Canon PowerShot G15

If you're wondering if you missed the G13 and G14, don't—the Canon PowerShot G15 actually the successor to the PowerShot G12, a camera that is now two years old.

The G15 offers numerous upgrades—a 12-megapixel CMOS sensor, a faster lens, and a sharper rear display among them. It's a better camera than the G12, but it's not good enough to oust the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 as our Editors' Choice for high-end compact cameras.

The rear LCD is 3 inches in size and, unlike the G12 and G1 X, is fixed. It is very sharp thanks to a 922k-dot resolution, and bright enough for use on sunny days.

Physical controls are plentiful, a fact that is sure to please demanding photographers. There's a Mode dial up top, along with a dedicated dial to adjust EV Compensation, the On/Off button, and shutter release.

It doesn't keep up with a D-SLR in terms of speed, but the G15 keeps up with others in its class. It starts and shoots in 2.3 seconds, can snap a photo every 0.55 second in continuous drive mode, and notches a relatively short 0.2-second shutter lag.

We shot our standard test scene using the G15 at its widest angle and lowest ISO.

This 100 percent crop of the previous shot shows you the level of detail that you can expect from the G15.

This shot, taken at the 140mm equivalent focal length at f/2.8 and minimum focus distance, displays the shallow depth of field that the camera is capable of producing.