The Canon PowerShot G15 and Nikon C

The Canon PowerShot G15 and Nikon Coolpix P7700 are two cameras with a long lineage (with the Nikon's being a bit harder to follow). The Canon PowerShot G-series and Nikon's competitive offerings have gone through numerous variations over the years, but haven't strayed far from the original design philosophy: a fast lens, manual controls, and expandability via system accessories. The thing that's changed the most has been how you compose photos. For a long time, both the G and P-series cameras tended to offer optical viewfinders and articulating LCDs. On these latest models, the G15 lost the flip-out/rotating LCD but retains the optical viewfinder, while the P7700 sports only an articulating display and has shed its viewfinder.

As one would expect, both cameras have their own strengths - and weaknesses. In our shooting we found that the Canon G15 was a much more responsive camera, while the Nikon P7700 produced better quality images (up to a point). The Coolpix P7700 also has a slightly broader feature-set, and a more versatile movie mode than the G15. As always, which you might end up judging 'best' depends on your priorities, but let's break down how the two cameras fared in the various comparisons that we've done throughout this review:

Design and Handling

The PowerShot G15 and Coolpix P7700 have similar designs, both offering dual command dials, hotshoes, and direct controls for exposure compensation. Everyone in the dpreview office likes the P7700's larger grip, but the general consensus was that the G15 feels more solid in the hand.

Each camera features a 3-inch LCD with VGA resolution that perform well outdoors and in low light. The Coolpix gets points for having a fully articulating LCD, which allows you to shoot over crowds or take ground-level shots without straining your neck. On the other hand, the PowerShot G15 offers an optical viewfinder - a feature nearly extinct on compact cameras. Don't expect a DSLR-quality viewfinder, though. The G15's small, tunnel-type viewfinder shows 80% of the frame, and offers a view of the lens when it's at the wide-angle position.

We found adjusting settings to be quite a bit easier on the PowerShot G15. Adjusting simple things like ISO or image quality simply requires opening up the Function Menu. On the Coolpix P7700, you must use the Quick Mode dial on the top of the camera, which requires a lot more dial-turning and button-pressing.

Both cameras support remote shutter control: wired in the case of the G15, and wired or wireless for the P7700. As mentioned above, each camera has a hot shoe, with the P7700 having the added ability to control external flashes wirelessly.

Winner: While the P7700's flip-out LCD is appealing, we think that the G15's smaller, more rugged body and optical viewfinder give it a slight edge. Naturally, this is completely subjective, and your opinion may differ.

Features

As with the question of optical viewfinder vs articulating LCD, buyers have another decision to make when it comes to lenses. The PowerShot G15 gives you a faster F1.8 - F2.8 lens, though its focal length its limited to 28-140mm (equivalent). The Coolpix P7700 offers a bigger zoom lens, with a focal range of 28-200mm, but it's slower, with a max aperture range of F2 - F4. What this means in the real world is that you'll need to use higher sensitivities on the P7700 than you would on the G15, especially in low light situations.

Both cameras have similar feature-sets, which include manual exposure controls, white balance fine-tuning, built-in ND filters, and electronic levels. The Canon gets points for having a dual-axis level (versus single-axis on the P7700), while the Nikon's in-camera Raw processor, time-lapse function, and aforementioned wireless flash control are appreciated. One flaw that we discovered on the P7700 is that the live histogram doesn't change when you adjust the exposure in manual (M) mode, which makes it effectively useless as an exposure guide.

The similarity in features continues when it comes to dynamic range expansion. The PowerShot G15 can reduce highlight clipping, brighten shadows, or both. In our tests, both features worked well, though noise levels increased slightly. Nikon's Active D-Lighting is similar to the G15's DR Correct feature, though we didn't think it was quite as effective. Both cameras have HDR (high dynamic range) features, though only the PowerShot produced realistic-looking images.

Speaking of realistic, as you'd expect these days, both the G15 and P7700 offer plenty of filters and special effects, such as toy camera, miniature effect, and selective color. The Coolpix has a handy 'sweep panorama' feature that performs well, though the field-of-view is a bit squashed. Still, it's a lot easier than having to stitch things together on your computer.

Winner: PowerShot G15

Performance

If there's one bad habit that Nikon's Coolpix P-series cameras can't seem to shake, it's poor responsiveness. Even when switching shoo