Canon Canon G9

Streetshooter

Administrator Emeritus
Location
Philly, Pa
1 camera I really miss is my G9. I don't miss it because I sold it, or it broke, or was stolen. I miss it because my wife Tanya has it. Why does she have it? Because I moved to m4/3 cameras.
The G9 is by far the best digital camera for a compact ever made, for me! I know, I know...who the heck am I to make such a rash statement....
Well, I'm a very serious G9 lover. The camera has never let me down. The menu system is a cinch even under pressure. The zoom range is darn near as good as it gets. The IQ is wonderful even in low, (800 ISO) light.
I used it for a long time riding my Harley and doing missions. I made thousands and thousands of images with it that were important, historically.
The battery and power management are superb.

On my web shots page, there are many, many images in missions that were done with the camera. Many made photo of the day, week and or topic.

I miss my G9. I get to look at it sometimes and I do get to process the images.....that's the problem.....they look great but not mine....
I know if I divorce Tanya, she'd take the camera, so I'll keep her around just so I know where my camera is....

I'll post images later and give a review against the G10...that does not do as good as the G9...

later...Don
 
Well, I have a G9 and G10. The latter does the most work these days, but between the two cameras I have shot tens of thousands of images. I have a Canon 30D which I use from time to time. But, it is bulky by comparison, and the compacts are less obvious, and at times produce better results.
I'm looking to upgrade yet again though, but stuck for choice. A Canon 50D or 550D or Olympus Pen EP2. With the Olympus I will have that less obvious look for street work, but like the two Gs will be less useful for sports/action. The two Gs will always be used...... I'm just looking for an improved noise in low light situation.
 
I took my G7 to China instead of my 30D, and I'm happy with 80% of my images. It is small, discreet, and the G9 has the same great zoom range, so I thoroughly understand the G9 love.

I did shoot with my G10 more, though, as I prefer a wider angle lens and I like the files better. The wide angle lens was the main reason why I moved to the G10. At one stage I was shooting with the G7 and 30D, but after I bought the G10, I started to use it even more than the the DSLR.
 
Herman,
No... The G9 is on the past for me.
I won't leave the m4/3 camp.
That does not mean I don't like compacts tho'.

Dunkeld,
The Pen cameras are excellent.
They will give you what you seek especially low light work.

I also had the G10 and did much work with both.
The G11 turned me off completely as the IQ was not on par with the G9.
 
Agreed, I am usually one who sells my old cameras when I move on but I have kept my G9 though mostly I use it to take ebay photos when needed as I mount a pocket wizard on the flash mount for fire my profoto mono lights. I even have the Canon underwater housing for it that I have never used. The G11 seems too bulky to me.
 
Lisa,
The underwater housing works great.
I used it and got great results.
I agree about the G11. It's form is very military in design.
I was very unhappy with the IQ.
 
Archiver. Seems you discovered as I did that the G9 and G10 are as good Canon 30D
Streetshooter. As a confirmed G series lover, you also reached the same conclusion as I did in that the G11 was not worth upgrading to. But, how does the Pen compare to the G10?
 
G9 continues to be the treasure in my little camera collection (which includes two dSLRs). As a fine art photographer I sold 5 limited edition photographs taken with the G9 (the largest was 20x30" in size, they were printed on archival grade media using Epson 8800/9800 printers) and more than recovered the cost of the camera. I have processed dozens of G10 and G11 (RAW) images but somehow I do not see in them the pixel level quality that I see in G9 images, IMO the effect of diffraction limiting (when using smaller apertures) is also less pronounced in G9 than in G10 so I get sharper pictures and better enlargements. The resolution (I only shoot RAW) is so fantastic that I can easily crop images and still produce large prints. I also use the zoom side more than the wide side and the resolution at full zoom (210mm equivalent) always amazes me. I am glad I continue to use a camera that many people now consider a classic!
 
Dunkeld.
Simply put....the G9 does not compare to the Pen cameras.
This is partly because the ability of interchangeable lenses. With that in mind, the IQ is certainly superior in the m4/3 cameras. But we're not really comparing against the two but rather looking at the form and the advantages each has to offer. For me, the G9 is the last of the good, elegant G series cameras. The G10 has more noise and the G11 is too military in design, it's lost the elegance of the G series.

The Pens take the concept of compact to a whole new level and do it rather well....I'll be using them for a long time it seems.......
 
Not since July 2010 has this thread breathed.
Since then, my Pen's have gone, my GF1 has left the house....
The Nex 5 is around but funny enough....

I'm still holding the G9. Lovely camera.
 
Even thought I don't use my G9 as much since I got my Lumix G1, I still have it and it's my into my pocket camera.

Its fun to use and I will keep it until it not longer works.

Leo

In Washington State
 
A G9 briefly passed through my hands but it didn't really fit for me at the time. I do have an old IXUS 960 IS which has the 12MP G9 sensor and is a stonking little camera, if a bit weird looking. It has an excellent film grain mode, I think they call it ISO 1600. For me the zenith of the G series camera was the G10. 15MP may be a bit over the top for a compact sensor but still, the level of detail it could resolve was astonishing. The G11, with flip screen...I dunno, it just didn't feel as solid as the G9/10.
 
Well the G9 was only in my possession for a few weeks and was purchased more for curiousity's sake than anything else. It was around the same time as I bought my E-P1 so the G9 never really had a chance to win me over. This all happened not long after I had owned a G10 for a few months. I will say that the G10 refused to do anything much in a hurry, but in any kind of decent light could produce an image that gave virtually nothing away to my EOS 50D. The output was as sharp and clean as I've seen from a compact (I never ventured high up the ISO range) , and with typical Canon colours. I also had the natty black leather and red velvet case for it which was v. cool. At the end of the day though it wasn't quite as compact as I wanted. I tried a G11 for a little while last year as well but did not connect with it in any way.
 
Don, thanks for reviving this thread. I've been partial to cameras with names start with "G" since the beginning of Digital Time, having begun with a Canon G2 and progressing through G6, 7, 9 and 10 before jumping to Panny G1, G2, and GF1 (yours!).

The G9 was/is a stalwart, especially for family travel photos; it was my primary camera for a particularly memorable beach vacation in Ocean City, NJ a few summers back. Regrettably, it ingested a hair which deposited itself on the sensor in a very noticeable location in the field of view, with annoying results on the images. In spite of the fact that it was no longer my #1 camera, I sent it off to Canon for repair. $150+ later, it was good as new and will be used again. Great little brick!
 
One nice feature of the G9 that was taken away for the G10: the ability to take photos in black-and white while in RAW + JPEG mode. Nice to be able to "see" in B&W while preserving the option to go color via the RAW file. Panny users have this option; why it was removed by Canon is a puzzlement.
 
Chuck,
That is the way I set all my cameras up. I love seeing the screen in B&W.
I might have to fix that screen again. It's just such a good camera.
The Macro is great also. Hmmmm I wonder what a new screen cost these daze?
 
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