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I’ll spoil the ending and
admit I really like this little camera. Like any
camera system, it does have its share of flaws and
shortcomings, but all things considered it is a very
capable tool, and in the right hands it can produce
some truly impressive results.
Before I begin the review, let
me be clear about my purpose in writing this
article. Any number of sources will rehash the long
list of specs and features for you, provide lab test
results, and drill into every menu setting and
function. While this is useful information, there is
still a lot more to the usefulness of a camera for a
given purpose than that. What is often missing, in
my opinion, is a subjective evaluation of how well
it fits into a real-world context of working in the
field. For example, if I need to drill down through
multiple menus to set exposure compensation, or if
it takes several clicks of various buttons to find
the histogram, these features may as well be missing
altogether.
It is also not my intention to
write another “I got it before you did, and here are
a few JPEGs I shot in my back yard” kind of review.
Cameras take some getting used to before their
usefulness can be adequately determined. Within the
first few uses, there are bound to be some “a-ha!”
and “this is neat!” moments (and likely some less
complimentary ones as well) before any serious work
can take place.
What is this review about,
then? This is an actual account of using the camera
in the field: hiking with it to the kind of places I
like to work in, using it to capture the type and
quality of images that I like to make, and
exercising those specific features that I find most
relevant in my own work -- landscape photography.
I wanted to see how the G10
handles available light of various qualities, how
comfortable it is to hold, how intuitive its
controls are, and whether I’d enjoy using it.
Further, I wanted to make the best possible captures
this camera is capable of, then take them into my
studio and produce the same kind of fine-art prints
that I would normally make with a DSLR or
medium/large-format camera to see how it measures
up.
One Camera In The Hand
is Worth Two Pages Of Specs In The Brochure
My initial interest in the G10
was piqued not only by its impressive on-paper
features, but possibly more so by the camera’s
design – its convenient dials and solid
construction. I’m sure some will deride it for its
relative bulk and heft, though in my opinion it is
exactly that “solid brick” traditional feel that
give the G10 the hard to describe quality that
inspires one to want to make serious images with it.
The first thing you’ll notice as you hold the G10 is
how solid and well-built it is, a feeling more
reminiscent of a Leica rangefinder than a digital
point-and-shoot, and very different from so many
other “plasticky” devices flooding the market these
days.
The dials are smooth and click
into place confidently (and stay there,) and the
buttons are large enough to operate easily with
adult-size hands. After some initial configuration,
I was grateful to have found little reason to fiddle
with the on-screen menus. For those few functions I
did need the menus for, I found the interface to be
straightforward and well designed. The graphics
animate nicely and are large and intuitive. Still,
the less time I have to spend navigating the menus
the happier and more productive I am. Better still,
if you’re anything like me, you will want to
immediately silence any electronic beeps, fake
shutter sounds, etc., and the G10 lets you turn them
all off with a single setting.
Another thing you will notice
immediately is the quality of the LCD screen. It is
truly a joy to compose with. The previews look sharp
with excellent contrast and color, and all the
information you need is right there (exposure mode,
histogram, aperture, shutter speed, exposure count,
flash mode, etc.). As before, there’s no need to dig
around through menus for these most important items.
On The Trail with the
G10
The first thing I did after
opening the box was to place the battery in the
charger. While waiting anxiously for the little LED
to confirm a full charge, I attached the enclosed
neck strap. Before the charge was complete, the
strap was back in the box, replaced with a light
wrist strap I had lying around. There’s nothing
wrong with the neck strap per se, but it’s
really only useful for anyone planning to carry the
bare camera around their neck, which would be
extremely unwise in the places I generally travel.
It was obvious I needed a good padded carrying case
if this camera was to last more than one trip. After
much research, I settled on the Lowepro Apex 60 AW,
which provided ample room for the camera, spare
battery, and a couple of memory cards in a
weather-sealed, easy to carry package. If you do get
this case though, be aware that it has a tendency to
spill the contents of the front compartment when
pulling out the camera.
As soon as the battery was
ready, I headed to one of the local canyons for the
afternoon to photograph the last of the colorful
maples. I used the G10 hand-held at various ISO
settings. The conclusion was clear – while ISO 200
was visibly noisy yet still acceptable to me,
anything above that was not. While the dial can be
set as high as 1600 or “HI” (equivalent to 3200),
the results at these settings are so noisy as to
make them practically useless in my work.
One thing was clear from this
first outing: the G10 can deliver extremely detailed
images. While not all my hand-held attempts yielded
perfect sharpness, the ones that did were very
impressive.
Next,
while fully expecting to use the camera hand-held
much of the time, I still wanted a way to attach it
to my Acratech tripod head. A couple of
manufacturers offer L-brackets for the G10. They
also cost about 20% of the price of the camera
itself, which didn’t seem quite right. Instead, I
found an old generic plate, and after a few minutes
with a saw and file, I had trimmed it to fit the
bottom of the camera while still allowing the
battery/card door to open freely.
My next trip was to a favorite
spot on the shores of Utah’s Great Salt Lake, a vast
and surreal landscape of open expanses and
fascinating surface patterns. I wanted to see how
the G10 handled the soft pastels of dawn, as well as
the quality of its widest lens setting. The camera
did well with a couple of caveats. Smooth areas in
the sky were noticeably noisy even at the base ISO
setting (80), some slight vignetting was visible at
the 6.1mm setting (28mm equivalent), and some slight
barrel distortion affected the horizon line. These
were all fairly easy to fix digitally.
What surprised me more was
that I found myself paying attention to things I
wouldn’t normally photograph, namely trash dumped by
local idiots who use the place for target practice.
I generally try to avoid these reminders of the
uglier side of humanity, and having to set up a
tripod and larger camera to photograph them would
likely ruin my mood and the magic of the place. Yet
having a hand-holdable little camera at my grasp
almost compelled me to aim it at just about anything
in sight.
The Chaos Test (or:
There’s No Substitute for Good Technique)
Though already impressed with
the G10’s resolution, I wanted to see what it was
capable of under ideal conditions. On an overcast
day I went back to the canyons to find a very
detailed scene. A grove of bare oak and maple trees
provided the ideal subject. For this test, I mounted
the camera on a sturdy tripod and used a cable
release with an aperture around the middle of the
scale – perfect technique for sharp images. And the
G10 delivered!
As with every camera since the
dawn of time, there is no real substitute for good
technique when it comes to image detail. Certainly
such features as auto-focus and image stabilization
can make a profound difference, but if you need the
finest details a camera can produce, get a solid
tripod, use a cable release or self-timer, and take
your time to focus properly.
Can It Beat A DLSR?
Well, there is really no good
way to answer this question. Certainly the G10 is
capable of very impressive results, but that alone
does not make one camera system beat another. If
that were the case we’d all be using Large Format
view cameras with digital scanning backs. With every
type of camera come both benefits and compromises.
So, I’ll refrain from making
sensational claims, although I was curious to see
how the G10 compared with my Canon 5D in a scene
where both could be used with equal ease. To my
amazement, the little G10 with its tiny sensor and
5x zoom was able to resolve almost the same amount
of detail as the 5D with a very sharp 70-200
L-series lens:
On very close inspection, the
5D does offer slightly better dynamic range and
cleaner capture, but at almost six times the price.
In print this difference would likely be
non-existent.
Tough as Nails
I cut my photographic teeth on
an old Minolta rangefinder before moving to the
Nikon F3, and later the F4. These cameras traveled
with me in every terrain and any weather. Whatever
beating I took, they did, too, and they never
skipped a beat. I never quite felt as confident with
more modern bodies (and successfully smashed my
first 1-series digital Canon on a mountain hike,
resulting in a $700 repair). So I was a bit worried
using the little G10 in harsher environments. Still,
I couldn’t resist. As an early winter snowstorm
moved over Southern Utah, the G10 and I headed out.
One of my pet peeves with digital cameras had always
been cold weather battery life. I’m glad to say the
G10 and I spent a few hours in the snow with
temperatures in the teens, making hundreds of
exposures, and the battery never gave in. As the
snow fell harder, it practically covered the camera
with no ill effect.
And then came the ultimate,
and quite unintentional test. When pulling the G10
from my jacket pocket I didn’t hold onto the strap
hard enough and it went flying. Obviously it hit the
hardest piece of rock around, and at the worst
angle. The corner of the camera got a nasty dent,
the battery popped out and the faceplate slightly
separated. After putting it back together and
pushing the plate back in, I made a few test shots.
It continued to work perfectly. Now that’s a camera
worthy of a hard-working outdoor photographer!
In The Studio
As mentioned above, the raw
files produced by the G10 contain a great deal of
detail. The most consistent flaws I encountered were
noise (in smooth tones, even at low ISO) indicating
Canon really did push the pixel pitch a little too
far, and fairly persistent chromatic aberration.
Both issues can be corrected digitally to a point
where they have practically no effect on print
quality.
At their native resolution,
the files can print to 16x22 at 200dpi with no
interpolation. Prints I made at this size appeared
every bit as detailed as those from my 5D.
Conclusion
The G10 delivers what would
have been almost inconceivable just a few years
back: a complete camera system, capable of producing
high quality large prints, with a level of detail
previously reserved to SLRs costing many times more,
in a package small enough to carry just about
anywhere, and tough enough to withstand even the
most demanding field work.
Certainly there’s some room
for improvement. A larger sensor would be at the top
of my personal wish list; and undoubtedly the G11,
when it becomes available, will likely push
performance even further. But for anyone looking for
a serious compact, as their main camera or to fill
in some gaps alongside other systems – the G10 sets
the bar very high and produces results well worthy
of publication and fine-art work.
I invite you to peruse my
G10 Gallery.
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