Canon PowerShot G9 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom by Canon
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Digital camera reviews of Canon PowerShot G9 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Digital camera Review: Best camera I've ever owned...
Summary: 5 Stars
Canon PowerShot G9 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
I have always had a camera handy and feel that I'm a fairly decent novice photographer. I do our family portraits at home and most have turned out very well. A few years ago I invested in a digital SLR, the Canon Rebel. Despite the fact that the Rebel was a great camera, for my use it turned out to be awkward and annoying. I have small children and so when we're going to places like the zoo or the aquarium, I either had to put the camera away, focus entirely on taking pitures, or battle holding one child while trying to use the camera. None of these really worked very well. So I sold my Rebel on eBay and bought the G9 and I'm very glad I did. I keep the G9 in my coat pocket or nearby and whenever there's a shot or a "moment", I fire it up and record those memories.
The camera has phenomenal manual controls that allow you to do artsy shots like having a person focused and the background look like its turning or moving.
All in all I highly recommend this camera for anyone that wants to take great shots, have fine manual control, and still be able to hide it in your pocket or purse.
David C.
Digital camera Review: Best compact digital camera
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the best compact digital camera that I've ever used. I carefully compared this with images from my 8MP DSLR, and confirmed that the G9 produces images with significantly greater resolution. 12MP really means 12MP. I was quite shocked. My last compact digital camera had a noticeably softer lens than the DSLR. I can now leave the DSLR home with no regrets that I'm giving anything up.
Like all compact digital cameras, at higher ISOs it doesn't match DSLR performance, you need to use this camera at low ISOs.
The "image stabilization" really works. I have been able to get sharp photos at full telephoto at 1/8 sec while handholding the camera. (Of course you must concentrate carefully for that to work.)
This camera is bigger and chunkier than the typical compact camera. This is because it has a larger sensor (1/1.7" while most compact cameras have smaller 1/2.33" or 1/2.5" sensors) and a 6X lens. It's worth the extra size and weight if you are serious about image quality. It fits fine in a coat or jacket pocket, but is unfortunately not a good pants pocket camera.
If this camera seems too expensive, you might consider that Canon A650IS which is said to have the same lens and sensor, although other aspects of the A650IS are cheaper.
Digital camera Review: Best for Photographs not snapshots
Summary: 5 Stars
Amazon delivered the Canon G9 as promised. The Camera has been fun to learn over the last 30 days. This camera is best bought by someone interested taking Photographs, not snapshots! The difference is that snapshots are quick, brainless, and mostly good results at Bday parties, dinners, travelling landscapes, etc. (I own a Nikon coolpix for that purpose) Whereas the G9 is best used by someone desiring to be creative with photographs, take a little longer to set the camera controls; think through the end result, before setting the camera and clicking...
The Camera is an EXCELLENT choice for a portable high end point and shoot camera (that is as near to DSLR as possible). It is an EXCELLENT camera to take in place of DSLR and multiple lenses (6x optical zoom, Hotshoe, manual settings, RAW capability, etc.). It is an EXCELLENT camera to learn about PHOTOGRAPHY and maybe step into DSLR's in the future. IMPORTANT NOTE: The camera has a decent learning curve, and if you buy this top rated camera, you must be prepared to spend time becoming familiar and learning the settings. You will join the Ansel Adams crowd when you buy the G9. Of course, there is a fully automatic setting on the camera for fast P&S shooting, but where's the fun in that?
The downside to the camera is the shutter lag is somewhat noticable, and this requires a "human adjustment" in how you use your camera. Meaning, it is not a fast DSLR, but because the G9 is so good and capable, you may think of it in that way, and have to "wake-up" a moment ... take just a bit longer to snap the Photograph.
I am thrilled with the camera! I would buy this camera again! I researched this camera extensively before I made the purchase, and considered the super-zoom category of cameras. There are many to choose, and my nearest choice was the Canon S5-IS. However this category is crowded with Fujifilm, Panasonic, Sony, and Nikon... so you really must do your homework (Hey, you're reading this review, so you're ahead of the crowd already. Research is as much of the enjoyment of making a new camera purchase, right?) The image quality, the remarkable build quality, great fit and feel in you hands, and the portability (vs. DSLR with mutiple lenses), and the rich rich feature set including RAW (again remember the learning curve)... makes this camera the only and singular camera for me.
Digital camera Review: Best point and shoot on the market...
Summary: 5 Stars
AFter spending a lot of time reviewing cameras I had decided this was the best point and shoot available. I have tried the new g11 and was very impressed with the picture quality but the g9 blows it away; the g9 is simply easier to use. This camera features RAW photo capability, aperture and shutter speed priority, and a dedicated dial for ISO speed. The only faults I find with this camera are distortion at ISO speeds above 800 (normal) and slight vignette effect on super closeups without the macro (also another normal effect). This is a great camera for someone who doesn't want to cross over into dSLR or just wants a great point and shoot. My only suggestion to improve this camera is a better software bundle.Digital camera Review: Better than the Sony H3? Could be! Lower zoom, but higher MP, +RAW support.
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, you may or may not have read my review of the Sony Cybershot DSC-H3. I'm your average point-and-shoot-er... I'm not well versed in ISO, focal length, color depth, noise & color aberrations. I tend to point, shoot, and hope it comes out well.
That said, I've done a bit of reading over the last month after buying a Sony H3 and being moderately unsatisfied with its point & shoot results (noise & color aberrations).
However, having read so many reviews, I got a bit more info on things like ISO settings on digital cameras and links with noise, and color issues. So, I think that some of my prior issues with the H3 may have been "user-malfunction"-related. IE, "know thy camera, and they camera will love you."
Prior to the H3 I owned a Canon A70 (3MP), which I'd say was an excellent point & shoot camera that rarely disappointed me.
Anyway, partly due to my initial bad experiences with the Sony, partly due to its overly expensive memory cards, and partly because I really trust Canon (had prior bad experiences with a Sony P72, I think, as well?), I decided I wanted to upgrade to the 12MP + RAW of the Canon G9 (after reading lots of reviews of it versus some other models).
The things I like about the Canon G9 were several:
- Its portability (very similar to the Canon A70, and slightly better than Sony H3)
- Its heft. Believe it or not, I *like* the weighty feel of it.
- Its metal body. Again it feels sturdy (though I hope never to drop it and test just how sturdy it is).
- I like the fact that under normal lighting conditions you can point & shoot, and it seems to take extremely crisp images with very little noise (from an amateur's perspective), and the noise that I can see only seem to be noticeable if you zoom all the way in to view the actual pixels and such up close.
- I like the dial with direct access to ISO settings. Somehow that gives it a rather "professional" feel. Even if it's only a mental thing. It's still nice to have easy access to the setting rather than having to fiddle with menus, etc.
- I like the fact that despite having a slightly more complex button layout than the H3 (something I wasn't looking forward to), once you figure out what the buttons do, it's rather intuitive and the multitude of buttons doesn't really detract (for me) from the usage experience.
- I like the instant access to a white balance (I think?) adjustment button in the upper right of the back face, just above the back face jog dial you use to control it. That way you can instantly dial up or down the exposure a few levels. I find that could be handy for "mood lighting," and have already used it a few times to set the lighting a bit lower in a scene like candle light, etc. (where the camera tends to want to expose a bit more, but it would detract from the candle light).
- I like the fact that one can zoom in on images in playback mode to see if focus and such were correct, and if detail is sufficient, or if the shot needs to be taken again. I realize other cameras probably have this feature too. It's just nice.
- For me, startup time seems very quick. Hit the button, lens extends, picture shows up on the LCD, ready to start snapping away (unless you need to change modes or flip to a slightly different exposure setting; but that's not the camera's fault! You should have been ready beforehand!).
- Thus far I've not run down the first charge on the battery. Then again, I'm casual about images, turn the camera on for a few minutes, snap a few good photos, kill the bad ones, and turn it off. I've snapped a number of shots around the office to test it. I've snapped a few images around home in non-optimal light to figure out how to get the best quality image. I took pictures at our work Christmas party, and briefly took a couple pictures at my own family Christmas dinner. I've still got 2 out of 3 bars left on the battery.
- I like the fact that it uses a standard USB A-MiniB cable, unlike the proprietary Sony AV cable that came with the H3.
- Likewise, I like the fact that the Canon uses standard SD/SDCH cards that are cheaper than the Sony H3's Memory Stick Duo and Pro Duo cards.
I'm finding it hard to say much negative about it thus far. I'm still learning how to take the most crisp images with the camera. But I've got a book now with tips and tricks. Will have to start using my tripod more, it looks like, for the old "tack sharp" photos. But, under normal light, it seems to take pretty excellent images, even just point and shoot.
One complaint might be that the button in the upper left (the one that flashes when the camera wants to "shift gears" to a different ISO) is actually somewhat difficult to press / activate while holding down the shutter part way to maintain auto-focus. For me, I seem to have to either push it with a fingernail, or push REALLY hard with the edge of my thumb.
Oh, yes, and the fact that several lights blink constantly while the machine is downloading images is rather distracting (and I wonder if it wastes the battery; though I suspect they run off USB power); likewise the "fireworks"-like animated graphic in the middle of the LCD that also continues to play while downloading. Minor complaint. But I'm sure I'll learn to ignore it. Would be nice to find a way to turn off the blinky lights though, as they're a mild nuisance.
I'm pretty sure this will be my new "work horse" camera for the foreseeable future. I don't expect I'll have to upgrade any time soon (unless of course they come out with a camera that's a portable/pocketable, point & shoot, does full HD video, and lets you zoom while shooting video, and/or lets you use a wireless remote to take photos w/o camera shake). Unless such a lovely hybrid comes on the market any time soon w/o sacrificing any features (like RAW support), I don't foresee having to switch camera again.
To those who complain about some subtle cool blue tint to the LCD, I don't see it. Perhaps I'm not a "pro," so I don't notice these things. But, so what? Really... Is it designed to be a "professional" camera or a high end point & shoot? I think it's the latter, as intended.
If someone wants to USE it for a professional camera, by all means, be my guest! But if one EXPECTS a high end point & shoot to *be* a low-end DSLR, perhaps they're setting their expectations too high in general. If you want DSLR quality, get a DSLR. If you want a PORTABLE point & shoot with near-DSLR (but still point & shoot) quality, the G9 is admirable. My opinion only, of course. As a casual user who is thrilled that a PORTABLE / POCKETABLE point & shoot camera can achieve such high quality output while maintaining relative simplicity, depth of features, PROFESSIONAL LOOK & FEEL, etc.
Likewise, to a few people I've heard complaining that there's insufficient "grip" or that the zoom lever or button are too small: I've not had an issue with either. The zoom lever has been sufficient for me to use under a range of circumstances and camera angles. Likewise the grip isn't all that large, but it's large enough, and I've never had a slippage or inability to grip the camera. I generally hold with the index and middle finger up front on the grip and thumb in the space just left of the mute/microphone button. Seems to be ample space for me. ring and pinky fingers usually just rest at the bottom of or underneath the camera.
The small viewfinder is a neutral issue for me. I don't use the viewfinder, frankly. It doesn't display the entire image to be taken, and the LCD allows for a much wider number of shots to be taken, where you can't always have your eye pressed right up to the camera. Likewise, I'd hate to smudge the LCD. I'd probably not care much if the viewfinder was removed completely. I doubt I'd miss it, honestly.
Addendum (12-26-07): I've added several shots to the "customer gallery." One is a night shot capturing a bare tree in the flash, with the moon back-lighting a portion of the branches. For being a newbie and using mostly automatic settings, I think it came out pretty well!
The other images are a set of 3 images of a Christmas decoration, progressively cropping to finer and finer detail. I find it rather amazing how closely one can crop this image and still retain excellent picture quality (right down to not-too-bad reflections off a tiny ornament in a large scene and the fine gold inlaid detail printed at the top of a decorative glass). As of this writing they put it somewhere int he middle of the gallery. Apparently they don't sort the gallery by upload date, which is odd.