Friday, January 13, 2012

Canon G1 X

If my Fuji X10 didn't have such surprisingly good low-light quality, I might have regretted getting it just before the Canon G1x was announced. For the G1x is pretty much the same camera as the X10: high quality, compact, all-round camera. But the G1x has a larger sensor, larger than M4/3, and so in theory it probably has yet better available-darkness powers.
But then it's bigger and heavier (530 grams vs 360 grams, big difference), and it's sort of brutish looking.     :-)


Ah, and the Fuji, no doubt helped by the smaller sensor, does have one clear advantage: its zoom is much faster, F:2.0 to F:2.8, as compared with the Canon's much more limited F:2.8 to F:5.8. Particularly at the long end where you need all the help you can get, that's a two-stop difference! (I think Fuji has the record in zoom speed.) ("Speed": how much light a lens or sensor takes in per second.)
Still, doubtlessly this is a very powerful all-round and travel camera.

12 comments:

Alex said...

I was advised in the Camera shop to wait until after a big trade show in the spring when all the announcements are made. Do you think she meant CES, or is there one just for cameras?

The Fuji still has a bit more appeal to me, but I really want a pocket camera with OVF or EVF.

emptyspaces said...

It is indeed brutish - a tad bigger than the G12 and definitely utilitarian in style.

Too bad the lens isn't super fast, at least at the wide end, but the sensor is huge and I'll bet the stop you lose to the X10 is more than made up for by the huge sensor. Zoomed in, you're giving two stops to the Fuji - probably your best bet is to shoot wide in dim light.

Size-wise, the sensor sits between M43 and APS-C, which is quite a jump in size for this line. 14MP, I think, shows some restraint as those pixels should be nice & big.

920K screen, which tilts and swivels.

I'll bet it's a real cracker, and I can't wait to shoot with it.

Alex said...

I thought the G12 was the upper size that I'd want for my next camera. If this is bigger, then I'll probably back down.

emptyspaces said...

Alex,

If you didn't mind the chunkiness of the G12, I doubt you'd be bothered by the feel of the G1X. It's not much bigger, really. Just slightly so.

Alex said...

No, I'm looking for smaller camera for travel. The G12 was bigger than I wanted.

I think the Nikon V1 is more my size, but by the time I add the lens I want then I'm over my size budget.

I would go all the way to a p'n's, but they have no viewfinder, and I plan to be in bright sun. Maybe I should just invest in a new lens for my DSLR and travel heavy, not light.

TC [Girl] said...

Alex said...
Maybe I should just invest in a new lens for my DSLR and travel heavy, not light.

Are you talking re: your Nikon D80, Alex; and, if so, which lens?

Alex said...

I have the 18-55 Nikkor that was the kit lens with the D80, and the longer 55-200 Nikkor that DW got me. Then I got my 35mm f2.8 Tokina prime.

I think the only sensible way to go now would be a fast zoom in the 180-300 range, or a fast 300 or 400mm telephoto. At this point I am mostly taking architectural highlights and birds, so the longer lens would be welcome.

I have a trip coming up which will be my first vacation going somewhere new. I won't have a car, and it's not company sponsored I want to be able to travel fast and light, but also to get good photos.

I just can't settle on what camera to get. I know I'll be wanting to shoot interiors, and will be at some ornately carved temples. I also know I have trouble shooting without a viewfinder. I just can't see in bright sunlight. Such is life.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

You ain't a'gwynne find a pocket point/shoot which will give you both a wide for enteriors and a long tele lens. Better stick with the DSLR then.

But do you even need longer than 200mm? That's 300mm-equivalent, and going longer is hard to hand-hold, even with a stabilized lens/camera.

Alex said...

No, it's a DX lens so 200 is already 200 equivalent, not 300 equivalent.

As for going longer http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S_t04YDtm8g/Tn-it1ngsqI/AAAAAAAAFdw/nsF57sv0iV4/s1600/DSC_9928.JPG

could have used a bit of help with a longer lens, and I am not averse to taking my tripod when shooting birds.

Interiors would not need the wide angle, just a fast lens. I know what I typically shoot inside, and 35mm is more then wide enough.

I need something pocket-able, that's the main reason for looking small. I had my hands on the V1 today, I like it, but it's still "big". I'm looking for a replacement for our old Olympus P&S film camera which had reasonable optical zoom and a viewfinder, and collapsed down smaller than my old Instamatic. I wonder, am I old enough that I know how good things were, and don't appreciate how good they've gotten?

I also don't want the hassle of switching lenses and carrying extra kit for the most part.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

This?
http://bythom.com/55200lens.htm

No, they don't compensate for sensor size. If it says 200mm on a lens, it's 200, meaning the view angle will be 300mm-equivalent to full frame.

Only a few small cameras, like actually the X10, write the equivalent numbers on the lens.

Alex said...

Now I'm going to dig out my Pentax and see how things look between the Pentax and the Nikon side by side.

I still need a bit longer lens.

The lenses are this and this

Thinking again, yes, my old lenses used to be 28-80 and 75-200 (could it be 250?), and I remember having equivalent coverage to my old system with the new stuff But still, pelicans and gargoyles demand a longer lens. I would not need the longer lens at the car show.

TC [Girl] said...

Eo: Would any of these do the trick?

Alex: What I've done, for a couple of trips, (and it was unintentional) was buy a compact P&S and discovered, during the trip, sadly (so if you have time, BEFORE the trip to try 'em out, that would, of course, be a better idea! I just didn't make the time before either trip.) I didn't care for them BUT...they gave me FULL REFUNDS, when I returned the camera in great condition, upon my return!

I'd lend you my 70-300 were it not for the fact that I dropped it and the cap is, now, "nicely" jarred in the lens! I'm scared to find out if it's hosed or not! That lens wasn't cheap! :-( And...Eo's right: it's a MONSTER to hold! You would want to drag along at LEAST a monopod and, then, you'll have airport security freaking out on you, making you feel like you brought a weapon with you!!!! SAD state of affairs, in the travel department, these days! :-( I wonder if there could be some sort of lending program where you're going? Might cost a mint, though!