[Cremetti]

I must say that a decent compact would be nice.

Are there any "G" series owners here with opinions of the g10 and the new G11, please?

[Polly]

Dunno about any of the more recent current Canon compacts but I have a Leica C-Lux 2 and that's very nice. Good quality images, good colours and contrasts. Several peeps in another forum I use are enjoying the Oly E-P1 (I think that's it's full and proper name - the 'Pen'

Pol

[Cremetti]

I always worry about optical viewfinders. I cant imagine using a camera without one.

How do you feel about this aspect of the new, smaller cameras?

[Polly]

I always worry about optical viewfinders. I cant imagine using a camera without one.

How do you feel about this aspect of the new, smaller cameras?

I know exactly what you mean, especially as I'm used to the superb, large and bright viewfinders on the Pentax dSLRs.

I reckon viewfinders on compacts are so small they're pretty useless but a decent LCD can be all you need in most situations, especially as they're usually a decent size these days. I got the Leica as a small pocket camera (it's tiny). I've been truly blown away by the quality I get from it. excellent contrasts, colours, pin sharp - capable of giving me exellent prints too. Up to A3 though I usually stick with 12x8 as I use it for the everyday snaps etc. I don't print my own - still using Photobox and the prints from the Leica can stand up easily againt those from my Pentax SLRs.

The only time I sometimes find the Leica LCD a bit of a problem is if there's very bright sunlight - then I can't see the screen so clearly and tend just to see my own reflection. So I got a Kaiser Digishield from Morris Photography (£11 iirc) and that's ideal. It gives me enough shade to see the screen clearly enough, bearing in mind I'm using it for snaps, street and quick grabs such as snaps through the windows of a moving vehicle. Having said all that - I've only ever used the Kaiser shade once and that was just to try it out.

A pocket compact is great. I use mine almost every day and have loads of 7x5 Photobox prints off it for the family albums. It's really put the fun back into snapping. It's amazing what you can get that you'd have missed if you'd only been carrying an SLR. So - don't let the lack of a viewfinder put you off getting and enjoying a compact.

I don't especially follow what Canon's doing but is the G11 the one with the flip out screen? If so I think Patrick has one (patrick from ian's place). Either that or maybe it was the G10 he bought. anyway - he mentioned he was very pleased with it. He posted some very good flutterby shots from it and reckoned the prints were as good as some from his 50D. Nip over there and have a peek at his gallery.

Hope that helps

Pol

[EnglishBob]

My wife has an Olympus point and shoot with no optical viewfinder, she really like it. I hate the damn thing, can't see it in the sun very well, and it doesn't feel right to be taking pictures without my eye locked to a view finder.

It produces decent results in well lit areas, doesn't handle low light very well at all.

[Polly]

Here's a link to the Kaiser Digishield gizmo I mentioned - the one I have for my Leica. They do them in 3 sizes and they come with three or four adapters that enable you to fix it to the tripod socket on the base of the camera.

http://www.morrisphoto.co.uk/ProductDeta...d~222.html

Pol

[Cremetti]

Many thanks!

Polly, may I ask: who are Ian and Patrick?

[matthew]

The G10 has been a very popular camera, even though DPReview (dot com) tried very hard to think of a reason for anyone to purchase it and mostly failed. With the G11, Canon's getting back to a lower-resolution sensor that emphasizes image quality over megahertz. (Sorry, megapixels - I got my meaningless-numbers marketing races confused for a moment.) The G11 also returns to the flip-screen that Canon last had on the G6, which is a useful feature that Canon has a lot of experience with. If it had HD video, I would have given it serious consideration, but bought an SX20 IS instead. (Insert blatant link to my review here.) It has an EVF, not an optical viewfinder, but the flip-out screen is actually pretty easy to use in the sun.

But if you're looking for a compact camera, make sure that the G11 is one before you buy it - the G series isn't small. The new S90 will be most of the G11, without the flippy screen or OVF, but smaller and with an LX3-inspired lens to match Canon's new LX3-inspired sensor.

[shuttertalk]

With the G11, Canon's getting back to a lower-resolution sensor that emphasizes image quality over megahertz. (Sorry, megapixels - I got my meaningless-numbers marketing races confused for a moment.)

Lol... I prefer to use the term "megajiggles"...

[Toad]

Lol... I prefer to use the term "megajiggles"...

Pixel-envy...

[peter]

as people have said.. g11 has mjuch improved lower light performance than the g10.. however if you want the smaller form factor the s90 is quite nice and is slightly faster on the wide end...

i sometimes refer to it as megapigs =P

[Pavel]

I bought G11 for my wife and I occasionally use it too. My reasons were:

1) size
Not the smallest camera, but much smaller than my DSLR ( Nikon D300) would be with a zoom going to 140mm (35 mm equivalents). If you have a largish pocket, it is pocketable. Most controls are large and handy, except the wheel on the back, which I hate to use. I find the controls on small cameras awkwardly small, burried in the menus or unavailable.

2) Optical viewfinder
Small, but reasonably bright and it is there when a useful adjustable flip LCD is unreadable in the sun. This is a must feature for me, although electronic viewfinders are improving and they do quite well in bright enough conditions.

3) Wide enough
28 mm (35 equiv) is the minimum I expect on the wide side. Wider would be nice. I do not understand the logic of the superzooms in small cameras and if I would need to take photos of sparrows, I will take photos with a DSLR. 140 mm is long enough. Optical quality is excellent. However, as with all pocket cameras, the selection of aperture is quite limited, which is an important limitation affecting composition when DOF is important. However, the camera has a macro mode and if you get close enough to your subject, you can get pleasingly shallow DOF. Here flip screen comes in handy. You can put camera almost to the ground and use the LCD to compose.

4) RAW.
A must for me. Enough said.

5) Low noise and no smearing during noise reduction
This camera does very well to ISO 400 and produces very acceptable photos at ISO 800 if the shadows are not too deep and if not underexposed. You may need to do a bit of noise reduction. at ISO 1600, you will definitelly need it. Come to think of it, it is not that different in this respect from D300. No small feat for a tiny sensor-based camera.

Overall, if you are determined to travel light or just looking for a backup, this may be the toy for you. If you are not committed to a DSLR by investments into lenses, you may also wish to consider a micro-4/3 systems, which deliver great photos from small packages. My fiend uses it with great success and boy does he travel light. Electronic viewfinder and and a collection of Nikon lenses stops me from getting it.

[shuttertalk]

My dad was using one of the earlier G series for ages and the photos he took on it were absolutely stunning and frame worthy.

For me the attraction would definitely be portability - I don't know how I would cope away from the lightning quick operation of a SLR though..