G1X pix

[someoldguy]

Was looking for a replacement for my much abused G7 when the G1X was announced last January . From the specs it appeared to be pretty much what I was looking for , in particular the high iso capability , so I pre ordered it. Anyway , got it yesterday and , like all kids with new toys , took it out to see just how good the thing was . Optically , it seems to be pretty good ( to me , but what do I know). What I'd like is some feedback from others as regards their perception of image quality . The pictures aren't of any great compositional quality , they're just essays to give me some idea of what the machine can do . All were hand held , JPEG , no alterations save for resizing/compressing to fit on this site .

ISO 400 , 50mm equivalent focal length ( there's a preset to do this) ( actually26.8mm) f5.6@1/320

ISO 2500 , f5.8@1/6 , 60.4mm

ISO 5000 , f5.8@1/10 , 60.4mm

ISO 12800 , f2.8 @1/13 , 15.1mm

 

[Rowbear]

The high ISO capabilities of that new camera are realy good, and somehow, predictable given the size of the sensor. Its nice to see such performance from an easy to carry camera and it makes my S90, and me, very envious

That last high ISO pic suffers from either a lot of in camera noise reduction or camera movement given such a slow shutter speed. In order to assess properly, you would need to shoot from a tripod using a cable release or the 2 second timer to eliminate movement. Also, have you tried shooting in RAW ? This would also eliminate in camera noise reduction applied to JPEG's.

 

[rcappo]

I'll agree that for anything slower than 1/100th you should use a tripod or find something to sit it on.

Second, don't be afraid to keep the ISO down to under 200 and have a long shutter speed. And then look into raising up the focal length to f/5.6. Now, that only applies to night photos of buildings and landscapes with little or no motion. If there are people walking or something like that, then you need to have a fast shutter speed, and high ISO and fast f-stop.

I like this camera as it would be much easier to travel with it compared to what I haul around.

 

[someoldguy]

Many thanks for both your comments ...
When I took the camera out 2 nights ago it was primarily to see how well it would do handheld with high iso , mostly to see what I could get away with
while using it as a travel camera/backup for my 5D2 . I had shot RAW/JPEG for all the shots and pretty much ignored the RAW images . So,this afternoon , went back to the RAW shots and played with them . About the best I could do was to get it equal to the jpeg , which for my intended use isn't a bad thing ,especially seeing that I can't see using the real high end (ISO 1600+) a whole lot in general use. Earlier tonight I went back to the scene of the crimes , but with a tripod , to attempt a better skyline shot and to retake the stone church at 12800 but stopped down some.

ISO 200 , f5.8@1sec ,tripod , 60.4mm

ISO 12800, f10 , 1sec. , tripod , 15.1mm

So now I've got to give it some daylight abuse , see if I can get it to flare , see how it handles shadows . Right now there are 2 things that irritate me some , I've accidentally shifted the exposure comp. dial a couple of times , and the viewfinder sucks , the lens shows in the lower left quarter at wide focal lengths ..this goes away about 1/2 way into the zoom range .This was almost a deal breaker for me .But it's nowhere's as bad as the 49mm 28 2.8
and hood was on my M6

 

[maflynn]

Congrats, from what I've read, and seen its a good camera. It seems a bit bigger the my G12 and the lens really does extend out a bit.

Here's a review from the DigitalRev guys, I love their reviews

 

[someoldguy]

Congrats, from what I've read, and seen its a good camera. It seems a bit bigger the my G12 and the lens really does extend out a bit.

Here's a review from the DigitalRev guys, I love their reviews
YouTube: video

Thanks for the link ... Those guys are pretty entertaining ..... it is somewhat bigger than my G7 ( and by extension the G12 ) by about 1/4 inch all around , and with the lens protrusion there's no way it'll discreetly fit into the pockets of anything I own save for some winter coats . I've got big hands and the extra thickness coupled with the lump of a hand grip makes it really easy for me to hold . Had to put an aftermarket grip on the G7.

 

[fitshaced]

I just had a play around with one in a camera shop. They are significantly bigger than the G12 although it doesnt look so. Just feels it in the hand. The lcd screen is much better. Shame that the viewfinder isnt 100%. Makes it really useless.

I would have liked it to have been a fixed aperture on the lens but I really dont know how difficult that would be to manufacture.

Really nice camera though for a user who might not want to go as far as a M4/3 or DSLR. Too big to be carrying around with you all the time.