GE G2 Review
Review Date: April 17th 2008
Author: Mark Goldstein
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were captured using the 8M Best JPEG image size option producing a file that is around 2.5Mb in size.
Noise
The GE G2 has 6 ISO settings which you can select in the majority of shooting modes. There is virtually no discernible noise at the slowest settings of ISO 64 and 100, but some noise is apparent at ISO 200. At ISO 400 image quality has deterioated quite a lot, with more noise and obvious colour artifacts, and ISO 800 suffers from a a noticeable colour shift. The fastest setting of ISO 1600 should only be used as a last resort, if at all, with the same desaturated look as at ISO 800 and obvious blurring of fine detail. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.
ISO 64 (100% Crop) |
ISO 100 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 200 (100% Crop) |
ISO 400 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 800 (100% Crop) |
ISO 1600 (100% Crop) |
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Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images at the default setting are soft and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can't change the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default results.
Original
(100% Crop) |
Sharpened (100% Crop) |
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File Quality
The GE G2 has 3 different image quality settings available, with Best being the highest quality JPEG option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.
8M
Best (1.82Mb) (100% Crop) |
8M Fine (1.14Mb) (100% Crop) |
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8M
Normal (680Kb) (100% Crop) |
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Chromatic Aberrations
The GE G2 dealt well with chromatic aberrations during the review, with limited purple and green fringing effects present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations. Here are some 100% crops which show the typical chromatic aberrations that you can expect:
Chromatic
Aberrations (100% Crop) |
Chromatic
Aberrations (100% Crop) |
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Macro
The GE G2 offers a Macro mode that allows you to focus on a subject that is 6cms away from the camera. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject in Macro mode (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
Macro Shot |
Macro Shot (100% Crop) |
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Flash
The flash settings on the GE G2 are Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Forced Flash, No Flash, Slow Synchro and Red-Eye Reduction+Slow Synchro. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
Flash Off - Wide Angle (38mm) |
Auto Flash - Wide Angle (38mm) |
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Forced Flash - Telephoto (152mm) |
Forced Flash - Telephoto (152mm) |
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And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Forced Flash and Red-Eye Reduction options caused any amount of red-eye.
Forced Flash |
Forced Flash (100% Crop) |
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Red-Eye Reduction |
Red-Eye Reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night Shot
The GE G2 maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds in the Manual / Long Shutter mode, which is great news if you're interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 10 seconds, aperture of f/6.2 at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.
Night Shot |
Night Shot (100% Crop) |
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Overall Image Quality
The GE G2 produced images of below average quality during the review period. The 8 megapixel images were soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpening setting and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, as you can't increase the in-camera sharpening level. The GE G2 handled chromatic aberrations well, with some limited purple and green fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations. Macro performance is about average, allowing you to focus as close as 6cms away from the subject. The built-in flash isn't very powerful at all, but on the upside there was no discernible red-eye. The night photograph was very good, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds opening up lots of creative possibilities when the sun goes down. The GE G2 produces noise-free images at ISO 64 and 100, but ISO 200 and particularly 400 show obvious noise and colour artifacts. ISO 800 and 1600 both suffer from a desaturated colour shift, with the red channel appearing washed-out, and there's even more noise, artifacts and blurring of fine detail.
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