Canon Powershot G10 14.7MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom by Canon
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Digital camera reviews of Canon Powershot G10 14.7MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Digital camera Review: Advancing from Point and Shot cameras...
Summary: 4 Stars
I have used point and shoot cameras for their size and convenience, as I am always on the go. Most recent camera has been Canon SD800IS - a great camera for spontaneous shots. My needs are growing and photo editing is becoming a more important element of making photos effective. The JPEG files that cameras output, like my Canon SD800IS, look fine, however, because the camera has already processed its RAW info in making the JPEG, the options left for photo editing afterward are limited.
The Canon G10 was my choice for moving to a more advanced camera with RAW file output, higher quality optics, and without the bulk of the Digital SLRs. There are other cameras that compete with the G10 - Given all the pros and cons I decided on the G10 based on its feature set and positive Canon G9 reviews.
My experience with the Canon G10 (acquired Oct 8, 2008)
+ Images on auto settings have been far superior to my SD800IS
+ Menu and settings are easier than my SD800IS
+ Startup time for first shot is fast - similar to what I enjoyed with my SD800IS
+ Construction quality and feel of the camera is solid (but doubles the weight)
+ The lens has an automatic self covering protector - not shown in most web photos
- Canon registration via web is missing option for G10 cameras
- Canon G10 cases (listed on their website & camera manual) not available for sale
- Canon RAW lacks support for Photoshop and Aperture
- Canon's software can convert their RAW to TIFF, but 15 MB files will grow to 83 MB
Overall, Canon's G10 will be an excellent camera
+ small enough to keep in my briefcase or carry around for spontaneous opportunities
+ powerful enough to capture high quality images.
When Canon provides more flexible support for RAW (or I learn other ways to get their files into Photoshop and Aperture), I'll probably give the G10 5 stars.
Digital camera Review: After False Start - Works Great
Summary: 5 Stars
Canon Powershot G10 14.7MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
I received the camera a few days before a trip to the Pacific Northwest and tested it out at home to make sure I was comfortable with the new features...I was finally upgrading from the original G1! The camera functioned well until the day fo the Father/Daughter dance when suddenly every shot looked like it was over-exposed! I tried everything and took it to a local camera shop where I was told that the camera had a defective sensor. I even called Canon and then i called Amazon and made arrangements for a replacement camera which happened without a hitch. The camera functions flawlessly and the movie mode is better than I thought it would be.
Digital camera Review: All I can say is wow.
Summary: 5 Stars
First, allow me to introduce myself: I am a pixel-peeper. I have to be because my clients are; I'm not that way out of OCD although I do suffer from OCD. I am a DSLR user, a user of professional lenses, and someone who takes pictures for almost solely the purpose of selling them commercially.
I got started about 6 months ago looking for a compact camera that I could take with me everywhere I go, since taking my pro gear is not always feasible for a multitude of reasons. I tried out a few things personally but mostly I did exhaustive research. My standards are very high since I rarely take pictures for personal use or for fun. My research was made confusing because I have seen both excellent and not so excellent test shots made with this camera posted online. In my experience, the good ones were more accurate. Some of the test shots online seriously make me wonder since my results have been much better. Look up the online comparison between this camera and a $40,000 Hasselblad. Those are more in line with what I am seeing. I am happy to say that this camera has exceeded my expectations and I really like it generally.
I am going to randomly name a few things about this camera that I really like:
Noise: If you are like me, this is the most important issue to you. I don't do low-light shooting so low noise at low ISO is the only thing of importance to me. That being said, I have zero tolerance for noise. The noise at ISO 80 on this camera is indistinguishable from the noise of every DSLR I have used! That is such a huge deal. I wish I could have put that sentence in bold and 18 point type. I just don't see any difference, and my eye is very well trained from using Photoshop 4+ hours per day. I am positive that prints will bear out the same result. ISO 100 is virtually indistinguishable, certainly enough that in almost all photos you will not see a difference and you will almost certainly see no difference in prints either. I won't be shooting higher than ISO 100 on this camera so I can't tell you about the performance at those levels. I don't normally shoot high ISOs anyway, but I will certainly not be attempting it with a compact P&S. My gut tells me that it would do well, but I simply just don't have a use for the feature so I haven't checked.
Grain: to the extent that there is noise at ISO 80/100 (every digital camera ever made has some level of noise), I have to say I really like the effect! It is much more natural than recent DLSR setups I have shot with. The grain looks like a very slow film type grain. Converted to B&W it looks fantastic. This will be a great camera for street photography in that sense. I can already see that there will be prints--large prints--taken with this camera that will end up on a gallery wall. I converted a few pictures I took to B&W and then looked at them on a 26" LCD monitor and they look amazing. The grain is really just so realistic and artistic. I haven't really commented on this with other digital cameras I have reviewed because I haven't experienced such a noticeably realistic grain character with other cameras.
Color accuracy: more accurate than virtually all cameras I have used with maybe the exception of the Canon 5D.
LCD: the brightest and the most beautiful I have ever used on any camera, ever. Love the LCD.
So, any problems at all? These are totally nit-picky and I include them only to be thorough. I am not complaning anf these are nowhere near the level of being a dealbreaker for owning the camera.
Distortion: noticeable in many cases. This is easily correctable in a variety of ways, and you will really only feel the need to correct it if you are shooting wide open or you are shooting architectural/straight-line subjects. It's a P&S camera so this is to be expected anyway.
CA: not as bad as I thought so I am pleasantly surprised here, however there is some in certain shots. Again correctable and not really a big deal. Again it's a P&S camera so this is to be expected anyway.
Shooting at f/2.8: It is noticeably soft and the CA gets much worse here also. I won't be shooting at this aperture very often anyway, but after seeing test shots at f/2.8 I will try even harder to avoid this aperture. Anything smaller than f/2.8 and everything's fine. Again this being a P&S it gets a pass.
Construction: Holding the camera right takes some getting used to. It doesn't just go into your palm like a glove like many cameras do. It takes some practice to find the right way to hold it; it isn't intuitive. The camera is also larger and heavier than I thought it would be but it is still within the limit of what I needed and the "solid-ness" is reassuring as far as long-term use and/or resale value is concerned.
In summation, I was worried that there were too many pixels crammed into this camera and it delayed my purchase for a while until I could do more research and hear from owners. I was assured by many owners that the MP cramming hadn't had a deleterious effect on IQ so I took a chance. Amazon does allow returns, after all, so what the hey. I'm happy that I did because the camera has met or exceeded my high expectations and I will be keeping the camera. No more "I wish I had a camera with me because that would make a great picture" moments. This will be with me all the time.
Digital camera Review: Amazing Camera!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the best camera I have ever owned. The photos are beautiful and the automatic red-eye correction is fantastic. It also takes pretty good pictures in low light without a flash. I took a picture of our christmas tree lit up and the rest of the lights in the house off and the picture was perfect. The wide angle lens is a definate plus. Well worth the price!Digital camera Review: Amazing Grace
Summary: 5 Stars
This camera is just amazing. It's what I needed to start with as my first digital camera. The learning curve has been interesting and fun and smooth. It is like a good first girlfriend: teaching me things quietly and sweetly and beautifully every day I take her out on the road with me. And I wouldn't trade her away for a million bucks. My next camera will have to be even more awesome and even easier to operate and learn from than thins one; and it will have a hard act to follow.
I would suggest that you folks would make the handbook with glossy paper and with plenty of color; possibly color coding the sections in the book and the buttons on the back of the camera to correspond with the explanations in those sections.
T. J. Bury III