G6 newbie observations/questions

Hi, I just joined the list, but I read through a lot of posts here when camera shopping, and I really appreciate all the suggestions you gave others, they made my decision much easier.

I'm going to post my newbie rant here in hopes that it will help current and future G6 shoppers, and maybe to get some tips from you guys. I know some of this has been covered before, even lately. : )

I'm an intermediate photographer, a graphic designer by day, and I have an old Canon T70 SLR and a Fuji FinePix 4700 Zoom, so those are my points of reference.

I got my Canon PowerShot G6 a week ago, from B&H (good price, easy transaction). My second choice was the Sony V3 (it had merits, and flaws, it was a toss-up) and the Pentax Optio 750Z (loved the look of it, and the size, but I never got a chance to try one in person, so I just went for the G6) So far I'm very happy with the G6 and my three biggest complaints are common ones:

1: The on/off switch is ridiculous
2: The lens cap is a drag
3: I can't see the screen in bright sunlight.

#3 is probably a problem on most digital cameras, so that's no big deal. The viewfinder is basic but useable and unlike most cameras it has the led display, so that helps.

#2 is excuseable, too, it needs a lens cap, and it can't click in place because it would damage the motor when the lens opens with the cap in place (the manual says the cap would stop the lens from opening, but my experience is that it just pushes the cap off). Also, its' tethered to the strap, so that's good, or I would have lost it in minutes.

#1 is REALLLY lame and inexcuseable, it turns itself on whenever it brushes against something, and whether you have a tight or loose or soft or hard case, I can't see any way to get around it. I'd really appreciate suggestions. I wish there was a "lock" function like on cell phones where you could lock it and have to press another button simultaneously to unlock it. I guess that's the point of the little plastic tab there, but it's useless. I'm still searching for a better bag that will hold it, my mini-tripod, a battery, card and a couple cables.

Still, none of those are reasons NOT to buy this camera. the autofocus takes some getting used to, and it comes with a useless CF card, but those are minor complaints, short of features I'd like to see (Like the V3's night vision and movie mode and live histograms) but any camera is a trade-off, the G6 has features the V3 doesn't , etc.

The software seems pretty trick, but I've been using iPhoto instead because I'm used to it. One thing I noticed is that my old Fuji showed up as a disc on the desktop when mounted, and this one doesn't, so if you're using pre-05 iPhoto, you won't be able to download the RAW and movie files, so i've been using the canon software for those. I tried the card in a friend's card reader and it showed up as a disk, and I was planning on getting a firewire CF reader anyway USB is slooow) and I have iTunes 05 coming, so that should take care of that bottleneck.

The pictures are fantastic, the interface and ergonomics are great, the movie mode is maybe not up to some standards, but I've put together DVDs with worse footage, the custom presets are way useful. The battery life is orgasmic, I was so sick of charging and changing AAs every ten flash photos, I shot using the screen and a flash for a whole weekend on one battery. I love it. I was worried about lag, but it's not any worse than my Fuji (though in six years they should have made some progress, I guess.) Action shots are tough, but you have so many more options with the manual features and optional flashes that it's not hard to work with it. I even tested the voltage of an old Sunpak flash I had for my T-70 and found that it worked with the G6 pretty well (no ETTL obviously, but it's still useful.) I hope to pick up a ETTL speedlite soon... we'll see.

I'm looking forward to my first speed challenge! Bring it on!

Bryan

By that I meant "LCD," not LED, in that you can set up a lot of things using the top LCD screen so the video screen is not necessary. There are no LEDs in the viewfinder. oops.

Bb.

Bryan,
Welcome to the forum!

I have only had my G6 power on inadvertently once, but that may have to do with both the bag, and the position of the camera. I'm using a small MRock (the Cascade, I think) bag with the divider positioned in the center. I slide my G6 into it in portrait orientation, so that the power button, and the entire right side, is facing upwards. As such, it doesn't snag on the bag when I'm removing or inserting it. You might try different orientations in your bag, or check a local camera store for other options?

Have you considered permanently mounting a lens adapter on the camera? That would protect the lens assembly even if it did power on by mistake. www.lensmateonline.com is a great option, though the Canon adapter sounds quite nice too. That would also remove the stock lens cap from the equation.

A lock/hold setting/switch would be an excellent feature! I do wish that the firmware allowed more customizations like that, but I'm sure it'd be a support nightmare.

Re: shutter lag, using manual focus/hyperfocal, and locking the exposure can help to an extent, but it's certainly no SLR

Look forward to seeing your contributions to the Challenge!

Thanks! I'll check that out. Maybe I'm just klutzy, but it seems every time I go to pick it up, I bump the button. My old camera had the zoom/shutter in the same place, so maybe I'm just used to having my thumb there.

Have you considered permanently mounting a lens adapter on the camera? That would protect the lens assembly even if it did power on by mistake. www.lensmateonline.com is a great option, though the Canon adapter sounds quite nice too. That would also remove the stock lens cap from the equation.

Yes, I've read all about those. I'll probably try that, though it seems like that'd make the camera another inch-or-so-deep when packed up. I've read people generally put a UV or similar filter on the adapter to protect the lens, would one put a lens cap over the filter then? I don't mind having a lens cap, I just wish it stayed on a little better. I might try a bit of masking tape to make it a bit more snug, but I don't want to damage the lens motor.

Don't get your hopes up too high! I need some practice.

Bryan

I had serious thumb issues at first too--it took a while to overcome my old camera posture.

The lens adapter certainly adds bulk, but depending on the bag you have/get, it can fit in quite reasonably. I'd definitely get a clip-in lens cap--it will keep dust off your existing lens/filter. There are arguments for/against always leaving a UV filter attached for protection (about halfway down the page):
https://photography-on-the.net ….php?t=63192&hi​ghlight=UV
Probably not a huge deal, either way.

I find the adapter is worth it just for the use of a polarizer--I love mine.

Re: the Challenge--we all need practice, that's the great part about it. Seriously, just post the image you like the best, and don't worry if it's not perfect. I've learned several things just shooting for the constraints of the challenges, and that's better than winning, I think.

Bryan,
I'm a new owner too (@ a week-n-a-half) and i looked at a wide variety of cameras, but the feature set, quality of Canon and, to be honest, the way the G6 fits my hands-the best form and funtionality i've found.
The on/off i love, haven't had the accidental ons at all, though the lock would have been a smart idea for Canon. And I've read many peoples complaint on the lens cap and now have a small sense of paranoia of it falling off. fortunatly it only does so when i turn the camera on without having first removed it, so at this point it's been a good thing for me. ( this may change as i can see the rubber gasket wearing out and a heavy sigh will nock it off).

Finding a case. I took my G6 into Frys (they have a wall of cases) and i tried almost every case i thought it might fit. I wanted to find a small handy bag not the Camera-lenses-batteries-flash-photography book-spare laptop HD-etc. type bag. All but one(a samsonite i think) was too small and it was just too tight a fit. so i had to go with the LOWPRO small camcorder bag. It's a good bag, but not the I'm-just-going-around-the-corner type.

Bryan,

Not to worry about damaging the motor. Here's a comforting experiment (remember, you're still under warranty *grin*). Put your hand over the lens cap and hold down firmly. Then turn on the camera. Trust me; I just did it to my G3. The motor will try to extend the lens 2 or 3 times, beeping its annoyance each time. Then the LCD will display "LENS" (should be "LENS, DUMMY!") and the camera shuts down. It's designed to deal with this. The Canon engineers are smart.

I used a bit of moleskin (padding for blisters on feet) inside the lens cap to make it fit better. The motor still manages to pop it off, but I get fewer instances of accidentally losing the cap when I take it out of a case.

ok... you tried your sunpak flash with the camera, is your picture quality over exposed.. cos i just tried on an emoblitz flash(designed for the slr camera) and it occasionally over exposed.. considering of buying one.. seems that i have to manually adjust the flash output..trying to find alternative to speedlites and save up to buy wide angle lens..

As far as bags go I have the Tamrac 4392 or 4394, can't remember which one. Great bag for carrying the camera and some CF cards. I needed something that wasn't to big, but provided good protection. Now if I ever get the 420ex flash or the lens adapter, I guess I'll need a bigger bag.

I tried it in manual mode using the setting recommended in the manual,and some worked well, some didn't, based on the ambient light and the distance of the subject. I haven't done anything too scientific yet, but I guess that's the point of manual, you can adjust as needed. There's no way it's gonna work automatically like a new flash with ETTL metering and all that, I don't think any flash is going to work perfectly every time in manual.

I mainly wanted to use it as a bounce flash, and with some tweaking of the settings, it seemed to work well. Make sure your flash doesn't discharge an unsafe amount of voltage before trying it... This site is linked up everywhere, for good reason:
http://www.botzilla.co​m/photo/G1strobe.html
and he has a list of flashes here:
http://www.botzilla.co​m/photo/strobeVolts.ht​ml

Mine wasn't on the list so I tested it with a multimeter (no Vespa owner should be without a good multimeter.) and got 7v (1 more volt than most 60s Vespa stators, ha!), and decided that 1v over the rating wasn't gonna hurt anything. (I may come to regret that).

I'm interested in those new canon flash units (and the metz versions) that can be placed anywhere and trigger from the camera flash... anyone try those, or is it a waste of time when you can get a nice shoe*or*remote flash for a few bucks more?

Bryan

No your not "klutzy" the ON/OFF switch is a piece of junk. It does turn on with the smallest tap. I get tired of buying cases that are too bulky or just plain don't work. I finally just said to hell with it and don't care if the camera tries to turn on while I am putting it back in the case. Best of luck to you with the case mystery, I also enjoy the G6, but that ON/OFF switch placement is ridiculous, they should have stuck to the old way with the on/off on top.