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Since 5 hours I’m a lucky (?) owner of the new Canon G1X camera as a successor to my IXUS 980IS. I used the Canon 980IS primarily with an Ikelite underwater housing as my underwater camera. Here are my first thoughts. |
UPDATE: Please read my update to this post!
Basically I am a dSLR lover. I love my Sony Alpha a850 and use it for serious shooting. That camera unfortunately cannot record movies. And although I’m not really into videography, I like to have the possibility to capture a movie now and then. The IXUS gives me 640*480 movies, but I really hate the noise that the camera makes when zooming and the the sensor noise.
The IXUS 980IS is hacked, by adding the excellent CHDK firmware – Canon Hack Development Kit. A benefit of CHDK is to provide RAW photo images from an IXUS. Isn’t that great!
So why did I want to buy a new camera? Plenty of reasons.
- Better image quality: the sensor of the G1X is much larger, giving better quality images, higher acceptable ISO settings.
- Video: 1080p.
- Native RAW: not to have to wait 3 seconds before the RAW images is written to the SD card.
- Wide angle: 28mm instead of 36mm at the widest setting (although I would LOVE a 18-70mm lens [35mm equivalent] for underwater purposes !!!).
- Zooming: the Ikelite zoom-knob often locks the camera as it does not fall back to the default center position after zooming.
To be honest, I would have preferred to buy a Sony NEX-5N. The Sony has better quality and is faster and cheaper. The main reason to choose the Canon G1X is the availability of a cheap underwater housing, the WP-DC44.
To do the math:
Canon G1X (€749) + WP-DC44 housing (€239): a bit under €1.000.
Sony NEX-5N (€599) + third party underwater housing and lens port (€1.700) totaling €2.300
!! Please SONY, start building underwater housings for the NEX line. You lost a sale today !!
So here are my first thoughts (viewed as a replacement for a standard compact camera):
- Amazing picture quality
- Big lens
- Big camera (this is not a “compact” camera)
- Heavy
- Excellent build quality
- Fast (I read several reviews complaining about shutter lag, but I’m happy as it’s an improvement over the IXUS)
- Large LCD screen
Tips for Canon, to include in the G2X:
- If you again opt for a fixed lens, start with 24mm (less is more)
- Make up your mind about the form factor and stick to it for the next 20 years (so I can re-use underwater housings).
- Add three custom (programmable) buttons
At this moment, I’m certain that this is a major improvement for the old compact camera. However, I’m pretty certain that I will upgrade this camera in the next 2 to 3 years. When will we finally reach the moment that you can buy a camera and have the certainty that your investment is safe for the next 10 years?
Camera makers, I love you. But I also hate you.
I will shortly do an extensive review for the G1X as an underwater camera. Watch this blog for an update.
UPDATE: Please read my update to this post!