You know why people carry around those big black S.L.R. cameras, don’t you?
Trust me: it’s not for fashion’s sake.
No, they carry them around because the cameras contain big sensors. If there’s one statistic that predicts photo quality, it’s not megapixels: it’s sensor size. Big sensors mean great photos in low light — and the ability to create that pro-style blurred background behind your subject.
The most exciting camera developments of the last two years have been smaller camera bodies with big sensors in them. I was incredibly excited, in particular, to hear about the new Canon G1 X: a coat-pocketable zoom camera with a huge sensor: 0.92 inch diagonal. That’s nearly the size of the APS-C sensor found in S.L.R. cameras like the Canon Rebel. It’s 16 percent bigger than the Four Thirds sensor used by Olympus and Panasonic, and over six times the size of the sensors in previous Canon G cameras (and most other compacts).
The G1 X is the latest in a long line of the peculiar cult-classic cameras in Canon’s G series (G10, G11, G12 …). Peculiar because it’s a one-piece camera with lots of features that high-end photo nuts want: metal body, a hot shoe for accessories, full manual controls, lots of buttons with amazing amounts of customization, and an actual eyepiece viewfinder. You don’t swap lenses on this thing. Like its predecessor, the G1 X has a fantastic hinged screen that lets you shoot over your head, down at waist level, or even facing yourself.
But the huge sensor makes the G1 X a whole new ballgame.
I’ve spent a couple of months with the camera I was dying to love, and I have to say that I’m a little disappointed.
Which is hard for a true-blue Canon nut to admit.
First of all, it’s a homely, ungainly contraption, full of corners and bumps; in a wind-tunnel test against the world’s other cameras, this one would come in dead last. But that’s O.K.: fans of the G’s don’t buy them for their looks.
The viewfinder is another matter. It’s great that Canon hasn’t completely surrendered to the modern trend of eliminating the eyepiece viewfinder, which is still an advantage in bright light or very low light. What’s not great is that on this camera, if you can believe it, the lens barrel actually blocks your view. I’m not kidding. You hold this thing up to your eye, and maybe one-fifth of the scene is blocked by the lens itself. It’s impossible to compose a shot accurately this way.
Now, when you’re fully zoomed in to the full 4X, the lens is no longer visible. But still — how could you design a flagship camera and not notice that?
If you know what you’re doing, the photos are excellent, although they’re rarely as good as an S.L.R.’s. The blurry-background effect — technically, shallow depth of field, caused by a wide aperture — isn’t easy to achieve. What’s the point of a huge sensor if you can’t get the soft-focus background?
More concerns: The battery lasts only two-thirds as long as its predecessor’s: 250 shots on a charge, which is very low. Focusing is frustratingly slow, especially when you’re zoomed in.
The zoom seems to take a moment to engage after you push the lever (which surrounds the shutter button). The burst mode is an astonishingly slow 1.6 shots a second. (There is a 4.5 frames per second mode — six shots maximum — but you give up control over exposure, white balance and ISO, and the screen goes completely black while you’re shooting!)
The weirdest thing, though, was that I kept getting motion blur while in Auto mode. That is, if any part of my subject was in motion, it came out blurry, even in good light. That’s something we haven’t seen for years. And on a camera with a jumbo sensor? It made no sense!
I was so baffled that I wrote to Canon about it, and got this prompt reply: “Full Auto on the PowerShot G1 X is designed for snapshots of stationary subjects.”
Wait, what!? $800 for a camera that’s designed for still lifes?
Yes. Canon suggests that if you want to take a picture of something moving, you should switch to P mode and increase the light sensitivity (ISO), or switch to Scene mode and choose a mode like Sports. Strangest thing I’ve ever heard.
Video should be fantastic. The camera records in full 1080p high definition, has a dedicated start/stop button for video and has stereo microphones. It can also change zoom and focus while filming, which is still a relatively rare talent for a camera.
In practice, the zooming and refocusing are so slow, they ruin many a shot. It takes six seconds to zoom 4X while filming, and about as long to refocus. Painful.
O.K., I admit it; I’m harping on the flaws. There’s a lot of stuff to love in this camera, too: fantastic ergonomics, buttons just where you want them, and superb photos, among other things. (You can see some sample shots here.)
But nonetheless, for $800, I think you can do a lot better. Sony’s incredible NEX series comes to mind, for example. The bodies of these cameras are far smaller than the G1 X’s, yet they have full S.L.R.-size sensors inside. Of course, the NEX’s interchangeable lenses stick out and add bulk. But over all, these cameras will disappoint or frustrate you far less often. And they offerSony’s incredible Sweep Panorama mode, which is just incredibly useful.
The idea of a nearly S.L.R.-size sensor in a coat-pocketable camera is a sort of holy grail; I’ve been longing for it for over a decade. It’s an amazing engineering feat, frankly.
So let’s hope that Canon considers the G1 X a trial balloon, a learning experience — and blows its own first attempt out of the water with next year’s model.
No comments:
Post a Comment