Priced £529.99 and due out in late September, the G16 features a new imaging sensor and is the first G-series model to feature wireless connectivity.

Although maintaining the same 12.1 million pixels as the one-year-old PowerShot G15, which it replaces, the G16 is designed to shoot a burst of up to 9.3 JPEG-format frames per second.

Canon points out that the G16 will continuously shoot at this rate until the memory card is exhausted –
an improvement on the previous model.

‘The G15 would do 12fps for about eight shots and then stop – less than a second’s worth,’ said a spokesman. ‘The new camera will do 12fps for five shots and then continue at 9fps until the card is full.’

Creative options now include a star mode, for those keen on astronomy – an area of photography that David Parry from Canon’s Product Intelligence Team sees as ‘quite fashionable’.

In an interview with AP, Parry explained that there are three pre-set options: star nightscape, which produces a long exposure; star trails, which takes a series of images and combines them to achieve a star-trail effect; and star time-lapse movie, which combines movie clips.

The G16, which also boasts a ‘41%’ faster AF than the G15, now includes a manual-focus peaking option, which aims to allow users to highlight high-contrast areas to help accurate focusing in stills and video.

Also new is a background defocus mode, which automatically combines an in-focus image and an out-of-focus shot.

Accessible via the camera menu, there are three levels of background defocus: low, medium and high.

The Wi-Fi-enabled model employs a Digic 6 imaging processor to ‘deliver images with wider dynamic range, low noise and high levels of detail’.

Claimed improvements also include the ability to shoot ‘handheld’ while capturing HDR images.

The aluminium-bodied G16, which is slightly slimmer than its predecessor, features a customisable front dial (in addition to a rear dial), manual control, a raw-format option, plus a shortcut button.

Its 5x f/1.8-2.8 optical zoom is built to deliver the 35mm viewing-angle equivalent of a 28-140mm lens.

The launch comes as 53% of advanced photographers tell Canon that they use a G-series camera for ‘professional purposes’, according to a survey.

Canon claims the results highlight the trust placed in the G-series by professionals who use it ‘as a secondary camera in their day-to-day working life’.

The newcomer features a 1/1.7-type backside-illuminated CMOS imaging sensor, a built-in optical viewfinder and a 3in LCD screen. Its top ISO sensitivity is 12,800, the same as the G15’s.

New lens

Canon has also today unveiled a new 55-250mm zoom lens.

The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM is designed to be compact and lightweight (375g).

Canon’s STM technology aims to provide near-silent AF when capturing movies.

The lens is due to cost £349.99 when it goes on sale in late September.