Canon G7 -> Logical S70 upgrade? A different perspective

I'm looking at the Canon G7 in an entirely different light. I currently have a Canon S70 that I bought last year for a vacation to China. I was vastly dissapointed with the quality of the pictures when I got back home (mostly user error I'm guessing.) I often found the photos out of focus or fuzzy.

It should be stated that my photography skills are limited and I generally don't do more than adjust the apperature or shutter speed. I did do a lot of spot focus and dusk shots.

I'm currently looking at the G7 as an upgrade to the S70 for a trip to africa. I'm attracted to the G7 by the compactness of it, Image Stabalization, good optical zoom, and more than ample picture resolution (I plan on printing larger than 8x10). I've found I haven't used the RAW feature much on the S70 (just played around with it) and wasn't particularly bothered by the stationary LCD screen. I think I might miss the 28mm option but I believe I can get a lens add on to compensate (am I correct here? or way off?).

I believe I can re-use all of the S70 batteries I have on the G7, though I'll have to grab some new flash memory. The S3 IS is an option but from my experience in the stores, it is just a bit too bulky and feels "plasticy".

The other limit on my decision is that I'll be purchasing in the next 2 weeks. The G7 will be available by then, which is a plus (though perhaps not reviewed).

I'll be doing mostly game drives in Africa and will likely be using the zoom quite a bit.

Any advice here?

Thansk for the help!

My impression is that folks shooting animals (photographically) in Africa want all the zoom they can get. Could be a reason to re-evaluate the S3 for this particular trip - perhaps sell it afterwards and get the G7 then? (Some of what you'd lose on the S3 will likely be made up by a lower price on the G7 a bit later in its life cycle.) OTOH, you could figure that the 10MP of the G7 can be cropped to give you the necessary "zoom".

A trip to Africa is a big deal.

First choice: I'd suggest a Nikon d80 and an 18-200vr lens. The 18-200 with image stabalization would be amazingly useful. Canon does not now have a similar lens. A manual hand zoom will be quicker in framing and getting great pictures than a digicam's motorized zoom.

Second choice: Get a Canon s3is. Again it will have large range and image stabilization.

The only reason to go for the G7 is the smaller size. The two cameras above will give you more control.

If you get a canon dslr, you will need more than one lens. Some people prefer that. Everything is a tradeoff.

Have a great time.

If you want a pocketable cam, that is prob it. I like it too, for the same reasons you mentioned. I think you are on track if you don't want to carry big and extra stuff around.

RAW could help to improve quality 12 bits vs 8bits, extra 1.5-2EV dynamic range.
Leo

Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't extra lenses be added to the G7? Maybe not...

6x to 12x zoom is a big jump though. The S3 IS can be had fairly cheaply theas days.

My apprehension there is the bulkiness and overall feel of the camera. It received a good review from this and most sites for the "superzoom" type of cameras.

If you know the S70 camera stability, shutter speeds and focus were adequate to provide sharp images, preset settings can yeild images that appear soft, yet with a little USM they sharpen right up...it can be a terriffic compact camera.

Ed

You must understand that with that big zoom you begin to lose contrast in the photos.

I have seen some photos of the S3 and I'm not at all impressed. Instead the A710 seems very fine. Check it out seriously, it's like a small G7: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_a710-review/index.shtml

Anyway I think that the G7 will be a good purchase, 35 mm are best than the 36 of the S3 and 210 are plentiful.

Groo21 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't extra lenses be added to the G7?
Maybe not...

6x to 12x zoom is a big jump though. The S3 IS can be had fairly
cheaply theas days.

My apprehension there is the bulkiness and overall feel of the
camera. It received a good review from this and most sites for the
"superzoom" type of cameras.

Click to expand...

--
Alessandro

There is a tele converter that gives you 12x optical zoom in total. It also has a safety zoom feature that according to the announcement:

"A new Safety Zoom feature allows users to extend the camera's zoom range without interpolation affecting image quality. Images can be captured at up to 14x zoom with enough resolution for lab-quality postcard (10 x 15cm) prints. Photographers can also enable the Digital Tele-Converter3 feature for added telephoto reach on every shot, without the reduction in aperture typically caused by optical tele-converters."

I guess that would give you 28x the zoom for 10x15 cm pictures (with the tele converter). However, I'm not sure how much a tele converter affects the IQ... Anyone?

Does anyone have any links to external lenses for the G7 (or the S3 I guess). Is there an adapter required to fit these lenses (S70 like), or are there threads on either camera?

Do you lose image quality when using external lenses with cameras that weren't necessarily designed for them?

Ed,

I have S70 and agree with you 100%. I can not read menu and setting on LCD in a bright daylight day - LCD just useless especially on a sunny day. I can see only my face reflected (as it is a good mirror) in the camera LCD. I am planning to switch to a camera with RAW and EVF. Also, I would like to try A710 for IS and its compactness (the image quality is there).
Leo

As far as I understand you use a lens converter adapter

This is the list accessories from the announcment:

• Speedlite 220EX/ 430EX/ 580EX
• Tele-converter (2.0x) TC-DC58C
• Wide-converter (0.75x) WC-DC58B
• Lens adapter/Hood set LA-DC58H
• Waterproof Case WP-DC11
• Waterproof Case Weight WW-DC1
• Soft Case DCC-600
• High Power Flash HF-DC1
• AC Adapter Kit ACK-DC20
• Rechargeable Li-ION battery pack NB-2LH
• Car Battery Charger CBC-NB2

Just Google for more info on them.

How much quality is affected is hard to say. See if you can find anyone who has used the tele converter on an earlier G-cam. It is the same converter as far as I can tell.

Yeah. When I did previous searches it did look like it was the same converter, which made me think perhaps they were using it as a filler until the real accessory came out.

I will definitely want to get a UV filter to bring along (any suggestions?) so I'll need at least one of the adapters.

I'm hoping I'll see the first G7 reviews pop up very shortly if the product is indeed going to be available retail late next week or the week after. If it doesn't have tradiitional G-Series exceptional picture quality, then the S3 IS is likey going to be the route to go.

I'll do some searches on the telephoto converter and see if anyone has any positive experiences.

i don't know where you saw this 2 week availability of the G7. I would love to know.

I pre-ordered G7 and they expect camera to be released Nov 20. Thats more than 6 weeks away.

--
Shutter Nut



G3, D70s, A610

I called Canon and they said they expect to ship the G7 at the end of the month, which is unfortunately too late for my trip.

So I think I'll be going with the S3 IS instead. I bit bulky, but I'm sure it will do the job.

I'll have to pick up the lens adaptor and some filters to complete the package I imagine.

Too bad they are taking so long to get the camera out...

--
Please ignore the Typos, I'm the world's worst Typist

For Afrika it's the wrong cam.

You either need zoom as someone said before, or wide angle.

Get an S3 with Wide angle and tele converter if you don't mind the weight.

Or do what I do: A710 with converters for Tele and Wide; fits in your two Pockets and gives you 24mm.

No RAW, yes, that hurts, but as already mentioned, aren't canon's Jpegs kinda RAW?!?! )))
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• Mr Ralf -

I thought about the safety zoom and it can't be that safe I think. Many (me included) have said that pixel peeping is not the way to decide if the IQ is good. However, when the digital zoom kicks in, that is exactly what you have to do. Thus, the safety zoom will take the already noisy pictures to new levels... Hm, soon I have lost all hope in the G7 :~

Groo21 said:

So I think I'll be going with the S3 IS instead. I bit bulky, but
I'm sure it will do the job.

Click to expand...

It’s a good choice!

I would like to suggest that you should get a conversion lens adapter tube for the S3, a quality UV-filter (like HOYA UV(0) HMC) and a lens cap that fits over the UV-filter. Keeping this set always on the camera protects it from dust and gives you freedom to support the camera holding the adapter tube. Also, get a couple sets (don’t mix sets) good NiMH batteries and universal voltage charger, you might prefer using high quality alkaline batteries instead but you will need plenty. And most importantly, learn to use the camera before the trip!

-Virvatulet