Posted by Kalin Wilson on March 13, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Anyone have the Canon G9?
I'm considering a compact point-n-shoot and I've seen good reviews of the G9. I like that it outputs raw files.
If you have one, any issues or problems?
Posted by Adam Schallau on March 13, 2008 at 10:52 AM
I've got one and I love using it. I haven't had any problems but it's important to remember to shoot using as low an ISO as possible. In my experience anything past ISO 100 the noise looks terrible. I use mine both as a point & shoot, and like a mini-SLR using a polarizer and Singh-Ray ND grads.
Posted by Paul Beiser on March 13, 2008 at 11:11 AM
I dont own one, Kalin, but several friends do, and they love the camera (they shoot in RAW).
I was looking at this camera last night and was wondering about using a polarizer. Adam: Do you just hold the filter in front of the lens? There's no way to attach anything, right? What size print could you make? Is the battery life decent? Thanks - I hope Bret Edge can chime in as well.
Posted by Adam Schallau on March 13, 2008 at 1:12 PM
Dave,
I use the Canon Conversion Lens Adapter LA-DC58H to attach a 58mm polarizer and a Cokin holder for the Singh-Ray ND grads. Lensmate also makes a filter adapter for the G9 that is made from machined aluminum. I'm comfortable making prints up to 12x16. I have had no problems with battery life but I do keep a spare just in-case.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on March 13, 2008 at 1:27 PM
Bret Edge has one as well. He has posted some shots here with it.
I use mine in the same way as Adam. My experience with the G9 is on par with Adam's, too. Noise at even 200 is unacceptable for all but snapshots or photos that you intend on processing to look like they were shot on high speed film. I'll add to the very short list of complaints that it has no capability to shoot images via a "motor drive". My old Pentax p&s could do 3 FPS and the G9 does something like 1 FPS. So, for action stuff, it's worthless. One final nit: the battery and SD card slot are on the bottom, which means the tripod plate has to be removed every time you need to gain access.
Having said all that, I love the little camera. It has plenty of manual settings (including flash exposure!) to allow you to make some creative decisions. The image quality at ISO 80 or 100 is amazing. I handhold filters in front of the lens and haven't had any issues with this technique. Perhaps most amazing to me is the fact that in macro mode it will focus at 0.3"! I'm waiting for wildflower season to fully explore this feature but it has been fun thus far. I haven't had any issues with battery life. Zoom lens is very usable. Wide angle equivalent is 35mm w/o the WA adapter (28mm).
I haven't made any prints yet but I suspect Adam is correct about 12x16 being a viable size. You MIGHT even be able to go slightly bigger with an image that doesn't contain a lot of fine detail.
Posted by Jack Brauer on March 13, 2008 at 1:35 PM
I met a guy who had one and let me check it out... it's got an awesome zoom. Wideangle - not so much.
This image was made with the G9 (handheld). I'll also attach a full size crop. I have other images from the G9 if you're interested in seeing them for comparison's sake.
Though I'm late, and you already have your G9 Kalin, I thought I'd chime in about my experiences about the G9. I love it as an on-the-go quality P&S, and consider it a great supplement to my 20D. It allows me to feel confident I can get some pretty good images during times when I don't want to carry the weight of a DSLR and lenses. Yes, the noise is an issue, I was stunned to see how much noise there is at ISO 200. And though the minimum focal distance is amazing at wide angle, I find it disappointing in the telephoto range. This is not the camera for macro flower portrait shots. But RAW recording, abundant manual features, and great color rendition (as well as light weight!) are very positive features in my view. For those interested, I have a G9 gallery with a mini-review at: http://www.pbase.com/segan/gallery/canong9
Discussion
13 repliesI'm considering a compact point-n-shoot and I've seen good reviews of the G9. I like that it outputs raw files.
If you have one, any issues or problems?
I use the Canon Conversion Lens Adapter LA-DC58H to attach a 58mm polarizer and a Cokin holder for the Singh-Ray ND grads. Lensmate also makes a filter adapter for the G9 that is made from machined aluminum. I'm comfortable making prints up to 12x16. I have had no problems with battery life but I do keep a spare just in-case.
Having said all that, I love the little camera. It has plenty of manual settings (including flash exposure!) to allow you to make some creative decisions. The image quality at ISO 80 or 100 is amazing. I handhold filters in front of the lens and haven't had any issues with this technique. Perhaps most amazing to me is the fact that in macro mode it will focus at 0.3"! I'm waiting for wildflower season to fully explore this feature but it has been fun thus far. I haven't had any issues with battery life. Zoom lens is very usable. Wide angle equivalent is 35mm w/o the WA adapter (28mm).
I haven't made any prints yet but I suspect Adam is correct about 12x16 being a viable size. You MIGHT even be able to go slightly bigger with an image that doesn't contain a lot of fine detail.
I'm taking a family trip to Utah (SLC) this weekend, so I plan to break it in.
Now to sneak it past my wife ...
Good luck with that.
Have fun with the G9 and be sure to let us know what you think of it. Have a great trip.