G12 or SX40-HS?

[rowlandw]

When I don't want to carry my dSLR kit I take my sx40 and s100.
S100 for pocketability and f/2 wide end (24mm).
SX40 for everything beypnd the s100's long end of 120mm out to 840mm.
Both are digic-5 machines.

 

[Darlene Goff]

I just bought the G12, making the decision between the SX40, the G12, and the LX5. I can tell you it was a difficult decision. And even more difficult for me because I come from a Nikon / Pentax / Panasonic background. I was suddenly buying two Canons (the second was a little ELPH for my purse) and I had no real background as a Canon user. I honestly loved all three of these cameras. I ruled out the Panasonic first, and that was painful because the LX5 is a good camera. So I read everything I could about the G12 and the SX40. There is really no way to decide one is better than the other. Each has their good points. But the fact is I have three good zoomers, a Nikon 8800--old and slow but wonderful photo quality, a Panasonic FZ35, and a Sony H2. And I have DSLRs that handle low light well. Ultimately I chose the G12. I liked that it had an iso dial and an exposure dial on top, settings I use often and are usually a little awkward to change. I liked what the reviews said about the photo quality and to be honest I like that it is only 10 MP with a proven sensor. I also like its chunky range-finder size. It suited me. It will get taken along places where I might have to leave my zoomers and DSLRs behind. To be perfectly honest, my zoomers too often get left behind in favor of my DSLR or a smaller camera. But I haven't ruled out picking up the SX40 later. It all boils down to what you will use the most now. And what you think you need.

Kudos to Canon for giving, along with the new G1 X, such good choices.

 

[nathansmith]

OK, I feel stupid. I work in a camera store, and sell both of these, and I own the G12. I was confusing the SX40 with the SX30HS. Yes, the SX 40 has a much larger lens than the G12.

Still, it worries me when people compare cameras or lens based solely on paper specs. Obviously a $2400 70-200mm f2.8 lens should produce better quality images than a $200 version with a 3.5-5.6 aperture.

I see people come into our store with pages of printouts comparing camera specs, but compact camera specs don't cover lens quality, just focal length and maximum aperture.

I own a Nikon D300S with an assortment of pro lens, plus a D2X and D200. I wanted a upper level compact that shot RAW. I had my eye on the S100, or the G12, but found the G12 new at a local store for $299, and liked the manual controls.

However, for zoom range, the SX40 would be a better choice.

Phil, please explain the RAW option. This looks like some kind of "Jailbreak", and DOES void the Canon warranty.

Also, from another forum post:

"By SLOphoto1 (Oct 19, 2011 at 10:21:13 GMT)

The Manual setting does NOT "offer the complete flexibility of full manual control" for the SX40. There is now a governor on it. Try to set the ISO at 400 for a night shot, and then spin the dial towards a 15 second shutter speed. It stops it at 1 second and drops the ISO to 100. Then a message appears on the LCD which says, "ISO speed is limited due to slow shutter speed." I verified it with Canon today. Canon also verified that all previous Canon cameras DID allow full Manual control in setting both the ISO and shutter speed, but no more."
--
Nathan Smith

 

[PhilM oz]

Phil, please explain the RAW option. This looks like some kind of "Jailbreak", and DOES void the Canon warranty.

Also, from another forum post:

"By SLOphoto1 (Oct 19, 2011 at 10:21:13 GMT)

The Manual setting does NOT "offer the complete flexibility of full manual control" for the SX40. There is now a governor on it. Try to set the ISO at 400 for a night shot, and then spin the dial towards a 15 second shutter speed. It stops it at 1 second and drops the ISO to 100. Then a message appears on the LCD which says, "ISO speed is limited due to slow shutter speed." I verified it with Canon today. Canon also verified that all previous Canon cameras DID allow full Manual control in setting both the ISO and shutter speed, but no more."
--
Nathan Smith

CHDK is not a 'jailbreak', it does not alter the camera in any way. It uses the features Canon has built into the firmware to load some additional code at startup. This code modifies the running system to enable RAW, add scripting, edge overlay, overrides, and lots of other features. When you turn the camera off it is gone without a trace. Depending on where you live this might be technically voiding the warranty.

The ISO limit on long exposures is something Canon has added recently - as far as I know there has never been a good explanation of why. CHDK can override the limitation and allow any ISO to be used regardless of shutter speed (you can also set the shutter speed up to 2048 seconds if you want to). I would add a caveat that there may well be a technical reason for the limit (e.g. to avoid excessive heat build up) so bypassing it may introduce some level of risk.

Phil.

--
http://www.pbase.com/phil_a_mitchell

 

[toomanycanons]

"I just bought the G12, making the decision between the SX40, the G12, and the LX5. I can tell you it was a difficult decision."

So...what do you think of the G12 now that you've shot with it? Details, man!

I know no one strolls into Best Buy to buy a camera anymore (do you?) but I was in there yesterday and, sure enough, the G12 was still going for $499 and the SX40 was going for $449.

I already know what the G12 feels like (still wish I could use one for a week) but this was the first time I picked up the SX40. Canon menus are familiar to me. It sure was funky looking through the EVF. Either I never got the diopter set just right or it's just plain funky. I felt like I was looking through a water covered sheet of glass. I know, I know, indoors in a store is not the place to test these things but first impressions do count.

 

[theperry]

Thank you everyone for all of the help/advice. It seems that I will be happy with either camera that I choose. I think today I am leaning more toward the SX40 though. I would love to have a smaller camera and more manual controls to get familiar with but that 35x zoom is so tempting. Luckily, they both seem to have great macro which is also important to me. And thanks whoever put up the pictures of the Spanish Missions. I will actually be visiting some of the missions in San Diego this April and that is part of the reason that I want a camera.

 

[Darlene Goff]

Toomanycanons, I purchased mine online at B&H so won't have it till the end of the week at least. The cameras I was looking at all had good photo quality based on reviews and/or user use. The S40 was eliminated because I have several long zoomers already, though none that long and anywhere I would take it I might be likely to take my DSLR. I liked the smaller but chunkier size and the extra dials for exposure compensation and iso of the G12 that the LX5 didn't have. But the LX5 does have a brighter lens. I have bought all my cameras without trying them first. I expect the viewfinder to be less than ideal. I tend to shoot my DSLRs with the viewfinder and my P&S cameras mostly with the LCD.

 

[chalky46]

if you need the zoom mate, i would go with panasonic FZ150.

check cameralabs.com reviews. beats the sx40.