Canon's enthusiast compact with f/1.8 zoom and optical viewfinder — last G-series before 1-inch sensors.
The Canon PowerShot G15 launched in 2012 as Canon's enthusiast compact, featuring a 12.1MP 1/1.7-inch BSI CMOS sensor with a bright 28-140mm equivalent f/1.8-2.8 zoom and optical viewfinder. It was one of the last G-series with this sensor size.
Image quality is good for 1/1.7-inch BSI CMOS — cleaner high-ISO than the G12's CCD. The fast f/1.8-2.8 aperture helps in low light. Full manual controls. RAW shooting. 12.2fps burst. Full HD 1080p 24fps video. DIGIC 5 processor.
Compact body at 352g. 3-inch fixed LCD at 922k dots. Optical viewfinder. Hot shoe. 28-140mm f/1.8-2.8 Canon zoom. Built-in flash. WiFi not built in. SD card slot.
Available used at budget prices. The G7 X with 1-inch sensor was a dramatic improvement in image quality. The optical viewfinder and fast zoom were unique features. The 1/1.7-inch sensor class is comprehensively outperformed by 1-inch compacts. For collectors of the G-series evolution.