To measure and compare the Canon PowerShot G7's macro performance we photographed a custom chart using it and a number of rival models with their built-in or kit lenses.

Each camera was positioned at a distance and set to a focal length which delivered the maximum possible reproduction.

The dark lines are 10mm apart and the result is not cropped. Smaller areas are preferred in this test. The image left was taken with the Canon PowerShot G7 in its Macro mode.

The PowerShot G7 is an excellent macro performer, capable of focusing as close as 1cm with the lens zoomed-out. While an impressive facility, it's actually very difficult to get this close in real life without casting shadows on the subject. Indeed our result above was as close as we could comfortably get without causing lighting issues, although the G7 was optically capable of focusing a little closer still. So while the area above of 36x26mm is below that of the A640, we're confident it can match or at least come close to the same result. Unsurprisingly there's noticeable geometric distortion under these conditions, but by zooming in a notch or two and slightly increasing your distance, you can enjoy optically superior results. At a focal length of 17mm, we managed to capture a larger area of 52x40mm, but with virtually no distortion. Either way, the G7 is capable of superb macro results as also demonstrated in our Gallery.