Some thoughts on the G9 and classes of cameras
I was going to write a longish essay about how great the Canon Powershot G9 is, and how it does have some drawbacks, but none of them significant, and that overall it's pretty fricken awesome, but then Ken Tanaka wrote it for me: It might be... It could be...
The only thing I'd add is the point I've made to several people over the last couple of weeks, that this isn't trying to be, nor should it be, the same level of quality as a digital SLR. There's a long history of photographers trying to find the magic combination of film, developer, and lens that would give them medium format quality out of a 35mm camera, and the reality was that 35mm film can only hold so much data.
In the digital world, the same holds true, although at this point in history everything's moved down one in size. I'd put photos that come out of my Canon 5d against any 6x4.5 medium format image without a second thought. Photos I shot at ISO 3200 in near darkness are no more grainy than ISO 100 images I've shot on film, and the amount of fine detail captured is much greater.
The G9 isn't going to perform at that level. And that's totally fine. It's not meant to. In my mind, the 5D is now my medium format camera, and the G9 is my pocketable 35mm camera, with all the inherent limitations of the smaller form factor — but all of the benefits, too. It's small. I can put it in my pocket. I can carry it everywhere and not notice. The shutter is, it pains me to say, quieter than my Leica.
Of course, there are things I don't like, but most of those are pretty idiosyncratic, or at least more dependent on the way I shoot. I'd honestly prefer if it had fewer features. The number of options and shooting modes and customizations one can do is overwhelming. I'm glad the optical viewfinder is there, but I wish it was more usable.
Those are nits, though. I've shot with nothing but the G9 since I got it, partly because I wanted to force myself to learn to use it, and partly because, you know... it's a fun little camera.
John, on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 8:43 PM:
How are the manual shuuter and aperture controls?
David Adam Edelstein, on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 9:56 PM:
They're definitely usable, although not as immediately accessible as I'd prefer.
My Leica M7, for example, is normally in aperture priority mode, and if I want to switch to full manual control I just turn the shutter speed dial away from auto to the specific shutter speed I want.