frameman wrote:
I have just spent 15 mins replying to have it wiped out by a an internet error, blast it. I'll not try again.
Argh!!! I hate that. If I've got my thinking cap on I try to paste everything into Word for a quick spelling/grammar check which is also handy for preventing losses. I still lose stuff when I get in a hurry, so I feel your pain.
Short replies :- I want lighter and smaller kit and utilise some of the Canon accessories I already have, the G1X in a faster focusing guise would surfice adequately as it has the image quality.
I'm not sure if Canon's position is good or bad: they have very fast AF on their low end DSRL's and even faster the higher up you go, which means they have a lot of profits to protect by carefully controlling their other market segments. If something costs too little and works too well, they steal from a segment that is already doing very well with few complaints. If something doesn't perform on par with technology they already have they're accused of holding back. If they create a new market segment like the G1 X they have to keep the cost within the realms of what they reasonably expect people to spend. So, the G1 X is both a victim and benefactor of Canon's innovation and extension into other, previously untread, paths.
Zone focusing is not an answer to slow focusing but an option if you know when and where you intend to capture the image, especially when it will be across the scene. The smaller the sensor the greater the depth of field at any focal length. The G1X has a very useable sensor size in that regard. Zone focusing works by the fact of knowing the distance etc and understanding the hyperfocal length. It is possible to fit the target within the depth of field and get sharp focus, Leica M users seem to get adept at it.
The G1 X has the same depth of field issues as any other APS-C sensor since it is only slightly smaller than those found in all the 1.6X crop bodies. Zone focusing does help when possible. My expectations when using the G1 X are formed before I even take it with me since I know that I'm not going into a fast-action scenario but still need excellent low light performance. If things are completely unknown or will surely require the fastest AF I can get, out comes the 7D.
If the EOS M gets faster focusing then I guess that it will be transfered to the G1X and DSLRs that use live view, and cosequentially create a G2X. The list of reviews that absolutely love the EOS M and G1X but find the focusing frustrating are endless. I can't see the point of the M but I can the G1X. From my testing the slower focusing is a bug bear to me and one of the reasons I haven't yet bought into one. I have Leica D-Lux 4 that is faster and that is 3-4 years older.
I do think Canon is right now rethinking how much money to spend on fast CD AF and what cameras to put it on. They might even be considering how to expand their on-sensor PD AF, perhaps putting an advanced version in the next round of DSLR bodies as well as the G2 X and EOS M2. Costs are coming down and they're running out of new or advanced features to sell, so fast AF tech is going to have to enter into the selling points for cheaper, high performing cameras.
Have you ever held and M? Used one? Having a tiny, tiny body that uses the same sensor as the T4i (or close to the same) and yields similar results to it and the 7D and 60D is a big deal. Fast AF isn't always required, and I do think that the speed of the AF is probably partially related to the power output of the battery (at least with regards to power conservation if not actual potential). Or maybe the technology just isn't there yet.
I hope I have answered some of the things that I refered to in my previous post, the destroyed post that didn't happen was much more detailed , but there ya go it happens.
Canon can be conservative at times and revolutionary at others. They have a lot to protect and they are a big organization to move. Smaller companies do tend to move faster and come out with exciting new things, but those amazing new things aren't necessarily important and enduring.
There are some smaller changes that I wish Canon would make. I'd like to customize my bracketed exposures (let me take 7 shots 1/3 of a stop apart using only shutter speed variations.....that would be a fun menu option)....built in intervalometer would be nice, but I already have the TC-80N3 remote and I just received the adapter cable from Canon Parts to use it on the G1 X (originally made for the 60Da and way too expensive for what it does, but worth it to me).
