Brilliant unit for its size

nice

Tronhar wrote:

I have a lot of big DSLRs and big heavy lenses, but they are not what I tend to take with me on multi-day hikes for fairly obvious reasons. Historically I was taking the SX60HS, which is a great unit when it gets enough light, but like any small-sensor camera it suffers from noise when the lighting becomes more challenging.

For a multi-day hike I was taking a Canon EOS M5 as my main unit and the G5X as my backup. The focal range of 24-100 equivalent was fine for landscapes and I was very comfortable with the controls. I prefer a camera with a viewfinder so the unit suited my needs and to cap it off the rotating LCD screen let me take shots low to the ground without having to get down there myself (old knees and I didn't want to take my pack off).

I found the camera performed very well and was doing brilliantly until I was hit by a big storm with four hours to the next shelter (I was in the sub-alpine Tongaririo National Park in New Zealand). I had purposely bought Think Tank Mirrorless Mover bags for the two cameras - they had pull-over rain covers which I expected to keep things dry. Alas, despite my efforts to do so they bags were overwhelmed (there wasn't enough room in my pack to stow them, and anyway I had these bags). When I reached civilization and opened the bags I literally poured water out of the cameras.

I immediately removed the batteries and cards and put everything close to a radiator to let them dry out slowly over two days. The M5 came to life and eventually the G5X, but the flip screen at the back still had water in it. Eventually the screen died, but the camera remains otherwise fully functional, so I can continue to use it with just the viewfinder - just like in the old film days, and I can still chimp through the EV as well.

My partner (bless her) went out and bought me a replacement, but I still carry this unit around as my scratch camera.

The images it has produced are excellent, and I am impressed by its IS. I was taking images in low light at night of dark walls with an ISO of 160 (that was actually unintentional, but whatever). The camera delivered great results with shutter times of up to a second, hand-held. The 1" sensor is a big step up from the superzoom's small sensor and it's very compact - of course it doesn't have the reach of the SX60HS but for general purposes, for me it's a great unit.

By the way I got the TG-5 and had the same sensor size issue, but found a brand new Nikon 1 AW with the 24-72 AW lens in case I need serious water resistance (and no I don't go diving or snorkeling)!