Canon G1X !

[juzride]

Not necessarily....I am user of 500D yet I never thought of going into mirrorless...is because I prefer optical viewfinder. Latest mirrorless can have better specs but as if xxxD series cannot function well...however to me it is worse not being able to compose properly because EVF is just not to my taste.

But you might be right since there is a portion of entry DSLR users who know nuts about the differences in different system. They just see specs sheet and follow religiously to it.

and there are so many entry users who uses ONLY the LCD anyway...

 

[rottenmutton]

For those of you who are obsessed by the manufacturer's stated apeture ratings, and field of view (why no f2.0?!?!? why not 24mm?!?!?! etc) please take a look at this and don't be conned by the numbers printed on the front of the camera...

35mm equivalent FOV & DOF - Canon G1X Compared to Other Cameras: Canon Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

This means that in REAL WORLD terms, the G1X will have wide angles as good as (if not better) than most micro four thirds lenses with 14mm "wide" lenses, and more importantly, it has superior DOF (yes, even at the tele end) that blows away ANYTHING that isn't a DSLR. In fact, it's as good as a DSLR!

I too was disappointed when the specs for the G1x came out... but after doing some research, I realise that it's actually quite... quite amazing.

 

[alwaysbadboy]

can't change the lens ah.......

 

[gundamseed84]

can't change the lens ah.......

It is G1X...not 1DX

 

[ianhyk]

anyone knows if an external digital viewfinder accessory is available?

 

[theITguy]

Because Panasonic over-charges? Looking at this latest comparison against the G1X (jpeg and RAW files available) here, one is almost forced to believe that.



Do not forget Canon has already indicated they are releasing a MILC system this year. So, the G1X caters to one group of buyers in the interim: those who want to buy a relatively compact fixed-lens camera with the best image quality. And the above link testifies they have pulled it off quite well.



Fast lenses are used when one wants shallow depth of field and/or avoid high ISO. As such, they are good for systems employing smaller sensors such as the 43 and m43 system. But the pitfall is this: they are BIG and HEAVY. The 35-100 f/2 weighs a ton and costs a bomb in comparison to 70-200 f/4 lens on FF and this pretty much negates all their advantages.

Coming back to your original point about fixed slow zoom on G1X vs fast prime lens on GX1, it seems you are ignoring the inconvenience of primes. And you are also forgetting the target buyers of G1X cameras don't really care too much about that small optical difference between zoom and prime lenses. How often do most folks print big these days?



You are obviously a non-Canon user who's really not interested in what they offer; you are only keen on dissing their products indiscriminately.

I am not sure about you, but certainly, I did not discriminate Canon for their strengths, whether in the swiveling LCD, tele lenses etc. History indicates that Canon makes better sensor than Panasonic and is no surprise. This is only part of the story. So far I see you praise GT1X and Canon but not criticise. That is not very wide in views, or perhaps Canon is really the best in the mirrorless business in the G1X? As a camera limited to those specs, yes. But no, we do not like to be limited because I am adding on a few fast primes to the GX1.

Anyway, Canon is running out of ideas to compete effectively and not losing their market share. They will still hang in the for the DSLR market with Nikon. They are still good at DSLR, no doubt and few can compete with them. But to create a state of the art mirrorless system, they will compete and kill themselves directly of their DSLR market.

When the PEN Pro comes out on the 8th of Feb, you will see the real Canon mirrorless system being launch.

 

[ronin1983]

I am not sure about you, but certainly, I did not discriminate Canon for their strengths, whether in the swiveling LCD, tele lenses etc. History indicates that Canon makes better sensor than Panasonic and is no surprise. This is only part of the story. So far I see you praise GT1X and Canon but not criticise. That is not very wide in views, or perhaps Canon is really the best in the mirrorless business in the G1X? As a camera limited to those specs, yes. But no, we do not like to be limited because I am adding on a few fast primes to the GX1.

Anyway, Canon is running out of ideas to compete effectively and not losing their market share. They will still hang in the for the DSLR market with Nikon. They are still good at DSLR, no doubt and few can compete with them. But to create a state of the art mirrorless system, they will compete and kill themselves directly of their DSLR market.

When the PEN Pro comes out on the 8th of Feb, you will see the real Canon mirrorless system being launch.

Hi jus some tots of my mind, i would say this is a good market response from Canon, we have to look at the mass markets now. They are selling a product for the mass market, and if u look at the specs and features set wise, this is very attractive to a lot of common folk. u dun have to change lens, u get good image quality and at a price that is ard the same as a m43 camera. i have seen alot of m43 / mirrorless cam users with the kit lens and ntg else.

 

[rhino123]

I am not sure about you, but certainly, I did not discriminate Canon for their strengths, whether in the swiveling LCD, tele lenses etc. History indicates that Canon makes better sensor than Panasonic and is no surprise. This is only part of the story. So far I see you praise GT1X and Canon but not criticise. That is not very wide in views, or perhaps Canon is really the best in the mirrorless business in the G1X? As a camera limited to those specs, yes. But no, we do not like to be limited because I am adding on a few fast primes to the GX1.

Anyway, Canon is running out of ideas to compete effectively and not losing their market share. They will still hang in the for the DSLR market with Nikon. They are still good at DSLR, no doubt and few can compete with them. But to create a state of the art mirrorless system, they will compete and kill themselves directly of their DSLR market.

When the PEN Pro comes out on the 8th of Feb, you will see the real Canon mirrorless system being launch.

What you say is correct to a certain extend only. You speak as of the view of a photographer who knows his stuff and so would not like limitation. But general public who knows nuts about photography, would not want a interchangeable lens system... taking my parents as an example. I bought them an EPL1 (immediately after it was launched), they used the system for a while, then my mum started complaining that the system is so difficult to use and would rather fall back on a point and shoot, same goes for my sis in law, who had ditched her D90 for a F550EXR (or something like that).

So as you can see, not everyone like the flexibility of a interchangeable lens system. They would rather fall back onto a no-brainer point and shoot and not worried for which lens to use for what occasion and stuff like that. If Canon come up with a big sensor compact like what some are doing (eg. Sigma and Fujifilm) it will be a big success... and if what we saw in the previous links provided by some members, the image quality is seriously marvelous as compare to other mirrorless system. And if the claimed ISO performance being better than 7D/ 60D... I can forsee many amatuer DSLR user ditching their gears and go for the smaller and lighter G1X.

 

[doodah]

So far I see you praise GT1X and Canon but not criticise.

I can identify areas the G1X may have problems in: (i) dynamic range (Canon's Archille's heel in sensor design.. still not up to Sony standards) (ii) slow contrast AF (Sony, Panasonic and Olympus have made huge strides here... Nikon gave up and stuck to phase contrast in their V1/J1...) (iii) quality control (if the same S100 lens decentering issue rears its ugly head again, Canon can kiss their sales numbers goodbye).

But to create a state of the art mirrorless system, they will compete and kill themselves directly of their DSLR market.

Interestingly, in the DCWatch interview, Canon executive talked about the entire EOS line being overhauled to make way for smaller cameras. But they insist image quality always takes first priority... thank goodness they have not forgotten that... Anyway, we can expect big movements from Canon this year. Unlike other companies, Canon is a giant with massive sales and customer base... it's therefore not a surprise it takes them a while to wind down production of certain products and ramp up others. I believe their Taiwan camera/lens plant will be completed this year, so that should help to speed things up.

 

[dradttg]

I have been a Canon user for years, IXUS V2 -> A95 -> A620 -> G7 -> G11 -> 400D -> 5D -> 5DM2, S95.

Recently, I have been trying out smaller sized cam for traveling purposes. I have tried A33, comparing it with my sis who is shooting with S95, A33's night shots are slightly better but for most shots color looks off. I tried GF2 recently, again comparing it against S95; GF2's WB though more accurate, color still looked slightly off, and maybe it is just me, auto exposure (AV) seems to be mostly off. Best of all, my sis was shooting mostly in automatic mode on the S95. Come to think about it, i kind of regret bringing the GF2 instead of the G11; Like most others, I suffer from the "dont look like DSLR" syndrome.

Knowing the S95 and G11, I completely trust the performance of the G1X.

 

[Shuttercounts]

Wonder when will this reach our shore?

 

[theITguy]

Hi jus some tots of my mind, i would say this is a good market response from Canon, we have to look at the mass markets now. They are selling a product for the mass market, and if u look at the specs and features set wise, this is very attractive to a lot of common folk. u dun have to change lens, u get good image quality and at a price that is ard the same as a m43 camera. i have seen alot of m43 / mirrorless cam users with the kit lens and ntg else.

I am not sure If this is a mass market product. More like going for people who likes quality but do not like to think and can pay more than high end compacts like LX5.

 

[theITguy]

What you say is correct to a certain extend only. You speak as of the view of a photographer who knows his stuff and so would not like limitation. But general public who knows nuts about photography, would not want a interchangeable lens system... taking my parents as an example. I bought them an EPL1 (immediately after it was launched), they used the system for a while, then my mum started complaining that the system is so difficult to use and would rather fall back on a point and shoot, same goes for my sis in law, who had ditched her D90 for a F550EXR (or something like that).

So as you can see, not everyone like the flexibility of a interchangeable lens system. They would rather fall back onto a no-brainer point and shoot and not worried for which lens to use for what occasion and stuff like that. If Canon come up with a big sensor compact like what some are doing (eg. Sigma and Fujifilm) it will be a big success... and if what we saw in the previous links provided by some members, the image quality is seriously marvelous as compare to other mirrorless system. And if the claimed ISO performance being better than 7D/ 60D... I can forsee many amatuer DSLR user ditching their gears and go for the smaller and lighter G1X.

Agree to certain extent. Can't disagree much.

 

[theITguy]

I can identify areas the G1X may have problems in: (i) dynamic range (Canon's Archille's heel in sensor design.. still not up to Sony standards) (ii) slow contrast AF (Sony, Panasonic and Olympus have made huge strides here... Nikon gave up and stuck to phase contrast in their V1/J1...) (iii) quality control (if the same S100 lens decentering issue rears its ugly head again, Canon can kiss their sales numbers goodbye).

Interestingly, in the DCWatch interview, Canon executive talked about the entire EOS line being overhauled to make way for smaller cameras. But they insist image quality always takes first priority... thank goodness they have not forgotten that... Anyway, we can expect big movements from Canon this year. Unlike other companies, Canon is a giant with massive sales and customer base... it's therefore not a surprise it takes them a while to wind down production of certain products and ramp up others. I believe their Taiwan camera/lens plant will be completed this year, so that should help to speed things up.

Good points.

I suppose end of the day, If Canon and others fail, there will be less competition and innovation.

 

[metalgear]

I think Canon got it right, they will crown the fixed lens camera with the G1X, especially so if they keep the interface clutter free with simple/direct menus.

Sony tends to pack to much convenience in their cameras, which sometimes gets in the way.

Sony Nex5N stock lenses vs. Canon G1x will be interesting.

 

[Anthony Lee]

A direct comparison of the G1X against the NEX 5N with 18-55 kit will be very interesting. I have been using the NEX 5N for about 3 months and although I have various SLR legacy primes, I still use the kit lens more often because of sheer convenience and very good IQ even when compared at the same FL with my primes. The clear-cut advantage of the G1X when up against the other fast compacts is definitely the large sensor. If the sensor is anything close to the Sony NEX 5N sensor, it will definitely be a winner and I may be very interested in it.

 

[doodah]

A direct comparison of the G1X against the NEX 5N with 18-55 kit will be very interesting. I have been using the NEX 5N for about 3 months and although I have various SLR legacy primes, I still use the kit lens more often because of sheer convenience and very good IQ even when compared at the same FL with my primes. The clear-cut advantage of the G1X when up against the other fast compacts is definitely the large sensor. If the sensor is anything close to the Sony NEX 5N sensor, it will definitely be a winner and I may be very interested in it.

There, there... a perfect vindication for me. :bsmilie:

 

[Gigarex]

To understand Canon's launch of the G1X, you must first look at the lineage of Canon products that have been their mainstay all this while. Canon has always stuck to 3 distinct lines of products all these years.

- There is the Elph/Ixus series of PnS compacts with tiny sensors for the mass market.
- Then there is the EOS series of DSLRs that caters to the prosumers who wish to have full manual control of the shots with the multitues of lenses meet the needs.
- In between these two, they came up with the Powershot series of high-end compacts which bridges the two categories. Here is where the Powershot G-series lies.
- They also have a small footprint in the bridge-superzoom category (e.g. SX-40HS). No suprises as Panny has FZ-150, Nikon has P500, Fuji HS-10 etc.

Having said all these, the G1X, in my opinion, belongs to the G1 - G12 parentage, and this seems to be the ultimate G-series that they are embarking. Note the similarities:
- Non interchangeable lens
- Sub-compact body construction
- Vari-angle flip LCD screen
- Tons of manual controls etc

This is not a MILC camera. This is not a m43 camera. This is a soup-up G12 with a fantastic new APS-C class sensor.
Canon has never ventured into the MILC/m43 rat-race. I don't know if they will in the future.
To me, MILC/m43 is an overly hyped-up product line that will not be as portable as a PnS. Neither will it be as flexible as any DSLR.
Every major manufacturer has got a foot into the MILC/m43 (even Nikon, with the V1/J1) except Canon.

In this aspect, I think Sony will eventually be leading the trend forward with their DSLT technology.
DSLT offers you the full DSLR capabilities with reduce "bulk", higher burst and not flipping-mirror-induced vibrations/shakes.

Just my 2 cents worth. The above are my own personal thoughts and in no way subjective nor discriminatory to any camera brands/systems.

 

[sense rain]

To understand Canon's launch of the G1X, you must first look at the lineage of Canon products that have been their mainstay all this while. Canon has always stuck to 3 distinct lines of products all these years.

- There is the Elph/Ixus series of PnS compacts with tiny sensors for the mass market.
- Then there is the EOS series of DSLRs that caters to the prosumers who wish to have full manual control of the shots with the multitues of lenses meet the needs.
- In between these two, they came up with the Powershot series of high-end compacts which bridges the two categories. Here is where the Powershot G-series lies.
- They also have a small footprint in the bridge-superzoom category (e.g. SX-40HS)

Having said all these, the G1X, in my opinion, belongs to the G1 - G12 parentage, and this seems to be the ultimate G-series that they are embarking. Note the similarities:
- Non interchangeable lens
- Sub-compact body construction
- Vari-angle flip LCD screen
- Tons of manual controls etc

This is not a MILC camera. This is not a m43 camera. This is a soup-up G12 with a fantastic new APS-C class sensor.
Canon has never ventured into the MILC/m43 rat-race. I don't know if they will in the future.
To me, MILC/m43 is an overly hyped-up product line that will not be as portable as a PnS. Neither will it be as flexible as any DSLR.
Every major manufacturer has got a foot into the MILC/m43 (even Nikon, with the V1/J1) except Canon.

In this aspect, I think Sony will eventually be leading the trend forward with their DSLT technology.
DSLT offers you the full DSLR capabilities with reduce "bulk", higher burst and not flipping-mirror-induced vibrations/shakes.

Just my 2 cents worth. The above are my own personal thoughts and in no way subjective nor discriminatory to any camera brands/systems.

It will be cool if canon can come out with a constant 2.0 aperture compact zoom pns.. Or is there already such cam in the market..

 

[doodah]

It will be cool if canon can come out with a constant 2.0 aperture compact zoom pns.. Or is there already such cam in the market..

There are f/2-2.5 cams... but you either have to live with (i) small sensor or (ii) over-sized lens. If the G1X is 3 stops better than the G1, then its performance has already over-taken those pns cameras with large apertures (X10, LX5 and XZ-1). We'll see if that is the case