Canon Newbie with New G1X

teacat

Regular
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Name
Maggie
I haven't been home much since I got the new camera on Thursday :D

Have been playing for the last couple days, bit disappointed the box didn't come with the flight manual and I have to look it up onscreen... But then, I never really use them unless there's an emergency :D

Have noticed a couple of interesting issues - the distortion and some corner vignetting - not so sure how that happened, wasn't really paying much attention to what I was doing, rather just getting a feel for the camera...

I've just come back from my first ever holiday and lugged my EOS 20D with its Tamron 18-270 superzoom all over the UK, Ireland and France. By the end of my holiday I had a really sore neck, the horizons were all tilting to the left and I'd been targetted by three gypsys and two pickpockets because of the camera. Plus, the experience of going through Changi and Dubai where they just chucked my camera from one plastic box to the next made me turn white with horror.

So, being an old woman with arthritis in her hands and a sore neck lol I decided that there was no way I wanted to cart the big DSLR around on another trip and started researching what I wanted next. After four weeks and MUCH agonising, I finally decided on the G1X. I've been a Canon user all my digital life, so at least I was semi familiar with the layout. What sold it to me was the image comparison tests up against the Fuji and the Panasonic superzooms I also considered. I decided against a superzoom in the end because I already have the 20D, which, while old is still incredible in the field. So, I went and got the G1X and browbeat the young salesman in Harvey Norman down a hundred dollars on the already reduced price because the camera had a thumbprint on the lens and I declared it used LOL. He threw in the Xtreme SD card just to get rid of me I think. So I got it for a really good price :D

First test drive I was a bit put off by the slow AF although I knew that was coming. I also didn't like the VF either, but I can work around that, being pretty blind as well as old :D And as for the rest, once I saw the quality of the images that the camera was producing WITHOUT the need to edit, I was hooked! I cannot wait to get out of the suburbs and out into the Yarra Valley to do some landscapes. This camera sings!

And I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to get those close up shots like the superzoom. But cropping into a big photo you lose very little in detail. I'm impressed.

Looking forward to sharing experiences with all you much more experienced users :D

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Welcome to the forum!

The G1X remains a bit of an enigma for me. The optical viewfinder is indeed awful. I tried looking through it just today for the first time in ages and I couldn't think of any reason to recommend it. It is also more old-school compact in it's operation than a DSLR or state-of-the-art mirrorless camera, and I do find the dynamic range limiting at times. BUT, it can still produce incredible images and it is still in a small niche all of it's own in the market.
 
It's good to be here! I'm a bit limited when it comes to people around me who are just as addicted to the art of imagery as I am :D so am really looking forward to hopefully learning a bit more about this camera as I use it...

I use the VF on zooming, not so much otherwise. The sight of the lens itself in the corner is a tad offputting. It was a bit of a surprise and I thought Canon could've done a little better. That said, the LCD is brilliant, although I really will have to get used to that output, considering the 20D had no liveview LOL!

I tried the mirrorless - the Canon M and didn't think as much of it as I do of this little beastie. For one thing, I wanted to get rid of the need to carry lenses and for another, the amount of cloning I have to do on the 8.5 K shots from my last trip because of dust on the sensor is another reason why I wanted to shift away from lens/body combos. That and the weight.

The sheer clarity of images that are coming out of this point and shoot are really astounding. I haven't even got round to checking the dynamic range - one of the things that impresses me is that the colour is so natural straight out of camera - this is from an artists POV, though. I was always tweaking the images from the 20D... That said, once I get GIMP to recognise the raw files I'll be happier :mad:
 
Welcome. I've not used the G1X, but I've heard some nice things about it. Looking forward to seeing more of your pictures, and I hope your neck feels better!
 
Hi WT and thank you! Looking forward to getting out the door - still haven't made it but the weather is windy and grey - not really the day I feel like taking photies - still, I might set up the tripod and stake out the cat MWAHAHAHAHA! Or test the movie mode...
 
Bit disappointed with my shooting today - it was really windy but that's no excuse. I'll really have to remember the tripod next time, but I'd rather get the hang of this without one... For some reason todays shots seemed underexposed (I went full auto again just to see how the different weather affected the sensor) and also blurry. Maybe it's just me...

Three different fullsize examples - all taken today straight from camera, no postwork

This one was taken at full zoom (both digital and optical) hand held, JPG auto
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This one taken looking back over at the storm coming across the Lake - wide, full auto, JPG, handheld
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This one taken into the sun across the water - zoomed in, full auto, JPG, handheld
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You're getting some nice stuff from the G1X, Maggie. I was really tempted soon after Nic got his and started posting here, but the VF defeated me in the end. I don't know why Canon chose to do that, someone suggested it would make the camera larger if they had made the VF larger, but when you look at the X100/s, and the X10/20 you just know that isn't the reason. I love the IQ from that camera. Love your first shot there with full zoom, its amazingly clear.
 
Hi Sue - thank you. I think I was just having an off day LOL

The VF is an issue. But I think I can work around that. Although I am very used to using the VF solely for shooting as my 20D has no live view, I'm thinking that this is just another set of barriers to work around - the camera is compensated by a very effective LCD screen that even in the blinding light of that days shooting, was perfectly visible - plus it has the added advantage of a full swivel - which for me, makes street and candid photography all that more appealing. That and the tiny size of it - nobody pays much attention :D When I used to put the 20D and the big Tamron superzoom up to my eye, people would get really pi$$ed off. No way to hide that baby... LOL

The IQ is amazing. Haven't even started to touch on it yet - not like Nic, LOL - his shots are superb. Can't wait to get the camera synching with my brain :D

That first shot -the rocks are lovely, the wee birdy is a bit blurry - and that's a bugger because the shot would've been awesome then :D Never mind, I know where the wrens live and they are very used to me sitting among them - they'll even come up to within a couple inches of me - so I might get a good one yet.

Think I'll go into manual mode this coming weekend and do some SP's - haven't done any for such a long time :D

Cheers!
 
I love my G1X with it's Tank-like build.
Used at waist level like an old twin lens reflex camera you can use really slow shutter speeds if you have to.


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DH Dragon Rapide at Old Warden , England
 
Wow! Dennis! That's pretty cool - I love the 'tank' description :D I think that's what I love about this camera too - it's solidity... Must try the slow shutter speeds...

Sue - not a bad idea! Might take a chair, a blankie and a thermos and sit and wait. I'll have to use fast shutter speed for those fleet little fluffballs though LOL

:tongue:
 
If you are using Lightroom 3 or earlier, you can download the Adobe DNG Converter and save them to a dng file that is compatible with the older LR software. You'll just need to check that the lens correction data is still being used because there was a workaround that I played with early after the G1X was first released where you could save the raw files back to an old dng file type and see the uncorrected raw files in an older version of Photoshop that I was running.

http://www.adobe.com/support/downlo...oads/product.jsp?product=106&platform=Windows

or

Adobe - Adobe Camera Raw and DNG Converter : For Macintosh
 
Been sick, so haven't been playing with the new toy... But I took these today...

The first is from the original JPG
Shot at f 2.8, ISO 100, -2 EC, 1/1250 sec, hand held, windy, sick old woman holding camera :tongue:

Second shot is a crop into the original

Third shot is a crop into the crop
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I have been getting used to my second-hand G1X, bought to replace my second-hand G9. I have a generic JJC filter adapter on the lens with a 58mm Hoya HMC UV(C) filter screwed into it.

When I view a RAW CR2 image taken at the shortest focal length I have no problem with vignetting, and when I view the JPEG of the same image there is of course no vignetting, since distortion has been corrected in camera, and the image has lost a bit of the edge all round.

When, however, I put the CR2 image through Adobe's DNG converter, the resulting DNG image has vignetting. Also the detail of the DNG image seems far less sharp, and the distortion more extreme than that of the CR2 image.

Can anyone explain why this should be?

I am using Mac OS X 10.6.8, and Adobe DNG Converter version 8.3.0.141

Thanks, Simon
 
I have been getting used to my second-hand G1X, bought to replace my second-hand G9. I have a generic JJC filter adapter on the lens with a 58mm Hoya HMC UV(C) filter screwed into it. When I view a RAW CR2 image taken at the shortest focal length I have no problem with vignetting, and when I view the JPEG of the same image there is of course no vignetting, since distortion has been corrected in camera, and the image has lost a bit of the edge all round. When, however, I put the CR2 image through Adobe's DNG converter, the resulting DNG image has vignetting. Also the detail of the DNG image seems far less sharp, and the distortion more extreme than that of the CR2 image. Can anyone explain why this should be? I am using Mac OS X 10.6.8, and Adobe DNG Converter version 8.3.0.141. Thanks, Simon

Not having that camera personally, I can't say, but I put these 4 terms into google:
g1x cr2 image adobe

and there were responses discussing vignetting etc. So in case you don't get a more specific reply, there should be some useful tips from that search. I have found that google searches return different results for different people or locations, for the exact same search terms, so sometimes you need an advanced search...
 
I have been using iPhoto '09 version 8.1.2 (424) on my iMac running Mac OS X 10.6.8. Vignetting is also seen viewed in CyberLink PhotoDirector 5 and also Apple's Preview. It's not seen in Picasa.
 
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