Posted by Bill Chambers on January 24, 2008 at 1:57 PM
Having just read Darwin's excellent article on the G9, my question is obvious for us Nikon users. Does Nikon have anything (currently or in the works) that would be comparable to the G9?
Posted by Mitch Erwin on January 24, 2008 at 4:28 PM
Oh Bill! Just take the plunge and come on over to the " Dark Side " or " Come to the Light"!
Posted by David Bostedo on January 24, 2008 at 5:07 PM
Bill, are you really that addicted to Nikon that you wouldn't consider a G9 (or any other brand)? Nikon has been lagging Canon in the P&S world for quite a while now, from pocket cams up to the big EVFs. One example where this can be seen is this page at DPReview. While you can see that Nikon is the second most looked at brand, there isn't a single Nikon P&S in the top 20 searches (of the last five days). Canon has 8 P&S's in the top 20, led by the G9. I believe the same thing holds true if you look at sales figures (not that the G9 is the best selling - but Canon has much higher overall P&S sales).
I haven't heard of anything in the works, but it would be interesting if Nikon fired a shot at Canon in this area; It would go nicely with the shot they fired with the D3/D300 combo.
Posted by Bret Edge on January 24, 2008 at 5:25 PM
Bill: The Nikon equivalent of the G9 is the Coolpix P5100. 12.1 MP, 3.5x zoom, 2.5" screen, 1.6" macro focus distance. Compares pretty well to the G9. The G9 is 12.1 MP, 6x zoon, 3" screen, 0.6" macro focus distance. Both have lens adapters for wide angle or telephoto. The NIkon's is 24mm while the Canon's is 28 mm on the wide side, and 369mm vs. well over 400mm on Canon. Biggest difference: Nikon runs $310, Canon $450 (though I got mine for $380).
Hope this helps!
Posted by David Bostedo on January 24, 2008 at 5:29 PM
Sorry if I came at this the wrong way, Bill. As Bret shows, Nikon makes comparable cameras spec-wise. I was thinking more in terms of how Nikon might be competing sales or interest wise, and not knowing if anything was in the works that could help them recover the market.
Posted by Bill Chambers on January 24, 2008 at 5:35 PM
Thanks all. I certainly don't have anything against Canon (except that my hand shakes when I write the word! ), but I've shot Nikon for 30+ years and still love it. Would stay with Nikon out of brand loyalty IF they're as good as the Canon, but will certainly buy Canon if I'm dragged kicking and screaming into it!!!
Posted by Arni Cheatham on January 24, 2008 at 6:00 PM
Bill and Bret
Sadly, unless I've made some mistake, I think the Coolpix P5100 does not have RAW as an available format whereas the G9 does. For some that's an issue, for some not.
Posted by Basil Greber on January 24, 2008 at 6:08 PM
I think Nikon is seriously laggaing behind the "dark side C-brand" when it comes to P&S cameras. Which is unfortunate. They're able to make amazingly good DSLRs, so one would guess they'd know how to build a good compact, too. But, as dpreview.com puts it, they're all "me too" cameras instead of real innovations.
Basil
Posted by Bill Chambers on January 24, 2008 at 7:10 PM
Thanks Arni, not having RAW capability would defintely be a deal killer. Sounds like Canon's the way to go, at least for now. Hopefully, Nikon will get their act together soon, but then again, it sure took them a long time to come out with the D3.
I have the G9 and I am very impressed by the file quality. It is a great little camera.
Without a lens collection backing it up, it doesn't matter to me what brand a P&S has on it.
Posted by Bret Edge on January 25, 2008 at 1:32 AM
I hadn't noticed that it doesn't do RAW capture. Nothing on their site indicates that they capture RAW either. That sucks.
I've got the G9 Bill, and it's a killer litte camera. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for one second...even though it is a lowly Canon.
Posted by Buck Ward on January 25, 2008 at 10:42 PM
Hi Bill
I'm a former Nikon shooter, switched to Canon about 4 years ago. I've also had a number of point-n-shooters of several different brands, including but not limited to Canon and Nikon. I've always read as many reviews as I could before buying a camera, but you really only know what you've got after using it for a while. I've had a couple that I really liked and a couple that were big disappointments. One, an EVF super-zoom, got rave reviews from DPReview and from friends and acquaintances, seemed like the perfect camera on paper, but I grew to really dislike it. Gave it away yesterday, in fact. I've come to the conclusion that no particular brand has a lock on having the best digicam. Go with the one that seems to be the best choice now, and hope for the best.
Coke-Pepsi, Ford-Chevy, Canon-Nikon. Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances
Discussion
12 repliesI haven't heard of anything in the works, but it would be interesting if Nikon fired a shot at Canon in this area; It would go nicely with the shot they fired with the D3/D300 combo.
For another pretty glowing look at the G9, there's this article at Luminous Landscape.
Hope this helps!
Sadly, unless I've made some mistake, I think the Coolpix P5100 does not have RAW as an available format whereas the G9 does. For some that's an issue, for some not.
Basil
Without a lens collection backing it up, it doesn't matter to me what brand a P&S has on it.
I've got the G9 Bill, and it's a killer litte camera. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for one second...even though it is a lowly Canon.
I'm a former Nikon shooter, switched to Canon about 4 years ago. I've also had a number of point-n-shooters of several different brands, including but not limited to Canon and Nikon. I've always read as many reviews as I could before buying a camera, but you really only know what you've got after using it for a while. I've had a couple that I really liked and a couple that were big disappointments. One, an EVF super-zoom, got rave reviews from DPReview and from friends and acquaintances, seemed like the perfect camera on paper, but I grew to really dislike it. Gave it away yesterday, in fact. I've come to the conclusion that no particular brand has a lock on having the best digicam. Go with the one that seems to be the best choice now, and hope for the best.
Coke-Pepsi, Ford-Chevy, Canon-Nikon. Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances
I've thinking of G9 for a long time. May be next month.