Black G2 vs.Champagne G2

I just finished reading the entire thread posted by Scottyee regarding the addition of the tape to the camera and the heated discussion which ensued regarding the aesthetics of the black body vs. champagne. As stimulating reading as it was, I am a bit disappointed that no one had discussed weather the plastic used in the construction of the black G2 is different than the plastic used in previous iterations of the G2. This would seem to me to be a much more relevant concern than simple black vs. champagne.
There was much discussion as to why Canon came out with the black body.

Well here is my theory. I believe the folks at Canon realized they made a mistake with the plastic they used on the champagne body as evidenced by all the reports we've seen concerning cracks in the cameras. The black version is the answer to the problem.

I would be most interested to hear from the folks who have had both the black and the champagne G2's if they can discern any difference in the materials used for both. I would also like to know if any of the folks who now own the black version have carefully inspected their cameras for cracks. I suppose only time will tell if the plastics are different. Hopefully the folks with the new black G2's will keep us informed if cracks do appear.

P.S. I have contacted Canon regarding this issue and they say the materials are the same. What else can they say?--The truth is out there!

I think someone with a black camera has already posted that they found a hairline crack.

Lardog said:

I just finished reading the entire thread posted by Scottyee
regarding the addition of the tape to the camera and the heated
discussion which ensued regarding the aesthetics of the black body
vs. champagne. As stimulating reading as it was, I am a bit
disappointed that no one had discussed weather the plastic used in
the construction of the black G2 is different than the plastic used
in previous iterations of the G2. This would seem to me to be a
much more relevant concern than simple black vs. champagne.
There was much discussion as to why Canon came out with the black
body.
Well here is my theory. I believe the folks at Canon realized they
made a mistake with the plastic they used on the champagne body as
evidenced by all the reports we've seen concerning cracks in the
cameras. The black version is the answer to the problem.
I would be most interested to hear from the folks who have had both
the black and the champagne G2's if they can discern any difference
in the materials used for both. I would also like to know if any of
the folks who now own the black version have carefully inspected
their cameras for cracks. I suppose only time will tell if the
plastics are different. Hopefully the folks with the new black G2's
will keep us informed if cracks do appear.

P.S. I have contacted Canon regarding this issue and they say the
materials are the same. What else can they say?
--
The truth is out there!

Click to expand...

Lardog said:

I would be most interested to hear from the folks who have had both
the black and the champagne G2's if they can discern any difference
in the materials used for both.

Click to expand...

As you probably already know, I've owned both the champagne G2 (it had the infamous crack (abeit tiny) but returned it for the black G2. The ONLY differences I can tell between my former champagne model & the newer black G2 is the color, and that the black G2 has a smooth rubbery feel vs the hard slick feel of the older champagne G2s. I actually think the newest shipping champagne G2s now have a smooth hard rubbery feel too though.

Lardog said:

I would also like to know if any of
the folks who now own the black version have carefully inspected
their cameras for cracks.

Click to expand...

The plastic back on my black G2(where the crack appears on the champagne G2s) looks & feels like the same type of plastic used on the champagne models, though my black G2 shows no sign of a crack developing (yet), even when examined under a high powered magnifier.

Lardog said:

I suppose only time will tell if the
plastics are different. Hopefully the folks with the new black G2's
will keep us informed if cracks do appear.

Click to expand...

I definitely will keep everyone here informed if any cracks eventually develop on my black G2, though I keep my fingers crossed that it won't.

Lardog said:

P.S. I have contacted Canon regarding this issue and they say the
materials are the same.

Click to expand...

From the evidence, viewing both my black G2 and my previous champagne model, I tend to believe Canon, at least on THIS one. The only difference I notice is the material used in the G2's grip area.

Scotty

-- http://www.pbase.com/scottyee

Lardog:

having some basic knowledge about manufacturing processes, I believe it very unlikely that there is any shell composition difference between black and champagne (actually mine is more silvery ...) G2.

Actually, in order to change composition or density of the polymeric material which, after pressing or injection, turns out in outer shell often requires replacements here and there in the manufacturing chain which are beyond the cost constraints of finished products (think about press strength, temperature, size of polymeric grain mixture, abductions lines, and so on and so forth).

Add to this that the ordinary customer does not understand - and does not care either - about product technicalities, as any IT guy can easily confirm.

Problems with G2 rose due to the infamous crack - which could be mainly due to either a design failure (material cannot sustain stress - all G2 should crack sooner or later) or to poor quality plastic used in some batches.

Most probably, Canon planned to change G2 colour well before the crack issue showed on the radar screen, even if it is difficult to believe their design dept was not aware of this issue ("boxes" are tested in many many ways: dropping, heat, freeze, manipulation, ...).

My personal opinion: after Christmas sales always decline, new products appear on the market (think about the new Minolta 404, the "poor's man G2", but unbelievable value), consumers mood change, ...

Like in the car industry, the magic word is "restyling". R&D is partially recouped, lines are almost depreciated, profit margins are fatter - but sales are declining: drop a microdrive in the box (cheap on wholesale), rubberize the grip feel (easy), give a new livrea (black, like Nikon 5000, serious SLR are black, it is no more a gizmo, ...). And you have a new go. At least until the next turn.

--Greets from RomeMauro

There is no way to compare the plastic used on the black vs. champagne G2 cameras unless one has access to their chemical composition and specs. The only thing obviously different about the two is the grip, which is rubber on the black G2 and plastic on the champagne one.

As faras the cracks go, I don't see why resolving the crack issue would require a black colored body. That doesn't make any sense. Now one might wonder whether the balck body happens to be made of a more crack resistant material, but that doesn't mean that it is meant to replace the champagne model entirely.

In any case, this is a moot point because a crack has alrady been reported on a black G2. Also, many believethe cracks are caused primarily by a design flaw, not necessarily a defective plastic material.

Lardog said:

I just finished reading the entire thread posted by Scottyee
regarding the addition of the tape to the camera and the heated
discussion which ensued regarding the aesthetics of the black body
vs. champagne. As stimulating reading as it was, I am a bit
disappointed that no one had discussed weather the plastic used in
the construction of the black G2 is different than the plastic used
in previous iterations of the G2. This would seem to me to be a
much more relevant concern than simple black vs. champagne.
There was much discussion as to why Canon came out with the black
body.
Well here is my theory. I believe the folks at Canon realized they
made a mistake with the plastic they used on the champagne body as
evidenced by all the reports we've seen concerning cracks in the
cameras. The black version is the answer to the problem.
I would be most interested to hear from the folks who have had both
the black and the champagne G2's if they can discern any difference
in the materials used for both. I would also like to know if any of
the folks who now own the black version have carefully inspected
their cameras for cracks. I suppose only time will tell if the
plastics are different. Hopefully the folks with the new black G2's
will keep us informed if cracks do appear.

P.S. I have contacted Canon regarding this issue and they say the
materials are the same. What else can they say?
--
The truth is out there!

Click to expand...

Mauro.B said:

Problems with G2 rose due to the infamous crack - which could be
mainly due to either a design failure (material cannot sustain
stress - all G2 should crack sooner or later) or to poor quality
plastic used in some batches.

Click to expand...

Could be a combination of both. Perhaps the camera design places undue stress on a portion of the rear case and the brittle nature of the plastic compund results in the crack. In other words, perhaps either a redesign of the camera case shape OR the use of a more resilient polymer could eliminate the problem.

By the way, why do people use fancy words like 'polymer' when they could just say 'plastic'?

Mauro.B said:

Most probably, Canon planned to change G2 colour well before the
crack issue showed on the radar screen, even if it is difficult to
believe their design dept was not aware of this issue ("boxes" are
tested in many many ways: dropping, heat, freeze, manipulation,
...).

Click to expand...

I'm sure they've known about the crack issue for a while, but decided that it would be too expensive to halt production and that it might be worth waiting a bit to see if how many customers actually complained about it or demanded repairs.

Lardog said:

I just finished reading the entire thread posted by Scottyee
regarding the addition of the tape to the camera and the heated
discussion which ensued regarding the aesthetics of the black body
vs. champagne. As stimulating reading as it was, I am a bit
disappointed that no one had discussed weather the plastic used in
the construction of the black G2 is different than the plastic used
in previous iterations of the G2. This would seem to me to be a
much more relevant concern than simple black vs. champagne.
There was much discussion as to why Canon came out with the black
body.
Well here is my theory. I believe the folks at Canon realized they
made a mistake with the plastic they used on the champagne body as
evidenced by all the reports we've seen concerning cracks in the
cameras. The black version is the answer to the problem.
I would be most interested to hear from the folks who have had both
the black and the champagne G2's if they can discern any difference
in the materials used for both. I would also like to know if any of
the folks who now own the black version have carefully inspected
their cameras for cracks. I suppose only time will tell if the
plastics are different. Hopefully the folks with the new black G2's
will keep us informed if cracks do appear.

P.S. I have contacted Canon regarding this issue and they say the
materials are the same. What else can they say?
--
The truth is out there!

Click to expand...

my theories:

A. they wanted to delay a new camera by reintroducing the same camera.

B. they were getting in record number of G2's in with cracks in the same place. after some investigation they found out that the new camera has the same problem. the black back (also cracking from what i understand), is a decoy. something to distract the attention of the possible cracking. the black is harder to see, plus it's a new deal. in the mean time they try to fix the problem with the cracking on the new camera, and at the same time make a little more cash on the "new black camera".

my choice is B. they needed to a delay so they invented a camera real fast. the new camera probably has the same problem (why change the case, when old molds work fine).

---Mike Savad

Never let it be said that there is a lack of imagination amongst Canon owners!

How would it be possible for Canon to be getting a "record number of G2's with cracks" without it being common knowledge on this forum? Sure there are a lot of G2 owners that have never heard of this forum - but there are also a large number that visit here as well as other Canon/G2 forums regularly. The crack was UNKNOWN just 3 weeks ago!

Word of the "crack" spread VERY quickly - STARTING WITH THIS POST:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=2407912

on FRIDAY, MARCH 22 - that's right, just 19 DAYS AGO!!! Just 13 BUSINESS DAYS!!! (And people are still saying Canon is dragging its feet - amazing!)

Most people here didn't even know they had the crack before 3/22. Those that did thought they had caused it. If we didn't know about the crack before then, neither did Canon. It's going to be a hell of lot more expensive for them to fix this problem now than it would have been to correct it earlier if they had known about it!

Word of the black G2 started to come out in late February. Which means Canon probably came up with the idea several months before that. Even "real fast" wouldn't make that timeline work.

)

Mike Savad said:

my theories:

A. they wanted to delay a new camera by reintroducing the same camera.

B. they were getting in record number of G2's in with cracks in the
same place. after some investigation they found out that the new
camera has the same problem. the black back (also cracking from
what i understand), is a decoy. something to distract the attention
of the possible cracking. the black is harder to see, plus it's a
new deal. in the mean time they try to fix the problem with the
cracking on the new camera, and at the same time make a little more
cash on the "new black camera".

my choice is B. they needed to a delay so they invented a camera
real fast. the new camera probably has the same problem (why change
the case, when old molds work fine).

---Mike Savad

Click to expand...

Actually the first mentions of the famous crack are here:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=2393284
and/or here:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=2393991

...a few days earlier than mentioned in the previous message (but no one really took notice until that message-Leezah's post on 3/22). Thanks again for bringing it to our attention, Leezah!

I mentioned the timeline so people would maybe put this whole issue in perspective!

daryl liquin said:

How would it be possible for Canon to be getting a "record number
of G2's with cracks" without it being common knowledge on this
forum? Sure there are a lot of G2 owners that have never heard of
this forum - but there are also a large number that visit here as
well as other Canon/G2 forums regularly. The crack was UNKNOWN
just 3 weeks ago!

Word of the "crack" spread VERY quickly - STARTING WITH THIS POST:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=2407912

on FRIDAY, MARCH 22 - that's right, just 19 DAYS AGO!!! Just 13
BUSINESS DAYS!!! (And people are still saying Canon is dragging
its feet - amazing!)

Most people here didn't even know they had the crack before 3/22.
Those that did thought they had caused it. If we didn't know about
the crack before then, neither did Canon. It's going to be a hell
of lot more expensive for them to fix this problem now than it
would have been to correct it earlier if they had known about it!

Word of the black G2 started to come out in late February. Which
means Canon probably came up with the idea several months before
that. Even "real fast" wouldn't make that timeline work.

)

Mike Savad said:

my theories:

A. they wanted to delay a new camera by reintroducing the same camera.

B. they were getting in record number of G2's in with cracks in the
same place. after some investigation they found out that the new
camera has the same problem. the black back (also cracking from
what i understand), is a decoy. something to distract the attention
of the possible cracking. the black is harder to see, plus it's a
new deal. in the mean time they try to fix the problem with the
cracking on the new camera, and at the same time make a little more
cash on the "new black camera".

my choice is B. they needed to a delay so they invented a camera
real fast. the new camera probably has the same problem (why change
the case, when old molds work fine).

---Mike Savad

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Good point - it really hasn't been that long. Now, I am thinking I do have to return the camera for repair sooner rather than later. The picture I took of my crack is now outdated - my camera now looks like some of the other pictures of holes! I just checked it before I started charging it and there was still just a crack. About an hour and a half later, I was checking the light and then I noticed the crack had grown exponentially into a hole. I really wanted to have the camera for my mom's birthday (we're celebrating on April 20th), but if I send it in now, the chances of it being back by then are nil, I suppose. : (

daryl liquin said:

...a few days earlier than mentioned in the previous message (but
no one really took notice until that message-Leezah's post on
3/22). Thanks again for bringing it to our attention, Leezah!

I mentioned the timeline so people would maybe put this whole issue
in perspective!

daryl liquin said:

How would it be possible for Canon to be getting a "record number
of G2's with cracks" without it being common knowledge on this
forum? Sure there are a lot of G2 owners that have never heard of
this forum - but there are also a large number that visit here as
well as other Canon/G2 forums regularly. The crack was UNKNOWN
just 3 weeks ago!

Word of the "crack" spread VERY quickly - STARTING WITH THIS POST:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=2407912

on FRIDAY, MARCH 22 - that's right, just 19 DAYS AGO!!! Just 13
BUSINESS DAYS!!! (And people are still saying Canon is dragging
its feet - amazing!)

Most people here didn't even know they had the crack before 3/22.
Those that did thought they had caused it. If we didn't know about
the crack before then, neither did Canon. It's going to be a hell
of lot more expensive for them to fix this problem now than it
would have been to correct it earlier if they had known about it!

Word of the black G2 started to come out in late February. Which
means Canon probably came up with the idea several months before
that. Even "real fast" wouldn't make that timeline work.

)

Mike Savad said:

my theories:

A. they wanted to delay a new camera by reintroducing the same camera.

B. they were getting in record number of G2's in with cracks in the
same place. after some investigation they found out that the new
camera has the same problem. the black back (also cracking from
what i understand), is a decoy. something to distract the attention
of the possible cracking. the black is harder to see, plus it's a
new deal. in the mean time they try to fix the problem with the
cracking on the new camera, and at the same time make a little more
cash on the "new black camera".

my choice is B. they needed to a delay so they invented a camera
real fast. the new camera probably has the same problem (why change
the case, when old molds work fine).

---Mike Savad

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...