Canon g1 x mark 2 review

[tolleknolle]

The more I look at it the less I like it.

 

[hawat]

Biccamera has posted a short review of the camera.

http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/bicphotostyle/canon/g1xm2/index.jsp

 

[Sandeman684]

It seems that TTL-flash control is available in M mode (table on p223 of manual). This is good news for many underwater photographers that want to use external TTL strobes.

 

[Marty4650]

While the translations are never perfect, and are sometimes clumsy, you still can understand the results.

I suggest everyone who is confounded by foreign language websites give Google Translate a try.

 

[requa]

Looking through the ENglish version of the manual linked above, I have run across a couple of reassuring items pertaining to macro and background defocus.

1. Background Defocus (p.65) includes the ability to adjust the effect level by turning the lens ring.
2. Macro (p. 87) does not mention any automatic application of the background defocus when in macro mode. I'd still like to see confirmation of that, because I'd prefer to be in control of whether this effect is being applied or I can rely on the actual physical properties of the lens to achieve the desired effect, including bokeh.
3. The word "bokeh" apparently does not appear in the manual.

I still suspect that the early photo samples we've been seeing represent attempts to explore the new features, including background defocus, and may be applying those features with a heavy hand. The manual itself is giving me hope, though.

Dan

 

[Lucien]

Here's a set of images on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/weiver/sets/72157642159937003

Remember that it's at least 1 stop faster now with wider zoom range. That's really the main change (not expecting huge changes in PQ).

I noticed Canon removed stitch assist. Not sure why they often remove stuff instead of adding lot more modes but workaround would be to use manual mode.

 

[rccasgar]

me too, but I must confess still doubting between mk2 and sony rx10.

 

[rccasgar]

coody wrote: Don't you know this is English speaking web site?

The manual in Japanese is more helpful than your post.

+1

 

[dpr4bb]

It seems that TTL-flash control is available in M mode (table on p223 of manual). This is good news for many underwater photographers that want to use external TTL strobes.

I hope you are right, but page 104 of the manual indicates, to me at least (I hope I'm wrong), that there are only three flash levels in the M mode, just like my S100. That would be a real bummer if true...

 

[hawat]

Monox.jp has published a more detailed 4 pages review than what I have seen so far.

キヤノン Canon PowerShotG1X MarkIIの描写力をチェック 高級コンパクト/monoxデジカメ比較レビュー

実際に購入したキヤノン Canon PowerShotG1X MarkIIの描写力についてまとめています。高感度性能や解像力、レンズの収差確認など徹底的にチェックしました。キヤノン Canon PowerShotG1X MarkII購入検討時に参考にしていただければと思います。

www.monox.jp

 

[rccasgar]

thanx!

 

[J_dpr]

Thanks!

Ouch, that 12.5mm域(35mmサイズ換算24mm) F2.0 doesn't look good. It seems you have to go to at least F2.8 to get details.

Jan

 

[Grobb]

Thanks!

Ouch, that 12.5mm域(35mmサイズ換算24mm) F2.0 doesn't look good. It seems you have to go to at least F2.8 to get details.

Jan

If you are talking about this image, you are correct, not acceptable.

http://www.monox.jp/img/canon_powershotg1xmk2_125mm_f020.jpg

The bad news, the G1X2 lens is not worth using at 24mm f2.0, VERY soft.

The good new, it gets much better by 24mm f4.0, except for the corners :-|

http://www.monox.jp/img/canon_powershotg1xmk2_125mm_f040.jpg

-- Growing old is inevitable, Growing up is optional!

 

[dpr4bb]

Thanks!

Ouch, that 12.5mm域(35mmサイズ換算24mm) F2.0 doesn't look good. It seems you have to go to at least F2.8 to get details.

Jan

If you are talking about this image, you are correct, not acceptable.

http://www.monox.jp/img/canon_powershotg1xmk2_125mm_f020.jpg

The bad news, the G1X2 lens is not worth using at 24mm f2.0, VERY soft.

The good new, it gets much better by 24mm f4.0, except for the corners :-|

http://www.monox.jp/img/canon_powershotg1xmk2_125mm_f040.jpg

-- Growing old is inevitable, Growing up is optional!

I'm afraid it looks more like a f/2.8-5.6 lens

 

[Tonkotsu Ramen]

Same issue my Sony RX100M2 had.. except it was at 28mm F1.8 and only became useable at F2.8

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3593706

When you make a lens that covers such a wide range, there will be compromises.

Not unusual really.

 

[grey-ghost]

It looks like the manual is up now on this page.

http://cweb.canon.jp/manual/digitalcamera/

Or you can directly access it with this link if you cant find it on the page

http://pdisp01.c-wss.com/gdl/WWUFORedirectTarget.do?id=MDMwMDAxNDI3OTAx&cmp=ACM&lang=JA

Drats man! They're in Japanese!

Here's a link to the english manual from the Canon US site.

http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/1/0300014281/01/psg1x-mk2-cu-en.pdf

Been available for some days.

--

Carpe Diem,
Mike

 

[technic]

Same issue my Sony RX100M2 had.. except it was at 28mm F1.8 and only became useable at F2.8

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3593706

When you make a lens that covers such a wide range, there will be compromises.

Not unusual really.

yes, it seems like this is what you get when making a bright lens for larger sensor too compact. I'm really starting to doubt the value of that bright lens, which IMHO is the main selling point of the G1X II. I think I would prefer a slower lens (e.g. f/3.5-5.6) with the same focal length range that is sharp wide open (and smaller / lighter and possibly cheaper).

I hope the Nikon P8000 gives better results near wide open; the smaller sensor and experience with some previous Coolpix and Nikon 1 lenses should help.

 

[technic]

...that's what the reviewer wrote in Japanese. He also noted that it is remedied by either stepping down a little (he did not mention how little) or increasing the focus distance.

If you look at true macro lenses (1:1) you'll notice they are always prime (Canon, anyway) and never wide or super-fast. Why? Zoom is a pain even without super close minimum focusing distance. Fast with zoom is an even bigger pain. When we see some shots posted with the original RAW files maybe we can draw some conclusions. I haven't seen any RAW files yet and I don't think anyone has been terribly specific about what the camera's settiings are as far as JPEG processing. And the Mark II lens starts at 12.5mm! Holy crap! I would expect it to be extremely soft wide open and at wide angle, but it really is surprisingly good.

Either way, if you can stop the camera down and get sharp macros it would still be an amazing lens. Not only that, but were these macro shots done in stable conditions? I don't see any sign of motion blur, but I also see pictures that look great despite not being tack sharp like a stopped down 100mm f/2.8 IS. Everything I've seen makes the camera look like a killer. The extra zoom range, decent macro distance, fast lens, detail, and low noise are very promising.

The similar APS-C 15-85IS lens is soft for closeup shots at any aperture or focal length (especially outside the center), has strong field curvature and in general unpleasant bokeh - and it is 1-1.5 stops slower than the G1X Mk II lens. If the G1X II is really sharp for 'macro' stopped down it would be an improvement over the 15-85IS. But I'm not holding my breath, the lens looks like a clear compromise (acceptable to some, not acceptable to others); maybe the spec is just too ambitious.

 

[Lucien]

Same issue my Sony RX100M2 had.. except it was at 28mm F1.8 and only became useable at F2.8

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3593706

When you make a lens that covers such a wide range, there will be compromises.

Not unusual really.

yes, it seems like this is what you get when making a bright lens for larger sensor too compact. I'm really starting to doubt the value of that bright lens, which IMHO is the main selling point of the G1X II. I think I would prefer a slower lens (e.g. f/3.5-5.6) with the same focal length range that is sharp wide open (and smaller / lighter and possibly cheaper).

I hope the Nikon P8000 gives better results near wide open; the smaller sensor and experience with some previous Coolpix and Nikon 1 lenses should help.

Same was said about S100 few years ago when going from 28 to 24mm and apparently also with Sony (and tons of other camera's). This is typical especially with f2.0 and wide 24mm (unless you are buying a $1000+ lens). Checkout some of the top lens reviews on dpreview just for reference.

Note however don't expect it in daylight conditions to choose f2. It would only choose that with low light conditions and in that case you'll lose some detail anyway (certainly if alternative is higher ISO). Also remember you can add more sharpening but not all pictures will look like a resolution chart...

Until we see dpreview studio comparison still bit hard to do a good comparison between previous model and other cameras. Don't expect huge difference at lowest ISO compared to camera's with smaller sensors. Biggest difference would be in low light in theory given much larger sensor.

 

[telefunk]

If ever DPR gets to reviewing the G1XII, we will not be able to compare IQ with the G1X due to the changed test scene chart.