GE G1 Review

The G1's zoom lens provides 3x (38-114mm in 35mm equivalent) optical zoom capabilities in an amazingly thin configuration. This is an all-glass, lens constructed of 13 elements in 10 groups with a maximum aperture of F3.5 - F4.3. It has a 4.5X digital zoom option. The lens does not retract from the body and when powered down is protected by a built in lens cover.

The built-in flash has modes for Auto, fill, Red-eye reduction, Slow synchro, Slow synchro+Red-eye reduction, Forced flash and off. The working range is Approx. 1 - 10.8 ft. (0.3m - 3.3m) / Tele: Approx. 1 - 8.9 ft. (0.3m - 2.7m), at ISO 400.

The auto focus system has options for Spot AF (center only), Multi AF (auto selects one of nine AF areas), Face Detection, and Macro AF. The G1 also features an AF-assist illuminator to aid in low light conditions, which can be turned On or Off.

The auto focus working range is:

Normal 2 ft. (60cm) to infinity
Macro: 2.0 in. (5cm) wide, 9.8 in. (25cm) telephoto.

On the back is a large and bright 2.5-inch color LCD with 153,600 pixels of resolution. This is used for playback review, menu operations and is the live viewfinder with approx. 100% frame coverage.

Controls on the back: At the top right is the Mode dial with positions for Auto, Manual, Image Stabilization, Movie, Scene (Sport, Children, Indoor, Leaf, Snow, Sunset, Fireworks, Glass, Museum, Landscape, Night Landscape, Night Portrait), Panorama, and Portrait. Below is the dedicated Face Detection AF mode button. The MENU button calls up and dismisses the menu system. The 4-way controller lets you easily navigate menu screens or select images for playback. You press "Up" to use exposure compensation, "Left" to change the flash mode, "Down" to change the drive mode, and "Right" to enable or disable Macro focus mode. The func./ok button accepts menu selections and also brings up the Function shortcut menu. The "trash can" button is used to delete images in playback mode.

Located on top is the power on/off button, shutter release, and the zoom controls with also act as the index and magnify options in playback mode.

The I/O connector on the bottom allows connection of the USB cable for downloading to the computer or direct printing to PictBridge compatible printers as well as the A/V cable if you want to display photos and movies on a TV. You can also see the tripod socket.

The G1 has ~26 megabytes of internal memory for saving images and movie clips. It supports the use of SD up to 2GB or SDHC cards up to 4GB via the expansion slot on the bottom. Image data can be copied from internal memory to a flash card via the Setup menu.

Shown here with a speedy ATP Pro Max 2GB SD card. This is a 7-megapixel camera that makes BIG images, movies will consume a lot of space too - so be sure to get a large SD/SDHC card (at least 512MB) with your purchase.

The G1 is powered by a proprietary GB-20 3.7v 750mAh lithium battery pack, which is replenished in the included external AC battery charger.GE claims a battery life of approx. 200 still images on a single charge (using CIPA Standards of testing.)