Am I expecting too much from my G10 ?

[foxhound]

I bought a G10 about a month ago and have to say i'm very disappointed with it's performance and IQ , i took some general shots with it and i thought it might be better, am I expecting too much ?

[lanton]

I guess it depends what your expectations are/were.

I also recently bought a G10 and have been mostly impressed with the photos it takes...under the right lighting conditions.

[CJinAustin]

I bought a G10 about a month ago and have to say i'm very disappointed with it's performance and IQ , i took some general shots with it and i thought it might be better, am I expecting too much ?

try some low dynamic range shots, like an hour before sunset, those will probably impress you.

[CanonShooter-007]

I returned mine last week. I also was not happy with the sharpness or color saturation from the camera. I shot in RAW+Jpeg, and Jpeg only with sharpness and contrast bumped and still found the images flat and a little oof. :cry:

[CJinAustin]

I returned mine last week. I also was not happy with the sharpness or color saturation from the camera. I shot in RAW+Jpeg, and Jpeg only with sharpness and contrast bumped and still found the images flat and a little oof. :cry:

examples?

[gcogger]

We need to see examples. Also, what were the camera settings? ISO? Shutter speed? Aperture? Focal length? Focus settings?

[denncald]

CJinAustin,

I wonder if you could post a few images of your Canon G12 listed in your Gear signature? ;-)

Dennis

[10megapixel]

Yes, post samples of your disappointment please.

[foxhound]

hi all here are a few pics of some humming birds i shot the other day, these were taken at ISO 80 yet there's still noise !!!!

[CJinAustin]

The first one looks awful... Is that a crop of a larger pic?

[bsmotril]

Did you do any post processing on these, or are they JPEGs right out of the camera? The first one looks like a curves or saturation enhancement was done which has the side affect of emphasizing the grain in the sky a lot of times. If that is right out of the camera, then I think there is something wrong with yours, because that is not typical. My G9 does better than that.

[10megapixel]

How much did you crop these?

[lanton]

I've had images turn out like that after I cropped them 200%.

[CanonShooter-007]

Though I'm not a professional photographer, I think these images looks flat, are not sharp and do not pop. I know they can be fixed in ps. I just do not think it should have to be done, especially from a $500.00 point and shoot. They are the Jpegs, no corrections done other than the in camera sharpness and contrast bump in the menu. Had the camera set on P mode and I used fill flash. Also resized them for posting here.


1/40 - f8.0 - ISO 80

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/9858/flowerscopy.jpg (http://img406.imageshack.us/i/flowerscopy.jpg/)



1/320 - f4.0 - exposure comp -2/3 because the white T-shirt was blown out - ISO 100
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/4555/winnercopy.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/i/winnercopy.jpg/)

[CJinAustin]

Well, besides being way too big for these forums... lol That pic looks fine to me. The thing is, the nicer a camera gets the less the camera does to the jpegs, Cheaper cameras have a one size fits all mentality that adds saturation sharpness and contrast to every picture to get them to pop... but not all photographers desire this,,, and undoing it can cause damage. Canon assumes that someone paying $500 for a camera wants less done in camera, not more. This is one of the reasons most pros shoot raw, they don't want the photo processed until they have decided how.

What I want from a camera is the same that I want from a stereo, to recreate the recording as authentically as possible, nothing more, nothing less.

[birdfromboat]

if canon could sell a camera that produced top notch IQ for 500 bucks, they would. Get a full frame body and some L lenses, or stop expecting more than you are going to get. I love my g10, it goes everywhere with me. I wish it could handle ISO 400 or higher without noise, but it doesn't. I wish it was a tack sharp image grabber , but it aint. I wish it had a better lens/autofocus system, but it can't for 500. I think what I really wish for is a 5d that fits in my pocket with a shutter sound I can turn off and an overall weight equal to a decent sized sandwich.

for about the same price as my least expensive lens, I got a camera that does what it does better than any other camera that does what it does. Joy!

[CJinAustin]

Here's your pic in a bit more manageable size, no editing done.

[mteetank]

Though I'm not a professional photographer, I think this image looks flat and is not sharp. I know it can be fixed in ps. I just do not think it should have to be done, especially from a $500.00 point and shoot.


Flower picture
Here is my 2 cents worth.....
This shot says asa 200 and fstop of f8

First I would recommed that you never shoot over asa 100 and usually shoot at 80 with my G10.

IMO - Never use an fstop smaller than f4 due to defraction. The sweet spot is f3.2. Anything above the marginal f5.6 should never be used. The real achillies heel of all small sensor small focal length combo is defraction. f8 will yield a totally unsharp image. This therefore limits you to using Av or manual mode to avoid the camera picking fstops larger that f4.


Reference:
LINK

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=730594

Hope this helps you develop an affection for the G10.....
I love my G10, if you shoot within its capabilites, it will deliver.

Regards,
mteetank

[CJinAustin]

Yup, f8 looks pretty bad on a G7, 9, 10.

I try to shoot at the largest aperture I can all the time.

[birdfromboat]

I havent used the neutral density filter setting on mine yet, do you think thats why it is there, so you can open up the lens without overexposure and avoid defraction? I try to shoot at less than 400 already, now I will be looking at the smaller apertures with some distrust also.
In short, I always try to shoot wide open to avoid camera shake and/or high ISO noise.
I am going to go look up the word defraction now.

[10megapixel]

The above said is true...keep the camera's aperture in it's "sweet spot" for best results, and shoot RAW ;)

This was shot with a G10 @ ISO 80 f/3.5
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i199/laserbug/IMG_0936-1.jpg

100% Crop
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i199/laserbug/IMG_0936-1-1.jpg

[foxhound]

ok , i accept your point but really a $600 camera, should be able to cope with ISO 80 , the shots i took look like there were taken at ISO 800 or more.
i bought this camera so that when i'm out and about in the countryside i can take nice shots and not have to lug my big camera's around with me, i saved hard to afford this camera, as i have for all my gear, not to mention the anticipation of my newest bit of gear arriving

[10megapixel]

Learning how to use it properly will unlock it's full potential. Just take some time with it and I'm sure you can achieve better results.

[CanonShooter-007]

Sorry for the over sized pics..... fixed that.
CJ...."Canon assumes that someone paying $500 for a camera wants less done in camera, not more. This is one of the reasons most pros shoot raw, they don't want the photo processed until they have decided how." I understand what you mean and probably agree with you on that.

Birdfromboat....." Get a full frame body and some L lenses, or stop expecting more than you are going to get. I love my g10, it goes everywhere with me. I wish it could handle ISO 400 or higher without noise, but it doesn't. I wish it was a tack sharp image grabber , but it aint. I wish it had a better lens/autofocus system, but it can't for 500. I think what I really wish for is a 5d that fits in my pocket with a shutter sound I can turn off and an overall weight equal to a decent sized sandwich." lol... I sold my 1D Mark ll N, 20D, 30D, 24-70L f2.8, 70-200L f2.8, 400mm L f2.8, tele extender EF 1x4 ll + yada yada a couple of years ago to help finance my Bass Boat. Dumb move. So I guess I was kinda hoping of getting similar IQ from the G10. My mistake. But in all honesty, I don't want to carry all that gear around just to get good images. So I was hoping that the G10 would somehow bring me toward that quest.

10Megapixel.... Those two shots are beautiful. That is what I'm looking for from the G10.

[10megapixel]

Canonshooter...If the sun is out tomorrow where you live then do this, go to the exact same spot where you took your flower picture and set your G10 in Av mode, set the aperture at 3.2 or 3.5, use your exposure comp dial and underexpose by just a little bit to avoid blown highlights. I recommend shooting in RAW and then bump up your color and saturation in DPP for that "Pop" you desire, or if you shoot Jpeg then bump your in camera color and contrast and sharpness 1 step before max. The G9/10 can produce some great results when you learn how to work around it's limitations.

[10megapixel]

ok , i accept your point but really a $600 camera, should be able to cope with ISO 80 , the shots i took look like there were taken at ISO 800 or more.
i bought this camera so that when i'm out and about in the countryside i can take nice shots and not have to lug my big camera's around with me, i saved hard to afford this camera, as i have for all my gear, not to mention the anticipation of my newest bit of gear arriving

If that's what you purchased this camera for then it should serve you well once you get the hang of adjusting it properly for the given conditions. That's exactly what I used mine for (for the most part) and it was awesome for that ;)

G10 @ ISO 80 f/8
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3350/3290218860_00a07156fb_o.jpg

[CanonShooter-007]

Unforunately, I've already returnded my G10 for a store credit. I'm actually contenplating about getting a Nikon D90 with the 18-200 VR lense. Or waiting for the G11 to be released.

[mteetank]

ok , i accept your point but really a $600 camera, should be able to cope with ISO 80 , the shots i took look like there were taken at ISO 800 or more.
i bought this camera so that when i'm out and about in the countryside i can take nice shots and not have to lug my big camera's around with me, i saved hard to afford this camera, as i have for all my gear, not to mention the anticipation of my newest bit of gear arriving

I hear ya!
I really recommend that you start fresh and give the G10 a second chance. IMO - It does what it does better than any other camera in the small sensor small focal length catagory. ISO 80 or ISO 100 should give you noise free images when given correct exposure. The exposure latitude for the G10 at 100, as with any of the small sensor catagory cameras for that matter, is very narrow - under expose by one stop and are effectively at ASA200 and approaching its limits, under expose by 1 1/2 stops and you got a photoshop project.

Here is my set and forget setup for my G10.

ASA 80
RAW + Jpg
Av mode
Histogram on display
f4 - Use exposure compensation wheel to adjust shutter speed so highlights stay below "Blow Out" on the histogram
Use ND filter to compensate for very bright situations
Fill flash as needed - I have a Sunpak RD2000 - Never leave home without it
3 exposure mode with plus/minus 2/3 to 1 stop bracketingOtherwise....It was a bad buy and I recommend you take it back and get whatever they will give you and get something that you will love everytime you pick it up....life is too short to live with a toy you don't like.

best regards,
mteetank

[mteetank]

If that's what you purchased this camera for then it should serve you well once you get the hang of adjusting it properly for the given conditions. That's exactly what I used mine for (for the most part) and it was awesome for that ;)

G10 @ ISO 80 f/8
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3350/3290218860_00a07156fb_o.jpg

I can only image what it would have looked like at f4.....;)

Nice shot!

regards.....mteetank

[RobertZ]

I keep a flash permanently mounted on the G10 (270EX). Neither it nor it's competitors handle above ISO 200 well. What sucks is many of us have the camera for indoor (party, etc) and candid type shots (kids, family, etc) so ISO performance is very important. Noiseware or NoiseNinja help but should be avoided whenever possible. Sometimes I feel like dumping the camera and just getting an XT and kit lens. If you really think about it, neither really fits in a pocket. On the other hand, the outdoor pics are pretty nice.

[CJinAustin]

Unforunately, I've already returnded my G10 for a store credit. I'm actually contenplating about getting a Nikon D90 with the 18-200 VR lense. Or waiting for the G11 to be released.

If portability isn't an issue then the D90 will be superior

[10megapixel]

ok , i accept your point but really a $600 camera, should be able to cope with ISO 80 , the shots i took look like there were taken at ISO 800 or more.
i bought this camera so that when i'm out and about in the countryside i can take nice shots and not have to lug my big camera's around with me, i saved hard to afford this camera, as i have for all my gear, not to mention the anticipation of my newest bit of gear arriving

You never answered my question and I was still wondering if those pictures you posted of the hummingbirds were cropped? They sure look like they are, and If that's the case then you naturally should expect to get noisy pictures when you go cropping.