GE G2

In the early days of digital cameras, it seemed as if every company with even the vaguest of connections to either photography or electronics were prepared to have a crack at making headway in the burgeoning market. A few years down the line and most have fallen by the wayside, leaving the established names to have carte blanche. It may seem like a strange move in this case that General Electric, a fairly large American firm who are involved in aviation and health care, has decided to breach the fold with the 8MP G2.

With the first crop of cameras hitting European shores, the likelihood is at least a few will be appearing in a nearby high-street store. The G2, on the specs front at least, won’t stand out from a crowded sector of sub-£200 models, with a reasonable optical zoom and decent features list. Even the design isn’t particularly groundbreaking, seemingly taking cues from the likes of Samsung and Olympus. With déjà vu looks and middle-of-the-road features, it appears that GE is trying to get a foothold without being overly spectacular.

Taking the price into account, the weight of the G2 is a little on the light side. The metallic-esque finish betrays the bulk to some extent, giving the impression that a more sturdy frame can be expected. For the most part, the physicality of the G2 is kept pleasantly generic so most of the controls can be located easily. The important features and controls, such as the D-pad and Face Detection, are given assured buttons with a satisfying level of depression. The Mode dial is similarly sturdy and locks into each setting in a manner that inspires confidence. Only the zoom control is something of a break from the norm, being a recessed rocker switch that’s given a worryingly small amount of room to operate in. As a result there isn’t a huge amount of control over the speed of the magnification, taking very little for the rocker to be pushed into full pace. With only 4x optical zoom to play with, it normally wouldn’t take much to hit the maximum, but due to the incredibly slow speed of the lens some kind of balance is restored.

In the absence of a viewfinder, the LCD is relied upon to relay image information and in the case of the G2, the screen isn’t the best. Many objects suffer from the lack of available pixels, especially text, making the focus difficult to judge. The exposure also takes a hit, with the overly pale cast making images appear overexposed. Performing the more basic tasks, such as displaying icons relating to features, is tackled in a more successful manner, although quite what the point of displaying the outline of a Cluedo figure when Face Detection is selected is perplexing. As seems to be edging worryingly towards the norm in digital cameras, turning the Mode dial results in both the desired reaction and a needless animation, which cuts in after the new mode has been confirmed and is already displayed on screen. Although it may appear flashy and impressive, the delay is annoying and without merit.

The screen isn’t helped much by the sluggish and often overly particular focus. With a tendency to get confused after even a slight amount of zooming, taking a quick snap isn’t as simple as it should be. When the focus did step in and in the right levels of light, the delay was considerably reduced and the results tended to be soft more often than not. Although the delay when focusing is shortened, there’s equally as considerable a time period between pressing the shutter release and taking the shot, making camera shake far too simple to achieve. Even with the electronic image stabilisation in place, which simply alters the ISO to compensate, the time between pressing and taking the image was too lengthy for anyone but the steadiest-handed to keep things sharp. Where the screen looked washed out at times, the images often suffered the same fate. With overexposure relatively common and the contrast confused at best, images tend to be overly dull. On the plus side, colours stood out in the correct conditions, but too much information was lost overall for the camera to make a decent attempt at an eye-catching image. Although the specs of the GE G2 should give it a level of competency at taking an outdoor shot, the optics are clearly at fault in this case, making the results decidedly below par.

Budget cameras should have the price range taken into account before unjustly criticising them, and the GE certainly falls into that category. The rest of the camera certainly isn’t all bad, and in places the direct simplicity is actually of benefit. Both the D-pad and Mode dial are sturdy enough to be confident when using them, with only the zoom blighting the otherwise decent controls. Unfortunately, the image quality isn’t of an impressive level, and many of the basics are discarded producing a below-average end product. The price may entice those on a budget, but be sure to look around before settling for the GE.