MarKap77
15th of February 2008 (Fri), 09:49
Okay, I'm not much for posting, but I just received my G9 and I have a few observations vis-a-vis my older G7 (which was just sent to Canon for repair, but that is another thread)
My very first impression of the G9 was that the circular selector and associated buttons on the back of the camera is made much more cheaply on the G9 than the G7. There is some play in the 4-point rocker selector button as well as the func/set button. The rotating selector just seems to be made of an inferior quality material when compared to the G7.
Those observations aside, the G9 is so much like the G7 that I don't think I would know which camera I had in my hand if I didn't look. The controls are laid out the same, and there is a familiarity about the G9 that I find comforting.
Image quality is very similar. I'm certainly no expert, but using my calibrated Apple Cinema display, I can't make out any difference in image quality. Higher ISO noise is pretty similar between the two cameras. I would say that anything above ISO400 is useless except to record something you want to record. The images certainly aren't going to win any photo contests.
I know a lot of people say that we are getting wrapped up in pixel count and we shouldn't. My opinion is that I like having the higher count so that when I can't get close enough to a subject I'm trying to photograph, I can crop out the part I want and still have a dense enough pixel count to make a decent print. That was why I hated my early digital cameras. 1.3 megapixels just wasn't enough. (My dad still uses that camera, though.)
As to the inclusion of RAW in the G9, I really didn't miss it in the G7. With the ability to edit a jpg in Adobe CS3 Camera Raw, it just wasn't much of an issue. Further, I had been taught to try to capture the best image possible in the first place, so a little forethought kept me from swearing too much at images I captured where I didn't have quite the right settings.
Overall Grade: A- (hey, it ain't a 5D after all!) If you understand the limits of a point and shoot with a small image sensor, this can be a very nice camera to carry around. Not as small as some of the shirt pocket cameras (that have inferior features and image quality), but not as big as an SLR (which can attract unwanted attention from people that might think they should have your camera instead of you). It will still go in a jacket pocket, but I usually carry it by a wrist strap from some other camera I had lying around that beats the heck out of the included neck strap.
Here is one of the first images from the G9. Sitting in a restaurant having lunch and playing with my new tool.
My very first impression of the G9 was that the circular selector and associated buttons on the back of the camera is made much more cheaply on the G9 than the G7. There is some play in the 4-point rocker selector button as well as the func/set button. The rotating selector just seems to be made of an inferior quality material when compared to the G7.
Those observations aside, the G9 is so much like the G7 that I don't think I would know which camera I had in my hand if I didn't look. The controls are laid out the same, and there is a familiarity about the G9 that I find comforting.
Image quality is very similar. I'm certainly no expert, but using my calibrated Apple Cinema display, I can't make out any difference in image quality. Higher ISO noise is pretty similar between the two cameras. I would say that anything above ISO400 is useless except to record something you want to record. The images certainly aren't going to win any photo contests.
I know a lot of people say that we are getting wrapped up in pixel count and we shouldn't. My opinion is that I like having the higher count so that when I can't get close enough to a subject I'm trying to photograph, I can crop out the part I want and still have a dense enough pixel count to make a decent print. That was why I hated my early digital cameras. 1.3 megapixels just wasn't enough. (My dad still uses that camera, though.)
As to the inclusion of RAW in the G9, I really didn't miss it in the G7. With the ability to edit a jpg in Adobe CS3 Camera Raw, it just wasn't much of an issue. Further, I had been taught to try to capture the best image possible in the first place, so a little forethought kept me from swearing too much at images I captured where I didn't have quite the right settings.
Overall Grade: A- (hey, it ain't a 5D after all!) If you understand the limits of a point and shoot with a small image sensor, this can be a very nice camera to carry around. Not as small as some of the shirt pocket cameras (that have inferior features and image quality), but not as big as an SLR (which can attract unwanted attention from people that might think they should have your camera instead of you). It will still go in a jacket pocket, but I usually carry it by a wrist strap from some other camera I had lying around that beats the heck out of the included neck strap.
Here is one of the first images from the G9. Sitting in a restaurant having lunch and playing with my new tool.