacement for the G10 is another G10. It's cool to see the great grandfather of the line. Until this video, I've never seen a G1

Funny enough I was down in Brighton just the other day with my power shot. G15 took some great pictures!!

The thing about that camera being CCD, it was easier to raise exposure in post than rely on the in camera amplifier. With today's technology, just shoot at 50 iso and post process in software.

Hi Gordon, this is exactly what I was looking for. I was gifted a G1 many years ago along with external batteries charger, 2 batteries, table top tripod, and Speedlite 420 flash (I think that’s the correct number), audio plug, etc. Not being a photographer, it has pretty much sat in the closet for the better of 10 years. One day I started getting interested in learning more so I took it out and started playing around with it. So the batteries are pretty much shot (no pun intended!) But I picked up a 16gb compact flash card and inexpensive card reader to plug into my iMac. After trying things out I hope you could help with a few questions. After formatting my CF card, I can see my pics in the Finder after opening the folders (Image Capture doesn’t recognize the camera when directly connected to my iMac) However, how I cannot see the RAW images I took (there is a file that will show an image in quick look, but can’t be opened). Do you know what software or other method I could use to process the RAW images? Also, I thought I may be able to use the G1 as a webcam but the old Canon software doesn’t work. Any suggestions to know if this would be possible? Finally, any other tips you may suggest for me to use it in the best way possible? I’m thinking it would be a great way to learn the basics. Thanks for any suggestions! Dan

This was my first real digital camera. Took a trip across America with it and used the lack of IR filter to do some fun B&W IR photography. Used to fight my cousin, and her Nikon 990, over which was the superior camera. ;)

Other than the low MP count and relatively tiny articulated LCD screen, this camera is actually impressive today 😊

Nice! I have a G2 and G3. The G2 fixed many things wrong with the G1 and the G3 fixed many things wrong with the G2. However, the image quality on both, the G2 especially, is classic Canon. It still looks incredible today, a very nostalgic, filmic look that has become popular once again. It's a shame Canon has moved so far away from this look the past 12-15 years. Clients still love the photos from these old, 4 megapixel cameras. Now you can just pick any camera these days because they all have the same, sterile and over-sharpened digital look. I'll keep my dinosaur cameras! 😃

I own this camera. Got it about a year ago. I have been building a compact digital camera collection.

Excellent camera, my first digital Camera, and it still works. the batteries are dead (even the one I bought to replace the original), according to the photos on the 512 Mb card I last used it in 2010 when I started to use a smartphone for photos and videos. it looks a bit bulky these days compared to the new compact digital but it is still usable. the image quality still holds at Maximum resolution. there is an annoying green dot on every photo (from day one of using the camera). Thank you for making this video, I also watched other reviews of cameras of the same period that I was considering buying (the Nikon COOLPIX 950 and the Sony Cyber-shot P1).

I believe the lens was made by Canon , the first Leica / Panasonic Digilux used it as at the other end of the scale did the Various Casios ...... Great to see the Video footage, it looks like 70s Super-8 cine film ..... thanks again Gordon ..

Try Topaz Gigapixel on the video for fun 😂 that would be a real torture test

Just bought this one, in mint condition, for USD 35 :)) Purely because of nostalgia (used to own a G2).

Love your retro reviews. How about doing a review of the canon powershot S50?

Discovered this channel after you responded to Camera Conspiracies' vid :D I am a sucker for old tech channels like Techmoan and LGR so i'm really happy to have found your more laid back, vintage / retro camera reviews - throwbacks and i initially really liked watching your ZV1 vs A7C before picking up my ZV1 yesterday :D your videos are well put together, super useful infos, insane close up shots and top tier quality so hope you keep the vids up thank you ! PS: Those shots at the end and inside the Café were amazing for such an old digital camera wow i'm actually really shocked about the colors especially, they even had those right at the time :o Are you a fan of coffee ? Cause the Café had a lot of specialty coffees and slow brewing methods like the Aeropress and the V60 :) Big fan of the Hario V60 with Kenyan / Ethiopian Coffee beans :D can't wait for more old photography tech from you.

I still use in a regular basis my Nikon P7800 (Nikon answer to Canon’s G line). For some applications it is more practical than my FF Mirrorless . As Gordon says :Canon nailed it with the G-1 and moved the whole camera industry in a good direction.

Toshiba pdr 3330 if my memory serves. It made really decent photos of 3.1 mpx. Next was a superzoom Fuji S602Z.

The top screen is kind of necessary. For one the battery capacity back in the day wasn't all that exciting. You turn off the main screen, you can just continue using the camera fully just from the top LCD and the viewfinder. For other the main screen used CCFL backlight, which had two drawbacks. For one it ate a lot of power, and for other it had no chance against the sun. Transflective LCDs would become good enough a short time later to keep the camera usable in sunlight. DPreview was the first to notice that G1, EPSON and SONY share the optical subassembly; in the G2 review, the camera uses the same lens again, and they say they have been assured this time that Canon is the real OEM of the lens. This doesn't seem entirely surprising, given they are one of the major optical companies. The other two companies do not have optics expertise or manufacturing, SONY relied on external suppliers for optics before they absorbed Konica-Minolta. Similarly, Canon was reliant on CCD sensors manufactured by SONY, as was half of the rest of the industry, it's all very deeply intertwined. Apropos that CCD, the one in the G1 is unique. Instead of using red green and blue tiles that mimic human vision (Bayer matrix), it's got cyan yellow green magenta. This means higher light sensitivity, but also less detail recovery, and different colour capture traits. Might be worth a comparison. Yeah i should take G2 out for a spin again.

Actually the recent mirrorless cameras with electronic shutter are the compact cameras of the past on steroids.

Actually Canon was quite early when they went into the 3.3 megapixel line when they released the Powershot S20 back in January 2000. Right around the same time when the Coolpix 990 came around.

Any idea whether older cameras like this can be retrofitted with newer sensors and processors? I think that would be pretty cool. Physical/mechanical quality seems to tend to be highest in the earliest products of any new technology. After that it seems to go down in the interest of pricing and ergonomics.

Greetings! It would be interesting to see a review on a camera that dates back to the same years, the Olympus camedia c-4040. Although an old one, it is quite an interesting camera. bought it with a big kit for about 15 dollars. The resolution is actually worse than in this canon, but it's still nice to use for daily street photography)

Maybe there will be a resurgence of vintage digital cameras in the future like most classic film SLRs right now.

Cool, you're Brighton based too!. I just picked up the g1x by mistake, I was actually after a more authentic, dated camera like the g1 but I love the massive sensor of the g1x, do you have any advice for the g1x if you're familiar with it?

A flippy screen! I wonder, was this the first camera of its kind, with this kind of screen? I agree on the TIFF saving issue! I have a Nikon CoolPix 4300, 4mp and in TIFF mode it took ages to save! I have a few compact flash 2gb cards to go with the camera and even a spare battery. Lol, the video is so primitive compared to what we have today! But, hay, selfie screen, before they were trendy!

Any plans of reviewing the Canon EOS 300D / EOS Kiss? Remembering it was the first DSLR that was in reach for prosumers/hobbyists and I bought it right away.

I have the Canon G2! Much more modern! 😁

I still have my G1 in mint condition. I remember some had a power supply problem, mine included. I had mine repaired under extended warranty because Canon acknowledged a design flaw.

Nice! :)

The G1 was the first real camera i bought my self as a kid ^^ got it used in 2007 for 50.- . A few years later I upgraded to a PS A2200 but that was missing most of the pro features of the G1, so a few years later i upgraded back to a G series, the G15

I bought a used one about 8 years ago. $185. I have a used G5 and a bought-new G7 with a fantastic tele adapter.

i have seen this place so often on your vids wish i could see it myself once 10:16

The photos from this camera look phenomenal for such a low pixel count sensor. The video....well it is what it is. lol. More disappointed than ever for passing this camera up at the thrift store. However your video was interesting informative and a lot of fun. Well done!

Hello! I'm an amateur auto photographer. Recently I've been trying to achieve the late '90s/early '00s look in my photos. Do you know if this camera features the classic orange font time stamp on the bottom right hand corner when taking a photo? Thanks! 😁

The G series cameras were always great cameras. As similar with others it is only video that shows up the age of the camera. Out of all of them up to todays model which do you think is the best one?

I remember dreaming about having a G3 in those times..

I hope you get to the Canon D30!

Came here from the dp review video

The best pick for recording video of aliens

I bought a PowerShot G2 , 4 mega several years ago it a Value Village and I just put it in a drawer , recently I bought a Canon Powershot S 410 ELPH made of aluminum now that's a cute Camra the S 410 ELPH powershot its not made cheaply and heavy for a super compact camra it's a 4 Megapixel

I had the G5, great camera!

I don't know for sure who made the G1, but a tremendous number of compact cameras from several different companies from the early 2000s and into the 2010s, that all share the same lens, were usually made by Sanyo. The other possibility is that Tamron was making a lot of lens/shutter/sensor units for other manufacturers to use.

Gordon, why are the numbers of pixels increasing when I zoom in digitally with the fuji XF10? I dont understand. Se the video " Gordon please explain"