Canon aims for digicam sweet spot with G10
Canon's G10 is all about making the most of a small resource: space. Perched atop the PowerShot line, it has a new image processor, a 28mm lens with 5x optical zoom, 14.7 megapixels and a 3-inch display. It replaces the G9, and goes head-to-head this October with Nikon's P6000.
Though the G10 lacks the latter's GPS geotagging, it has a higher resolution and the same chunky, pocket-friendly form factor. At $500, it's as expensive as an entry-level DSLR.
I had the pleasure of just a few minutes with the G9 some time ago, and there's a certain freedom that comes with cameras like these. The pressure is always on to make digicams smaller, so most stuff that comes our way is quite compromised, quality-wise. That's not to say the little Cybershots and Exilims and Elphs are no good – they often surprise in how good they are — but rather that there's a lot you get by allowing an extra half-inch in every direction. Better optics, faster processing, more features: after years of owning decent cameras, I'm about ready for a great one that still isn't a DSLR.
the latest
latest episodes
14 megapixels on a pocket-sized camera? Good grief. You know the dynamic range and low-light performance is going to suck.
I would pay good money for something of about the same spec as my old PowerShot G2 (well, maybe slightly thinner; today's chip and battery technology should allow that), only with modern features (DIGIC IV processor, a modern firmware and an orientation sensor).
I do have a question, that I could probably answer myself with 20 minutes experimentation...
If I lower the resolution in the camera's settings, does this mean that the sensor will put more area to use for each megapixel (resulting in a better picture) or that the camera will just resize the image down after it's captured?
Or does it depend on the camera?
My Canon S60 is on its final leg, the CCD occasionally goes into "Matrix Blur" mode, so I've been keeping an eye on these things. I've always liked the G line, especially now since I've come to value the compactness of the S60, despite my underlying lust for a full DSLR.
However, I'm hoping that the "wide angle" lens on this G10 is of better quality than the "wide angle" one that came with the my S60, which is absolutely horrendous. I've had warped corners and purple fringe up the ying-yang for the past 4 years with this camera, so much so that I've set up Photoshop effect macros to compensate for them in all my photos. I'll have to wait for some hands-on reviews.
ACB is spot on - please make an 8MP version. The picture quality will be superior, as you will not need aggressive noise reduction.
Bob, I thought of the same problem riding my bike home today - I´m afraid it´s option 2, resizing after capture. But why don´t you post two 1600 iso pictures at max. and min. resolution and let us all see?
Rob, not Bob. Sorry for the typo!
I am a G9 user and I really like it. The only issue I have with it is that (as most small sensors go) the noise at higher ISO settings is pretty apparent. I was hoping the G10 would opt for a better sensor instead of more MPs. Bummer. A nice CMOS sensor in one of these little guys would be amazing, really. But, the G9 still takes great pictures IMHO.
I also love the G9, although I wish CHDK were ported to it faster, so I could make use of the HDR scripts.
I also wish that the G10 would include GPS for geotagging in the EXIF data. (Or at least Bluetooth for pairing with an external GPS receiver.) Maybe EyeFi will made a card that provides GPS via the SD slot while taking miniSD or microSD for storage.
I have a G9 and the low-light performance is the best I've used so far. But I remember shooting Tri-X and getting only grainy BW negatives.
I'm a bit pissed that a year later they come out with a new one with a 28mm lens, but that's par for the course these days.
I would still like to see an 8mp, small, light, fixed-focal-length, f1.4 camera with manual controls. I'd pay at least $500 for that.
Have you tried the Lumix LX3? It's got a 24mm lens and it's 8.5 megapixel, which gives it absolutely supernatural low-light performance. It's a very, very nice point-and-shoot job that I actually find myself using more frequently than I do my DSLR. I love it, it's my baby.
I have a G9 and it takes amazing pictures.
Rob, I am pretty sure you can lower the resolution and it does what you say. I saw a website somewhere that had recommended settings depending on the size of the sensor.
From what I remember, for a sensor the size of the G9, the optimum resolution was 5MP. For a typical pocket point and shoot it was 2MP.
I am pretty sure it doesn't take it at the highest resolution and then reduce since it would take time to process that. Taking the photo and the set resolution would eliminate that step and speed up saving the image.
Hello Canon?
You can have my FUJI F10 and my FUJI F31fd -- when your G-whatever, has a speedy first-shot time and awesome low-light performance.
That's all you have to do.
Let me recap the full list of "tentpole" features:
LOW LIGHT PERFORMANCE.
FAST FIRST SHOT.
NOT OLD.
You don't even have to be BETTER than the F31 at low-light or shot speed. Just "as good as."
As an incentive, I invite your marketing types to peruse eBay and see how much USED F31 and F10 cameras sell for.
OLD, beat up point N shoot cameras. Selling for more than your new one.
Do you UNDERSTAND THIS?
Your target market is buying OLD technology instead of your shiny new stuff.
Hello?