SLR to G12?

Thanks again all.. I guess if I ever rediscover my love of creative photography or requirement to capture action, I'll probably miss the 30D. But while my primary concern is landscape photography, and specifically the ability to physically get the camera to the locations, the G12 is sounding like a better and better choice.

Not shopping for lenses any more sounds like a positive advantage Bill, to be honest

OpenC wrote in post #12625730
Thanks again all.. I guess if I ever rediscover my love of creative photography or requirement to capture action, I'll probably miss the 30D. But while my primary concern is landscape photography, and specifically the ability to physically get the camera to the locations, the G12 is sounding like a better and better choice.

Not shopping for lenses any more sounds like a positive advantage Bill, to be honest

Let's see the F.Day photos!!!!
GilBean

Well in one sense, sure. But I have two 'L' lenses, a 300mm F/4L IS and a 70-200mm F/4 IS, and I've gotten an awful lot of satisfaction out of those two awesome pieces of gear. And just window shopping and wishing for something like a 400mm F/2.8L is sort of fun in itself. A lottery win would land such a chunk of glass in my kit.

Day 1 pictures These were on around four or five minutes' acquaintance with the camera and without the benefit of reading the manual. Too dark, but for a first effort I'm pretty happy with the results. Soon as I can find out how to read a metering display in manual mode, I'll be sorted Cheers for all the help in the thread.

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Very nice start, with minimal effort. In case you haven't read your manual yet, pages 106 and 107 cover Manual mode shooting.

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Thank you very much, that exposure bar on the right hand side suddenly makes sense

I'm a bit disappointed that you don't seem to be able to use exposure bracketing in manual mode, for some reason - just program, aperture and shutter prioriry - but I'm sure I'll get over it

Just to round this up after a few weeks with the G12, this is what I've learned:

Negatives (but only just)

* the G12 isn't an SLR and shouldn't be expected to perform as such. Image quality is noticeably inferior, but still a long, long way better than what I expected from a compact and certainly I've never thought, "this shot is not worth taking because the IQ won't be good enough"
* my biggest miss is that the maximum aperture of f/8 makes it difficult to take a shot with a foreground object and a background all in good focus and making full use of the frame. However, it just means you have to think about your photography a different way. I can usually get what I want by standing further back and cropping the shot in PP. I guess with a small lens and small sensor, there quickly comes a point where diffraction ruins the image if apertures are pushed further than f/8.

Positives

* it's an unbelievably accomplished camera for such a small size. I read all the moans about it being bigger than you'd expect from a compact; I can only assume that those are from people who have never had to drag around SLR kit, and whose primary concern is to be able to get the camera to a bar and take pictures of their friends
* RAW mode is excellent; detail recovery and the like aren't far off what I expected from my 30D.
* controls are phenomenally good; it sometimes feels like using an SLR now I'm into the manual mode routine of exposure lock with * -> compose picture -> obtain focus and make adjustments with wonderful separate aperture/shutter/ISO wheels -> take shot. Even my 30D didn't have a wheel for ISO or exposure compensation..
* video quality is excellent, for anybody who needs that kind of thing
* did I mention how good it is for such a small size? It fits on my belt, or on the front straps of my pack. I used to have to stop and take my pack off every time I wanted to take a picture, for heaven's sakes

Cheers to everyone who helped with this thread I think I made the right choice for me, and I look forward to continuing to pollute the Best-With-A-G12 thread for many years to come, even when we're onto the G16..

Finest moments after three weeks (mostly posted in other threads, apologies if you've seen them before):

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Also, do play with some macro shots. The G12 is fantastic at macro

Cheers

James

I forgot to add that, having been trying it out and very impressed earlier today I wasn't even looking at the screen when I got this, a proper staged macro must be very good indeed.

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Macro is definitely one of the G12's strong points.

I've been torn between the g12 and the s95. I like the size of the S95 and the ring on the front which makes for the most useful Av mode I've ever used in a compact.

Those who complain about the size of a G12 have never lugged a gripped 5Dc/24-105/550ex or any of the 1-series DSLR's. When I picked up the g12 I almost threw it up in the air it was that light.

new to the forums here, but I have (just days ago) purchased a g12 and have no intention of getting rid of my xti and lenses but I am so far happy with the results this compact gives and excited to have this forum to explore and learn. i just found I wasn't taking my camera with me much anymore because I got tired of lugging it around. this new baby will be in my purse at all times so this was the first thread I read after a friend sent me to the forums.

I see that I'm too late to the party, as you already got the G12 and ditched the 30D.

I don't know what lenses you had before, but there are a few primes that I'm considering to build up a light-weight kit for travel. I have and love the Canon 85mm f1.8, and I think getting the 28mm f1.8 would make a nice two lens travel kit without having too much to carry around. Since Landscape is your thing, the Canon 20mm f2.8 might have been a good option.

And for the ultimate in smallness on a Canon DSLR, the Voigtlander 20mm and 40mm lenses are the smallest lenses you can get (as far as I know) provided you do not mind MF-only lenses. The 40mm even comes with an additional close-up lens to add macro ability. Here is what the 40mm looks like on my 50D:

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