G1X Ideal for me

I have only had the G1X for a short time, but it is working really well for my type of photography. Here are my thoughts for what it's worth.

I am using this camera for product photography and for general photos. It travels a lot in a briefcase, or in the front seat of my truck so I have a camera along with me at all times.

Viewfinder: No, it's not like the one I had on my old Leica, but it could be useful in bright light, or if the battery begins to run low and I want to save battery power by not using the LCD screen. So while it won't get used often, it's nice to at least have.

Battery: Like everyone else I wish you could get a couple thousand shots from the battery, but to me it's no big deal. I never go anywhere without a spare battery for which ever camera I'm using, learned that one the hard way.

Movie: For me at least, when I want to take movies I'll use my movie camera.

Macro: It isn't to bad actually, but when a metal adapter becomes available I'll try using a close up lens to see how close I can get.

Articulating LCD Screen: I used a G11 (along with various DSLR's and other pocket cameras) before this camera, and have grown very fond of the articulating screen. It's really handy when the camera is on the tripod at about waist level, or you want to get the camera really low. I would like to see this on one of the Nikon DSLR cameras, like the D400 if they ever come out with one.

Action Shots: I would use a different camera for pictures like kids playing football etc. So for me (and that's just me) not being able to take action shots isn't a big deal either.

Issues: I do have a couple issues with the camera, and most camera manufacturers. I understand they probably put the memory card and battery in the bottom of the camera to save space, but it drives me nuts. Every time you want to take the memory card out of the camera you have to remove the camera from the tripod. This is a personal issue I realize, but for those of us who use tripods it would be nice to be able to remove the memory card at least without taking the camera off the tripod. The other thing I dislike is not being able to use a standard filter size. If they want us to use an adapter, include a good metal one with the camera. Here again I am probably in the minority on this, but it sure would be nice to be able to use filters like a polarizing filter, without having to go find some way to mount it to the lens.

As for the size and weight, when I want a pocket camera I simply take a pocket camera along.

There are two areas where this camera is proving itself to be of great value. As mentioned it's great for taking product photos. The quality of the photos even in JPEG files is outstanding. I don't pixel peep, but I've found I can do a lot of aggressive cropping without fear of losing image quality. I learned a long time ago to "move in" and fill the frame, and most of the time I do just that. But there are times in the real world where once the photo is in the computer you find you need to do some additional cropping. With the G1X that's not a problem.

The other area where it will get a lot of use is in my outdoor photography. There are times for example when camping, I simply don't want to carry a larger DSLR camera and a couple lenses. I just want to go for a quiet walk, and it's nice to have a camera like the G1X that's small enough not to get in the way, yet deliver very high quality photos.

This is just my take on the G1X. I know there are many other thoughts on this camera as well. But I am more than pleased with the results and will be using this camera a lot.
Gary
--
GG