Since I just happen to have read one of our members is now the proud owner of one of these
Canon PowerShot G12 , I thought I'd start this thread off as a bit of encouragement.
😃
I acquired my G12 a few days ago following a long search for what I considered to be THE camera for what I wanted to do. I enjoy shooting landscapes (day and night) and also a few macro shots. I was struggling to find an advanced compact that had old fashioned dials and buttons instead of features buried in menus..... then I discovered the G12 which on paper seemed ideal and I have to say in reality it lives up to all the praise I have read.
Heres what I love about this camera:
1. The ISO, EV & mode dials. They are just great to use, quick, simple and enable you to see instantly what setting you are using.
2. The swivel LCD monitor. Having a swivel monitor in my opinion is a must, particularly in the midday sun because being able to vary the angle both horizontally and vertically eliminates the glare and reflection problem and enables you to shoot from a low angle without having to lie on the ground. Its just a case of crouching down, adjusting the monitor so you can see and shooting.
3. The electronic level. I absolutely love this feature. It works so well and easily. Again it comes into its own when shooting at low angles. All you have to do is adjust the monitor so you can see, tilt the camera until you see the green bar and click!
4. Manual focusing. This works really well. My first experience of using it was at night so that says alot. I was shooting a very old stately home that is now an hotel using just moonlight and a few outside garden lights. Granted I was shooting at infinity so it was a case of rotating the rear dial to the infinity mark but I could see in the magnified centre box that it was in focus.
So far I am very pleased with this camera and I think it is THE camera or me having started in the days of film using rangefinder and SLR cameras then after a 25 year break moving onto a Nikon D5000 DSLR which I found difficult. Moving down to an advanced compact has been the best thing I have done. The G12 with its lovely dials and buttons has as much creativity as a DSLR but in a much smaller body with no cumbersome lenses to lug around and I cant see me ever going back to a DSLR.