CANON G1 X - In the hand & examined... (PICS)

Canon Powershot G1 X:

The G1 X was comfortable to shoot with on the first day (evening). The image quality is consistently sharp and clear. The pictures below are AVERAGE everyday shots taken simply between the camera store and my home this evening when I picked it up. It's very hard to see the advancements in a camera that is so similar in design and function to other Powershots I've owned. But the G1 X has an amazing ability to capture pictures otherwise in the realm of DSLRs. It is useable, portable and pleasant to shoot with. If you already own a G-Series camera, the G1 X won't likely "wow" you immediately. It's almost like driving a new car after several years of driving one that looked just like it.

The G1 X takes a very clean picture and it can do so in difficult lighting conditions.

It's essentially the same size (though a little fatter due to the extruding lens) than the G11. But it's much smaller than a DSLR and just a little larger than the s95... almost 2.5 times the bulk of the s95.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

• Nice, small shipping box.

• Camera looks nice to the eye. Not as retro as I had anticipated.

• Weighs just a fraction more than my current wrist watch (my wristwatch is enormous: http://www.pbase.com/image/138885726/original ).

• Feels very SOLID with a nice, comfortable ergonomic feel.

• LCD screen clips and flips with ease but locks down firmer that my G11.

• Back of the external case is impact resistant plastic so it won't stick to your face in snow environments.

• Outer finish rejects fingerprints (excellent!).

• Could be slightly larger. My little finger has to curl up underneath the battery compartment to hold it.

• Colors appear fine.

• Shot-to-shot times are about the same as the G11 - except when using an external flash like the earlier Canon 420EX Speedlight. (See below) Roughly 1 to 1.3 seconds to focus and a rather laggy 2.4 seconds between shots.

• Shutter release button easy to accidentally fully depress without pre-focussing.

• Physical dimensions are almost the same as my G11

• Zoom moves faster than other Powershots I've owned.

• Zoom is responsive. There can be a pause when settings are altered. Some may interpret this as "slow" but is much the same as on any other Powershot.

• Autofocus locks accurately within 1.3 seconds in low light environments.

• Lens Cap is irritating. Either it hangs and gets wound up in my shoulder strap or I have to remember to put it back on lest I touch the outer lens with my finger... which I did....

• Post-Processing involving Noise Reduction was completely unnecessary on the test shots that I took. Same with increasing the sharpness.

• One-touch video activation button!!!

• Pop Up Flash springs up and locks immediately into position when needed. This method of deployment is similar to the DSLR where the flash won't fire unless deployed first. It also requires no retraction mechanism which means one less thing to worry about failing.

• The weight of the camera may benefit those with unsteady hands as this will create a pseudo steady-cam effect.

• Image Stabilization at wide was fine.

SUGGESTIONS:

• Buy a Microfiber Cloth to clean the lens and LCD with.

• If you select JPEG (only) when in P-Mode, the 'My Colors' feature will then become an available option. Increase Sharpness +1, contrast +1 and Saturation +1 to enhance images.

• The optional 58mm Filter adapter ring doesn't come with the camera. It usually ships to the camera stores at a later date. Consider it for numerous creative applications.

• This camera will benefit greatly from an external flash for those who want to be more creative with their photography.

DISLIKES

• With an older 420EX Speedlite flash, the Canon G1 X was DOG-SLOW . This is indeed an outrage.

• I will attempt to take some shots with the newer Speedlight flashes. It was 2.5 times SLOWER than the G11 when shooting indoor subjects and the bright Prefocus light irritated my cat to the point where I have just 2 useable shots out of 67.

Again, I bought that flash in 1999 Will try the more recent 580EX II that I bought a couple of months ago to see if speeds are improved.

• Pictures below taken in JPEG only.

• Tasty Mexican food! Wipe your hands before you touch your camera again!*

• My soda bottle (uncropped) about as close as I can capture it with the Macro setting.*

• The light above my head was apparently made from empty beer bottles*

Rainy evening at the shopping plaza

• On the way home in the rain.*

• Shots like this simply aren't possibly with my other compacts due to all sorts of problems associated with shooting in very low light.*

• Looks a little smooth but the picture was taken in a darkened room and wouldn't have been possible with the other G-Series cameras. Even my s95 couldn't take this shot when I tried.*

• Extremely large plasma ball (Macro).*

• I know photographers are used to taking shots like this but people today don't realize that film cameras are physically incapable of capturing a frozen shot like this so accurately.*

• I've been photographing plasma balls since 1988 and again, shots like this are impossible to capture with a film camera and difficult, at best, with a digital camera other than a DSLR. *

My cat Quorra sitting beside the G1X box.