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Re: Caution: Use the Canon LH-DC110 with the G1X III
Marco Nero wrote:
Peter Bendheim wrote:
Do you think I have reason to worry? Anyone with any ideas? Anyone done the same.
No, you're right... there's VERY little information available online.
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Canon replied to my inquiries on this subject on November 23, 2017. A week earlier, they had advised me by phone that there was no means of attaching a filter to the G1X III. I also drew their attention to several review sites that also noted there was no filter option for this camera, including THIS site which does not list a filter thread diameter on the specs page. I spoke with Canon several times by phone and later they contacted me via email to update me when they felt they had more information. It surprised me that Canon staff were unfamiliar with their own products. But I maintained communication with Canon on the subject since this camera really should have had a filter option. This also included Canon customer support and their overseas offices. But to their credit they later contacted me with a positive reply to my questions.
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Whilst there appears to be threading on the outermost portion of the barrel... that fits a filter of around 37mm... this is not the purpose of those threads. I believe that this was most likely a standard size barrel threading assembly they used to access the interior of the lens during manufacture.
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After almost a week of silence, Canon contacted me personally a third time to inform me of the following: "I would like to inform you that the PowerShot G1 X Mark III allows mounting of external filter by using a filter adapter. Please open attach file." (see image below)
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So whilst Canon do not advertise filters to be used on the G1X III, and they do not supply this information to dealers or to websites, there's indeed a method to attach a filter to the camera using the device pictured above. They call it a a "Lens Hood and Filter Adapter Kit for PowerShot G1 X MARK III" ... which suggests that it has more than one part. Canon do NOT recommend threading a filter directly onto the end of the lens and the threads there were not designed for this purpose, which is WHY it is not listed on any website.
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Talking with several authorized repairers, they warned me that placing a filter directly onto the outermost element of the G1X III was a concern if the camera is knocked or dropped. Due to the minuscule gap between any inappropriately fitted filter would likely shatter the outermost element through kinetic reaction. The outermost element on most Canon cameras contains the majority of nano coatings and spectral transmission coatings thatreduce internal reflections and improve contrast. As a result of rising labor costs, it is now quite expensive to replace with repairs in the hundreds of dollars these days. They used to be much cheaper. The same also applies to Canon DSLR lenses as well and the service costs and lens element replacement costs have skyrocketed in recent years compared to what they used to be.
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Different brands of filter will have different amounts of tolerance between the inner surface of the filter and the outer surface of your lens. I think there have been plenty of PowerShot users who have noted how their camera lenses were repeatedly scratched by the closing lens covers that used to be incorporated into the cameras over the years. Even recently. I think Canon avoided using this method with the G1X III because the last thing they wanted was to be responsible for scratching their own lenses.... again. Although it's hard to say why they can't just add more safe distance.
I have a lens filter on my Mk II primarily to protect the delicate built in lens protection which with a slight knock can turn in to an automated lens scratching system.
I never put a camera with these blades in a soft case but always ensure there is a rigid cover over the lens.
The Canon technicians I spoke with told me that the use of the Adapter would also reduce vignetting with some filters... which might occur if the filters were placed directly on the end of the lens.
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Another reason there may not be an automatic protective lens cover is so that people can add filters to their lens much like with the G1X Mk 1. The Filter attachment was a bayonet-style filter mount that allowed the instant removal of any filter without undue pressure on the lens mechanism when removing or adding a filter. This may also be the reason why Canon do not want you mounting a filter directly to the outer lens element of the camera... because a stuck filter on a geared modern lens barrel is a sure-fire recipe for disaster with some customers.
The same old confusion which has been going on for years with the dummy threading on the lens suckering everyone in to screwing in filters. A bit more serious though with a top end camera compared to a bridge.
The big question is why they did not just put this bit of plastic in the box in the first place and up the whole package with the cost price which is probably a minute fraction of what it will cost separately.
