OK, so the title is a bit hokey but after reading many previews of the G1X, as well as the User Guide, I’m beginning to get a feeling for it. This seems to be a good time for realistically evaluating my own expectations of the G1X. But first, a few interesting references:
Canon announcement, product page, video and User Guide
Previews
- DPreview, CES hands-on, Update, Sample gallery
- Which (and a video)
- PhotoReview
-Imaging Resource
Posts here at LightDescription
- Specification comparison to G9 and G12; to Pro1 and G12
- Notes on User Guide: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
- G1X announcement
By now, nearly three weeks after Canon’s announcement, the Internet is full of opinions on the G1X. Here’s what I expect.
Canon has said that the G1X will be shipped in February but Amazon says release is on March 31. My G1X is on pre-order from a different supplier and no ship date has been promised. Although some purchasers seem to think that they will receive their G1X in early February, I expect mine to come towards the end of February and perhaps early March.
I’ll be writing about the “G1X” even though the official name is “G1 X” (note the space). Confusingly, there is a Panasonic GX1 (officially DMC-GX1) and a Fujifilm X-Pro1.
I’m looking forward to
- Large sensor features and better high ISO and reduced depth of field
- Improved dynamic range
- Higher resolution LCD (should be useful for manual focus accuracy)
- Full HD video with optical zoom
- Playing with Movie Digest mode
- Silent operation but high quality images.
At the same time, I’m expecting to compensate and use work-arounds for
- Larger size, heavier camera
- Reduced battery life
- No conversion lens adapters (probably temporary shortcoming)
- Lack of close-ups (“macro” is limited); will probably use G12 for macros
- Reduced telephoto focal length (am wondering about cropping)
- Slow response (“shutter lag”) – but probably improved over G12
- RAW + adjustable (colors, noise, compression, sharpening) JPEG mode
I’m preparing to be disappointed in
- ETTL flash in manual exposure mode
- “screen blanking” bug
- Lack of flexibility in movie mode
- F5.8 at max telephoto (wishing for, say, f4)
I expect to have a very nice camera in a few weeks but hope to be pleasantly surprised by an earlier delivery.
1 comment:
I'm really looking forward to the G1 X to replace my old G9. I have no desire to get another camera with interchangeable lenses, that's what my DSLR is for, so I'm glad Canon went down the route of extending the G series design.
From the perspective of an upgrading G9 owner I'm looking forward to image quality that can rival my DSLR in a package that's small enough to take hiking. The 28mm equivalent lens is quite a bit wider than the G9's 35mm but I'll miss the reach of the 210mm zoom. Yes, the lens is a bit slow but there really isn't any way around that considering the size constraints.
The understandably poor macro ability means I'll probably be hanging on to my G9 as you can really get some nice macro shots with it.
I'm slightly disappointed from what I've read so far about the long time between shots as this is a frustration for me with the G9 when shooting in a changing environment. The lag is so jarring when switching from a DSLR, I'd hoped the gap could be closed a bit.
I'm relaxed about the G1 X battery life as I understand it's similar to the G9, which is fine for me; I do have a backup battery just in case it's not.
I do hope they've addressed the issue of dust in the lens which I've noticed in the G9. Does the G12 also suffer from this?
So on the whole the G1 X seems like the almost perfect upgrade... but that price is going to hurt.
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