|
7/10 |
2009/10/16-11/3 [Consumer/Camera] UID:53456 Activity:nil |
10/16 Interesting new Canon P&S cameras: G11, S90. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/find/newsLetter/PowerShot-G11-S90.jsp BTW, has anybody used the new D10 [not the old 10D] ... any thoguhts? I'm trying to pick between {my G10 + buy waterproof housing} or a buy a nw D10 (beach, boat/raft/kayak, snorkel ... not scuba). \_ http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2009/10/canon-g11-new-professional-camera.html \_ i think this review is overly gushy. there are a lot of pix you can take with 28-105mm field of view ... esp if the camera is small enoght to keep with your, and the image stab is really nice and give you an advantage over optically nice but older non-IS lenses ... BUT imagine never shooting blew f/8. Come on. The inabilty to chop DoF is a big lose. Maybe you can debate the benefits og 2.8 -> 1.4, but even the supposedly "fast" S90 or LX3 ... dont really give you a much shallower DoF. Also, I dont think this dood's G11 sample are that good ... I take pix that are as good with my G10 and I dont think I'm a pro worth listneing to. [BTW, I own and really like my G10 and have recommended it to others so not dissing the specific model or P&S in genreal. But when O was evaluating whether to buy a LX3 as a "portrait"/ "fast indoor" camera i did the math to calculate the real DoF corrected for sensor size [just like you need the FOV multiplier, you have a DoF multipler], so f2 is not what you expect.] \- YOU FUCKING DIP SHIT, delet my post again and I'll delete yours from now on. \_ You're an idiot for suggestion G10 over anything else without making consideration of other things like over-megapixel (do you seriously need 15 MP on a small sensor)? Also, when you pack so much MP into a tiny sensor, you get lots of noise at anything above 80 ISO thus the extra MPs you get will have much higher noise. The G10 looks amazing under the most ideal lighting situation and at 80 ISO. However, most people normally shoot at all conditions (indoor, night, etc), under less than ideal situation, and their extra MP and extra disk space is wasted due to much lower signal-to-noise ratio. Secondly, you're an idiot for even trying to compare the depth of field of a small compact to a SLR. Even if if you have f/1.0 on a compact, the DoF is still higher than an SLR at f/2.0. It's the same reason why DoF on SLR will *NEVER* reach the DoF of a medium format on an equivalent focal length. The G11 is a great camera because Canon finally learned that people are demanding less noise and a better well rounded camera, than a G10 that only looks good in ideal situation. The G10 is an awful awful camera that a lot of pros (that want compacts) didn't want to get. Overall, your response shows that you're an idiot. SUCK MY BALLS. \_ I was debating between a G11 and a LX3. On the other hand, I think I will just wait now that I'm not working. The new D3x with oven 100,000 ISO is simply amazing. |
7/10 |
|
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/find/newsLetter/PowerShot-G11-S90.jsp Close Canon PowerShot G11 Ever since the introduction of the original 33Mp PowerShot G1 way back in the year 2000, most every succeeding G-series digicam has boasted an ever-increasing pixel count. Canon PowerShot G11, Canon's engineers have taken a step backwards in a sense by turning to a new 10Mp imaging sensor, which contains about a third fewer albeit larger - pixels than its predecessor, the G10. It's no big secret the higher-resolution sensors found in many digicams fall short of their lower-res siblings and predecessors. You can subdivide an imaging sensor just so far before the benefits of higher pixel-counts start compromising the dynamic range of the image in the form of blown highlights, murky shadows, and blotchy tonal transitions. Based on comparisons between a G10 and an early production model of the G11, Canon's engineers seem to have taken a good change of course. As for overall image quality, the image files produced by our test G11 were equal to - and in some circumstances better than - image files produce by the G10. Canon PowerShot G11 The G11 strongly resembles its predecessor, the G10, and thankfully retains the G10's 'real camera' analog control dials for switching exposure modes, ISO sensitivity, and exposure compensation. The biggest exterior difference is the G11's 27", 461,000-dot swivel-mounted LCD. If you've used a swivel-LCD in the past, you'd note its absence when trying to shoot from difficult angles with the G10. The cost of this convenience is about 9/10th of a millimeter of additional padding on the camera's profile, but such is life. The swivel feature also allows you to face the LCD inward to protect the LCD surface when it's not in use. Like the G10, the G11 sports an honest-to-gosh optical viewfinder which, peephole-ish as it may be, is a welcome alternative to the camera's LCD when shooting under brighter lighting conditions. Canon's Speedlite flashes and compatible third-party flashes. The hot-shoe also facilitates the use of optical and radio transmitters for triggering studio strobes. And if you plan on using the G11 in studio environments, you'll be pleased to know the G11 has a top flash sync of 1/2000th compared to the G10's already-fast top sync speed of 1/500th. Other improvements found in the G11 include an HDMI output port for playing back still and video on your TV or computer monitor, higher low-light sensitivity, and a Dual Anti-Noise System, that along with the G11's DIGIC 4 image processor, allows for noticeably better low-light imaging at ISO levels up to 3200 (ditto for the PowerShot S90). While image files from most cameras in the point-and-shoot arena start falling apart once you get to around ISO 400 (regardless of manufacturer's claims), the images produced by both the G11 and S90 in the ISO 400-800 range proved to be impressive with reasonable noise levels, and even at 1600 and 3200, both the G11 and S90 produced very usable image files. PowerShot S90 can easily be described as a trimmed-down, sportier body and then some. The S90 includes many of the key features found in the G11 including the same 10Mp imaging sensor, optical image stabilization, JPEG and/or RAW capture abilities, Blink Detection, advanced Face Detection (with Self Timer), and Intelligent Contrast Correction. If pocket-ability and/or stealthy-ness are deciding factors, the S90 is the path to follow. S90 As a trade-off for lopping off the analog control dials that adorn the top deck of the G11, the S90 has a handy control ring surrounding the camera lens that allows you to adjust the exposure, ISO, zoom, white balance, and manual focus by simply choosing the desired mode and rotating the control ring. Adjustments can be viewed in real-time on the camera's 3", 461,000-dot LCD. While both cameras proved to be worth their oats under low light conditions, the extra stop of light availed by the S90 made for some very sharp wide-aperture imaging under both bright and low-lighting conditions. Hand-held street-shooting on city streets is akin to snap-shooting under daylight conditions, and even wide open, the S90's lens performs quite admirably. Even wide open at f2 and at ISO levels upward of 800 and beyond, the S90 delivers surprisingly clean image files The fast f/2 maximum aperture on the S90 also makes for strong bright-light imaging. In addition to quicker focusing and metering performance afforded by lens' wider aperture, selective focusing is easier to achieve in both the wide and long end of the zoom lens. |
visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2009/10/canon-g11-new-professional-camera.html The Visual Science Lab This is a blog about photography and the commercial visual arts written for photographers, designers, art directors and all sorts of people in marcom departments around the globe. We'll discuss new products and new trends and how to incorporate them into our daily businesses. How about a list of stuff that a G11 (a $500 compact camera from Canon) can't handle. Then there's anything that requires a super wide angle lens or an extreme telephoto lens. I wouldn't use it for weddings----not super at focusing under very iffy light. But, if you are a step by step, left brain kind of person who likes to shoot in the streets, loves setting things up carefully. Thinks portraits can be considered and gracious affairs. Loves to shoot things with lots of sharpness and depth of field I can certainly recommend the G11. I've shot close to a thousand frames since I got it a week ago and I've done my share of pixel peeping. I could shoot portraits in the studio with this and portraits out on the street. I could (have) shot some product shots with the little sucker and no one was the wiser. Most of us like to do one type of photography and our focus on that genre makes us better at it than the types of photography we do because we're considered "generalists". If we're being frank I'll say that when I shoot for myself, from the old days of film right up to today, I've never wanted to shoot wider than 28mm or longer than about 105mm. My favorite subject is the human face and I don't sneak shots I take portraits with the full collaboration of the subject. Which means I have time to compose and chimp and generally get stuff right. And it's better than anything I've shot except for an M series Leica because the camera tends to just disappear and the whole even becomes a calm walk in the park as opposed to the ominous frippery of a "serious" shoot. In a studio with a big Octabank plugged into a Profoto air monolight I can use the G11 to make portraits that are wonderful in their own right. If you've been in this business for a while the greater depth of field would give the images away as being the progeny of a small format camera but you wouldn't know it based on quality and color. I'll put it up against a string of Nikons or Olympus cameras I've owned or currently owned. In fact, the instant Live View (no waiting for flopping mirrors) makes it an even more valuable studio portrait camera. In the street, pre-focused, it's as fast as my Leica M6 In a dimly lit restaurant the combination of a new, clean ISO 400-800 and great IS gives me the opportunity to shoot sharp the way I would have with my previous gen Nikons. Well, I guess it's scary for some because it's not a camera that will wow the clients. But then isn't it the photos that are supposed to wow them? I interpreted statements by the APA crowd that we needed to "raise the bar" to mean that we needed to be more creative and more visually advanced than the "proletariat" crowd of "proamateur" photographers. I didn't see the statement as a manifesto to outspend everyone in an "arms race" to the whispery thin heights of ultimate machinery. and it's time we acknowledged that the equipment "barriers to entry" are largely gone. If you are shooting in good light and you can't make a great image on a G11 (or the previous generation G10) then you aren't as good a photographer as you think you might be... I was an early adopter of digital and I've spent enough on cameras to buy a fairly nice boat but I will say that this little camera blows away the performance we were getting from most SLR's at multiples of this price only a few years ago. Things I don't like about the G11: 1 The crappy optical viewfinder with the built in parallax distortion. Finally, I've included images from a day of shooting around Austin. And if you just sunk $100,000 in a Leaf Medium Format System I expect you to disagree with me on every point! As Jay Maisel would say, "It's hard to take a picture if you don't have a camera with you." It's the camera you will have with you because it works so damn well and it disappears even better. Interested to know if you actually used a G10 before and base your conclusion of the G11 compared to the G10, or, if it's just as a new G-user altogether? Most people in general, and even most photographers, don't really need all the gear they have for most shoots. I have had a canon G7 for a good few years now and it is also a great bit of kit. I have the underwater housing and that makes it a nice tool to have in the bag every day local press work. I think you should mention the complicated control system of the G11 in the negative column. I have a G10 and I am constantly forgetting how to make simple changes on the camera. My D3x, which costs about 16 times the price of the G10, is far easier to operate. For example, instead of the G10 having ONE movie mode it has several. Often when I want to shoot a movie, instead of being able to just spin the dial to movie, I have to work the menu controls to make sure I am in the "right" movie mode. Canon should really make a pro version of the G11 that features easy access to the few features we really need such: WB, Shutter, Aperture, Exposure Compensation, etc. Kirk, Superb piece, and I love your writing style, but this article may just eventually cost me some money; Do you have a feel for the useful lifetime of this camera? It seems, from your article, that this camera could have a long (in digital years) and useful life as a carry-around camera. Funny you write this now --- because I just bought a D-Lux 4 for the same reasons as you speak of. For the heck of it I tried it out a couple of days ago on a "test" portait with one of my daughters and her friend. I shot it with my norman strobe pack and pocket wizards. One thing about small sensor cameras that I like is that the depth of field is very large ie both girls were in perfect focus from nose to back of hair etc. In this test I used a black backgound so I did not have to worry about throwing the backgournd out of focus. I wanted to get a G11 for my wife's current trip to Vienna. I was pretty impressed with it from an evening of fooling with it, including hooking it up to Canon's wireless flash stuff. Assuming my bride doesn't hate the G10, the G11 should do nicely for both of us. Maybe there is or will be some sort of CHDK hack to do that. Canon's done a relatively good job with your list of controls with the exception of white balance which is a fiddly menu option. I mainly wish for a more accurate viewfinder on the Canon G series. I'd really like a good electronic viewfinder like the Panasonic G1. I have used and loved the G10 since it was available (and reviewed it for Canon's CPN too). I have been watching the G11 with interest - how about some 100% image views of some of your shots? Kirk - How do you think the ep1 and gf1 affect the g-series as a whole? For another $300 you can get a camera that is not that much bigger (neither is pocketable) and vastly superior high iso and dynamic range, as well as the ability to control depth of field, use a range of lenses (including very fast primes). It seems to me that the large-compact for serious photographers category has already been shaken up and the G11 has missed the boat, even if it would have been a compelling camera just before the m4/3 cameras came out. My Photo kirk tuck Austin, Texas, United States I've been involved in photography for eons. I've taught at the University of Texas at Austin College of Fine Arts, worked as a creative director at a regional ad agency, worked on two bestselling cook books, worked as a DP on an award winning music video and now I'm writing books and blogs. I'm still photographing for advertising and corporate clients every day. I think the visual arts should be fun, productive and collaborative. This blog will help me share and get advice and insight from an interconnected group of visual people from across the globe. I currently have two books on the market: Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Location Photography, and Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Studio Photography. N... |