Sigma EF 500 DG Super, Telconverter and Canon G7 ?

[lordjim]

Hi guys -

After much thoughts, I finally decided to go for the Canon G7 as a compact travellling companion.

I considered:

- the S3 IS for the telezoom but I did not see any situations in which I could bring the S3 IS but not the 20D - in other words it was not compact enough for the intended use;

- the A710IS - comparing the pics on pbase, I found significant differences in image quality between the G7 and the A710IS (but could be due to a different public and not to the cameras) and I like the hot shoe and DIGIC III with face recognition (for fast and easy proper portrait exposure);

- the A640 - liked the swivel LCD but its zoom range was too short.

So I decided to go for the Canon G7 despite the lack of RAW (crossing fingers for an updated firmware from Canon adding RAW to the G7 as have some rumors) and despite the absence of swivel LCD.

I have several questions:

- Will the flash Sigma EF 500 DG Super fully work with the G7?

- Any reasons why I should go for other teleconverters than the Canon's? Are the Raynox, Kenko or Tokina as good as the Canon's?

- Will IS work with the teleconverter?

- What would be the optimal writing speed for SD cards to go with the G7?

- Finally, any reasons why I should change my mind re. the G7 compared to other P&S?

Thanks

[EORI]

Jim: I've only had my G7 for a few weeks, but will try to respond to some of your questions.

>>Will the flash Sigma EF 500 DG Super fully work with the G7?

As I do not own the Sigma, I can't say whether it will work at all with the G7, but as with any non-Canon flash, you won't get full compatibility with Canon's E-TTL II flash technology. For that, you need to get a Canon Speedlite EX series flash.

>> Any reasons why I should go for other teleconverters than the Canon's? Are the Raynox, Kenko or Tokina as good as the Canon's?

Go to the Lensmate website (www.lensmate.com) for some comparison images they have using various teleconverters. The Raynox wide angle seems to be very popular with G camera owners. They are apparently smaller/lighter and have less barrel distortion than the Canon, but are softer around the edges. You'll have to determine for yourself whether the softness is something you can live with (the barrel distortion can be corrected in Photoshop). It isn't to me, and I'll probably be getting the Canon wide angle, if I decide to get an adapter lens. I've not looked much into the telephoto adapters, as the native 210mm is sufficiently long for my purposes with this camera.

>> Will IS work with the teleconverter?

Yes.

>> What would be the optimal writing speed for SD cards to go with the G7?

I use Sandisk Ultra IIs. My research suggests that getting anything faster would be a waste of money. The problem with digital p&s cameras, the G7 included, is with the shutter lag, not the write speed.

- Finally, any reasons why I should change my mind re. the G7 compared to other P&S?

I spent months researching other candidates, and while none of them are anywhere close to perfect (i.e., up to the capabilities of a DSLR), the G7 seemed to offer the best compromise among the current crop of p&s digital cameras.

[lordjim]

Thanks Eori. Very helpful.

I was thinking about picking the G7 up at my local store this morning but they sold the last one yesterday ;-( Will need to be patient.