Canon Powershot G9 - Anyone Have One?

[acjetnut]

I have been eyeing a Canon Powershot G9. Does anyone that has one have any impressions of it they could share?

[DjBryan]

I have a camera close to this one, pictures are amazing, bigger and better lense

http://www.digitalcamerareviews.org.uk/category/canon-digital-cameras/page/2/

[Doug Sclar]

Yes I got one though I have no idea why I bought it. I have a D-20 with 3 decent lenses and a smaller Canon Elf as well. I needed it like I need a hole in the head, but once I make up my mind about something, it's pretty hard to change it. :D

The bottom line is that my cousin Enid Farber is a noted jazz photographer and she was raving about hers. She pretty much swears by Nikon, but fell in love with the G9. It's small enough that I can carry it where ever I want to.

I guess I got a bit upset last year when I was stopped at Dodger Stadium with my D-20 and the 70-200 mm lens. They claimed it was too big to bring into the stadium and I missed the first three innings before a supervisor finally let me in. I think they didn't like the fact that I was a Padre fan. :mad:

I haven't used it enough yet to say much about it other than that it takes great photos in the automatic mode. Of course you can get pretty advanced with it if you know what you're doing. I don't.

[RolandG]

I've got one.

Normally, I'm a die-hard Nikonian, shooting with a D200 or, if nostalgia takes over, a F4E or F5.

But Nikon doesn't have a P&S with complete manual control and the possibility to shoot RAW. I would never shoot JPGs with a DSLR, why should I have to with a P&S?

So, for P&S purposes I had to go Canon. I bought a G3 in 2003 and "upgraded" it with a G9 a couple of weeks ago.

Build quality is very good, functionality is very nice (e.g. one manual rotation knob for mode selection and one for ISO change!), big LCD with enough information and a live histogram; image stabilization, full manual mode as well as aperture priority and shutter prority mode (I don't like program or automatic modes), can shoot RAW or JPG.

Shutter delay and picture quality aren't quite at a DSLR level, of course, but that is no surprise. It still lets me make good pictures. :righton:

Here's a quite thourough review:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong9/
A lot of questions you might have are dealt with in the Canon forum there:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1010

If you decide to get one, by all means treat yourself to the custom grip and the thumb rest, they make all the difference in handling:
http://www.lensmateonline.com/newsite/order_G7_1.html#rf

Don't hesitate to ask further questions here.

[Dan C]

I want this camera so so SO bad! I can't convince my wife that we need to replace our perfectly good A620. Why does she have to be so practical! :D

I got to hold and play with a G9 a few months ago. Built like a tank, fells almost like holding an old compact film camera from the 70s. I love the ASA dial too. I didn't take any photos with it but the examples I've seen are awesome.

dan c

[GKH]

Probably a nice camera. :)

I just purchased the Canon Powershot S5 IS. The 12x Zoom was a big factor in my decision.

[Ere]

Very nice looking camera. I've been lusting after the G line for some time, making do with an A520 and A640. I did finally buy a G5 used from a friend and it is built very well, and I appreciate being able to use my external flash on it.

[JMCIII]

I own one. It took the place of an older Cannon Power Shot and it's a big improvement. Plus, (along with all the other positives mentioned above) you're not tethered to the built in flash - you can use an external flash (built in hot-shoe) for even better, more creative pictures. A sweet buy and a great do-it-all camera that gives you just about everything a cheap DSLR does for less $$$ and less size.

It's be my camera of choice at CES next year.

[vibes]

I bought one a couple months ago and have been very pleased with it the few times that I've used it. I bought it for a Mediterranean cruise my wife and I are taking next month, so that will be the real test of its capabilities.

Anyone who buys one should also get some SDHC cards for it (4GB or greater for a vacation). These high resolution photos use up a lot of memory.

[acjetnut]

Cool - thanks for the insight! I have always been a fan of the Canon digital cameras, although I have never owned one myself.

[dmt]

I got one, and I sooo love it.

Best point and shoot camera ever.

[paolo]

I've got one too and can only support what others have said about it. Great for point n shoot and also lots of manual settings to play with. I have added a Canon Speedlite 430EX and the greater flash range/bounce options makes a lot of difference to the kinds of results you can get.