Canon PowerShot G6 Review - Opinions?

[Photo-John]

I just posted a review for Canon PowerShot G6 compact digital camera. This review is the beginning of a new ear for this site. We will be doing lots more professional digital camera reviews. The G6 review establishes a format and content for those reviews. Heres a link to that review:

Canon Powershot G6 Review

I'd appreciate your feedback on the review. I want to make our future reviews as useful and comprehensive as possible. I also want to differentiate them from what might already be availble, by making them about real world photography, and have them be written by real photographers. I want them to be more than just lists of specs and other data. I want our reviews to be about taking pictures.

Thanks!

[Photo-John]

I'm going to be doing a lot more detailed, professional reviews. This one is sort of to sort out the format and content and get the ball rolling. My main issue is the length. I'm worried it's too long.

Let me know what you think. Any feedback is welcome. I will move or copy this to the review section tomorrow. Then this thread will remain so that people have a place to discuss the review. I'll also be adding more sample photos, from the field, I have a lot. But just getting the technical part done has been a lot of effort.

Hope you like it. Next up - Konica Minolta A200.

[drg]

I'm going to be doing a lot more detailed, professional reviews. This one is sort of to sort out the format and content and get the ball rolling. My main issue is the length. I'm worried it's too long.

Let me know what you think. Any feedback is welcome. I will move or copy this to the review section tomorrow. Then this thread will remain so that people have a place to discuss the review. I'll also be adding more sample photos, from the field, I have a lot. But just getting the technical part done has been a lot of effort.

Kudo's for the review. I originally found PR while searching for reviews. This type should bring in more participants, and ergo hits and thus revenue.

We have a new G6 that one of the other photographers carries and I haven't had more than two or three hours with it total. In that very limited time I've noticed a couple of things in particular, it fits my hand better than my G5 and definitie improvement in the image quality. The Image quality isn't (I don't think anyway) just from the larger file size.

The G5 was originally purchased for many of the same reasons you highlight in your article including the hot shoe, the included remote, and one fun but very usable feature, the interfvalometer capability(automatically takes a photo at an interval of time as selected by user). This feature is great for documentation, set the camera up on a tripod, program the interval and come back later. Instant time lapse photography.

The G6 also now employs a usable video mode I understand, (640x480) which on a conventional TV is very acceptable.

One feature of these cameras that gets overlooked and was a big seller for me both with the G5 and the G6 was the "shift" mode available when using program 'P' mode for exposure. By pressing the ' * ' AE/FE lock button after half depressing the shutter release to focus/meter, the user can then use the Main Dial to shift the exposure setting through a range of available shutter/aperture settings that fall into the optimum ranges. This combined with exposure compensation +/- really speeds up "getting the shot" under varying light/shooting conditions. This is very similar to the Canon DSLR's similar functions.

The 2 custom modes are very unusual and have tremendous benefit to the pro shooter. Two custom white balances, or different flash compensations tied to Ap Priority or different metering modes, etc. at the flick of the dial. The more you use these, the more you don't want to be without them.

I've used a G5 for weddings and some other event type situations as a primary camera including portraits. The G6 has been used (not by me yet) for a wedding with a 550 flash on a Stroboframe. Odd looking get up but it sure worked! In some of the art markets I particpate in, there are several nature photographers who swear by both of these cameras. They are not small, but they sure are carryable.

A couple of minor (and I'm coming from over 9,000 images on a G5) issues, I don't care for where the D-pad has been repositioned and the Command dial should still be on the top where it can be spun with the thumb. There's no AC adapter (the external recharger is a nice addition but not in itself a substitute) as this camera for us often gets used tethered to a computer, particularly for quick catalog or web site custom work. It amazingly easier to do this sometimes than to use one of the DSLR's!

If the G6 were only black.

I am looking forward to more revues. Hopefully one of these days I can take a day or so and write something of coherence regarding a new product to share with PR.

Sincerely and thanks,

CDPrice

[Photo-John]

Good additional info. One of the tough things about writing reviews is that we all come from different backgrounds and interests. To write a useful review, it's good to try to be as general and comprehensive as possible. But that's pretty hard, and you end up missing subtle details. Hence, I alsways end up talking about action photography and manual controls. While other people will pay more attention to video capability or more subtle auto exposure functions - like you've pointed out. I am pretty much a die-hard manual photographer, so I play with that stuff, but I'm sure I never reach the full potential of any camera's auto-exposure features. On the next review I'll explore some more.

About the G-camera/550/Stroboframe combo - it's potent. I had the G6 with 550, Stroboframe, and softbox at the office today. I've been using that setup since I got my G2. It rocks! It does look weird, but it sure does do a good job. And it's much easier on the arm than a 1D with a bracket, 550, softbox, and 70-200 f/2.8L.

Please do post some reviews! So far, only one person has posted a review for the G6 here. We definitely need more reviews for that camera.

[almo]

I'll make this quick. Good first: It was interesting, and kept my attention well enough. I like the use of a bright BG as opposed to that of say DPreview.com. I like that the samples are at the top, and easy to navagate.

I would like to see expandable images. I would like to see charts that lay out the specs, and time ratios...ect. In a comparison photo I want to see a particular camera displayed next to a similar camera, not like what you have with the 10D and the G6.

I would be more detailed, but I'm sleepy, maybe later.

BTW your finger was dirty in the shot of the mode dial...