BenQ GH200 Pocket Zoom Camera Review

Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification


The BenQ GH200 is a new compat pocket zoom camera featuring a wide angle 12.5x optical zoom lens, with optical image stabilisation, 1cm super macro mode, and 14.1 megapixel sensor. It is available in black or red directly from BenQ for £105.

BenQ GH200 Features

Main features includes a wide angle 12.5x optical zoom lens, 2.7 inch screen, metal body available in black or red. Optical image stabilisation, 1cm super macro mode, 720p video recording - with optical zoom and a compact lithium ion battery.

Key Features

• Sony 14.1 megapixel CCD sensor
• 12.5x optical zoom lens 24-300mm equivalent
• Optical Image Stabilisation
• 2.7inch screen, 230k dots
• 720p video, 30fps
• ISO64 - 1600
• 1cm super macro mode
• Other features: MagiQ Filter
• Available in red or black

BenQ GH200 Handling

Handling - The BenQ GH200 is a slim metal bodied camera with a plastic grip on the front as well as a dotted area on the back for your thumb to grip. The buttons on the back and large and clear although the 4-way controller isn't labelled for the left and right buttons, as these can be customised in the menu for quicker access. With a metal body and various textures it has decent build quality, particularly for the price. The rear buttons look somewhat identical to the Casio Exilim ZR100.



Menus – The menus look almost identical to the Casio Exilim ZR100, although the colour has been changed and some of the scene modes renamed or changed. Unfortunately some of the options are in the menu system and can't be customised to the left and right keys, for example, to choose macro mode, you have to go into the menu system. The camera also has a simple mode that limits the number of options available as well as making the text and icons larger.


Battery life - CIPA battery life is rated as 200 shots. We were able to take over 250 shots before the battery went flat. The camera uses an "NP45" lithium-ion Nokia mobile phone style battery, so third party replacements should be readily available and very cheap.



Speed – We tested each camera's performance at focusing, shutter response, shot-to-shot time, continuous shooting etc. and have posted the results below. To test this we took 6 or more shots and calculated the average, so that consistent results were produced.

	BenQ GH200	Panasonic TZ25
Shutter Response	0.15	<0.05
Wide - Focus / Shutter Response	0.6	0.15
Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response	1.0	0.3
Switch on Time to Taking a Photo	2.8	1.6
Shot to Shot (without flash)	2.2	0.6
Shot to Shot with Flash	3.3	1.2
Continuous Shooting (JPEG)	1.3s	10fps (4 shots)
Continuous Shooting (with Flash)	2.6s	2fps (5 shots, 3m)

Focus speed is slow at the wide end of the zoom, with slow shutter response. Focus at full optical zoom can be very slow. Shot to shot is slow with or without with flash and continuous shooting is also slow taking 1.3 seconds between each shot. The switch on time is also slow. Image review can't be switched off, however playback is very quick scrolling through photos.

BenQ GH200 Performance

Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

BenQ GH200 Sample Photos

Flash Portrait | 1/60 sec | f/5.5 | 21.8 mm | ISO 200 High-Res	Hall | 1/320 sec | f/3.7 | 5.9 mm | ISO 64 High-Res
Hall Wide | 1/400 sec | f/3.0 | 4.2 mm | ISO 64 High-Res	Structure | 1/250 sec | f/3.7 | 5.9 mm | ISO 64 High-Res

Sample Photos - There is little red-eye in the portrait photo taken with flash, however the image is a little under-exposed. Colour outdoors is excellent with reasonable detail in photos.

BenQ GH200 Lens test images

Wide | 1/800 sec | f/3.0 | 4.2 mm | ISO 64 High-Res	Some Zoom | 1/500 sec | f/5.2 | 17.4 mm | ISO 64 High-Res
Full Zoom | 1/400 sec | f/5.9 | 53.0 mm | ISO 64 High-Res	Digital Zoom | 1/400 sec | f/5.9 | 212.0 mm | ISO 64 High-Res
Trees | 1/125 sec | f/3.0 | 4.2 mm | ISO 200 High-Res	Super Macro | 1/15 sec | f/3.9 | 6.7 mm | ISO 400 High-Res

Lens Performance - Centre and edge quality is reasonable, with the camera showing reasonable levels of detail although not spectacular. There is noticeable barrel and pincushion distortion at each end of the lens, however these aren't particularly noticeable in general shooting conditions. Purple fringing and chromatic abberations are well controlled. Exposure is generally very good although dynamic range isn't particularly impressive - the D-lighting option can help. Super macro mode is very good, you have to zoom to a set position to get the 1cm focus to work, the closest focus distance is displayed on screen making it easier.

BenQ GH200 ISO test images

0.3 sec | f/4.9 | 13.8 mm | ISO 64 High-Res	1/5 sec | f/4.9 | 13.8 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	1/10 sec | f/4.9 | 13.8 mm | ISO 200 High-Res
1/20 sec | f/4.9 | 13.8 mm | ISO 400 High-Res	1/40 sec | f/4.9 | 13.8 mm | ISO 800 High-Res	1/80 sec | f/4.9 | 13.8 mm | ISO 1600 High-Res

ISO Noise Performance - Noise is visible at ISO64 in the darker shades and increases as the ISO setting is increased, but it's not until ISO400 until detail reduces. ISO800 is where noise increases more, colour is lost and detail is further reduced. ISO1600 shows the highest level of noise and is best avoided unless images are going to be resized for use on the web.

BenQ GH200 White-balance test images

AWB Tungsten | 1/10 sec | f/4.2 | 8.3 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	Tungsten Preset | 1/8 sec | f/4.2 | 8.3 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	AWB Fluorescent | 0.4 sec | f/4.2 | 8.3 mm | ISO 100 High-Res
Fluorescent Preset 1 | 0.4 sec | f/4.2 | 8.3 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	Fluorescent Preset 2 | 0.4 sec | f/4.2 | 8.3 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	Low Light High Sensitivity Mode | 1/15 sec | f/4.2 | 8.3 mm | ISO 1600 High-Res

White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) performs well under tungsten or fluorescent lighting. The tungsten preset gives a more neutral result compared with AWB which is slightly warm. The fluorescent presets give a slight magenta cast. In low light the image has a strong yellow cast.

BenQ GH200 Digital filters

Dlighting Off | 1/200 sec | f/3.0 | 4.2 mm | ISO 64 High-Res	Dlighting On | 1/250 sec | f/3.0 | 4.2 mm | ISO 64 High-Res	Backlighting | 1/640 sec | f/3.0 | 4.2 mm | ISO 64 High-Res
Black And White | 1/800 sec | f/3.0 | 4.2 mm | ISO 64 High-Res	Blue | 1/800 sec | f/3.0 | 4.2 mm | ISO 64 High-Res	Green | 1/800 sec | f/3.0 | 4.2 mm | ISO 64 High-Res
Sepia | 1/800 sec | f/3.0 | 4.2 mm | ISO 64 High-Res	Red | 1/800 sec | f/3.0 | 4.2 mm | ISO 64 High-Res	MagiQ Filter | 1/800 sec | f/3.0 | 4.2 mm | ISO 64 High-Res

Digital Filters - D-Lighting does a good job of brightening the shadows as well as keeping some more colour in bright areas. There are a limited number of effects, with MagiQ filter being a little like an over the top HDR art effect.

Video - Video doesn't appear to have very good image stabilisation and struggles to keep up with fast moving objects at full zoom. The only options available for video are 1280x720 or 640x480.

Value For Money

£105 includes a free case and a 2 year warranty which is quite good value for money, alternatives to look at include the 8x optical zoom Canon Powershot A4000 IS, 10x optical zoom: Samsung ST200F - with Wi-Fi, Nikon Coolpix S6300 - Full HD with stereo sound, Olympus VR-340 - £88, 2 year warranty, Sony Cyber-shot W690 - with sweep panorama, Panasonic Lumix SZ1 - with miniature and panoramic, with 12-12.5x optical zoom: Canon Powershot SX150 IS - 12x, takes AA batteries, Olympus SH-21 - 12.5x, Full HD with stereo sound, touch screen, 2 year warranty, 15x optical zoom: GE G100 - Full HD with stereo sound.

You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.

BenQ GH200 Verdict

The BenQ GH200 offers good value for money, with a 2 year warranty and free case however with the cameras slow performance, average image quality, and nothing really noteworthy about the camera (except perhaps the 24mm wide angle 12.5x lens and low price), you would be better off investing in an alternative camera such as the Panasonic Lumix SZ1 or Olympus SH-21.

BenQ GH200 Pros

24mm wide angle 12.5x optical zoom lens
Compact metal body
2 year warranty
1cm macro mode
Free case

BenQ GH200 Cons

Low resolution screen
Short battery life
Easy to cover flash
Lacks panoramic mode
Slow at everything

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
VERDICT

BenQ GH200 Specifications

Manufacturer	BenQ
Lens
	Max Aperture	f/3 - f/5.9
	35mm equivalent	24mm - 300mm
	Optical Zoom	4.6x
Image Sensor
	CCD pixels	14.1Mp (Megapixels)
	Pixels (W)	4320
	Pixels (H)	3240
	Sensor Type	CCD
	Sensor Size	1/2.3
	Sensor Size (width)	No Data
	Sensor Size (height)	No Data
	Aspect Ratio	4:3 3:2 16:9
LCD Monitor
	LCD Monitor	2.7in
	Screen resolution	230k dots
	Touch Screen	No
Focusing
	Min Focus	1cm
	Focusing modes	Autofocus Manual Face Detection
Exposure Control
	Shutter speeds shortest	No Data
	Shutter speeds longest	No Data
	Exp modes	Program Aperture-Priority Scene modes
	Metering	Centre-weighted - Average Multi Pattern Centre Spot
	ISO sensitivity	64 - 1600
	White balance	Auto Manual Cloudy Incandescent Fluorescent
	Exposure Comp	+/-2
Shooting Options
	Continuous shooting	No Data
Video
	Movie mode	Yes
	Video Resolution	1280x720 720p 640x480 VGA
	Video FPS	30fps
	Stereo Sound	No
	Optical Zoom with Video	Yes
Other Features
	Image Stabilisation	Yes
Interface
	HDMI	No
	USB	USB 2
	Wi-Fi	No
Storage
	Card Type	SD SDHC SDXC
	File Type	JPG
Power Source
	Battery Type	Lithium Ion NP45
	CIPA Rating	200
Box Contents
	Box Contents	Camera, Camera Case, Lithium Ion NP45 Battery, USB Cable, Software / Manual CD-ROM, Wrist strap, USB AC Charger.
Dimensions
	Weight	160g
	Width	103.2mm
	Height	58.5mm
	Depth	21.2mm

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