G10 - impressed!

[alan]

That's me just back from our family holiday; two weeks at Carribean Beach Resort and in the parks most days. Only got home today; no significant sleep on the flight home last night so this note is going to be short. A proper photo trip report will follow... maybe on 2010 or so!

Anyway, on day 1 we went to MK and I was wanting to see just how adequate the G10 was (and whether I could avoid taking the SLR on future visits).

One of the first things we saw was the show at the Castle Esplanade. I wanted to stay and shoot it, the family said no. So I grabbed a few shots from the circular area where Mickey & Walt live.

Here's the original, resized to 1024x768 for posting. I was shooting RAW+JPG, but these are from the JPG for speed:



Pretty lousy; the camera just didn't have the reach to frame the dancers properly. But what happens when you crop?

This is a 100% crop, 1024x768:



Now it's not perfect; there's a bit of a glow about the Princess. But it's not all that bad, and shows a lot more detail than I would have expected from a P&S.

A more realistic crop might be this one; I cropped it to 2109x1582 then resized it to 1024x768 for posting:



So I'm quite pleased by the image quality. On the downside, it's slow to focus and awkward to carry because it lacks a decent grip. But it is considerably less awkward than a dSLR, and it made it along to the parks for a few days of visits...

Gotta go before I fall asleep at the keyboard

regards,
/alan

 

[pointandshoot]

Those crops are quite impressive. Colors really pop as well. I feel the need for a smaller camera coming on...must resist.

Chuck

 

[BorisMD]

The G10 is a great camera. My daughter just returned from 2 weeks in France and we had given her this camera as a Christmas present so she'd have a decent P & S on her trip. It was funny, when she first opened it, she almost cried -- it wasn't one of those trendy cameras being hawked by Ashton Kutcher. So, I boxed it back up and took her and the camera to the store. After looking at all the P & S cameras they had, she ended up keeping this one -- 17 year olds are a fickle lot!

Anyway, on her France trip, she took over 2000 photos with the thing, and she had a great keeper rate. I haven't even begun to explain all the great features this camera actually has -- like all the modes/settings that you can set--let alone shooting RAW!

I think this is a great little camera. It's so much easier to transport than the ol' DSLR. But, alas, you can't go spending all that money on extra glass.

Regards,

Boris

 

[MarkBarbieri]

The G10 is a great camera...for what it is. A good P&S should get good shots in bright sunlight when you don't need to be too wide or too zoomed and when you don't need precision timing.

 

[jfinke]

With the RAW file you may be able to recover some of that blown out area.

 

[praline3001]

This is what I use and I am a newbie to photography but I am very impressed with everything I can do with it!

The big limitation I am finding is the higher ISO ...recovering from the noise is NOT good... The DSLR's are way better at higher ISO's. I do use a noise program but that will only carry me so far!

I recently bought the speedlite 430 external flash. I know many on here are against flash but in my case ..err... it helps a great deal keeping the ISO down as low as possible. I use a diffuser on my flash or try to bounce the light to make it more natural. I keep practicing ...
All in All this is one dang good p&s! I like the ability to shoot in RAW. I like the ease of it ... I call it my p&s on steroids

Here are a few shots I have taken without the external flash

And here are my first attempt shots using my external flash/bouncing light

Nothing fancy just yet ...got to get the basics down!

 

[klmall]

praline3001 - Love your pics; especially the cat!

I had an unfortunate accident with my G9 last week (out of warranty ) so now I'm looking for a new pns before our big trip out to Washington state in a few weeks. Every review still points to the G10 as a great camera if you don't want a dslr.

Of course, I'm still going through the "Is this the time to finally buy a dslr?" discussion with myself, AGAIN.....

I can get good daytime shots and atmospheric night shots too with my G9 and I enjoy playing with raw. The G9 is so easy to carry around (G10 is heavier though) and so versatile. Do I really want to make the jump now????
Sorry to dump while praising!

 

[praline3001]

I can get good daytime shots and atmospheric night shots too with my G9 and I enjoy playing with raw. The G9 is so easy to carry around (G10 is heavier though) and so versatile. Do I really want to make the jump now????
Sorry to dump while praising!

I hear you! I have 5 p&S cameras and 0 DSLR's
I keep saying I am going to go with a DSLR for my next camera ... I am learning more about the settings and by my next camera I am ready for the jump! I hate to buy a 3k camera and not know what to do with it once I get it

How familiar are you with the AV/TV/ISO and all of that good stuff?! If your familiar with it then I say go with the DSLR ... if not then the G10 is a great 1/2 way between the two.

 

[ukcatfan]

klmall,

You need to ask yourself if there are a significant number of shots you are missing b/c of your equipment's limitations. If it is just a few hear and there, then it might not be worth the investment. While a DSLR investment is without any doubt more $ than just the camera itself, be aware that you can get a DSLR with at least a basic kit lens for the same price as a G10. You might even find an older model with two lenses for that price.

 

[klmall]

klmall,

You need to ask yourself if there are a significant number of shots you are missing b/c of your equipment's limitations. If it is just a few hear and there, then it might not be worth the investment. While a DSLR investment is without any doubt more $ than just the camera itself, be aware that you can get a DSLR with at least a basic kit lens for the same price as a G10. You might even find an older model with two lenses for that price.

ukcatfan - I had already been thinking exactly what you said!!! For only about $100 more than a G10 I could get a dslr w/kit lens. What definitely convinced me though was remembering the slow starts at times, inside shot issues, and rereading that old article from 2007 "Five Reasons You Need A Digital SLR".

DH has been listening to me argue with myself for over a year but this time he said let's get in the car and look at the cameras again. So we did and again, the Nikon just didn't feel right in my hand and so, the Canon EOS Rebel XSi came home with me.

Now I just have to get comfy with it before our trip next month to those beautiful places in Washington state!

 

[pjacobi]

Unfortuately, I can't fit a DSLR in my pocket! That's a big advanate for the G10.

If you need an accurate optical viewfinder, choice of lens and filters, then you need a DSLR.

Instead of G10 *OR* DSLR, think G10 *AND* DSLR.

Use them both for the appropriate situation.


-Paul

 

[praline3001]

Unfortuately, I can't fit a DSLR in my pocket! That's a big advanate for the G10.

If you need an accurate optical viewfinder, choice of lens and filters, then you need a DSLR.

Instead of G10 *OR* DSLR, think G10 *AND* DSLR.

Use them both for the appropriate situation.


-Paul

To be honest I can't fit my G10 in my pocket either

 

[klmall]

To be honest I can't fit my G10 in my pocket either

How true but I have never carried a camera in my pocket; always in a fanny pack in front or in a camera bag.

I've been driving the cats crazy taking pictures the last few hours as I learn the XSi. Luckily, one of them was very sleepy tonight and played model for me.

Here's a shot, cropped and sharpened a little showing our crazy 15 year old calico who really does sleep sometimes with one of her two stuffed animals.

And have a wonderful time on your trip praline3001!

 

[praline3001]

She is adorable! I have been practicing a lot with my pets as well ... the kids and DH have threatened to see how well my new external flash works in the rectal environment
my pets are too lazy to care so they make great subjects!

I am loving my new external flash with diffuser or bouncing light! It makes a huge difference!!!! Of course my flash weighs as much as my camera so I am thinking of leaving it behind when I am in the parks ..unless I can convince hubby to be my pack mule

One thing that the G10 is REALLY good at is macro. I have been told its one of the best p&S for macro and can surpass a few DSLR's. I am really focusing a lot on macro photography as its a huge interest of mine. The only bad thing I have encountered with the G10 is the noise at an ISO over 400... its really hard to clean it up even with topaz denoise without losing detail. Due to this flaw ... I am pushed more into using my external flash so I can lower the ISO to 80-100 to get a clear noise free shot. Of course that makes it difficult for mood/dark photos as my night shots look like they were taken at noon

But I keep playing and practicing with the settings! I am sure its more a case of my lack of experience rather than the camera

We leave in 27 hours and I am hoping to take a TON of photos with my G10

 

[praline3001]

Here is a photo I took of my TV while the family was watching a movie. I took it without flash and the ISO was 200 (F/3.2 TV 1/50) I was trying to experiment to see how high I could go with ISO and still get rid of the noise... I was hoping to use this *basic* setting for ride photos but..err... I don't think its going to cut it. I did use topaz denoise on the photo but that was it. You can still see SOME noise even after using the program and this is ISO 200. I really want a camera (DSLR) that I can go a much higher ISO without this issue.

 

[praline3001]

Since I mentioned macro .. I thought I would share one of my macro shots... I have been really working at macro .. I am not great yet but am hoping one day to be!

This photo was not taken with any special lens ... just the macro setting on my camera.

That is pretty good for a p&S in the hands of a beginner if I do say so myself

 

[klmall]

Wow praline3001! Your macros are something special!

I never really spent time doing any with my G9 except for this one last week at Boy Scout camp:

Have you done fireworks yet?

I didn't have my G9 with me on my last trip to WDW but got some pictures last week when the local fire chief shot them off for the entire Scout reservation (several hundred boys).

Here's a few shots:

 

[praline3001]

Nope ~ Disney will be my first fireworks attempt. I have my tripod and my remote shutter release ..we will see how I do!

My DH is a boy scout leader and he and the boys just got back from camp. They go to the one in Florida and it was HOT! They were NOT allowed to take my G10 however and were stuck with our old canon 570 p&S

 

[klmall]

The fireworks shots were taken using the Fireworks SCR mode and I just kept clicking away. I ended up with about a 90% success rate; deleting 10% and missing only a few completely.

Camping in Florida must be hot! My son is now 23 (and an Eagle) but I go back whenever they need an extra adult. We had a very cool weather week for a change; ended up wearing long pants and fleece most days. Our council owns Goshen BSA Reservation which will be the new site of the 2013 National Jamboree and eventually, the Philmont of the East. I love the mountains and huge lake plus the fantastic photo ops.

Here's a couple mountain shots:

This the long ridge behind three of the different camps in the reservation -

Another view of the same ridge behind our camp and our waterfront -

The view from Post hill of the lake -

I also looked at your online pictures! They are very good and I love your Mother/Daughter trip ones. Someday I hope to treat my 9 year old niece to a trip; she's been once but it doesn't look like we're going for many years!

HAVE A SAFE, WONDERFUL TRIP!!! YOU'RE SO BRAVE TO GO IN THE HEAT!!!!!

AND SHARE YOUR PICS WHEN YOU RETURN!

Kathy

 

[ukcatfan]

That is pretty good for a p&S in the hands of a beginner if I do say so myself

With good lighting, a p&s can be easier to use for macro shots than a DSLR. This is because the DOF is always going to be larger on the p&s.