G12 Announced

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No, that's my G9. The G12 was announced yesterday but I don't have one – yet. In fact, I'm agonizing over whether to get a G12.

Don't get me wrong, I'd like to have a G12. I passed on the G10 and G11 so the G12 has some (although not that many) advantages over my G9. Unfortunately, it turns out that you are required to trade money for a G12. I'm not fully convinced that the improvements in the G12 are worth $500 in comparison to my G9. On the other hand, if, for example, the G9 were dropped from a height of, say, six feet or so, then I'd certainly get a G12 instead of repairing the G9. Of course, this is just a hypothetical situation and not to be discussed with my wife.

Thinking out loud here …

Even though it is getting a lukewarm reception, the G12 does have some advantages over my G9. One of the features that surprised me in the G10 was the wide angle lens; I'd like to have that wider lens. Likewise, I was surprised when Canon returned to the articulated display screen in the G11 but I didn't buy the G11 even though the articulated screen was very useful in my G3. I'd predicted (and was wrong) that the G11 would have full HD video and then predicted – again wrongly – that the G12 would have full HD video; however, the G12 does have HD video as 720p. So, the G12 has the wide angle, the articulated display and HD video (albeit 720p) that I've been wanting.  Plus, the G12 sensor with its 10MP and a three year or so evolutionary advantage is likely to be better than the G9 12MP sensor – especially in low light (high ISO). Also, the G12 image stabilization is likely to be an improvement over the IS of the G9.

I'm curious about the High Dynamic Range feature of the G12 as well as Quick Shot mode and multi-aspect ratios but doubt that I'd use them very much. I do think that I'd use the G12 remote control quite a bit because the Franiec cable is very useful on my G9.

At this point, my conclusion is that the G12 is even less of an evolutionary step from the G11 than I'd anticipated – much less hoped for. On the other hand, the G12 is a nice step up from my G9. I'm seriously considering the G12 but anxiously awaiting the review and commenting process before opening my wallet.

By the way, I've given up on the PowerShot G series getting CMOS. I've also given up on the G series getting more sophisticated flash controls. In fact, I still think that the G series is near the end of its product life.

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