Henry Richardson wrote:
When I created this Canon G16 review I mistakenly made it a regular forum post rather than selecting the option to make it a user review. I contacted the dpreview staff and asked them if it was possible for them to change its classification to review, but Jeff Keller replied and said they did not have that capability. He suggested I create a review thread so that is what I have done. I will just link to my earlier post and thread. It is not ideal, but it will do. As a review it is easier to find. Be sure to read my follow-on posts in the thread for more information.
G16 replaced my G15: some thoughts
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54568251
I will make new posts in this thread rather than the long review thread above.
I charged the battery for my G16 last week and have taken it out a few times. Checking my photos in Lightroom I see that the last photo I took with it was 3 years ago. That is when I took the battery out and put the camera in a drawer. I started using other cameras, but I still liked the G16 so much I didn't want to sell it.
With the coronavirus right now there really isn't anyplace to go so I just go on walks every day and I have been carrying the G16 with me instead of one of my other more usual cameras (Olympus PEN-F, Olympus E-M10II, Panasonic GX7II (GX85), Panasonic TX1 (ZS100), or Sony RX100). I am enjoying using the G16 again although in many ways the other cameras beat it -- although the lack of a viewfinder on the RX100 means I rarely use it except when I want something quite small. But the G16 is special and I get pleasure from holding it and using it. And the results are usually excellent.
Here is how I have my camera set:
C1: raw, P mode
C2: jpeg, P mode, Custom Color (contrast -2, sharpness -2, saturation -1), High ISO NR Low
With this camera and the way I use it I usually have it set to C2. I chose C2 for my most used setting because it is only 2 clicks away on the mode dial to get to HDR. The G16 with its faster Digic processor does hand-held HDR (G15 HDR needs a tripod) and I use it sometimes if the scene is very contrasty and I know the regular mode will have trouble handling it. With a small sensor you need all the help you can get sometimes in this area.
C1 is just 1 click away from C2 so I can very quickly shoot a raw shot when I want.
So, those are the 3 settings I use the most. I can also switch to PASM modes that I have the default My Colors setting instead of Custom Color. Also, the green AUTO mode is quick to get to. Useful if I want to hand the camera to someone to take a photo. Actually, the AUTO mode seems to work very well so I probably should just use it. You get the default contrast, etc. though.
I reduce the contrast for my jpegs to the minimum because, I assume, there is a slightly smaller chance of blowing some highlights and also the shadows will have slightly more detail. I have never tested it though. I import all my photos into Lightroom so I can tweak them easily to add contrast, etc. so I don't care much about getting a ready to use out-of-camera jpeg.