Canon G-10 Review

Author's Rating:

Pros: Size, unobtrusive, reasaonably wide angle, battery life, viewfinder, nice screen, good controls, use external flash.

Cons: No interchangable lenses, need japanese, better high iso would be welcome.

The Bottom Line: 
Buy it - it is worth the money.

Author's Review
I have found the G-10 to be an interesting camera and more portable than my former xti.  Now I would not say it is as versatile as a DSLR, however I think it seems to be a much better "under the radar" kind of camera.  For instance, you can zoom in (or out) for the shot you want AND turn OFF the focus assist light and shutter noise.  When you shoot there is NO noise at all and the camera lens stays where you set it so the camera appears to people as just kind of there but not doing anything.  I think for candids it is excellent.  Also, you can attach a full sized Canon flash and do all kinds of bounce shots and the results are excellent.  However if you want to use it in available light it is also pretty good.  For higher ISO (ASA) the results can be grainy due to high gain on the sensor but film can be pretty grainy too.  I find it acceptable.  It has an actual finder which is nice, as opposed to the ep-1 (which I assume will only be used indoors because who can see a screen in bright light?).  If you but it order the leather case from Japan, it is the kind that you want, i.e. it covers the camera and can be unsnapped when you need it and stays attached the usual screw in the tripod fitting.  One important note, you do not want a case that you slide it into side ways, because when you reach into it to get it you will likely press the on button and make the lens extend while in the case - something you want to avoid.  So if you get a case get the one they advertise all the time, that one you open the top of the case and remove the camera to shoot, OR better yet, get the case from Japan that is fully attached to the camera just like the ones they used to have on SLRS in the past (Sc-D60A soft leather case.).  Like a rangefinder - I have had good luck shooting hand held at slow speeds. It has image stabilization which works pretty well.  Also, the manual focus via the screen works pretty well.  To me it functions a lot like a rangefinder (I am slow and deliberate when spending money on film) you can set it to manual and take control of the whole thing, which is a slower way of operating - but I think gives you more consistently good results because you have to pay more attention to details.  I have not noticed a lot of shutter lag, but then I am not shooting high activity or action kinds of things.  It seems to focus reasonably fast without the assist light i.e. so people don't really know when you are shooting.  I have found using the screen while shooting candids to be useful - this can be done rather unobtrusively.  Battery life is excellent  (but I don't use the flash that often - the internal flash works reasonably well, but even better with external flash).  I would actually prefer the camera were a little larger so it would be easier to hold, but it is certainly better than most point and shoot types.  The viewfinder does zoom and is pretty close to the actual image you get.  It has a diopter as well, but there is no shooting info in the viewfinder, it would be nice to get speed and shutter settings shown in there, but you can see it all on the screen on the back of the camera if you want.  I set the screen up with grids and all the shooting info and stuff.  I have not shot video with it. The unit is well-built but I did have to return the first one since a puff of smoke came out of it when I used the flash near the first time.  That unit continued to work fine and had no other "smoke" issues but I returned it, I am guessing that it was due to some sloppy soldering but who knows, the second unit is flawless.  I think it is an excellent camera and while not having interchangeable lenses, you can put on various adapters.  I would buy it again and if you are looking for a more digital rangefinder-like experience without paying 8 grand, OR if you want a nice high-end point and shoot, this camera is it. (I really like the ep-1 concept as well but not without the ability to have a viewfinder - what were they thinking?)  Now, if you want small and interchangeable lenses then a dslr is what you are after, but I don't think that even the small ones are quite as discreet as the G10. If you check out the DXo site you can see there are better sensors on the dslrs, but then, this is NOT a dslr and that is one of the things I like about it. Personally I think Canon should produce an aps-H or full frame rangefinder type camera with interchangeable lenses.  Olympus is very very close to getting it right and rumors are that the next version of the ep-1 will have a viewfinder, in which case I will give it serious attention. The G-10 also does a nice job in automatic mode and offers AV, TV and program. I do not think it works the same way with flash when set to manual as the Canon DSLR's.  On the dslr's on manual and external flash you just pick the speed and AV (and for the most part) the camera and flash do the rest.  The G-10 requires more of a "You figure it out." response to the external flash (when the camera is set to manual).  However, in any and all cases it is not really difficult to use and with the speedlights you can adjust flash power, etc. as needed.  My research indicates this camera performs better than the GX-200 and as for Nikon, well, I guess since I don't like SONY; I don't like companies that buy sensors from SONY, regardless of model.  (That's what you get for your copy protection worm and attempting to be the CD and entertainment masters of the universe SONY, I am not forgetting your little under the radar copy protection thingy you did to operating systems from a few years ago.)  So you can see anything SONY associated is something I try (not always successfully) to avoid.  I am done with the rant.  So, the G-10 is a great little camera, buy it and get the case from Japan. You will appreciate the wide angle (would be nice to be wider but it's okay), the zoom part is reasonable as well.