Michael Church - Knoxville TN , Oct 27, 2008; 02:42 p.m.
Who will be willing to make the move when….
I have been using the Canon G9 for the past year and it has absolutely changed the way I feel about taking
photographs. I began my photographic journey with digital SLR, beginning with the old D30, then 10D, then
1DMIIN’s. I’ve absorbed a vast amount of technical knowledge both in photographic vision at point of capture and
post work. After my wedding business exploded over the past couple of years, I have been a slave to the DSLR and
wedding work in general…..almost to the point that lugging my equipment around has become somewhat of a dread.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love and still have a passion for wedding photography but I find too much of anything
can at times be a burden. Don’t worry, my business structure has changed for 2009 which will eliminate a lot of the
things I’ve endured over the last two years. Enough of that and back to my main topic.
Since acquiring the G9 in late 2007, I have a renewed enjoyment when it comes to every day awareness of
photographic opportunities. Mainly due to the convenience of being able to act quickly on developing subject content
before my eyes. I’ve been able to capture content that I simply never could have with my full DSLR gear/lenses at a
moments notice. Quite frankly, with the proper settings, I can only see a mild difference (mostly in dynamic range)
between the quality of the G9 and that of my 1DMIIN’s. Yes, I’m talking about the low ISO settings of 80 and 100.
However, there are more things to equate than simply ISO to ISO. When you think of the lens factor verses hand
holding rule, this is where the G9 really and I mean really out performs the larger systems. Think of it this way….the
G9’s lens range is 7.4mm to 44.4mm (35-210mm). This means that you can hand hold images at 1/8th of a shutter
speed equal to that of 1/35 shutter of the DSLR full frame…..for the same 35mm image! Now equate that to ISO and
your probably looking at 80 being equal to that of FF DSLR ISO400. Which would mean that G9’s 400 would be hand
holding equal to that of the FF DSLR 1600.
The G9 isn’t quite there yet for me in terms of sensor quality and responsiveness for wedding work but I can see it
coming around the corner soon. I can see a time soon when a similar G9 body type has the larger sensor and lens
range/speed that covers around 20-200 mm with hopefully a F2.8 constant that displays all the DOF qualities that a
typical DSLR/F2.8 lens combo’s now display.
If this larger sensor and wide constant aperture zoom range happens and at least 3 frames per second …….i will be
on that boat and will, with eagerness, make the transition. Does anyone else have these hi-hopes for this type of
body for their wedding work? Aside from these downfalls, the 35-210 equivalent lens currently on the G9 is IMO sharp
enough for professional work when compared to my canon L’s. It really is simply amazing and I’m excited about the
future possibility. Your thoughts?
Ronald Moravec , Oct 27, 2008; 03:02 p.m.
I have a D40+ 18/135 for this. A bit larger, but not heavy. Sure there are better lenses for it and I own some, but one must resist temptation.
David Wegwart - Denver/CO. 
, Oct 27, 2008; 03:11 p.m.
No.
I don't want that confined a tool. I find what inspires me much of the time is the use of varied approaches with lens changes etc.
I have a G9 and have looked at the LX3 as the next possible P&S tool. I even think the DP1 will be a great camera for many things. Each of those is less capable than the G9 in terms of a "one size fits all" approach. More like a "if you don't get it, don't buy this" approach.
Each to his or her own, but I want more refined tools in a P&S.
My ideal P&S would be a 1.5 crop sensor that produces around 10MP; 3 fps or even 2.5 fps would work; Iso capable of clean results up to about 3200; a lens around 28 - 85mm equivalent; excellent functions via buttons not menus.
So far the Panasonic Lumix LX3 is close but lacks the sensor and fps.
David Wegwart - Denver/CO. , Oct 27, 2008; 03:11 p.m.
oh yeah, the lens needs to be about F2
Neil Ambrose , Oct 27, 2008; 04:04 p.m.
No, I wouldn't consider it at the moment. My partner has a G9 which she uses for casual snap shooting and I've
borrowed it many times; I spent a week with it skiing earlier in the year. So my response comes with some experience of
what it can do - and what it can't do. It's a fun camera for quick shooting in good light. As you say, colour and sharpness
are excellent for a compact, and pictures enlarge very well. But it's lousy for low light - noise levels are poor above ISO
200 - and it's not much good for PJ photography due to noticeable shutter lag, which makes getting the perfect moment
quite challenging. And of course it's close to impossible to get a shallow DOF. That's something that's important to me
and the reason I only shoot with primes. And I really, really can't stand EVFs or holding the camera out at arms length. :-
)
Which kind of means my ideal compact has a small form-factor, a great range of fast prime lenses, excellent image
quality and an optical viewfinder. For which reason I prefer an M8. Still not perfect, but a bit closer to my needs than a
G9.
Michael Church - Knoxville TN , Oct 27, 2008; 04:28 p.m.
Let me clarify....i'm not taking about the G9 as it is. I'm talking about the possibility of a G9 like body that incorperates the responsivness, larger sensor, Hi-ISO to 3200 quality, at least 3FPS, real viewfinder, and F2.8 constant zoom range that has the DOF properties that the current FF systems have.
I don't belive that we will ever see ultra wide (10-20mm) or ultra fast zooms (F1.2 - F2.0) but, having a compact rangefinder body with the properties listed above would be a dream for me for 80% of my daily wedding coverage needs.
Walt Flanagan , Oct 27, 2008; 04:46 p.m.
When the camera you describe actually exists then we'll consider making the move. BTW, your G9 has been replaced by the G10. You may also be interested in the new Micro 4/3 cameras like the Panasonic G1 and the Olympus mockup.
Michael Church - Knoxville TN , Oct 27, 2008; 05:04 p.m.
I've been reading about that G1 Walt and seems to be a foot forward in the process that i'm talking about. However, correct me if i'm wrong, it's still a SLR interchangable lens unit. I've have the SLR's and more lenses than i can count. I want the sleek G9 like body with a retractable lens for pocket carrying ability with all the features listed above. I'm spoiled now.....i want it all in the name of simplicity. An absolutle photographic machine that can be carried in a coat pocket :) I'm not asking for much am I ?
Walt Flanagan , Oct 27, 2008; 05:20 p.m.
The G1 has removable lenses but it is not an SLR. They removed the mirror and replaced it with an electronic viewfinder. It still has a familiar SLR shape to it. This future Olympus camera has a more standard rear LCD for composiing the picture. They both use the 4/3 sensor size which is much larger than the G9/G10 and almost every point and shoot out there. It's essentially a 2X crop factor compared to the 1.5/1.6X of Nikon DX and Canon.
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0809/08092208olympus_micro_four_thirds.asp
William W 
, Oct 27, 2008; 05:21 p.m.
> Your thoughts? <
I agree with your line of thinking, 100%
A while ago I bought 2 x Powershot S5 IS.
Whilst the purchase was (mainly) for a sporting reportage & recording purpose, I have used them as the subject of interesting experiments in Wedding-like scenarios.
Though some of my experiments seemed whacky, the results (at ISO 80) were quite revealing and confirmed that even the P5 IS could be used successfully for some Professional Applications, at a Wedding.
I think added to your wish list of functionalities, should be: Dedicated Flash compatibility and Accurate Manual Focusing: obviously there are more, but these two, I particularly noted as a feature and limitation, respectively, of the P5 IS.
In summary I agree: ISO 100 to 3200 / F2.8 constant Minimum Aperture / Equivalent FoV 28mm to 70mm (135format), would be sufficient, for about 60% to 80% of my Wedding Coverage.
WW
Meanwhile, on a tangent of your thought, whilst pursuing other, but similar lines of development is . . .
Options . . .
