Anyone Using Canon G16?

[BISCUT]

My last hike I lugged around a Nikon D810. Way to big and heavy! My other options are on the extremes, D600 or Cannon Powershot D30. I was thinking the Cannon G16 (or wait for the coming G17). Wondering if anyone on the forum is toting one.

 

[Raymond]

I had a Canon G12, but it suffered a lens error on the top of Mount Moosilauke (wouldn’t focus, then wouldn’t close up when I tried to turn it off), and it doesn’t work anymore.

I replaced it with a Sony. My last three Canons all crapped out, two from lens errors and the other drains the batteries of power whether the camera is on or off, so I’ve had enough.

Still, Consumer Reports called the Canon GX1 the best camera the organization has ever tested, while the one that I got wasn’t so highly rated (although it was still one of the recommended models).

 

[DougPaul]

I don't have a Canon G16, but you might find the Canon SL1 worth considering as a middle ground between the D810 and the P&Ses. Canon claims its the world's smallest and lightest APS-C DSLR. Canon's STM lenses are also pretty small and light.

D20: 12MP, 5.6 crop factor, 28-140mm eFL, 7.7 oz
G15: 12MP, 4.6 crop factor, 28-140mm eFL, 12.6 oz

SL1 body: 18MP, 1.6 crop factor, 14 oz

Lenses:
1) EF-S 10-18 IS STM F4.5-5.6: 8.5 oz, (eFL 16-28mm)
2) EF-S 18-55 IS STM F3.5-5.6: 7.2 oz, (eFL 28-88mm, kit lens)
3) EF-S 18-135 IS STM R3.5-5.6: 16.9 oz, (eFL 28-216mm)
4) EF-S 55-250 IS STM F4-5.6: 13.2 oz, (eFL 88-400mm)
Canon also has some pretty light short primes.

Body + kit lens (2) (28-88mm eFL): 23oz = 1.4lb
Body + lens 3 (28-216 eFL): 31oz = 1.9lb
Body + lenses 1+2 (16-88mm eFL): 30 oz =1.9lb
Body + lenses 1+3 (16-216mm eFL): 39oz = 2.5lb
Body + lenses 1+2+4 (16-400mm eFL): 43oz = 2.7lb

I have one--it basically halves the weight and takes up less pack space than my "standard" rig but is otherwise pretty similar in both capabilities and IQ.

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras

Doug

 

[David Metsky]

I have the G16. Love it. Use it for all my travel/hiking/skiing photos.

It's a great combination of light weight, functionality, and image quality. I especially love the ability to take great shots in low light without flash.
While hiking/traveling I really don't want to deal with a camera system. I want just a single piece of hardware to carry and use.

 

[BISCUT]

I don't have a Canon G16, but you might find the Canon SL1 worth considering as a middle ground between the D810 and the P&Ses. Canon claims its the world's smallest and lightest APS-C DSLR. Canon's STM lenses are also pretty small and light.

D20: 12MP, 5.6 crop factor, 28-140mm eFL, 7.7 oz
G15: 12MP, 4.6 crop factor, 28-140mm eFL, 12.6 oz

SL1 body: 18MP, 1.6 crop factor, 14 oz

Lenses:
1) EF-S 10-18 IS STM F4.5-5.6: 8.5 oz, (eFL 16-28mm)
2) EF-S 18-55 IS STM F3.5-5.6: 7.2 oz, (eFL 28-88mm, kit lens)
3) EF-S 18-135 IS STM R3.5-5.6: 16.9 oz, (eFL 28-216mm)
4) EF-S 55-250 IS STM F4-5.6: 13.2 oz, (eFL 88-400mm)
Canon also has some pretty light short primes.

Body + kit lens (2) (28-88mm eFL): 23oz = 1.4lb
Body + lens 3 (28-216 eFL): 31oz = 1.9lb
Body + lenses 1+2 (16-88mm eFL): 30 oz =1.9lb
Body + lenses 1+3 (16-216mm eFL): 39oz = 2.5lb
Body + lenses 1+2+4 (16-400mm eFL): 43oz = 2.7lb

I have one--it basically halves the weight and takes up less pack space than my "standard" rig but is otherwise pretty similar in both capabilities and IQ.

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras

Doug

Doug,

I checked out the SL1 and the Nikon 1 V3 systems. Both offer a lot for that small of a package (not to mention light weight). I'm heavy, financially & equipment wise into D810, D600, and N90. Expense what kept me form the SL1 or 1V3 systems. I truly love the 810 (especially RAW) but it's HUGE and HEAVY! What is your standard rig?

 

[BISCUT]

I have the G16. Love it. Use it for all my travel/hiking/skiing photos.

It's a great combination of light weight, functionality, and image quality. I especially love the ability to take great shots in low light without flash.
While hiking/traveling I really don't want to deal with a camera system. I want just a single piece of hardware to carry and use.

Dave,

This is my hope!! The Cannon D30 is great for the beach and boat trips or ultra light trips but it just doesn't offer enough for a photo enthusiast. I love the WiFi and the RAW format capabilities of the G16. I have one coming in tomorrow and I have 30 days to play with it. I hope to test it out on the trail next week.

 

[jniehof]

Still, Consumer Reports called the Canon GX1 the best camera the organization has ever tested, while the one that I got wasn’t so highly rated (although it was still one of the recommended models).

The general rule of Consumer Reports is that they're fantastic in any field that the reader doesn't know anything about. Experts in the field tend to gnash their teeth. dpreview.com is the gold standard for digital photography; here is their review of the G1 X (assuming GX1 is a typo?)

 

[David Metsky]

The general rule of Consumer Reports is that they're fantastic in any field that the reader doesn't know anything about.

Perfect. Their camera reviews are pretty awful.

 

[DougPaul]

Doug,

I checked out the SL1 and the Nikon 1 V3 systems. Both offer a lot for that small of a package (not to mention light weight). I'm heavy, financially & equipment wise into D810, D600, and N90. Expense what kept me form the SL1 or 1V3 systems. I truly love the 810 (especially RAW) but it's HUGE and HEAVY! What is your standard rig?

Biscuit,

While I would love a 5D3 or 5DS/5DS-R along with L glass, I chose to go lighter weight and lower cost. (I often left my film SLR at home or carried only one lens (28mm prime) due to size and weight.) Thus my current "standard" body is a T4i with an assortment of (mostly EF-S) lenses. With 3 lenses covering 16--480mm eFL this adds up to ~6lbs. I then added the SL1 as a lightweight/backup body with several STM lenses allowing me to cover 16-400mm eFL (3 lenses) in a smaller total volume at about half the weight. (While the T4i has several more bells and whistles* than the SL1, the capabilities and IQs of two systems are pretty similar and all lenses can be used on either body. The sensors are virtually identical.) Since I don't often use the longer tele's while hiking**, I can leave them home for even more size and weight savings.
* The additional bells and whistles are not generally needed on the trail.
** I mostly use them for wildlife and astro-photography.

Of course, it was much easier and cheaper for me to get the SL1 system since I was already using Canon gear, however since you mentioned the D810, I figured you might want to keep the versatility of a DSLR if possible and it was the lightest DSLR system with a reasonably large sensor that I knew of. And, of course, I happen to have some experience with it...

BTW, there have been a number of recent SL1 package sales.

FWIW, I use a 8oz SD-800 P&S (with optical viewfinder!) for when I really want to travel light. It also has the advantage that it fits in my pocket.

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

The general rule of Consumer Reports is that they're fantastic in any field that the reader doesn't know anything about. Experts in the field tend to gnash their teeth. dpreview.com is the gold standard for digital photography; here is their review of the G1 X (assuming GX1 is a typo?)

I too have been unimpressed by CR's camera reviews. It also appears to me that the OP already knows more about cameras than CR... (Or at least more than CR displays in their reviews.)

I tend to like Imaging Resource reviews for nuts-and-bolts reviews http://www.imaging-resource.com/cameras/brands/ but there are a number of other good sources of info and one should check more than one if possible.

Doug

 

[BISCUT]

I've always been "into" photography since I was about 12 years old. That was 30 years ago Ever since my first hike in the Whites (Mt. Washington via Ammonoosuc Ravine) in 1994 I've had to have a camera with me...usually bulky and heavy. 94-97 Were pretty lean financially so I ended up selling some of my prints to a custom framing shop in Jefferson Valley NY. Wasn't much but it paid my gas up and back to the mountains plus food and beer

Little older and have a few dollars now. I always wanted a medium format but never pulled that trigger. I really love the D600 but when the D810 cam out with full frame sensor and in reality its a poor mans medium format, I bit!! Awesome camera and lives up to the hype. The AF on the 810 is quick and accurate. I'm rambling here, sorry! This is all coming to a point i've realized with the world of photography and digital. They (manufacturers) really do push the enthusiast to the next latest and greatest. I say this to flow into my next statement. I also do not believe CR has a clue when it comes to the modern world of digital photography. Industry changes are so rapid and evolve instantly now way they (CR) could keep up.

I put a lot of trust in DP Review but have found it best to read a few different reviews from some of the better known sites. I have a friend at 42nd Street Photo who is also a wealth of info. Especially to determine repair rates and returns.

 

[DougPaul]

I've always been "into" photography since I was about 12 years old.

I may have started as a toddler... My mother was a good landscape photographer (using a Voightlander Vito II shooting slides) and I learned at her knee by osmosis. Had a Kodak Brownie as a kid. Picked up an SLR (Minolta SRT-101) in high school and learned developing and printing B&W in college. After college, I moved over to color slides. Photography was only one of my interests and my interest waxed and waned over the years. Once digital cameras matured sufficiently, I purchased a DSLR (Canon XT) which reignited my interest.

I mostly shoot (surprise!) landscapes, but I also enjoy technical challenges such astrophotography with nothing more than a camera and a tripod. (I have pics showing the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, bands on Jupiter, and the Comets Panstarrs and Lovejoy (both of which were so dim in the Boston suburban light pollution that I couldn't see them with the naked eye).)

Doug

 

[BISCUT]

Doug,

Astrophoto can be tough stuff to deal with. Sounds like you were able to get some damn good shots. I took a class during my undergrad days that entailed B&W and I did enjoy the processing in the lab. It was fun but i wasn't very good at it I hope to soon play with B&W in Lightroom. I was more of a Velvia 50 guy with some ektachrome in there. mainly landscape for me as well.

 

[DougPaul]

Doug,

Astrophoto can be tough stuff to deal with. Sounds like you were able to get some damn good shots. I took a class during my undergrad days that entailed B&W and I did enjoy the processing in the lab. It was fun but i wasn't very good at it I hope to soon play with B&W in Lightroom. I was more of a Velvia 50 guy with some ektachrome in there. mainly landscape for me as well.

Astro is pretty exacting in a number of ways. I'm having fun with it and now have enough practice that I'm not losing much to mistakes any more. I'm using modest gear (just terrestrial camera gear with no specialized astro gear) and getting modest results.

It was fun shooting Comet Lovejoy when I couldn't see it to aim the camera. I knew its general location, but had to take over-exposed shots (with rotational blurring) to search for it. The final shots were taken at 600mm (150-600mm zoom on APS-C), but the field of view was too small to find it. So I backed off to 150mm, found it, centered, and zoomed back to 600mm. I now had to find a bright star to (manually) focus so I turned the tripod on 1 axis to find the star, focused, and now only had a 1-dimensional search back to find Lovejoy. I then shot a spread of exposure times and ISOs. A few of them even turned out OK!

BTW, the pics below were shot with the T4i and could have been shot with the SL1. The only real relevant difference is the T4i has an articulating screen which is very useful for astro.

I mostly learned B&W developing and printing on my own, but did do a bit with the (undergrad) school newspaper. Used to have my own B&W darkroom gear. Still have my Kodak Master Darkroom Dataguide (B&W) and my Kodak Color Dataguide... I left color slide processing to Kodak. (I was a Kodachrome with an occasional bit of Ektachrome guy...) I haven't shot film in quite a few years, but I still have a few rolls of Kodachrome around somewhere.

Doug

Lovejoy with no smoothing:

Lovejoy with medium wavelet smoothing:

Lovejoy with heavy wavelet smoothing:

Only the body is visible--the tail was hidden by light pollution.

 

[Remix]

I am a Canon customer for life....they sent me a brand new S50 five years after I purchased one because they knew that there was a spate of failures involving the image sensor and epoxy and humidity. All I had to do was send the old one in. In fact, they were going to send me an S60, but it would not work with my underwater case.

 

[Jazzbo]

I just got the Canon G16. I've only had for bit more than a week now. It is heavier than my previous Canon SX160, but it also feels more robust and substantial. I didn't buy it for this reason, but it appears the lens can be removed. I wanted something that takes better quality pics without resorting to a system and high cost. $400 was about as far as I wanted to go in price. I took it out last weekend, but hikes weren't particularly good for views. I like to take pics, but not interested in camera systems. I think its going to be a good camera, but still too early to say. Being a Canon user, I learning curve navigating menus was quick.

 

[David Metsky]

I didn't buy it for this reason, but it appears the lens can be removed.

Nope, it can't.

 

[Jazzbo]

Nope, it can't.

There's little button down in corner. You push and you can remove the outer ring. ??????????? Read the manual dummy!

 

[David Metsky]

There's little button down in corner. You push and you can remove the outer ring. ??????????? Read the manual dummy!

I'm confused, that doesn't remove the lens, just the ring so you can attach accessory lenses or ring flash. Am I missing something? It's a nice feature, and I've used it on my S3 for filters.

 

[Jazzbo]

I'm confused, that doesn't remove the lens, just the ring so you can attach accessory lenses or ring flash. Am I missing something? It's a nice feature, and I've used it on my S3 for filters.

I see how it removes the ring. Then I turn it on and lens projects out well beyond the plane of the ring. I used to have SLR system long time ago and filters were just like screw on covers. I used to just leave one filter on full time just to protect the main lens. I downloaded the manual BTW and attempted to read it. 100's of features and adjustments one can make that I won't ever remember how to do. I wold like to figure out how to turn off "continuous focus" manual says it will conserve battery power. It looks clear in the manual, but in the actual menus the option is not even there???