G-Series...beginning of an endless Story ? (First Post!)

[SmartImport]

Hello to all forum members !!

First of all I want to thank all of you for the great info this forum has given me. I bought a G3 one and a half years ago and really have learned a lot from reading the forum since then.

It is interesting to watch the people come here, lucky with their G-Series Camera and after a while upgrading to DSLR and jumping off to the EOS forum.
From Canons maketing point this ist the best entry point for digital photography newcomers. You get all the features of digital photography. You can easy make a step towards P&S and.... you want more.
When I got the G3 it was the maximum expense I could afford for a new camera. Short after that came the 420EX and now I am very very interested in a 20D. This Camera realy woke my interrest for photography more than I had expected.

Is this just the way we all have to go once we have started with a G-Series camera ?

Greetings
Helmut

[dfrost]

Helmut asked: [When I got the G3 it was the maximum expense I could afford for a new camera. Short after that came the 420EX and now I am very very interested in a 20D. This Camera realy woke my interrest for photography more than I had expected.

Is this just the way we all have to go once we have started with a G-Series camera ?]

Nope. Some of us actually prefer the features and relatively compact size of the G-series. It's a whole lot easier to keep a camera like the G-series with you, so it's there when the "Kodak Moment" arrives. And haven't you been seduced by the advantages of the flip-out LCD?

Sdommin summed up the situation pretty well about 2/3 of the way through this thread:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=42058

[jylitalo]

It is interesting to watch the people come here, lucky with their G-Series Camera and after a while upgrading to DSLR and jumping off to the EOS forum.
...
When I got the G3 it was the maximum expense I could afford for a new camera. Short after that came the 420EX and now I am very very interested in a 20D. This Camera realy woke my interrest for photography more than I had expected.

Is this just the way we all have to go once we have started with a G-Series camera ?


I guess thats something that all of us think at some point, but actually doing it is another matter.
When 20D and 17-85mm EF-S lens were announced, it seemed like next logical step from G3. Then we started to get all those bad reviews (i.e. in dpreview forums) about 17-85 (in comparison to people's expectations about zoom that costs 600+EURs) and there were interviews, where Canon's sales people where telling that Canon has finally started to work on dust proctection (*). Those two together with the fact that I don't make any income with photography has made me to keep on using G3 little while longer.

If G3 would happen to break down, I would probably get dSLR, but G3 haven't had any problems so far ... Also if I would find easy way to create enough income with photography to cover equipment expenses (and still have time for my day job and other hobbies), I would buy dSLR right away and keep my good old G-series camera as backup for situations, when the size matters, etc.

(*) http://www.e-fotografija.com/artman/publish/article_440.shtml

[joeyjoeyjoey]

Is this just the way we all have to go once we have started with a G-Series camera ?
Greetings
Helmut

Photography is not my source of income. So the G2 will always be the camera I have.

via la powershot!

[Don Ellis]

Photography is not my source of income. So the G2 will always be the camera I have.
via la powershot!

joeyjoeyjoey... charming name, cute avatar and striking photography. I've been meaning to tell you. :D

I recommend everyone ignore the rest of my message and go directly to your website -- http://project.ratedr.com/

I'm still using the G1 and G2 but I did succumb to a new camera bag today... a Domke F-803 Black Satchel that easily holds both cameras, a 550EX flash, all sorts of batteries, filters and cables, and still doesn't make me look like a pack animal.

It's my fourth camera bag...which may be a cycle in itself. But it's a cheaper one than the camera cycle.

To conclude: take a good photo with the G2 and people think you're brilliant. Take the same photo with a 20D and people think the camera's brilliant.

Cheers,

Don

[Andy_T]

Helmut,

welcome to the forum! I think you started a thread here that has the potential for greatness :wink:

I feel the same way and will also get a 20D early next year (I promised my wive that I will not get a new digital camera this year after getting my G2 about 2 years ago. So I plan to buy the 20D maybe around January 2, 2005 :lol: Consider me patient ... I made the promise in January, this year :rolleyes: )

However ... I don't think about letting go of my G2, either. I think that there definitely will be enough occasions when I want to 'just slip a camera into my pocket' ... errr ... maybe not exactly a pants pocket, but some kind of small bag.

Also, I might want to take pictures of all the Canon DSLR gear I'll get over the time :wink:

Yilitalo...

I don't think that dust on the sensor is so bad an issue as you might consider after reading some message boards. Maybe blown out of proportion :wink:. After all, people have been using D60, D30, 1D, 10D and 300D cameras for quite some time now with astounding results.

For this reason, I don't think it's time now to boycott the 20D because it does not yet have what some other manufacturer announced.

As far as the 17-85 lens is concerned ... that the lens is only 'average' and maybe overpriced is no reason not to get the camera. Take my suggestion ... if you don't have to have the 'newest and greatest' ... then for the same price as the 20D+17-85 you get
a) 20D+18-55+Tamron 28-75 XR DI (giving you half decent wide angle and superb normal range) or
b) 20D+18-55+28-135IS (giving you a half decent medium tele with IS)

Of course, you could also go to L all the way :lol:

Don Ellis:

I agree with you on your comment about being a good photographer vs. having a good camera :lol:

Still, the DSLR gives more creative abilities, especially DOF control. Although I love my G2, I am not too fond of the limits that the small sensor places on the possiblities to selectively blur the background.

As far as handling is concerned, I know that I have to be patient enough to wait 3-6 seconds after every (RAW) shot I have taken until the camera has finally committed it to its (CF) memory ... but I'd rather not have to. I also would like the camera to focus faster... for this I will accept the size, weight and price of the DSLR.

Just my 2c...

Best regards,
Andy

[Don Ellis]

Don Ellis:

I agree with you on your comment about being a good photographer vs. having a good camera :lol:
Yes, how annoying is that... "That was a great meal, Mrs. Brown. I sure wish I had your pots and pans."

Still, the DSLR gives more creative abilities, especially DOF control. Although I love my G2, I am not too fond of the limits that the small sensor places on the possiblities to selectively blur the background.
Before I bought the G1, I was using two Nikon F90Xs (N90S in other places), along with wonderful 24-120mm and 80-200mm zooms. I definitely miss the ability to precisely control DOF -- along with the solid ker-chunk of the three-pound 80-200 snapping into focus.

But I was finding that the only time I picked up the cameras was when I was boarding a plane for someplace exotic. And when I got there, I was walking around like a pack animal. Looking back, I don't have a single shot of Hong Kong (where I live) taken with either of those cameras.

So a few months after purchasing the G1, I sold all my film gear and haven't looked back. As much as I miss a few attributes of the SLRs (and presumably DSLRs), I appreciate the portability and tilt-and-swivel viewfinder of the G-series cameras. I get shots now simply because I have a camera with me most of the time.

I also would like the camera to focus faster... for this I will accept the size, weight and price of the DSLR.
As much as I like the Gs, I never say never... one of these days I may own a DSLR. For now, however, I'm happy. For everyone else, it all depends on what they want out of photography and how much upper-body strength they have. :lol:

Cheers,

[jylitalo]

Yilitalo...
...
As far as the 17-85 lens is concerned ... that the lens is only 'average' and maybe overpriced is no reason not to get the camera. Take my suggestion ... if you don't have to have the 'newest and greatest' ... then for the same price as the 20D+17-85 you get
a) 20D+18-55+Tamron 28-75 XR DI (giving you half decent wide angle and superb normal range) or
b) 20D+18-55+28-135IS (giving you a half decent medium tele with IS)

Of course, you could also go to L all the way :lol:


I guess its time to come out of the closet and admit that during this fall, I went and ordered 20D with 17-40/4 and 70-200/4 lenses. This week I finally got 20D and 70-200, while 17-40 is still in back order. Until I get it, I'll have to use my old 28-80/3.5-5.6 (from Canon EOS Elan kit (EOS Elan is US version from EOS100)) to get little bit "wider" angle.

First experiences from dSLR in comparison to G3 is that its whole lot harder to stabilize it for "long" exposure times (=1/4-1s). With G3, it was so easy to turn LCD to point up and press it against your waist or hip area. I guess, I finally have to start using my hiking stick as monopod and learn few other tricks for getting better support for it. I also have lot to learn about how to get best results from this new camera.
Positive things on dSLR has been that you can use higher ISO values and still keep the noise within acceptable limits and naturally the zoom is more responsive, when you can change the settings by twisting the zoom instead of waiting for electrical motors to do ther stuff.
Time will show, how I am going to balance my future shots between good old G3 and new camera.

P.S. I almost manage to lose my G3 on my most recent vacation trip. I lost my footage in a nature walk, fell down and camera got slight hit. Even though lens mechanism was protected by lens adapter, it still got damaged so that it wouldn't focus and when I turned camera off, the lens would not retract into the camera. For 24h, I tried to find some decent tools/repairmen to get it fixed, but at the end, but couldn't find any.
At the end, I had to choose between twisting the lens mechanism and hoping that all the small gears etc. inside lens mechanism would fall back to proper places or to miss all photo opportunities on rest of the trip. Thankfully the operation was successful and camera was back in action. Of course it rained a lot during next seven days, but that is not camera's fault. :)