Feudal1
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Regular Member
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Posts: 367
Re: Not happy with G16 as an upgrade
deploylinux wrote:
The G15 was already a great camera, yes - Canon competitors have good products and the G16 is more of an iteration than a major upgrade, but it seems to have more than enough going for it for the market it serves and the pricing is mostly right...especially if one is willing to wait six months or so for discounts.
Overall, the biggest issues with the G series now are:
- Zoom, at some point - we're going to have to get better than optical 5X especially with just 12MP to crop from.
- Raw + Jpeg mode had some limitations on the G15, not sure if they were fixed with G16, but this is one thing that might make me delay purchasing another G series..Also, while jpeg speed is certainly improved in the G16, it's unclear how much faster the sustained speed for raw photos is.
- Noise at ISO's greater than ~1000, the G16 should have improved this somewhat with the slightly better sensor and a good flash reduces the need for high iso shots, but this is going to be something the next iteration of the G series will have to address.
G16 improvements are certainly good enough to justify upgrades from those with older G series cameras....probably not enough for those with the G15...but thats fine, I limit my upgrades to no more often than every 3 years anyway.
If I had a G15, I would probably think twice before upgrading. Older models though, I think are a different story.
You mention the lens - I think the 5x zoom is actually very good. The RX100 is often mentioned as being superior to most other compact cameras, and with it's larger sensor, it's in the game. However, the lens is a weakness IMO. Compar the G16 and RX100:
RX100: 29-105mm f/1.8-f/4.9
G16: 28-140mm f/1.8-f/2.8
The G16 lens is looking pretty good in comparison. The RX100 may have a larger sensor, but if you're shooting in anything close to low light, and are zoomed in, you're needing to boost the ISO on the RX100 to compensate for the slow lens. The other aspect of the G16 lens that is superior is the image stabilization. The RX100 SteadyShot isn't near as good as older G-series cameras, so I expect that advantage to continue with the G16.
I plan on picking the G16 at my local camera shop on the way to work tomorrow, and plan on getting into the city after work to test it out. I'm especially interested in seeing how good the AF is (my RX100m2 is OK, but can be hit or miss in lower light), and seeing how the new sensor and DIGIC 6 processor perform. My last G-series was a G9, so I'm excited to see how good this G16 is.
It's 28-140mm, starting at f/1.8 at the wide end, and f/2.8 at the long end. Contrast that with the RX100m2 - 29-105mm
I think an optical 5x zoom is actually pretty good. With the G16, Canon has a lens that is very bright through it's entire focal range. This is an area where Sony had to compromise - at full zoom, the RX100 lens if f/4.9, whereas Canon is f/2.8. Huge difference in favor of the G16.