New G15

I’ll probably be considered as crazy, but I always regretted 10 or so years ago not having bought a G15. As it happened at the time I went in a different camera direction.



But thoughts of a G15 lingered on. Having had a G12, I missed the solid build, rase of use and the Canon look. Every now and again, over the years I did a search online to see what was available. There were some good condition options and some less than good condition options.



At this point I must confess to being a bit equipment anal. I do however fully use all my stuff and have seemed to get a good balance in life between use and care. And I was nervous to buy other people’s potential problems, especially on a compact when the lens might have taken a knock and been even fractionally misaligned. Laugh at me if you like, but I am who I am.

Anyway, the other day I was browsing through an online site and came upon what seemed impossible - a brand new, never opened G15, from an estate. Hard to believe but having seen the box images, etc, I decided to take that chance.



Well it arrived yesterday across the miles, and indeed, it was exactly as described. Totally new, sealed, never used, as it left the factory 10 or so years ago. Some nervous moment charging up a totally dead battery, but after a while it kicked into life, no worse for wear. Even the internal battery properly charged after a few hours. And a virgin lens…I think the cold Scandanavian climate from whence it came totally protected it from humidity and fungus. It’s just perfect.



I’m guessing I’m probably the last person on this entire planet to be able to open a brand new G15 in 2024. Call me mad if you will, but I fulfilled a long held wish, and lived in a time warp doing so!







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Peter Bendheim
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peterbendheim.tumblr.com

Lucky you! I wouldn't mind one of these. Let's hope the lens is a good copy!

Let us know when you've had chance to test it out.

jonby said:

Lucky you! I wouldn't mind one of these. Let's hope the lens is a good copy!

Let us know when you've had chance to test it out.

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I took a few snaps in RAW around my village streets in a bit of a rush and post processed in LR my way (vignetting and contrasting strong blacks, deliberately) Downloaded from LR to my iPhone and posted from there. So it’s probably a reduced file size.

Anyway it works really well and I cannot see any lens or other issues on the RAW unprocessed file.

Pretty random images within 200 m of my house as it was getting dusk so apologies for the content!































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Peter Bendheim
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peterbendheim.tumblr.co

Nice images - you live in a beautiful place!

jonby said:

Nice images - you live in a beautiful place!

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Thank you! It’s a small village just a few miles from the Med in Spain! I love it here.

Cool story. Its a great camera to use. Still like mine.

Thanks!! I haven’t posted here on DPR for what must be 4-5 years, and this new old camera gives me a good excuse to return. It’s quite poignant to use a 10 year old new camera and return to a forum that once buzzed with activity and debate, and see it almost deserted nowadays. I guess time moves on. Thanks for your kind comment. Enjoy yours too!

Congratulations on your new purchase! I did, at some point, consider one of those. G12 or 15, and had once found a used G15 locally, looking in a pristine condition. But already having my G1X III, there’s practically nothing that warranted such a purchase.
What a lovely setting you’re in! However you point, you’ll get a nice shot!

What a cool little camera, Peter!

Congrats!

I never actually used one of the little Canon G series but my older brother had a G12 and I fooled around with it years ago and was quite taken with it. And then, like so many other things, life intervened and I forgot all about my fondness for these little Canons. But reading your words and seeing your pictures has reawakened my long dormant love for these little cameras ... and I'm going to look for a G15 or its only slightly newer sibling, the G16. If I get my hands on one, I'll check back in and give my own little report.

And just to echo other comments - nice shots! You definitely live in a beautiful corner of the world... ¡Felicitaciones! as they say over there.

Gracias Miguel - I’d like to hear your impressions if you get one!

At the risk of being "burned at the Stake" I'll simply say that you have a winner! As has been Canon's problem at times, let's improve on a winner, let's go with something new.

Pap

Thank you - I totally agree with you and I’m more than happy despite having newer camera, this has been the most fun for a long time!

Thanks! And I hope you have many more happy moments!

Pap

Ive loved the G series for a long time, having used the G5 with great joy (the 2004 one). But those G15s go for same price used as the same form factor G1X Mk1, which is so much better.

I had a G1x m1 for a long time and regretted selling it. If I recall correctly the aperture range was a bit constricting for me as a low light photographer, and it was slightly sluggish (again, as I recall) but it was definitely a very fine camera. Certainly probably the best built semi compact camera one could possibly wish for.

I've had the G1x first and now the mk2. I think the 2 is a step back, in build quality (flimsier screen, auto lens cap which let's through sand and doesnt really protect the lens from impact) and the let go of the viewfinder and front dial. I wish the optical vf of the 1 was just better than it is.

RubenJ said:

I've had the G1x first and now the mk2. I think the 2 is a step back, in build quality (flimsier screen, auto lens cap which let's through sand and doesnt really protect the lens from impact) and the let go of the viewfinder and front dial. I wish the optical vf of the 1 was just better than it is.

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I always thought the Mk II was a step back for my purposes too, so I went for the Mk I and have been pretty happy with it. If they could have found a way to improve the OVF that would definitely have been nice, but probably quite challenging from an engineering/cost point of view.

I would have been happier with the Mk II if they had just kept the same body and lens but updated the sensor for better DR, improved the general speed and made general improvements to the interface rather than doing a total re-design.

The lens on the G1X is much under-appreciated for those that want quality and range rather than a fast aperture. At current prices, there's little else to compete.

Peter, thank you for sharing your joy over fulfilling your wish, and also for sharing those pleasing images from what looks like a beautful place. Seemingly small things can brighten the day!