Product Reviews
Great Camera!
- April 19, 2012
- By: Terry
I decided I needed a smaller (lighter) camera to take along on my trip to Peru so I bought the Canon G12 after considering quite a few others. It turned out to be a great decision! This really is a top compact camera with lots of features for both the amateur and the advanced. Much of the time (climbing Machu Picchu and trying to keep up with the non-photographers group) I just set it to Auto (sorry) and let it do it's thing as I snapped off quick shots. During the rests and camps, I got to play around more with the controls. I was not disappointed by this camera! When I got home and saw the results (in Auto, AV, TV & Manual in all kinds of lighting situations) I was thrilled. The image quality was far better than I had anticipated.
The G12 controls are easy to access, the camera has heft so it feels like a "real" camera, it's very sturdy and took a lot of abuse on this trip which included the Amazon Jungle, Peruvian highlands, white water rafting, and 4 days climbing Machu Picchu, as well as numerous flights, buses, boats & alpacas!
I would highly recommend the G12.
0 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful for you?
Report As Inappropriate
Wide Range of Options
- June 23, 2011
- By: Peter H.
I've used a G2 and a G7 before getting the G12. The G12 is several magnitudes more compact and offers a somewhat wider range of options. Intuitively, I feel the G2 shots (avg 2mp) are slightly more sharp but perhaps that was due to the greater weight or to the fact I'm trying to push the G12 harder.
There are a couple of things I'd like to point out. I was very disappointed to learn that despite the spec claims on Henry's site, Hi Def pictures are not the result of multiple shots but rather a computed value for the bright areas and the dark areas. You do not get 3 shots nor are they combined. I feel misled on that and find I do not use this rather complicated function. To shoot a "Hi Def" image, the user has to choose either Auto or 2X/4X for dark areas and/or 2X for light areas. The results are sometimes better and sometimes not. Don't expect real hi def shots.
Secondly, today's flier (23 June 2011), either physical or electronic, mentions GPS functions. The G12 has no GPS functions. You can buy a Kobo PhotoGPS unit (MSRP $250), which is an excellent unit, especially on sale, triggered through the hot shoe. The images must be downloaded and software matched with the GPS readings. Not difficult and very good. The camera does not embed the readings in the EXIF and you can't use an external flash at the same time. The result is an XML "sidecar" for raw images or manual tags on JPEGS.
Also, in my opinion, for a semi-pro or prosumer point and shoot, there are too many glitzy options like changing the colors. The camera produces RAW and/or JPEG images of high quality. No need for trying to use the screen to "edit" your images in any way.
Further comments
- macro autofocus still needs improvement. The camera often has trouble focussing on the central object even in the centre focus mode and quickly gives up. Manual focus is difficult using the back dial with other settings, particularly flash getting accidentally pushed. I do a lot of macros and sometimes have to just guess on focus. Mostly turns out and I could use the triple shot mode with focus.
- the lens has enormous pincushioning in wide angle so if you are shooting rectangular objects you have to stand back and use the most amount of zoom you can achieve to reduce this effect. Makes copying documents difficult. Much worse than either the G2 or G7.
Although I've always appreciated the solidity of the G lineup, I'm looking for something more suitable for my particular needs.
2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful for you?
Report As Inappropriate