G1X MKII from a DSLR users perspective

[aftab]

My main camera is 5DIII. I have been looking for a compact all in one camera since I gave up LX5. I wanted to use it when DSLR was impractical or as a DSLR companion to save carrying two DSLRs. I looked at Sony and Nikon offerings, but none suited my specific need. I wanted a camera with large enough sensor for decent IQ, bright lens for those shallow DOF and subject separation(this was big for me) as well as better low light usability and at least 24 to 70 zoom range. Finally the answer came. G1X MKII.

I had this camera for two days only, so my impressions would be incomplete.

Size is perfect for me. I can put it in my coat and jacket pocket. I can also put it in some of my travel trousers' pocket. It feels solid and heavy and fits perfectly in my hands. Controls are well laid out. I wish the power on/off button was more beefy, it is hard (not impossible) to use it with one hand. Flip LCD is very useful for those low angles. I had no problem using it in daylight for composition purpose, but not for viewing smaller detail. I wish one of the rings on the lens could be used for zooming.

Didn't have a chance to experiment a lot, but few pictures.

Three daylight scenes.













Now some indoor low light scenes.

Maximum ISO can be selected in Auto ISO mode. I selected ISO800 maximum, camera used 640. Although, not as shallow or creamy as my 5DIII + 135/f2, background blur is pleasant and specular highlights are nice and round.





ISO800 is pretty good actually (this is where I want stay with my 5DIII), especially if you use RAW. Lots of detail after NR. Here is Ted, he works in our hospital.





Depending on the subject even ISO3200 can be very useful.





ISO3200 cat.





My greatest disappointment so far is that it can be very difficult to autofocus on a small subject with busy background using the long end. Here is an example. It took me ages to get the focus as camera continued to focus on the background which was about 3 ft away from the subject.





Manual focus with focus peaking can be used in these situations.

I am happy with the image quality, but I think RAW is must to get the best results. I have noticed that highlights are easily blown out compared to my DSLRs, so one will have to be extra careful in high contrast scenes.

Is the price too high? For my need it is not. I am sure for many it will be.

So far I am extremely happy.







--
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.

 

[mcslsk]

Size is perfect for me. I can put it in my coat and jacket pocket. I can also put it in some of my travel trousers' pocket. It feels solid and heavy and fits perfectly in my hands. Controls are well laid out. I wish the power on/off button was more beefy, it is hard (not impossible) to use it with one hand. Flip LCD is very useful for those low angles. I had no problem using it in daylight for composition purpose, but not for viewing smaller detail. I wish one of the rings on the lens could be used for zooming.

Yes, the front ring should operate the zoom and the zoom control under the shutter release button should be the on/off switch. The AF frame control gets activiated accidentaliy a lot. Do miss the OVF and have ordered the EVF now. Screen alone is difficult in bright sunlight and with bi-focals. Still don't understand why Canon puts in electronic gimmicks like as if this was an entry level P&S. The 24mm compared to the 28mm is not realy that much more and for me rather is marketing.

Everything else I agree. Camera locked up on me (lens wouldn't extend fully). Was a little plastic thing that is above the springs for the lens shutter mechanism that broke off and got stuck. Removed it - but now wonder what it was for (it's very tiny and seems to kind of secure the spring in the place).

Michael

 

[aftab]

Lovely pics Michael.

Yeah, I love OVF too, but I knew in a camera of this size I won't get everything. This camera is not perfect, no camera is. But its positives vastly outweigh the compromises, at least for me. More I use it more I learn about it, and I like it better. I just realized that the size of the focus frame can be made smaller. This now lets me focus more accurately on a smaller subjects. So, the problem I mentioned in my first post about focusing on smaller subjects is solved. It is dark outside, I can't try the same shot, but I tried it on a different subject.



Using the large focus frame I couldn't autofocus on the nearest rim of the wine glass. But using the smaller frame it focused instantly. Now, I am much happier.

--
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.

 

[TJ61]

Thanks for the DSLR-owner perspective, and nice shots. I just picked up a G1XII to try, choosing not to take the DSLR plunge (haven't had an SLR since my AE-1 from the 80's), so I'm very interested in such a perspective.

I wish one of the rings on the lens could be used for zooming.

I noticed that there is a very limited case of this functionality - limited enough that it doesn't really contradict your statement. If you're in Auto mode (strike one), the inner (step) ring will step through seven preset focal lengths. But it made me wonder, is there any other way to know exactly what focal length you're at while composing a shot?

 

[Scott Skinner]

My greatest disappointment so far is that it can be very difficult to autofocus on a small subject with busy background using the long end. Here is an example. It took me ages to get the focus as camera continued to focus on the background which was about 3 ft away from the subject.



Manual focus with focus peaking can be used in these situations.

Great write up and I concur about focusing on a small subject with a busy background. This is my biggest drawback for the G1X so far. As I wrote in another thread, my G6 was rock solid in this area. All I had to do with the G6 was find a vertical line and center that line in the focusing box. It would nail the focus every time. In your picture above, any of the vertical leaves on the small subject would have worked. With the G1X mk2, I can't figure out any way to do it except to use the manual focus option. That could mean many a missed shot...

 

[crashpc]

Hi.

I like that images and it´s technical quality. I like how you processed those very much. Hope you manage to solve your focus issues, which sounds pretty bad. Anyway it seems to be very good cam (after some looong looong reading, arguing and stuff).

 

[Woiana11]

Have you tried touching the touch screen on the are you want the camera to focus on?

You can resize it too.

Worked for me.

Eric

 

[aftab]

Thanks for the DSLR-owner perspective, and nice shots. I just picked up a G1XII to try, choosing not to take the DSLR plunge (haven't had an SLR since my AE-1 from the 80's), so I'm very interested in such a perspective.

Thank you.

I think you would be happy with this camera. It needs a bit getting used to. After two days I feel more at home now.

I wish one of the rings on the lens could be used for zooming.

I noticed that there is a very limited case of this functionality - limited enough that it doesn't really contradict your statement. If you're in Auto mode (strike one), the inner (step) ring will step through seven preset focal lengths. But it made me wonder, is there any other way to know exactly what focal length you're at while composing a shot?

I don't think there is another way of knowing the focal length, but I haven't read the online manual completely yet.

 

[aftab]

My greatest disappointment so far is that it can be very difficult to autofocus on a small subject with busy background using the long end. Here is an example. It took me ages to get the focus as camera continued to focus on the background which was about 3 ft away from the subject.



Manual focus with focus peaking can be used in these situations.

Great write up and I concur about focusing on a small subject with a busy background. This is my biggest drawback for the G1X so far. As I wrote in another thread, my G6 was rock solid in this area. All I had to do with the G6 was find a vertical line and center that line in the focusing box. It would nail the focus every time. In your picture above, any of the vertical leaves on the small subject would have worked. With the G1X mk2, I can't figure out any way to do it except to use the manual focus option. That could mean many a missed shot...

Thanks for your input. I have tried the same shot again, still having problem. I need to play with it more to see if there is a way around. On the other hand though, it focuses pretty well in relatively dark low contrast scenes.



--
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.

 

[Scott Skinner]

Have you tried touching the touch screen on the are you want the camera to focus on?

You can resize it too.

Worked for me.

Eric

Thanks for the feedback Eric

I have tried changing the area of focus by touching the screen and resizing the little box. The problem is not getting it to focus. Its getting it to focus on a small item when most of the scene is further away than the small item.

Using the AF/MF setting to move the focal point from the rest of the image to the small item up front is the only thing that I've been able to get to work. The problem with that is that its not easy to see on the screen as you make the adjustment. I bumped it up to 4X magnification and that helps, but then, the screen does not resize to show the whole scene after you are done tweaking the manual focus. You are left guessing at what is still in your frame. Or, you get the subject, but it is no where near centered.

Beyond that, it takes a a good 30 seconds to do the AF/MF step. Thats a long time in the world of photography!

Ahhh well, I am not going to return he camera just because of this, but its a fairly big deal.

 

[aftab]

Hi.

I like that images and it´s technical quality. I like how you processed those very much. Hope you manage to solve your focus issues, which sounds pretty bad. Anyway it seems to be very good cam (after some looong looong reading, arguing and stuff).

Thanks.

I won't say it is pretty bad. It is generally pretty good, but it does have hiccups.

 

[aftab]

Have you tried touching the touch screen on the are you want the camera to focus on?

You can resize it too.

Worked for me.

Eric

Thanks for the feedback Eric

I have tried changing the area of focus by touching the screen and resizing the little box. The problem is not getting it to focus. Its getting it to focus on a small item when most of the scene is further away than the small item.

Using the AF/MF setting to move the focal point from the rest of the image to the small item up front is the only thing that I've been able to get to work. The problem with that is that its not easy to see on the screen as you make the adjustment. I bumped it up to 4X magnification and that helps, but then, the screen does not resize to show the whole scene after you are done tweaking the manual focus. You are left guessing at what is still in your frame. Or, you get the subject, but it is no where near centered.

Beyond that, it takes a a good 30 seconds to do the AF/MF step. Thats a long time in the world of photography!

Ahhh well, I am not going to return he camera just because of this, but its a fairly big deal.

The other way around is turning the continuous focus off and focusing on a subject nearer than the main subject, then focusing on the main subject. It takes 2-3 seconds extra. Worked for my scene. I will have to play more.

I think this can be fixed with firmware update.

 

[Scott Skinner]

The other way around is turning the continuous focus off and focusing on a subject nearer than the main subject, then focusing on the main subject. It takes 2-3 seconds extra. Worked for my scene. I will have to play more.

I think this can be fixed with firmware update.

--
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.

Maybe it can be fixed with a firmware update.

Yesterday, I also had luck with changing the distance of the camera from the area I wanted to be in focus. I didn't end up with a perfectly focused subject, but it was better than not doing it.

Today, I did some testing (hand held in fairly low light - sorry).

First image: I could not focus on the pen no matter what I did. The busy paintings in the background kept the attention of the focusing system. I tried changing where the box was on the screen and I tried zooming in and out. The focus just stayed on the paintings.

Second image: I moved the camera 8 inches to the left and kept it the same distance from the subject (pen). The only difference here was that the wall in the background was solid. The G1X picked up on the focus and nailed it immediately. After grabbing this picture, I moved the camera back to position 1 (like the first image) and it was able to focus on the pen without a problem.

First:

Second:

The center box does not seem to be the only thing driving the focusing process. Might mess around with the exposure setting. maybe I wil change that to "center" and see what it does?

 

[aftab]

The other way around is turning the continuous focus off and focusing on a subject nearer than the main subject, then focusing on the main subject. It takes 2-3 seconds extra. Worked for my scene. I will have to play more.

I think this can be fixed with firmware update.

--
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.

Maybe it can be fixed with a firmware update.

Yesterday, I also had luck with changing the distance of the camera from the area I wanted to be in focus. I didn't end up with a perfectly focused subject, but it was better than not doing it.

Today, I did some testing (hand held in fairly low light - sorry).

First image: I could not focus on the pen no matter what I did. The busy paintings in the background kept the attention of the focusing system. I tried changing where the box was on the screen and I tried zooming in and out. The focus just stayed on the paintings.

Second image: I moved the camera 8 inches to the left and kept it the same distance from the subject (pen). The only difference here was that the wall in the background was solid. The G1X picked up on the focus and nailed it immediately. After grabbing this picture, I moved the camera back to position 1 (like the first image) and it was able to focus on the pen without a problem.

First:

Second:

The center box does not seem to be the only thing driving the focusing process. Might mess around with the exposure setting. maybe I wil change that to "center" and see what it does?

Thanks Scott.

Yeah, it seems that when focusing system focuses on something in the background it ignores anything in front even when focus box is placed on the subject. Would you please try something? First, keeping the same angle as the first image focus on the book just to the right of the pen (or edge of the table in front) and then try focusing the pen. I think it will work. Trick probably is to first focus on something close to the intended subject and then focus on the subject. Not a perfect situation, but much quicker than trying to do manual focus.

--
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.

 

[ASR45]

Excellent shot, lots of good detail, if i had the cash i would have one.

 

[aftab]

Excellent shot, lots of good detail, if i had the cash i would have one.

Thanks Alan.