Why I love the Canon G9
February 23, 2008
I have been a big fan of the Canon Powershot series for a long time. I've owned the SD100, SD200, SD500 and SD1000 and now the G9. The reason I loved the 100 thru 1000 series was their compact size and overall quality. So the G9 was an obvious 'first look' when I needed a new P&S.
Every professional photographer owns a personal point and shoot. Why? Who wants to carry that big ass Mark II on your way to the market? Anyway, when I started looking for a back-up camera to use on assignment instead of my Sony HD video camera, the G9 caught my eye. WHAT? The G9 as a back-up for a Sony HD video camera? That's right. When you work for a newspaper who wants their staff to produce as many videos as possible, everyday, it's not always the best choice to pull out the 'big guns.'
Yes we pull frame grabs (I can hear the purists groan) from the HD video, but sometimes all you want is a 'quick-hit' video and not deal with the whole 'tape' issue (you know what I mean, your five-year-old laptop trying to import HD tape. It can take a while). I chose the Canon G9.
Here are some reason to love the G9:
- Time Lapse feature
- Decent audio recording feature, you can even adjust the input level and turn on a wind protection feature.
- The G9 sports a dedicated hot shoe for mounting external Canon flash units and/or the Canon ST-E2 wireless transmitter. Flash sync with Canon Speedlights is 1/500th of a second. In manual mode flash output can be adjusted incrementally
- Full manual control
- Awesome macro mode
- Record video clips at 640×480 @ 30 fps (up to 4GB or 1 hour) or 1024×768 @ 15fps (up to 4GB or 1 hour)
- The G9 can also be used to record audio notations (up to 60 seconds) with still images or as a digital audio recorder (recording duration - up to 120 minutes)
IMO this is its only flaw:
- The click wheel in the back has no 'lock' so it can easily be shifted, sometimes causing the camera to shoot in a different mode, like Time Lapse or Email quality, when you don't want it to. [a little piece of gaffer tape can fix anything]
The new Canon Powershot G9 is the sort of elegant, very capable, and completely self-contained imaging tool that Henri Cartier-Bresson (if he were still with us) might have used to capture the "decisive moments" of the 21st century.
I love this camera as much as you do and I’m never without it.
if only Canon would put a 28mm lens equivalent on this camera — I’d buy one in an instant for personal use — and think about it for our staff. I think it’s still around a 35mm lens equivalent at this point, right?
Craig
yeah 35mm, and the wide angle attachment is expensive and massive in size.
-r
I have used my G7 for over a year and is great for getting into and out of places without shouting about who you are. The quality is trully excelent and although a little noisy over 400asa is almost as good as my d2h. Its a peice of kit I use on a daily basis and i love it.
I’m an editor who hasn’t carried a camera in years. I found the G7 (or it found me?) at B&H last year and it goes everywhere with me. I love using it. It’s so much like my old film camera I dearly loved - the feel, the use. I’ve made more pictures in the last year than I have in ages. Fun, fun, fun. The G9 is even better. It is a great choice to have a couple on hand for staff, too.
I’m a Nikon shooter and I recently got this camera on the advice of other photographers and LOVE IT! I shot some Rally-America snow racing with the video and it turned out terrific. I love that it shoots in RAW. This is now the only P&S I recommend.
How is the shutter delay on this camera? That’s usually the deal-killer for me. Otherwise this sounds like a great camera!
it’s ‘there’ like with all non-DSLRs but it’s better than any other i’ve used. is there a P&S with NO delay? i know this doesn’t help, but i find that different photographers with put up with varying amounts of delay.
koci -
Are you back my man?! I love my G9, but not half as much as I love my multimediashooter.
cj