G1 in Popular Photography

There is an article in Popular Photography in the January 2009 issue. I finally got around to looking at it.

JudyN said:

There is an article in Popular Photography in the January 2009 issue.
I finally got around to looking at it.

Click to expand...

And what did they say?
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http://dslr-video.com/blogmag/

I looked online but you don't get the new news online... I can't type it all in. So below is what appears to be the summary. It sounds less positive than the article. In the summary they are comparing to compacts. That's not what they compare to in the article. So I'll summarize the "certified test results"

Image quality (ISO 100-400): excellent
Image Quality (ISO 800): extremely high
Resolution (ISO 100): excellent
Color accuracy (Avg Delta E) Excellent

Noise Extremely low for ISO 100, 200. Very low for 400. Moderately low for 800 and unacceptable at 1600 and 3200.
Highlight/shadow detail: High
Contrast (at default settings): Slightly low

Summary:

"As a proof of concept, the G1 succeeds. It's a good camera that outperforms most compacts, delivering lots of detail, accurate colors, and when shooting in enough light, extremely high quality images. The biggest downfall? PRice. It's hard to justify spending so much when a DSLR is only slightly larger and a lot less money.

"But once HD video capture is built into a Micro Four Thirds model, and the size and price shrink even a little, the equation could change. And that has the potential to shake up photography in a very big way."

From the article: "The biggest downfall? Price. It's hard to justify spending so much when a DSLR is only slightly larger and a lot less money."

I paid $585 for mine - how much less money can a DSLR be?! Answer: Not much. And frankly it's a LOT smaller than most DSLRs - not "slightly". What's not mentioned is that even though the G1 is tiny it's still a ball to use but that is NOT the feeling I get when I'm shooting with a small DSLR.

I do agree that an HD movie mode will make the camera a much more competitive buy but even as it is if one can find it on sale it's a very good camera at a competitive price. Something that was never true of the L1 or L10 (price - not "goodness").

Just my opinion however - others clearly do vary.

Cheers,
Oly

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Where did you get that price?

I agree with you!

Olyinaz said:

From the article: "The biggest downfall? Price. It's hard to
justify spending so much when a DSLR is only slightly larger and a
lot less money."

Click to expand...

I got mine for $551 shipped from Prodigital via ebay. Supposed to receive it Dec. 18.

Why do they compare the G1 to point and shoot cameras? Is it not comparable to most DSLR's in terms of performance but with some rather huge advantages in terms of overall mass and live view capabilities?

Exactly!

jorgenl said:

Why do they compare the G1 to point and shoot cameras? Is it not
comparable to most DSLR's in terms of performance but with some
rather huge advantages in terms of overall mass and live view
capabilities?

Click to expand...

It may be because some people like me are looking at it as an alternative to something like the G10 or LX3. We may already be shooting with a "DSLR and want something small/light but with better IQ and flexibility to a point and shoot, no matter how good it is. Also, I suspect that a lot of people will be moving to it FROM a point and shoot as their next step in improving their photography.

Diane
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Diane B
http://www.pbase.com/picnic/galleries

The G1 is fine resolution is all you need
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John
FZ1v2...FZ30 + 3T/4T FS3 LX3
http://picasaweb.google.com/john.boyzo

The P&S one of the segment of the market that Pana is targeting for.

cheers

ric