New shooters read up: Canon G's vs DSLR

Photography is a hobby for me. One of the main criteria of a hobby is that I enjoy it. Another is finding ways to enjoy the hobby while not leaving stretch marks on my wallet. Like so many others, I've bought in to the DSLR craze (own 3 Canon's) and all the lenses, speedlights, filters, remote shutter releases, tripods, ballheads, bags, etc. but that gear spends weeks or months sitting in the gear cabinet. And I did the same thing back in the film days.

It was a fluke that I ended up with the G10's a few years ago. The G11 was the camera du jour at the time but the ergonomics just didn't work for me. So I camped out on a used gear forum waiting for a G10 to show up. People were selling their G10's to help cover the cost of moving up to the G11 but even with all the G10 listings you had to be prepared to pounce as soon as one became available. Most people who sold their G10's have come to regret it.

My first used G10 was in very nice condition with a minor scratch on the LCD (not visible when the LCD is on) but I was gobsmacked at the level of detail I was seeing. After a few weeks taking the G10 everywhere I decided this was a camera worthy of a backup so I went back to the gear forums and found another one after lurking for a couple weeks. The second G10 is absolutely pristine with around 500 shutter activations. It stays in the gear cabinet until the first one rolls over.

I agree 100% about the difference between what people need and what they want. I've been on several photography workshops and it blows me away to watch these people using top of the line bodies and lenses that don't have a clue. One of my favorite stories is of a fellow who had a brand new body and 70-200 lens mounted on a Gitzo tripod that fell over when he turned away to talk to another photographer. The front of the lens was the first thing to hit the gravel and it was a sad thing to see.

A few months ago I was photographing the Golden Gate Bridge and watched in horror as a 1D Mark IV and 16-35L lens fell off a tripod. The guy had a remote shutter release cable in his hand when it happened but the weight ripped the end right off the cable. The camera seemed to work okay but the guy was seriously bummed out.

Photography is many things to many people. If it makes you happy then you're doing something right. The old cliche about the camera you have with you rings true. I rarely leave the house without the G10 and even though it certainly has it's own set of warts it almost never lets me down. When traveling my decision is which DSLR and lenses to take, but the G10 is always in the bag.

My cousin recently visited Europe with a DSLR, lenses, and an older Canon A720. She took roughly 400 shots with the DSLR and over 1600 with the P&S. Want to guess which pictures were consistently better (proper exposure, in focus)? On my last trip to Asia I drug along a big bag full of bodies and lenses but 75% of the pictures were taken with the G10.

I think the G15 will prove to be a decent upgrade for the G10 owners but only for higher ISO stuff. I can't help wondering what the G15 replacement will bring to the table. My guess is any improvements will be minor. I'd like to see the G series with a 16MP BS CMOS sensor, that would probably make me jump.