Product knowledge, helpful customer service (ask for Ralph)
& very reasonable price

None

Bought a Canon G12 & accessories at very competitive rates.

Customer Service

Excellent

Similar Products Used:

Nothing compares to this new camera!

Ergonomics
External controls
Image Quality (rivals DSLRS at base ISO)
Build Quality (better than more expensive cameras)
Versatile photographic machine, not just a compact
LCD and size of camera offer photographic opportunities even DSLR's can't offer.
Video is better than you'd expect, excellent sound as well. View on HD tv via HDMI cable and be prepared to be impressed!

Average frame to frame rate (2fps)
No noise reduction settings at all
My Color settings aren't adjustable (less the Custom Color Function)
No Zoom or manual adjustments while shooting video
HDR function is too automatic

The G12 shows off it's rich Powershot legacy with a fully featured offering, sharp and reasonably fast lens, and excellent image quality. For a small sensor compact, no camera has the G12 beat, and the image quality at times rivals some DSLR APS-C sensors.

Build quality and feature set are very good to excellent. The tilt screen offers angles to photo opportunities that would be impossible for a standard screen. Stereo HD video is a plus.

Without a doubt this is Canon's best Powershot to date and it leaves all other enthusiast compacts in the rear view mirror.

I find the image quality to be better than Panasonic's G1 mirrorless camera that has a larger sensor, and handling blows it away as well. I find the image quality better primarily because the G12 exhibits no banding in the Raw or Jpeg files seen at any ISO (banding to me is a death knell to image quality).

Considering this is such a small sensor, and sensors 12x it's size still show this horrid phenomenon, makes this a fantastic sensor no matter how you look at it. Images are more than usable up to ISO 1600, and base ISO image quality rivals APS-C DSLRS in color and dynamic range.

Battery life is fantastic and beats many DSLRS, easily the G12 can get more than 500 images from a single charge with minimal power management. Use the optical viewfinder 20% of the time and you'll get over 700 images.

A well rounded, versatile photographic machine. Not just a compact camera. Great for pro's and enthusiasts who want a compact that least sacrifices all of the things that make DSLR systems great, yet great for a beginner that wants to start off shooting full auto and grow in the photographic process.

Probably the most balanced overall compact product ever made from any manufacturer ever, and one of the best bang for the buck cameras to come out in the last 10 years.

Issues: No problems to mention.

I would much prefer to have contrast, sharpness, and noise reduction options for all the My Color settings (including black and white etc.).

HDR function is too automatic and there's no automatic aligning of the images in camera as many other manufacturers are doing with this feature. Requires a tripod. Very little effort went into this specification (boo Canon, do better).

Conclusion:

One of the best camera's I've yet to review, ever. In fact I liked the G12 so much I bought one for myself and intend to keep it till it dies. It now shares 50% of my photographic work, a first for any camera let alone a compact. The G12 is capable for professional results, much more so than any compact that has ever come before it.

The G12 is such an upgrade in key area's over the G10 I owned before it's like a totally different experience. I bring the G12 with me nearly everywhere. It's too bad the digital marketplace is so flooded with products and spoiled customers, the G12 deserves an uprising of happy photographers to praise it's design.

Larger review here:
http://photographic-central.blogspot.com/

Similar Products Used:

Canon G10

Size Size Size,
the size of the camera makes it fit well into a small case logic case on the hip belt of a backpack for fast access on the trail while riding or hiking.

and for more protection into a small pelican case inside a camelback or backpack without sacrificing room for essential gear needed on longer backcountry rides and hikes while adding waterproof protection


the rotating screen made it easy to shoot from awkward angles without worry of cutting off heads or missing a moment because your intended subject was, in-fact, out of your frame.

build quality,
the camera does not feel cheap in your hands like some point and shoot cameras and rubberized grip on the front and a small piece on the back make gripping the smaller camera a bit easier.

start up time

turning the camera on takes no time at all, so your always ready within an instant to capture an image

optics
sharp with very little aberrations or distortions present, looking at image quality i would have to say that the fixed lens in the camera is on par with some of the less expensive primes canon makes.

in video mode the controls were primitive at best and there was no optical zoom during recording, also the exclusion of an external microphone jack is something to make note of.

Shutter lag, yes its a point and shoot, and yes its gonna have lag but timing fast action can be tricky if your finger is new to the trigger of this little canon.


with thin mountain biking gloves or lightweight glove liners on the 4 way controller on the back and surrounding buttons were difficult to use and changing settings without taking off the glove were difficult.

exposure limitations,
the longest shutter speed on the camera is 15 seconds, and at this point i believe eve with a cable release there is an option for more. This is something that would prompt me to bring a larger SLR into the field for shooting star trails as well as night scenes when needed.

The F-stop range is only 2.8-8.0 which again limits your manual controls some, the built in ND filter can help but in low light situations i have found myself pushing my ISO when i normally wouldn't have.

Out of the box the G12 is a very capable camera for the advanced amateur or professional photographer looking for a piggyback camera to add to their bag of tricks and take into the field. before the advent of these compact but fully functional point and shoots photographers in the line of action and adventure sports were put in the situation of bringing into the field a large,heavy SLR camera with a few select lenses as well as carrying all the essential gear for whatever trip they may be on that day, week or month. although the G12 will not replace these cameras it offers a good alternative or piggyback camera to bring in the field for todays photography professionals in situations where a big camera isn't always necessarily better


Features


The top has 3 dials, an Exposure compensation wheel on the left and on the right a mode wheel stacked on top of a very easy to access ISO wheel which ranges from 80-3200. There also is a hots hoe on top which will work with the canon 580 flashes as well as pocketwizardry for those of you who want to add a little bit of drama to the backcountry shots with off camera flashes.

manual prefocus is also an option for shooting action, prefocus on a spot, turn off focus adjustments and you don't have to worry about front or back focusing and missing your subject

If your in a situation where the scene is way too bright but you want a set exposure and ISO there is a nifty little built in ND filter to cut your exposure down

although only primitive controls exist at the moment for the camera (hoping for firmware updates down the road) HD Video is also an added feature this generation of G series

One big difference and huge selling point that i saw and noticed from previous G series cameras(and other comparable cameras) is the inclusion a front control wheel, which when used in shooting makes the camera feel more like a DSLR and more intuitive than previous models in manual mode as well as when selecting a focus zone.


When shooting in jpg mode there are various color options as well as custom color settings where the user can select contrast, saturation, and levels of each color individually.

Image quality
looking over the images from the camera i am so far very pleased, the optics are sharp and the noise levels are low. even at higher ISO the camera produces images with acceptable levels of noise. With the raw processing it gives professionals in the editorial industry another option of a camera to use to send images off to magazines without worry of having a file too small, too noisy and not up to submission guidelines of many publications. the 10MP sensor leaves more than enough room for use in todays publications

at this point in time adobe has not released a camera raw update so i have yet to play with a RAW file but from the looks of the Jpgs i can only expect high quality images from those.

Summary

The g12 is a little powerhouse of a camera that can easily step up to the bar when asked, RAW image recording capabilities as well as HD video recording make this a great camera to take on longer backcountry trips where weight and size are of the upmost importance. and for those trips were there is still room for a 1d body and a few small primes,,,as a piggyback camera, to capture images on the fly without having to slow down ask a subject to wait, and then shoot.

Customer Service

In my experience with canon over the years they have amazing customer service. Turnaround time is very fast and costs are generally pretty low, a new lens housing for a friends G10 that took a dive only cost 150 and he had it back within a week

Similar Products Used:

g10,g11, Eos series cameras