Compact digital G11?

[iRebel]

Good afternoon all,

month ago my canon A85 died(yeah ,you can laugh), probably had brain tumour.At first, camera stopped recognise white colour, instead of white I had purple, later stopped recognise edges, now makes only chaos. Camera was purchased exactly 5 years ago. So in that time I made around 20.000 shots, you can check my gallery to see some.That's why I stopped to enter weekend comp.

At the moment I looking to replace my old friend. I want small one (to fit my pocket, backpack) around +/- £400. After long researches(one week), I decided to get Canon G11. Any advice, YES or NO, there is something better?

Thank you !

[chris-p]

Better in what way?

There are cameras with bigger zooms, or video capabilities, or higher resolution screens but it depends on how you define better.

The G11 is regarded as one of the best compacts on the market for it's image quality.

[iRebel]

Originally Posted by chris-p

Better in what way?

There are cameras with bigger zooms, or video capabilities, or higher resolution screens but it depends on how you define better.

The G11 is regarded as one of the best compacts on the market for it's image quality.

One of the best compacts on the market, so what is the other cameras can be described as one of the best? Should I consider something else? Casio Exilim EX-FH100? Samsung HZ35W (WB650) ? Canon Powershot SX210 IS ?

Thank you Chris

[chris-p]

As I said above, depends on what you shoot. For bigger (including wider) zoom ranges I would consider the Panasonic FZ38, the Canon SX20 or the Fuji HS-10.

The G11 doesn't really have much direct competition as Canon are the only mainstream company who sell a compact for that much money (apart from Leica or Sigma).

If you're looking at spending that much on a compact, I would seriously consider one of the entry level hybrids. You can get a Panasonic G10 with a 14-42mm lens, a GF1, a G1, a Sony NEX3 or an Olympus EPL-1 for less than £450.

[iRebel]

I found brand new G11 for around £350 on ebay, also Currys digital(there is D5000 for £499) have brand new Pen E-P1 for £369 and on ebay around £350+ expensive extras ...(As well tesco sells 550d +18-55 for £699.)

Pen Ep1 bad points:

* Slow focus requires a more considered approach to shooting
* Some highlight clipping (and poor dynamic range at ISO 100)
* Low resolution screen that's hard to see in bright light
* No viewfinder
* No built-in flash (and the optional flash is expensive and pretty basic)
* Complicated menu system not that easy to navigate
* Preview image brightness doesn't always match the captured image brightness
* Poor focus, slow lens and jerky live view image make shooting in very low light frustrating, to say the least
* No AF illuminator
* The most interesting Art Filters slow down operation (and make the movie mode virtually useless)

G11 bad points:

* Rather slow lens (in terms of aperture) by traditional G series standards
* Movies limited to VGA resolution
* High ISO images lose saturation and detail (and offer no control over noise reduction)
* Focus prone to hunting (and focus failure) in low light at longer focal lengths
* Some chromatic aberration visible at wide end of zoom
* Focus speeds and shutter lag (when using LCD) could be better
* Rather over-sharp JPEGS
* The JPEG accompanying a RAW always has default image settings
* Little choice over JPEG compression

[ianpinion]

Hi iRebel,

Canon's other decent compact is the S90. Again, it doesn't have a very powerful zoom, but it has full manual controls and is capable of producing some very fine images for a compact.

As for the bad points with these other cameras, well I'd say try them out for yourself, because you have to remember that they are just somebody else's opinion and they don't always approach their reviews with a completely open mind. Buying a camera is very much a personal choice as what my suit one may not suit you and vice-versa! It's your opinion of the camera that counts, as your needs maybe wildy different from any of those conducting these reviews. If you like how the camera feels and performs then you'll always be pleased with it and want to use.

[chris-p]

Originally Posted by iRebel

I found brand new G11 for around £350 on ebay, also Currys digital(there is D5000 for £499) have brand new Pen E-P1 for £369 and on ebay around £350+ expensive extras ...(As well tesco sells 550d +18-55 for £699.)

Be wary of buying cameras and camera bodies from eBay. Lenses have international warranties but cameras themselves don't. If they come from Hong Kong etc, you're usually buying kit with no EC safety rated and no warranty.

Apart from copy and pasting the DPReview "Cons" sections of the reviews, do you have any experience with these cameras?
Lets go through some of them and compare them to your dead A85...


Pen Ep1 bad points:
Slow focus requires a more considered approach to shooting - faster
Some highlight clipping (and poor dynamic range at ISO 100) - considerably better
Low resolution screen that's hard to see in bright light - much larger screen, over twice the resolution
No viewfinder - and?
No built-in flash - is this really an issue? The flash on the G11 isn't exactly great either.
Complicated menu system not that easy to navigate - you get used to anything like that
Preview image brightness doesn't always match the captured image brightness - neither do most cameras
Poor focus, slow lens and jerky live view image make shooting in very low light frustrating, to say the least - much much much faster and more accurate than the A85
No AF illuminator - neither did the A85
The most interesting Art Filters slow down operation (and make the movie mode virtually useless) - do you care about movie or art filters?

I'm not even going to bother with the G11. What you've done is what lots of people do and go straight to the reviews and read the negatives. You didn't post all the good comments they made about this camera.

No-one can tell you what to buy. If you want the best image quality for the money, something like an EP-1 or GF-1 with a monofocal lens will give you that. They won't be much larger or heavier than the G11 either. But if you want a compact camera the G11 is probably the best all rounder.
The other cameras you mentioned (Nikon D5000 and Canon EOS 550D) are more expensive that you're original budget. They're also much larger and heavier.

I think you need to prioritise whats important. Size? Cost? Image quality? Flexibility?

[iRebel]

Well Chris, I'm just mentioned best prices I found, that is it. To be honest, when I started to look to replace my ice age camera, I wanted DSLR, 550D. So I went to the shop and tried 550D, D5000 ,D90 , Pen EP1, Sony Nex5... then I started realise, that dslr is to big for me, because it almost need an extra backpack, etc... So I decided to get compact digital, few my friends had G series cameras, and I tried them before and liked, as well I had some time in the shop with G11 before. There was nothing like OMG, I'm just feel that G11 is the right size for me at the moment. Yes I reading dpreview, and YES I ctrlC+ctrlV bad points.Did I answered your question Chris?

I'm just want some extra opinion on my choice, and I was concerned, that maybe I missed some compact camera which I should try to. Chris if you tired to answer to all who want some opinion, or advice just stop doing that I can compare side by side A85 and Pen EP1,and I have enough brain to understand which is better, and your comment above look bit ridiculous, any way I'm not considering about buying a Pen in any way. Your comment very appreciated!

Thank you ianpinion, I tried s90, but much more liked G11.

[chris-p]

I didn't mean any offence (if any was caused). I've seen lots of other people read the conclusion to a review (and nothing more) and then criticise a camera they've not even physically handled. Without knowing, I assumed you had less experience or knowledge than you do. My apologies.

Ultimately, you have to either decide whats most important (size? G11, image quality? hybrid, cost? G11 etc) or go with your gut. Most people who go with their gut are usually happy with what they've got.

[iRebel]

Originally Posted by chris-p

I didn't mean any offence (if any was caused). I've seen lots of other people read the conclusion to a review (and nothing more) and then criticise a camera they've not even physically handled. Without knowing, I assumed you had less experience or knowledge than you do. My apologies.

Ultimately, you have to either decide whats most important (size? G11, image quality? hybrid, cost? G11 etc) or go with your gut. Most people who go with their gut are usually happy with what they've got.

No,no everything is fine, I like you opinion. And now I started to think about Pen Tomorrow I'm going to make final decision , I will try G11 and Pen. Hate decisions.