Summary:In 2002, I purchased my first digital camera – a fixed prime lens 2 mega pixel model with an optical viewfinder. I hoped that it would meet my digital photographic needs until the prices for professional-quality digital cameras dropped to a reasonable level.
Regretfully, my 2 meg digital camera did not last long. Within two years, not only was it broken; but the manufacturer had also discontinued it. Since its value had dropped drastically, it was more economical to replace it than to repair it. I replaced it with a pre-owned 5 meg Canon PowerShot G5 for $379.99.
When I shoot for a customer, I normally shoot film. However, when the customer needs the image in a hurry, I use digital. Here are other reasons why I need to use a digital camera:
1. To use instead of Polaroid to perform test shots for film cameras.
2. To be able to offer a digital service to customers who prefer digital images.
3. When I am shooting for myself I prefer digital because it is less expensive than film.
4. When I want to experiment with new techniques, not only is digital less expensive than film but I am able to see the results of my experiment immediately.
Strengths:1. Uses CompactFlash memory cards (allowed me to use the same cards I was using in my previous digital)
2. Produces high quality images (especially when set at the 5 Megapixel maximum resolution setting and at ISO 50)
3. Noise reduction feature on timed exposures taken with a shutter speed of 1.3 seconds or longer produces high quality images
4. Good zoom lens range (since I would have been happy with only a 35-85mm 35mm equivalent zoom range, I am more than pleased with the 35-140mm 35mm equivalent zoom range)
5. Panoramic (Stitch) mode useful as a substitute for a wider angle lens
6. Movie mode (I need this feature for recording dance routines)
7. Automatic features (auto exposure, auto focus, auto ISO, auto white balance)
8. Built-in flash good for close-up shots and makes a good fill light
9. Hot shoe (allows me to attach external flash or radio slave trigger)
10. Two user customizable mode settings
11. Two user customizable white balance settings
12. Adjustable exposure settings (aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual exposure modes)
13. Automatic and manual focus control
14. Optical viewfinder has built-in diopter adjustment
15. Adjustable LCD display (great for ground level and over head shots and copy stand work)
16. The three types of exposure meters (spot, center weighted, and evaluative) are very accurate
17. Image histogram useful for analyzing exposure
18. Built-in neutral density filter useful for times when you need to reduce light level by 3 f/stops
19. Wireless remote control feature
20. Self-timer useful for times when you don’t have the wireless remote controller with you
21. ISO settings from 50 to 400 (one digital camera I was considering did not offer ISO settings below 200)
22. Light meter exposure compensation feature
23. Flash exposure compensation feature
24. Light meter bracketing feature
25. Flash bracketing feature
26. Focus bracketing feature
27. Image contrast control feature
28. Color saturation control feature
29. Image sharpening control feature
30. Intervalometer for timed exposures
31. Nice shape (reminds me of a Leica rangefinder)
32. Quiet operation (totally silent operation great for candids and street shooting)
33. Close-up feature (produces great close-up shots by itself or with +1, +3, +5, and +10 supplemental diopter lenses)
34. Able to do a lot of shooting on one battery charge
Weaknesses:1. Unable to lock settings (this is my biggest complaint because my right thumb tends to accidentally activate the menu and the white balance buttons)
2. Unable to lock Mode dial (I have accidentally rotated the dial and ended up shooting in a mode that I did not want)
3. Lens does not have filter thread (I replaced the lens housing with a “Lens Mate” brand housing which has filter threads and allows me to attach my 52mm filters and supplemental close-up lenses)
4. Portrait mode turns flash on (there are times when I don’t want to take a natural light portrait with flash)
5. Landscape mode sets the focus on infinity (I wish it set the focus to the hyper focal distance instead)
6. Object placed in hot shoe closes mechanical switch that turns off the built-in flash (there are times when I want to shoot with an external flash unit attached to the hot shoe of the camera via a long sync cord and also use the built-in flash as a fill light.
7. Non-Canon external flash units must use a hot shoe voltage regulator to prevent damaging the camera electronics.
8. G5 is a much better sounding model name than CoolPix or FinePix.
9. Wireless remote control operational range of 3 to 5 meters is too short for my needs.
10. Optical finder is not accurate (parallax accounts for some of the inaccuracy but viewfinder also displays less than 100% of the image that is actually captured).
11. LCD is not accurate (LCD is more accurate that optical finder but it displays slightly less than 100% of the image that is actually captured).
12. Long shutter delay (makes it very difficult to shoot fast moving subjects)
13. Slow auto focus (makes it very difficult to shoot fast moving subjects)
14. No provision to attach standard cable release
In order to reduce the long shutter delay when I use this camera for shooting fast moving subjects, I do the following:
• Turn the LCD off so the camera does not have to waste time displaying the image.
• Use ISO 400 instead of automatic ISO so the camera does not have to waste time determining the ISO
• Use specific white balance instead of automatic white balance so the camera does not have to waste time determining the white balance.
• Instead of using the auto focus feature, I use manual focus and focus on a specific distance so the camera does not have to waste time determining the subject
Summary:I love this machine. It is small, I love the flip-out viewer that lets me take pics from waist-level and the lens is tack sharp. For street shooting, I have had to learn to prefocus the lense in manual (setting the distance to about 2 meters and using f8 or 5.6 gives pretty good depth of field particularly when leaving the lens at its widest angle). However, it works and I have been able to avoid many (but not all!) of the lag problems that are afflict digital shooting.
Strengths:-small and light
-good battery life
-sharp lens
-fast lens - f2 lets me use the camera at ISO 100 even on subways
Weaknesses:-I would have preferred to see a 28mm equiv. wide angle option as opposed to the 35mm equiv. that is on the camera now.
-I would prefer to see information displayed in the optical viewfinder as well as on the led display on top and the viewing screen
Similar Products Used:Various film rangefinders
Canon Digital Rebel
Nikon N90
Summary:This is my first and only digital camera. All my other cameras are film. Therefore my opinions of this camera might be too harsh since I have no other experience with digital cameras. Anyway, here goes...
Strengths:1. Solid build even though plastic
2. Sharp lens
3. Large aperture
4. Full range of controls - even flash.
This feature cannot be over
emphasized.
5. Hotshoe
6. Not too big or heavy
7. Simple to figure out
Weaknesses:1. Takes very long to focus especially
indoors.
2. Out of focus way too often.
3. Purple fringing on contrasty shots
4. Noise/Grain is bad at 200 and useless
at 400 speed.
5. Manual focus is not very practical.
Summary:Out of the box, this camera looks awesome. The various settings are great, it's compact and light.
However, the purple fringing really lets the camera down. In any high-contrast situation, it is very noticeable and unavoidable. I have tried various settings, but whenever ou have a dark element against a bright background, you get blue/violet highlights.
In all other circumstances, this camera performs extremely well, but this flaw is so significant (in my opinion) that the camera is a major disappointment.
I lost a little IXUSS400 that I had for happy snaps and bought this as a replacement to go with my film and digi SLRs and to be honest, I wish I'd gone for the S500 or something as this sits halfway between a pocket-sized fun camera and an SLR without achieving the benefit of either.
Then again, I'm in a grumpy mood because I have just been testing it and am annoyed with the results.
So, if you can put up with the poor performance in high contrast lighting, go for it. If not, get something else.
Strengths:better lens than most cameras its size
good in normal light situations
manual controls
seems sturdy and tough
Weaknesses:poor performance in high contrast lighting
Summary:I love this little guy. It is easy to use, easy to set-up and configure, and just the right size and wieght...not too big or small. The quality of the images are great, especailly in RAW mode. The in-camera image adjustments are nice, though I never use them since I shoot in RAW mode and adjust the images in Photoshop. I like the fact the camera is not so feature rich that they get in the way of the basic functions of the camera. The available custom features could be better, but are not bad and simplicity is still king in my book.
I have found the built-in flash to be decent and adjustable. The coverage could be better, especially in macro mode, but generally does the job well. The refresh rate is pretty good since the battery has plent of grunt. Most flash issues, though, are resolved using the dedicated Speedlite flashes.
Exposures are usually right on. The built in ND filter is a must have feature and I use it all the time - Kudo's to Canon!
The camera seems quite sturdy and durable. It has survived a few hard knocks and bumps in my hikes and travels. The antiglare coating on the LCD is not very durable though, so be careful there.
Purple fringing and CA are two major negatives that show up in my photography, BUT, they only show up under certain scene conditions and with strong cropping or zoom settings. The noise is pretty strong too at 200 and 400 iso, but my software handles it pretty well and I tend to stay on the 50 and 100 settings anyway.
The other negatives worth mentioning are that the autofocus and zoom is slow. The autofocus is just plain lethrgic in anything but bright, contrasty conditions. The zooming is extremely slow and the steps are way too coarse. A lens hood would be a most welcome addtion. The viewfinder is esentially worthless - it has the lens obstruction in the corner and it does not show accurately what is cropped out. A major drag.
All and all the G5 has been a pleasure to use and has been a faithful tool for me. It won't get replaced unless it breaks or wearsout. Until then...I am shootin away! I would recommend it to anyone - Pro's included.
Strengths:Great overall value and performance
strong battery life
durable
perfect size, weight and ergonomics
RAW images are oustanding
easy to use menu's and control layout
Weaknesses:slow auto focus, zoom and start up times
soft edge focus, especailly at wide angle or with wide angle converters
terrible viewfinder
diffcult to use manual focus - distance range is not accurate and too coarse
Similar Products Used:Canon G-3 & D30, several Fuji and Kodak models, Nikon 980
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