A Pro reviews the G11

[StuM]

This is worth a look....http://www.laurencekimblog.com/index.php?link=164&cat=16

I'm amazed at those high ISO shots!

If I was in the market for a good compact [Ive got a G10] I'd be reaching for the plastic!

[Peterm1_Canon]

I have to say I am impressed with this cameras high iso shots too. I posted the following shot on a thread here before with the disclaimer that being shot at 3200 it still was only just hand holdable as the shutter speed was so slow - so its not the sharpest shot in the world. But what noise there was I found was mainly luma noise and not too objectionable. It was also easily reduced in PS. I own a Nikon D200 and a Panasonic L1 (4/3) and neither of them go near this quality of high iso shooting (contrary to what the reviewer says about it being like the D200.)

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o251/peterm1_bucket/IMG_0445ra.jpg

[Erik_L]

that is crazy. ISO1600 on my G10 looks like garbage, and even my 50D can barely compete with that at ISO3200. crazyness.

[10megapixel]

that is crazy. ISO1600 on my G10 looks like garbage, and even my 50D can barely compete with that at ISO3200. crazyness.


I agree that the ISO performance of the G11 is much better than the G10, it was a huge improvement.

High ISO shots scaled down to small sizes and viewed on the web can be deceiving. Look at the ISO comparisons (http://imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM)of the G11/50D at full resolution and you might feel different ;) ISO 3200 on the 50D looks like somewhere between ISO 400-800 on the G11. Not only does the 50D "Compete" it blows the G11 out of the water...as it should.

[Jcas]

Thanks for the review, i am very happy with my G11.:)

[Erik_L]

Well, yeah, but You know what I mean. Played with a T2i today and ISO 6400 looks like ISO 200 on the G10, LOL!

[10megapixel]

I highly doubt the T2i outperforms the 50D in ISO performance by much if at all to be honest, and c'mon...ISO 200 on the G10 isn't that bad. From what I have seen the T2i @ ISO 6400 looks pretty rough straight out of the cam, looks a little better than the G10 at 1600 IMO. Considering their tiny sensors, all the newer P&S Canon's are quite impressive at high ISO's if you ask me, even my little SD780 produces printable 4X6 images at ISO 1600, of course a little work in PhotoShop and some Noise redux is required, but still impressive considering that just a few years ago this was unheard of from a P&S, but the G11 is exceptional for sure in this area.

[susikamikaze]

I´m too very impressed about the hight ISO shoots. Took my camera yesterday to dinsaur show. Taking photos was alowed but only without flash. So I used the low light program and was amazed about the results.
437498
(Cannon G11 1/25 4.0 ISO 3200)
karo

[GSeries1]

At 1/60 of a second those are true low light shots (of the little girl)

Impressive.

[tmwag]

High ISO shots scaled down to small sizes and viewed on the web can be deceiving.

Agree...

[GSeries1]

Agree...

Yeah,,, you can see the noise if you look,,, in the cheeks... http://laurencekim.smugmug.com/photos/696511913_aAeHS-XL.jpg

But given the sensor size it's still pretty good.

[Josh_30]

On my G11, I try to keep it to ISO 800 or less. Still very impressive for a small camera like that. It's not replacing my dslr's anytime soon, but I don't hesitate to shoot with a P&S camera anymore since I've had it. It's a big step up from consumer level P&S cams for sure.

[romerojpg]

Good image comparison, all look fine at that size it has to be said, it is not as if you could not get results.

So how much difference is the G11 compared to the good old G9? everyone nowadays seems to stop talking about the good old G9 :D
I never upgraded to the G10 so comparing with my actual camera to that is not possible for me. Still With photoshop and editing trickery you can make almost anything look good at a fairly nice internet size I find, some are masters at editing.

Still I wish I had the guts to shoot higher ISO levels at times. Get the moment, even if it is not perfect I guess.

[arg245]

Yeah,,, you can see the noise if you look,,, in the cheeks... http://laurencekim.smugmug.com/photos/696511913_aAeHS-XL.jpg

But given the sensor size it's still pretty good.

Everyone seems to be forgetting that in print, you'll be hard pressed to see the noise. Granted, at 100% crops the noise is there, but it's darn little. If your exposure is spot on, this little camera produces some great portraits. Let's all stop pixel peeping and accept the fact that these compacts are coming into their own when it comes to high ISO performance.

When it comes to speed and lens versatility, the DSLRs are king, but I see the day coming (maybe they're already here) when compacts like the G series will rival the image quality of DSLRs in low light, for "normal" size prints, and by that I mean up to 11 x 14, (and that's large).

This was a great review. Thanks for sharing the link!

[GSeries1]

Everyone seems to be forgetting that in print, you'll be hard pressed to see the noise. Granted, at 100% crops the noise is there, but it's darn little. If your exposure is spot on, this little camera produces some great portraits. Let's all stop pixel peeping and accept the fact that these compacts are coming into their own when it comes to high ISO performance.

The picture I was talking about: http://laurencekim.smugmug.com/photos/696511913_aAeHS-O.jpg
Wasn't anywhere close to a 100% crop, probably more like 10%. And you can still see the noise in her cheeks at that tiny size... It looks good for what it is but you would definitely see that in a print.

[denMAR]

I'm starting to think the G11 blows my 30D out of the water.. :P