Canon PowerShot G9 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon PowerShot G9 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Customer Review: Pro-grade SLR alternative
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been shooting with manual focus, manual exposure SLR systems since I was twelve years old. That's almost thirty years using kit like the Olympus OM-1 (my first love, too bad it was stolen!), Pentax MX, numerous lenses, professional flash equipment like Vivitar 283 and Sunpak 383. My cousin asked me to shoot her wedding, so I thought maybe the time had finally come to switch to digital.
Okay, so maybe I'm old school, and maybe I have some unrealistic expectations for modern equipment, but every time I looked at the digital SLR offerings, I was disappointed. Even the Nikons (well, the affordable ones like the D70 and D80) were polycarbonate bodies with plastic lenses. Not professional-grade. Do you have to pay thousands of dollars to get a metal-bodied SLR today? Something built to withstand a 5 fps motor drive, like in the old days? Well, I looked at the Pentax K10D -- metal body, reasonably affordable, fully compatible with all my lenses -- but I just had this vague sense of dissatisfaction. These fragile contraptions are big, clunky, dare I say dorky compared to an old film SLR. Hey, and don't let any dust get on the sensor. Sheesh, talk about wearing kid gloves.
Then a friend told me about the Canon G9. Whoa, paradigm shift here, folks. I hadn't considered a non-SLR, but I sure am glad I did. This thing has pro-grade features: aperture and shutter priority modes as well as full manual exposure, manual focus, RAW capability, decent optical zoom range, spot metering, a hot shoe that works with all my existing flash gear, and many other things that usually only make it into SLR's.
For example, with most P&S cameras, shutter lag is a huge problem. Good portraits demand instant shutter response. The G9's shutter is almost instantaneous SO LONG AS you half-press to lock the focus, and compose with the optical viewfinder (i.e, turn the LCD off). I am getting great portraits of my kids using this technique, and it does feel a bit like using an old Leica rangefinder. Never understood why anyone would give up an SLR; now I get it. Quiet, easily concealed, doesn't announce "I AM A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER!" or otherwise make you look or feel like a dork. The optical viewfinder zooms pretty closely with the lens, and parallax has not been a problem. I wear eyeglasses and the viewfinder works just fine with them; in fact, better than with my MX. When using the viewfinder, the LCD just displays important camera information: shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, stuff like that. I've found it's pretty easy to glance down at the LCD to check those things, then return to composing in the viewfinder.
For those moments when I really need to see exactly what's in the frame, I switch to composing with the LCD. This is handy to set the manual exposure, too. I shot some pics of my kids in front of the fireplace and in front of the Christmas tree, with available light, and I just dialed down the shutter speed in manual mode until the exposure looked right in the LCD. And what an LCD -- again, it's SLR-grade.
Overall, the build quality is phenomenal for this price. It feels solid. Others have compared it to a tank, or a swiss watch, or a Leica. It is very enjoyable to hold and use. Taking pictures is fun again!
Video capability is a bonus, too, that you won't find on SLR's. I'm not a big video shooter, but I have two young kids and there'll be times when I want it. Back when I was looking at SLR's, I always figured I'd need to purchase a separate (cheap) video camera, maybe a Pure Digital Flip model. Not anymore.
The G9 is not perfect. Some shortcomings can be overcome or compensated for, while others simply can't. I am disappointed with the noise above ISO 200. Autofocus is not as fast as an SLR. Wide-angle zoom isn't as wide as I'd really like. The retractable lens looks a bit fragile to me. I recommend the Lensmate lens adapter for when you think you might bump into things. It's anodized aluminum, so it's rugged; unfortunately, it really sticks out into the optical viewfinder, cutting off about half the view. Well, that's when you go with the LCD, I guess. Works of man fall short of perfection, and all gear has strengths and limitations. Learn them and use them, or work around them as best you can. There are lighting conditions that NO digital handles well, and for those, I'm happy to continue shooting film.
But for everything else, I'm really happy with the portability, control, responsiveness, and quality of the G9. All things considered, especially that it's less than half the price of a D80 or "serious" DSLR, it is a great camera.
Customer Review: The 21st century Leica, kind of...
Summary: 5 Stars
I read tons of reviews, and checked out all the online forums, so I thought I knew what to expect. And yet I am still impressed. I couldn't find this camera at my local electronic or camera store in order to get a "hands on" impression before buying (one of the reasons why I bought from Amazon with their excellent return policy), but I have to say that I really love the way it feels in my hand. Now I know what everyone is talking about. It's substantial. Canon PowerShot G9 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Yes, you can read zillions of reviews about the technical abilities of this little camera, how it's no DSLR, how noise can become a problem, how everyone wishes it were faster, smaller, with a wider zoom lens, etc. But once you get it in your hands, and start taking pictures with it, you realize how the balance of size, picture quality (with image stabilization and RAW shooting too), and ease of use, all come together to help you capture great shots in a spontaneous way that your DSLR may have discouraged. If you own a digital SLR, you know how that big body and lens, with subsequent "support system" of bags and gear tends to hamper spontaneous activity. With the G9, just go to the park, take a walk, play with the kids or the family dog with the G9 in tow and you realize how handy it really is. Hint: a wrist strap is useful on this camera.
However, this is no ordinary point and shoot camera. When you want to get creative, go nuts with full manual control of everything. Great retro-style display of aperture with linked shutter speed via thumb wheel, really handy. Even focus via the thumb wheel (I like the smooth focus capability a lot for composed shots). Very nice. Want filters? Get a Lensmate or Canon adapter and throw some 58mm filters on it. I like polarizers outdoors, they make my pictures pop. Doing some simple studio work? Throw some cheap radio triggers on the built-in hot shoe and use those budget flashes off-camera, or maybe cheap fluorescent lights. Keep the ISO low for those magazine spreads and noise is no problem. Process through Aperture, or Lightroom (or the included Canon RAW processing software), manage noise with Noise Ninja, etc., you'll get some fantastic images. Use what ever you feel comfortable with, the camera will deliver. There's enough dynamic range there.
No, it's no match for the sheer picture quality of your (probably expensive) DSLR with the big lenses and the big sensor, but really people, it's less than $450. And it's portable. So with a little finessing, and a little understanding of how light, aperture, shutter speed and image quality affect your shots, you'll really enjoy this camera. It is reminiscent of those wonderful old, high quality compact 35mm film cameras long since gone, where the key philosophy here is to keep it simple, carry it with you, concentrate on the composition and don't look too obvious while doing it. Only the G9 is thoroughly modern with face detection, auto bracketing, spot metering, scene modes and custom setups too.
I've even ordered an oversized, vintage 35mm viewfinder to sit in the flash shoe (the bulit-in viewfinder is a bit too small and murky for me) so I can keep my eyes open with the camera up to my face while shooting, and in the process perhaps see things differently than by using the (huge!) LCD display held out at arms length. Set the camera at the right zoom and snap away (yes, the shutter noise is a digital recreation too, there's no real shutter noise or mirror flip, and it can be turned off for stealth).
So there you have it. Quick, easy, high quality pics, lots of pixels, RAW processing (a MUST for real digital photography, so get a big memory card) and full manual control in a solid, easy to hold, small brick of a viewfinder camera (with a giant 3" LCD). Oh, sure it does video and records audio too, blah blah blah, but it's the images that shine here. If you want, you can control it via USB through your PC or Mac too. There's nothing really like it. Buy it through Amazon (an authorized Canon dealer) and get peace of mind, US warranty, great return policy, super fast shipping. You'll be happy you did.
Now that I have it, and I'm starting to get accustomed to it, I like it even more. It's a keeper.
Customer Review: Best Point & Shoot - Just a step away from SLR
Summary: 5 Stars
Background - I used to own a 7.1 mega pixel Sony Point & Shoot for around an year, back in India. When I came to US i decided to buy a new camera. I wanted a high end Point & Shoot, as they are easy to carry and I thought SLRs would be tough to use. I had multiple choices at hand Sony T200, Canon 850, Canon Powershot S3 or Canon G9. Well I read a lot of reviews, went and checked out all these cameras at B&H Photo Video and finally i decided to buy G9. It was a little pricy when compared to all the other choices I had, but it offered tons of other features which none of them had.
Usage - I have been using G9 for over 3 months now and believe me its worth every bit of money and more. First of all the colors that I get from Canon G9, i could not get such beautiful colors from my Sony Camera. The features provided by G9 gave a lot of control and creativity to my pictures. I always shoot my pictures in the Manual Mode now, and G9 makes it so easy to use. The wheel at the back controls a lot of features but mostly i use it for shutter speed and aperture. You can also control the ISO separately and it goes up to 3200. When you play around with these shutter speed, aperture and ISO you get to know that there is so much more to photography. You can freeze motion by using high shutter speed and bigger aperture or you can imply motion by using a shutter speed as low as 15 sec. There is a whole set of pre-adjusted modes available, but when you start using the manual mode and read a little bit about photography you will prefer the Manual Mode.
Apart from shutter speed, aperture and ISO you can also use presets for White Balance, flash (both strength and timing) and manual focus. The 6X optical zoom is better than most of the cameras in its class except Canon Powershot S3. Some say that 12.1 mega pixel is an overkill, but never the less its very useful when you want to take pictures and edit them on your computer, most helpful when you want that wide angle look from your photo.
Size - Canon G9 is a bit on the bulky side, its not one of those cameras which you can slip it in your jeans pocket. But i guess you can pack all the power in a smaller camera. It feels a little heavy, but then again you will get used to it and when you see your pictures on that 3 inch wide screen, you wont regret the size. The screen is very bright and beautiful.
Pictures - I think i have used G9 for all sorts of pictures - I have taken Portraits, Landscapes, Kids, Slow Shutter speed, Fast Shutter Speed, Indoors, Outdoors and they all come out great. I don't use the presets much, but once i used the Snow preset and it did the job perfectly well for me. I have used the RAW pictures a few times and its really useful feature to have, if you would like to edit the pictures without loosing quality. I have also taken a lot of Movie shots and they also come out reasonably good, I don't expect much from it as its primarily for photography. One good thing is that you can zoom in and out while taking the video, which was absent in my Sony. Finally speaking you will be amazed to the pictures you take...when they start to look pretty professional.
Other useful features include Color Ascent mode, where only one color gets highlighted in your picture and rest of the picture is B/W. You can use this to play around with your pictures and it gives excellent results.
Battery Life - Well Battery lasts for only one day out i.e. around 200 photographs without flash. It also depends on the time you spent in viewing your pictures on the wide screen. But I would have loved it, if it lasted more. I guess you need to keep an extra battery with you.
Memory - Only a meager 32 mb card comes with the camera. You definitely need a bigger card. Buy a 2GB or 4GB one, so that you can make full use of the 12.1 mega pixels.
Recommendation - Well i think this is the best Point and Shoot camera available. It has acted as an inspiration to me and I have learnt a lot about photography after buying and using this camera. I just love the hobby now and probably in few months I would shift to SLRs as now I feel comfortable in using them. Hope this review was helpful to you.
PS: Talk about inspiration - I did a blog post on Photography, if you get time do read it, here is the link -
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Customer Review: After 10 countries, and 59 cities, I finally have what I wanted!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this camera for over 8 months now. During that time, I have done some random photography, and traveled to Barcelona, Granada, Mallorca, and St. Louis. I have taken water shots, night shots, and usual tourist shots. I have also traveled to 59 cities in 10 countries, and most (if not all) of my earlier photographs are day shots, as most point and shoot cameras offer limited controls.
For my trips to wild life refuge, bird sanctuary etc I would carry my DSLR, but I hated to lug it around when I know that I am not headed to a safari. So, I was left with typical consumer cameras- I have tried Sony Cybershot DSC-T70, Samsung (camcorder with 5.2 mp still- NEVER buy it), Canon Powershot S5 IS, and Nikon Coolpix. Samsung- just stay away. Sony Cybershot had poor battery and limited control. Ditto for Nikon Coolpix. Though Nikon one is a much recent model, it still had all the point and shoot stuff, but that's about it. The Canon one was too bulky for a pocket camera.
So, I wanted a camera that will have 5 to 6 optical zoom, as I don't need more than that in daily life. Unless you are doing wildlife photography, I don't see the point of higher optical zoom. I would have been happy with about 6 MP resolution- Canon G9 offered twice as that. I wanted a camera that uses SD card (in fact, that is another reason that I stay away from Sony cameras). I also wanted something that would allow me to set light, shutter, aperture, contrast- the whole range. AND YES! Canon G9 allows for all this, and more.
There are a few night shots that I have taken with no flash. [IMHO, the flash, for most part, ruins night photography. You can even try taking a photo of a Christmas tree with flash and then compare without flash; and see the difference. The problem, however, is if you use the basic point and shoot cam then you can't control how much light camera should absorb, and the photos will come out too dark; and if you take it with flash, it normally comes out bland. So, THAT is a BIG plus for Canon G9. You get to set every bit of control.
The other BIG plus [similar to why I still love the old roll cameras as well as DSLRs] is that I can blur the background imagery esp. in nature photography. Yes! This one makes it possible, other point and shoot don't allow for this.
It also has the regular features- records videos, color swap, color accent, photo stitch, time lapse movies, beach, indoor, snow, portrait, sports, under water, landscape, and the usual stuff.
It is not as light as a basic point and shoot, but also not as big as the SLRs.
What not to do? After getting this camera I also got the adapter and telephoto and wide angle lenses. Yes, you can attach those lenses on this one. But I returned them within a week. Why? Well, it defeats the purpose of carrying a small camera (compared to DSLRs). Also, unlike DSLRs, where the lense would retract into the body of the camera, with these ones, you are basically stuck with them! So, if you plan to buy camera lenses for this one, I'll say go for a small DSLR instead.
I also bought two extra batteries- each could last for up to 5 hours, depending on the weather and use.
I use 8GB SD card with it, and it never runs out. I carry an extra one though as sometimes when I take videos it does fill up.
What could be better? Well, I wish it had a wider shot capacity. But I don't miss it particularly.
The most imp point about photography- it is only 10% about the camera; the 90% is you! Many may disagree, but I also don't believe that one has to join any professional or even hobby class to learn photography. I haven't, and my friends think that I am doing alright! Good luck! If you are looking for something that allows you the freedom to take any pictures and play, while also enable you to learn photography, then this is the one. And I hope that this review, and some of the photos that I have posted for your reference, helps you make your decision!
PS: I enjoy this camera so much, that I actually wrote my first ever review for anything in this world!
Customer Review: Review compared to G7
Summary: 5 Stars
I had the opportunity to get my hands on the G9 a week ago and have used it exclusively for the past week.
Based on my personal observations (And I loved the G7):
I see practically no differences in Image Quality at all. I thought the G7 was superb, and I find the G9 to be superb.
The 12 MP is practically indifferent from the 10 MP on the G7. Sure it gives you slightly more pixel to play with for cropping and printing, but negligibly so.
The design is virtually the same -- the screen is a bit larger, but for all practical purposes it looks and feels the same. I don't see any difference in "brightness" on the screen -- it looked great on the G7 and it looks great on the G9.
THere is a slight contour change on the front with a barely noticable front grip molding -- maybe 1/16 inch more than the original. I honestly can't feel a difference although some users have.
It does have RAW - a feature I don't need nor do I plan to use. But its nice that it is there for those who want it.
The ISO and noise appears to be the same -- the G9 excels at night neon shots - just like the G7. I see no difference in noise between the two cameras.
The shutter lag is exactly the same as the G7 - I don't see any difference like some reviewers have mentioned... it seems exactly the same.
Some say that the optical view finder works better - that it is clearer with less parallax. I have never used an optical view finder on a point-and-shoot in my life, so I can't compare this feature. I will add that here, though, since others have found it a useful improvement.
I also don't see any difference in battery life -- maybe its more problematic if you use RAW, but I've gotten the same 450 plus shots out of the battery, just like the G9.
The design of the lens and the connections are the same, so I expect those of us who carry it around in our pockets are going to have the same dust problems we had with the G7.
Finally in similarities -- the camera feels the same and weighs the same. It responds the same when you start it up, and it makes just as much noise as the original. The trademark Canon grinding lens noise is intact.
in differences: that old 2GB card that used to get 800 shots at 10 MP now gets 600 shots at 12 MP.
The autofocus seems slower on the G9.
Macro shots do not focus as quickly or as well on the G9. There are some shots that I routinely was able to quickly use macro for on the G7, that now require quite a bit of futzing to get sharp and focused in the G9. I suppose that is one of the changes because of the larger sensor, but I don't know. I actually thought there might be something wrong with the camera, but looking at another G9 at a different camera shop (so it wasn't the lot number) I was able to reproduce the same difficulty focusing with Macro as on my personal G9, so it's apparently a camera thing.
The long and the short of it -- I don't think it is worth the Upgrade if you have a G7 unless you really really want the RAW. For all other practical purposes, it's the same on a day-to-day usage level.
If you are new to the Canon Powershot G line, then skip the G7 and purchase the G9 -- it is like "G7 SuperCharged" -- while in general the two are identical. THe G9 is actually less expensive than the G7 as well.