Got the G5

Hi folks,

i got hold of the G5 just a few minutes ago. Paid an additional AUD50 over the G3 price and the JB Hi-Fi salesman was exceptionally helpful.

Initial impressions are very positive, especially WRT fit and finish.

I shall post test shots tomorrow as the battery has to be charged.

Cheers,
Jason

First impressions

All right, here we go.

When I popped in my problematic 256MB Kodak CF card it gave me a "Memory Card Error" instead of "CF Card Error". So I reformatted it and filled it up to the brim. Guess what. No errors whatsoever. Every image comes up fine.

From this we can conclude the G3 needs another firmware update to be fully CF-compatible. Of course, my G3 could've been physically damaged, who knows? Highly unlikely though.

Build quality is fabulous, better than the G3's. The satin texture is quite sensuous and the little round buttons now have a deep gloss to them. The CF cover and eject button have a more satisfying, luxurious action.

Gripe 1: the mode dial feels a bit too tight and clunky. The G3's was more fluid.

Gripe 2: the OFF button is not precisely aligned and has a bit of play.

Best of all - the lens cover stays on

More to come. Hang on...

No sports mode!

One of the few differentiating features of the G5 from the G3 was a new sports shooting mode. But I cannot find it on the dial!

DPReview lists it at http://www.dpreview.co​m/news/0306/03060201ca​nong5.asp but the mode dial is exactly the same as the G3's, except for the black finish.

Any idea what might have happened to it?

- Jason

Test shots, saving to memory, updated interface

Hi all,

just got up, fired off a few basic test shots and the G5 passed on most.

One failure was a thin black vertical line in the red and green test screens at about pixel #2096 - runs from top to bottom. Will see if I can duplicate this - hope not

EDIT: Tested again, no lines this time. FYI, I'm using my laptop's TFT LCD screen, with a fullscreen HTML page with these backgrounds.

The blue test screen has no anomalies.

No dead/stuck pixels so far.

About the mirror test: the top of the camera seems to slant to the left while the base is almost dead-on perfect. Methinks I need a new mirror

It takes significantly longer to save to disk in Large and RAW modes, considering the extra image data. I don't think Canon has improved on image processing or transfer speeds.

The interface has undergone a few changes as well - no more transfer mode [PTP/Normal] for instance. It's automatic. Since I don't use WinXP I don't know what dialog pops up on the PC screen so you can switch between PTP and Normal, in case one is buggy/better.

Also image size and resolution have been separated. So you have one persistent resolution setting when you change image sizes - much better.

One final thing: the lens coating is not that dodgy shade of blue as most pics of the G5 depict. It's the same colour as the G3's

Looks like a fine day out there, and the battery's fully topped up. I'll fire some shots and present them for your inspection. Since I don't have enough space on my website, where do you recommend I upload my images to?

Thanks!

- Jason

I am interested at what some shots would look like with shutterspeeds around 8 seconds and longer!
Lai Lai

Hey Jason,

Just out of curiousity, would you mind doing the "purples" test?

Check out the "purples" thread (http://www.sallys-place.com …north_america/s​f/sf12.htm). Basically, it is a white balance problem.

The test consists of taking a picture of anything purple (we've been using the G3 box, so we have the same "standard", but the G5 box is probably different), under different WB settings. Under most, it comes out bluer than in reality, and with flash, it seems to ALWAYS come out blue rather than purple.

Just curious if the G5 solved that problem...

and congratz on the new camera, it looks awesome!!

Tal

strat666, it will be very interesting to know if the weaker areas of the G3 have been improved.

Could you do some autofocus testing? here's a typical miss by the G3:

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Hi Taltalita,

thanks, mate. Was almost a no-brainer for me to swap my G3 for it. The only issue I am worried about is noise at different ISO settings. I'll be doing some time exposures around the place tonight, so we'll see what we get.

I have been reading up on the purples thread and it's on my list as well. Not too sure what this thread http://www.sallys-place.com …north_america/s​f/sf12.htm you quoted has anything to do with it, though

The G5 box is maroon, not blue. Also the cardboard is thinner with a higher gloss and the lid join folds out like an accordion, so it moves out of the way and you can pack your stuff in easier.

- Jason

Hi Pukkita,

as i was filling up my Kodak card yesterday, I took a shot of a deodorant can held with my left hand. It didn't focus properly but the ambient light was rather low. I'll take some pics based on your shot.

About the external flash focus beam: yep, will do today.

There is no E-TTL in Manual Same flash output level setting as in G3.

I didn't notice this if the G3 had both, but Tv and Av have AE bracketing and focus bracketing. M has the latter only.

Also, the resolution has been separated from the image size - good move.

===

Hi LaiLai,

I have long exposures on my agenda for tonight. Stay tuned. [FYI, the time here is 1000 hrs == 0000 hrs UTC.]

Jason,
Best of of luck with your new G5!
I am interested in 2 features, if you get the opportunity

1) The blue/purple test
2) Sports/action mode

Again, enjoy your new toy !

Hi Jason

I`m interested at 8.5x11 print on inkjet printer.I would like to see if the extra megapixel will hold more detail compare to the 4 mp G3.

A bientot. Rodenstock.

There is no sports mode!

There is no sports mode! If there is, it's certainly very well-hidden. Definitely not on the dial, as I noted in my previous post.

Hunted through the manual but it makes no mention of it. Grrrr...

I will Tho I am broke, I am happy having this "toy" beside me to ease the pain.

- Jason

strat666 wrote:
Hi Taltalita,

I have been reading up on the purples thread and it's on my list as well. Not too sure what this thread http://www.sallys-place.com …north_america/s​f/sf12.htm you quoted has anything to do with it, though

The G5 box is maroon, not blue. Also the cardboard is thinner with a higher gloss and the lid join folds out like an accordion, so it moves out of the way and you can pack your stuff in easier.

- Jason

OOPS... Copy pasted the link from the wrong window... Now you know which restaurant we intend to go to tomorrow

Looking forward to reading more...

Collecting requests

Hi all,

I will leave in about 40 mins [0100 UTC, 1100 AEST local]. Let me know of anything else you want tested and I shall do so.

Cheers,
Jason

P.S.: Rodenstock, I don't have an inkjet on me but I will be taking a few test prints that closely approximate my G3 test shots. Will let you know how it goes but with a mere extra 320x240 pixels I wouldn't be holding my breath.

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