Canon PowerShot G16 review – Autofocus
When it was tested in AP 10 November 2012, the Canon PowerShot G15 scored an impressive 8/10 for autofocus. Now, Canon claims it has made the G16’s AF up to 50% faster. In addition, the new camera features x2/x4 selectable focus peaking for manual focusing.
When shooting in PASM there are three AF systems available on the G16. These are FlexiZone, Face AiAF and tracking AF. FlexiZone allows users to define a custom focus point across 29 horizontal focus points and 17 vertical focus points, making a total of 493 different areas on which to focus. Each focus point can be made bigger or smaller by tapping the menu button when selecting its position. I used this option most frequently as it is the fastest, and using the designated button located to the bottom left of the D-pad allows the position to be changed quickly.
Face AiAF is made up of nine large focus points that quickly find focus in optimum conditions. However, in low light this AF mode is slower than FlexiZone AF. As its name suggests, the main point of this focus mode is to detect and track faces, so it’s good when shooting portraits or groups of people. Lastly, tracking AF is used by putting the tracking target into the centre of the frame and then holding the shutter half way to continuously track the subject.
Overall, I was impressed with the speed of the AF. For instance, in bright sunny conditions I found that the focusing took a fraction of a second to snap into focus and didn’t slow dramatically even in low light. Using FlexiZone in a dimly lit room with the lens fully zoomed, focus was achieved in less than 1sec with the help of the AF assist beam.
