Buy a G10 or keep my 20D?

[jimi thing]

I'll start off by saying that I'm very impressed by the G10's picture quality and now I find myself thinking about selling my 20D, flash and 50mm lens to fund a used G10. I like the compact size and also like the fact that it has an awesome lens range. Am I making a mistake here?
Thanks for any advice!

[tkbslc]

Do you ever shoot above ISO 200?

[jimi thing]

I do. Does the G10 do horrible in lower light situations?

[tkbslc]

I do. Does the G10 do horrible in lower light situations?

Compared to the 20D, yes, very poorly since the sensor is much, much smaller. It does have a hotshoe for bounce flash if you think you can by that way.

[Acropora]

Does the G10 have similar shutter response/shot to shot times?

[kevindar]

I own a g10, and a 5d2. You gain portability, convinence, and movie with g10. you loose control over dof, dynamic range, fps, and high iso performance. in most circumstance you can tell the difference in image quality at any iso.
My 5d2 produces better images (better dynamic range, cleaner) at iso 1600, than my g10 does at iso 80. all of that said, you have to decide wether its worth the compromise.

[gonzogolf]

For me I cant get past the difference in form factor. Looking at a view screen rather than into a viewfinder is a wholly different experience. I have a G2 and it is capable of some nice images, but I could never really get into image making with it in the way I could with my 35mm and later dslr's. It was the difference between looking at an image and looking into an image. If thats not a factor for you perhaps the IQ are comparable. But I doubt you can replicate the shutter response, and core experience of the DSLR.

[jimi thing]

Ok, Thanks! I was thinking that it would be a better fit for me because I can't afford a whole lot(lenses).

But I do take indoor portraits, just as a hobby so I think I need a camera with better low light capabilities.

[GSeries1]

The 20d is a better camera in most regards... comes down to size really.

[xhack]

I got a deal on a G10 in October, just as it was being superseded by the G11; I'd got fed up lugging my 5D Classic or 20 D around, all day, every day. A much better screen than the 20D. Errr, that's it.

Noise above ISO 200 is disappointing - not a patch on even a base DSLR. The G10 a nice wee camera (MUCH better than my previous A510), but it's still, at base, a P&S. I'm back to lugging the big brothers.

[10megapixel]

Keep your 20D ;)

[jimi thing]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll keep the 20d.

[Chris]

I was shocked at how poor the G10 looked at ISO 400 and above. It does a pretty good job with macro and I liked the display on the back

[jr_senator]

...I find myself thinking about selling my 20D, flash and 50mm lens to fund a used G10.
Why sell the flash?

[Tallking]

All depends upon what you want/need. I find that even my XSi produces better ultimate IQ than the G10. OTOH, absolutely NO DSLR can ever match the stealth and all-in-one capability of the G10. I like having both myself. ;)

[linh811]

All depends upon what you want/need. I find that even my XSi produces better ultimate IQ than the G10. OTOH, absolutely NO DSLR can ever match the stealth and all-in-one capability of the G10. I like having both myself. ;)

ditto. I've had/have pretty much every iteration of the G-series, since the original G1, and still carry it most of the time over my DSLR setup.

[chomish]

IMHO your taking a step in the wrong direction. I actually started with a G-9 and after finding out that i really like photography i moved to the 30D. I also thought it was a good idea after discovering the G9's limits. I think it all comes down to what you need a camera for. The G10 in my opinion is nothing more than a PS and would be extremely limited to me. Its nice though to have one for when its not practical to carry around a bulky SLR. I would honestly just keep the 20D.

[frank t]

As a 20-D owner for 2+ years now, I picked up a "G" series (G-5) as a backup/keep in the car camera...
Once you get used to shooting at ISO 800+ regularly, it's hard to accept the results these tiny sensors produce at even 200....
Since my G-5 only set me back $40.00, I'm not too disappointed, but if I had spent several hundred bucks, I would be...
If you feel the need for a smaller package, by all means, the G series machines can produce decent images, but never within the scope of the venerable 20-D !!
Buy a G, but keep your D !!!

[GSeries1]

As a 20-D owner for 2+ years now, I picked up a "G" series (G-5) as a backup/keep in the car camera...
Once you get used to shooting at ISO 800+ regularly, it's hard to accept the results these tiny sensors produce at even 200....
Since my G-5 only set me back $40.00, I'm not too disappointed, but if I had spent several hundred bucks, I would be...
If you feel the need for a smaller package, by all means, the G series machines can produce decent images, but never within the scope of the venerable 20-D !!
Buy a G, but keep your D !!!

Yeah, if you're going to be out in bright conditions so that you can keep the camera at iso-80 then you will be pretty happy with the G-series... But even at iso-200 it starts getting mushy.

[Tallking]

IMHO your taking a step in the wrong direction. I actually started with a G-9 and after finding out that i really like photography i moved to the 30D. I also thought it was a good idea after discovering the G9's limits. I think it all comes down to what you need a camera for. The G10 in my opinion is nothing more than a PS and would be extremely limited to me. Its nice though to have one for when its not practical to carry around a bulky SLR. I would honestly just keep the 20D.

Nothing really objectively "wrong" in this post, but I think it highlights the dilemma many of us feel. Undeniably, the G10 is hamstrung by its relatively small sensor -- no two ways about that. As I've stated before, however, there is simply no way to achieve the stealth factor the G-series confers, with a DSLR. You can go places and do things with a G-series that would never work with a bulky, conspicuous, suspicion-generating DSLR.

On a very much "photo-philosophical" plane, what's worse, a noisy but honestly candid photo, or no photo at all (because the subjects saw the photog coming from a mile away and "clammed up" before ANY shot could be made)???

I do disagree that the G10 is nothing more than a PS camera. It's sensor IS better than the "garden variety" PS cameras. I tried a 7.1 MP A540 (or was it 570) right after I gave up on my great Olympus 3.1MP camera that I had used since ~2001. Even discounting the resolution factor, when I went from the A-series to the G-series, it was immediately obvious that I had taken a step up on functionality, and more importantly, image quality.

[richierich1212]

Keep the 20D. Remember, photos are taken by people, not by the cameras. I look everyday for different cameras too, but in the end I keep telling myself that it all comes down to the photographer in the end (it's an addiction!!). The G9, G10, and G11 are really great cameras, but only if there's plenty of light. Anything above 200 ISO is really noisy.

[tmwag]

.. but in the end I keep telling myself that it all comes down to the photographer

+++1

[Tallking]

+++1

I very much agree. That said, the OP asked a question that compares two very different cameras. I'm sure that I could take many interesting, content-worthy pictures with an old fashioned pin hole camera. This said, the ultimate answer depends upon what is really important for the individual picture taker.

[tmwag]

the OP asked a question that compares two very different cameras.

Yes, and I think the op got the same answer stated at least three maybe four different ways. For portability the G10 would be the ideal choice, the 20D obviously for better IQ.

But with that said^^ you give a skilled photog a G10 and a lesser skilled photog a 20D the G10 would most likely produce better images

[linh811]

Yes, and I think the op got the same answer stated at least three maybe four different ways. For portability the G10 would be the ideal choice, the 20D obviously for better IQ.

But with that said^^ you give a skilled photog a G10 and a lesser skilled photog a 20D the G10 would most likely produce better images

I have a feeling that most on this forum can take better pics with a g10 than I can with my DSLR setup.

[GSeries1]

I have a feeling that most on this forum can take better pics with a g10 than I can with my DSLR setup.

Not if they are action shots... :p

[Tallking]

Not if they are action shots... :p

Gotta agree with that. Yesterday, I attended my youngest daughter's diving meet. I mistakenly took the G10 instead of the XSi. I did so on the theory that the G10, with its decent telephoto reach, would be better than the XSi (hobbled with its 18-55 kit lens). Boy, was I wrong. As much as I like my G10, its shutter is simply not responsive enough to reliably capture action photos at just the right moment. I shot over 100 frames, and only 3-4 are close to being worth anything (I did get a few nice off-moment candids, but hey, that wasn't the mission...). The main problem was that as hard as I tried to anticipate the photo action, and the action of the camera, I just could not get the shutter to actuate when I wanted it to do so. Oh well.

Here's a good example of about the best I could do with my G10, plus 430EX flash, from about 75 feet away.
http://members.cox.net/ekpolk-esq/OLIVIA-DIVE-MEET0036-v4-DL.jpg
(shot RAW, expanded, cropped, converted to jpg, and then shrunken for posting).

[Tallking]

Oh yeah, I cheated some more as well, reducing the inherent noise with a little dose of Imagenomic NR (the fairly mild "default" injection of NR medication).

And nevermind how the G-series aperatures leave you with little effective DoF control either. Those are really, really interesting handrails behind Olivia, aren't they. . . :rolleyes:

[tmwag]

it has an awesome lens range. Am I making a mistake here?


I wouldn't call the G10's lens range awesome.... It's very useful at the 35mm eq to 28-135, but I see no reason to sell the 20D unless you think it's too cumbersome

[10megapixel]

I'll start off by saying that I'm very impressed by the G10's picture quality and now I find myself thinking about selling my 20D, flash and 50mm lens to fund a used G10. I like the compact size and also like the fact that it has an awesome lens range. Am I making a mistake here?
Thanks for any advice!
__________________
20D / 50mm 1.8 II/ 55-250mm / YN-460 Flash

In most cases I have seen, people that own a DSLR and make the switch to a G series as their only camera, usually end up jumping back over the fence into DSLR land.

Some of the things you will be sacrificing if you downgrade to a compact camera are ISO performance, shutter speed, a decent viewfinder, DOF, usable AI servo and AF for capturing action. Remember that even though some folks like to think so, the G10 is not a DSLR, and if you currently value the performance and features of a DSLR then you are probably not going to be satisfied with a compact as your only camera. On the other hand, If you are one of those people who has a 20D and just shoots in auto most of the time ( Uses it as an over sized P&S ) and doesn't really use the 20D to it's full potential then the G10 might satisfy you. If a smaller size camera and a fixed zoom lens outweighs the things I mentioned you would lose, then go for it....it just comes down to what features are important to you on your camera

Frealopo01, Why do you have the exact same post word-for word, as the OP ? ( I can't believe I just noticed that :))

[tmwag]

Frealopo01, Why do you have the exact same post word-for word, as the OP ? ( I can't believe I just noticed that :))

LOL, I guess Frealopo01 doesn't like the answers jimi thing already received..I dunno:lol:

edit: Interesting too...Frealopo01 has the same equipment as jimi thing..hmm?

[GSeries1]

edit: Interesting too...Frealopo01 has the same equipment as jimi thing..hmm?

Busted... haha

[jimi thing]

LOL, I guess Frealopo01 doesn't like the answers jimi thing already received..I dunno:lol:

edit: Interesting too...Frealopo01 has the same equipment as jimi thing..hmm?
Yeah, I noticed that also but what happened to his post?
Trust me, it wasn't me lol!
Besides, I already got the answer I was looking for quite a few posts ago. My 20D's for sale to fund a new XSI. I wanted a new camera with a larger lcd and new technolegy and figured that the g10 would be cheap enough used but after the advice given here I figure a xsi would be a better choice for a little more cash. Thanks for the advice.

[GSeries1]

Yeah, I noticed that also but what happened to his post?
Trust me, it wasn't me lol!
Besides, I already got the answer I was looking for quite a few posts ago. My 20D's for sale to fund a new XSI. I wanted a new camera with a larger lcd and new technolegy and figured that the g10 would be cheap enough used but after the advice given here I figure a xsi would be a better choice for a little more cash. Thanks for the advice.

You're defintely going to like the LCD on that XSI,,, I had a 20d and that screen is tiny. :confused:

[jimi thing]

That's the only thing I don't like about my 20d. I had an XS and sold it for the 20d and now find myself missing the large lcd.

[richierich1212]

The XT/20D's screen is tiny and sucks, 30D's is a little better but same resolution as 20D's. XSi/40D's screen is very good. 5D screen = 30D screen? :rolleyes: :lol:

OT: My first DSLR was the XSi. Then I sold that and upgraded to a 40D. Then I had to sell that and downgraded to a XT. Then upgraded to a 20D and sold the XT. Then I bought a 40D. I just pulled the trigger on a 5D yesterday and will sell the 40D.......All this in a span of a 15 months.....LOL I'm such a body whore.

Anyways, I was using my G9 to pictures of my 40D and other stuff for sale and it still amazes me. But only if I use a flash lol (or when there's lots of light). Otherwise, say hello to noise.

[KEDDY]

Buy a G11...less Pixels, less Noise.
Great low light performance.