"G" series camera discontinued ???

The S series is getting really close to the G series in functionality now, also with there are the odd rumour a low level DLSR may be replaced, which will most probably be priced similar to a G series.

From what I understand, the current 8MP 3.2x Zoom S80 is only missing the flip screen, built in hot shoe and lesser zoom, in fact it sensor is 8MP, not 7.1MP. What improvements would they make to the G6? 8MP perhaps, big deal.

Also the Pro1 has now been out for ages, what happened to a replacement for that it?

I see a market for a small 'tweener cameras. The S80 doesnt have RAW and cannot take external flashes, which keeps it firmly in the "compact" category.

Why do you need a replacement for the G6 anyway? It works well enough for me.

Vandit

Well, as far as I can remember, it has been like this since the S30 and the G1

+ more compact size
- no flip-out LCD
- f/2.8 instead of f/2 zoom
- missing hot shoe and thread for conversion lenses

Best regards,
Andy

Given today's product announcements from Canon, any further speculation on Scott's theory, that the G and Pro are finished? Any chance that there will be further announcements from Canon? I don't recall the timing in the past.

Edit:
I just noticed that none of the non-DSLR releases support RAW. Am I just deluding myself by thinking that this means there must be a prosumer model lurking in the wings?

Feh:
http://www.photography​blog.com …hot_g_series_ca​meras_rip/

(Claims that a Canon UK rep. confirmed that the G series is finished)

what exactly does this discontinuation mean, in terms of service & support, for those of us who just bought the G6 and have a a 5 year mackie warranty on the camera?

From what I understand, discontinuation = end of G series. Warranty, service and support will be all the same. I wish Canon just make a hybrid. DSLR with LCD flip and preview. Just the right size and jet black. Wohoo! I'll be tempted to buy that lol.

It should have no effect on that. It just means they won't be developing more new cameras with similar features (or not at least in this product line).

But what about the Pro1's replacement? I hope that the S3-IS isn't the best they have to offer in a point-n-shoot.

Probably is now with the continuing drops in the costs of SLR's, you can get the same functionality in a DLSR today that would have cost 5 times that just under two years ago.

Same functionality, but absolutely not the same form factor. Actually, not even the same functionality, since you lose the live-preview twist/rotate LCD, which, imho, is why the G was/is such a classic. It's not just about cost--even if a 39MP medium format camera cost the same as a 20D, it wouldn't be replacement for the 20D.

If the S3 IS is the best Canon has to offer in a small form factor camera, I think they're going to lose a lot of hobbyists to other brands. Since that will make those same folks less likely to hop on the Canon DSLR yellow brick road, it seems like a bad idea. Either Canon disagrees (and they do pay lots of people to know these things, so what do I know) or they have something else waiting to be released.

I'm hoping for the latter, but in the meanwhile, I'm going to be reading up on all the recent P&S releases that support ISO 1600 and above. Canon didn't even exceed 800 in this round...

I doubt very seriously that there will be any replacements for the G6 or Pro 1. It wouldn't make good economic sense. The dSLRs have a higher profit margin and have many more accessories available for them, making them much more profitable for Canon. Couple that with the fact that a Rebel XT costs what a Pro 1 did when it was introduced and I don't see the sense in it. (I love my G6 but I would have bought a dSLR if it would have been in the same price range at the time.)

When dSLRs were significantly more expensive, it made sense to have a "pro-sumer" point and shoot camera for advanced users who didn't want to spend $1,500 or more. With the price of dSLRs dropping so much, the next step up from a high-end point and shoot (like the S3 IS) is the Rebel XT.

While having the professional features a G6 has in a small camera is really appealing, I don't think the market is large enough for Canon to worry about. I don't think the Pro 1 or the G6 ever sold as much as we who use them think they did. They certainly weren't carried in nearly as many stores.

The bottom line is that Canon is going to do whatever they think is most profitable and not necessarily the most popular among current users.

It's kind of like the complaints I'm hearing from 20d owners about the 30d not being enough of a change. They wanted to see a new sensor and more mega-pixels but I think Canon wanted to make sure they didn't cannabilize the sales of the 5d. It's all to maximize profits.

Couple of things. I think most of the superzooms with 800 and 1600 ISO are just regular sensors with the noise being covered up with "noise reduction". There is always going to be a loss of detail.

MagicMikey, what you are saying is right from Canon's standpoint, but not from ours. When you buy a dSLR, you are only begining to spend money.

Lefturn, I imagine you're right--it'll be interesting to look at the images they produce as reviewers get their hands on them.

Magicmikey, I see what you're saying. I would like to know what the sales from G and Pro have been--we probably won't ever know. I'd also like to know what the secondary sales have been--from people buying non-G Canons based on the advice of photo-geeks with G's (a stat nobody knows). Canon would obviously profit if everyone bought DSLRs, lenses and accessories instead of one-stop-shopping P&S models. However, they're not the only game in town, and simply eliminating a choice doesn't mean people will take whatever is the next step up when they can switch vendors.

I'm wondering if Canon has done the math, and figures that option works out for them--if that's the case, too bad. They surely won't miss my paltry cash, I have no delusions about that. The only question is how many others like me are out there. Among the people I know who are interested in photography, the majority of them are strongly interested in cameras that are either smaller than a DSLR, or offer live-preview, or in many cases, both. Obviously that biases my perception of reality. Maybe I have a skewed collection of acquaintances?

lefturn99,

You're definitely right about the long-term cost of owning a dSLR. When I first decided to buy a G6 with both the wide angle and telephoto converters, several knowledgeable photographers said, "why not just buy a Digital Rebel." You'll spend the same for it as you will for all of what you're talking about buying.

The truth is that I spent about $800 on the G6 and converters when a D-Rebel was selling for $999 but I got a lens range of 24mm - 245mm (in 35mm terms) and I would have had to spend a lot more on the D-Rebel to get that same range. The lenses that would make me happy with a dSLR cost a lot of money!

dbump,

Canon's been around a long time and if they find that they've made the wrong decision (if they do end the G series), they'll just resurrect it or come up with another version. It just might take a while!

Michael