Newbie with Canon G11

[kezug]

I am noticing something that perhaps someone can explain to me.

I just received my G11 and am taking some shots to compare to an older Sony DSC-V1

I am noticing 2 things.
1) both camera's have a bowing effect (I think all do...but the G11 seems more pronounced)

2) the Sony seems to record a wider image, while the Canon seems to record a narrow image.

I know these are very "Dumb" questions and these camera's/len's are very different, bear with me...I am trying to understand so I can accept these differences.

Thanks.

Here are a couple of photo's to point out what I am speaking about.

from G11 (via Auto: Tv 1/800 Av 4.0 ISO 80)


from my Sony DSC-V1 (via Auto: Tv 1/320 Av 8.0 ISO 100)

[kezug]

Well, I found an answer to my first question...found on a review of the G11 on www.imaging-resource.com

Per my item on the "bowing" affect:
Barrel distortion is a about average at wide-angle, but it's noticeable if you take any shots of buildings or other objects with straight lines in them.

[Photo-John]

That's pretty standard with compact cameras. Wide angle SLR lenses that don't have barrel distortion cost more than your camera

[kezug]

Thanks for the response....but then I am still want to learn why/how there are differences in the 2 shots that show the Sony recording the image a little wide and the Canon recording the image a little narrow.

[Photo-John]

Looks to me like it's the other way around - I see the Canon image as wider. What are the specs on the two lenses? It just looks like the Canon is a bit wider. I would also guess that the focal length specs on compact cameras aren't as precise as SLR lenses. So it wouldn't surprise me if there was a bit of variation between 28mm (using that focal length as an example) compact camera lenses from two different makers.