This review is by no means intended to provide the exhaustive testing data you'll find at DPReview, etc. Rather, I'll give you my real-world opinion of the device, under some unusual circumstances.
Before doing that, allow me to say I am a working photographer with experience ranging across nearly a dozen higher-end cameras, mostly Canon DSLRs. I have fairly high requirements for my gear. I picked up the G11 just before departing on a four-month trip around the United States. Two months of that was a bicycle ride down the Pacific Coast, and the G11 was the only camera with me. I demand much of these poor devices.
Form and Function: Aesthetically, the G11 is robust, stylish, and functionally well thought-out. The menu system is decent but could be more refined. Too easy to press buttons accidentally, especially if you want to hold the camera one-handed while in manual mode. Plenty of automation is present but I rarely use it, preferring instead to manually adjust exposure settings.
Controls were fast in most situations and I found the interface very natural, seeing my background in Canon. However, I was annoyed that while in manual exposure mode, I had to toggle through metering options to get to either aperture or shutter speed adjustments. This is in fact my only gripe. Why is there no way to disable the metering option while in M mode? I hate that I have to cycle through the metering option when going back and forth between aperture and shutter speed settings in M mode! Not a big deal, but an oversight on Canon's part. Also, why can't I see the meter reading when the display is off? Aperture and shutter settings are shown as I change them but not the meter reading. Either I'm ignorant on this, or Canon is. (Note: turns out Canon is ignorant.)
Being used to optical viewfinders (and an analog geek) I up-sold myself into purchasing the Voigtlander 35mm viewfinder, for street shooting and kicks. According to CameraQuest, it's the best 35mm viewfinder in existence. But then again, they sell the thing. I've never used the built-in viewfinder. Contrary to my expectations, though, I use the screen 95% of the time and find it very serviceable. Mine has a big scratch but I could have avoided that by turning it in when not in use. I'd rather have a scratch.
Shutter lag is minimal and almost non-existent with the right settings. I usually capture what I intend, but auto-focus could still be quicker. I have a custom function preset to 2.5 meters at f/4.5, auto-ISO, in aperture priority for anything requiring instant response, with the lens set roughly equivalent to 32mm. Crop in post.
Durability: I accidentally drop tested the camera in the first month. From five feet it hit solid pavement and left a dent in the corner of the body near the lens. Despite the jarring noise (and the resulting nausea) the camera has continued flawlessly for months since. I have exposed the soldier to heavy mists, light rains, severe dust, etc., without issue. (My philosophy is to treat all cameras like disposables, because if they can't handle it, I'll use throw-aways instead. I don't want to baby my every-day-carries.) The G11 gets a pass.
Image quality: I knew what I was getting into when I purchased this setup: a small sensor camera mostly for broad daylight, not above ISO 400 for anything I care about. Since I view this as an alternative to a small film camera with 400 speed film, I accept the modest amount of graininess as a fun alternative to scanning. It's really very good, all things considered. I used this camera almost exclusively for still or well lit scenes, such as landscapes and street shooting, so I was usually below ISO 200. Reasonably sharp wide open, and similar in dynamic range to positive film. A little Photoshop cures these images well.
Conclusion: All in all, the Canon G11 is a reliable, versatile tool for one primarily interested in daylight action / twilight landscape imagery. It's not the fastest, smallest, or cheapest but it might be the toughest and most well rounded.
Check out some of my shots with the G11:
[Click to view larger]
For any more info, leave a question in the comments. Thanks!
FAQs
Q. How can I set my G-series to shoot faster, like snap mode on Ricoh cameras?
A. See this blog post.
Q. What do you estimate the viewfinder magnification is (relative to naked eye)?
A. Hmm.. 50% or more perhaps. That sounds bad but for a wide it is not! It looks much better than the Canon 40D with lens set to 22mm (35 equiv.) and is far brighter, almost like no glass.
Q. Is there an FOV crop like the 78% visibility of the built-in finder?
A. The field of view with external finders is more than 100% because you can see around the projected frame lines. This allows you to anticipate movement into the frame.
Q. Is there parallax correction?
A. The only correction for parallax is manual - that is, myself purposely compensating through experience. I've only been doing it for two days and I'm already getting the hang of it, but YMMV. Think of it as moving to the next level in Tetris: it's harder, but the challenge makes it interesting and rewarding.
Q. Is the bright-line frame 4:3 ratio or is it 3:2 ratio?
A. 3:2. I like this, since shooting in 4:3 gives me room to crop in post for parallax!
Q. Roughly how much visibility is there outlying the bright-line frame (in rough linear or area terms)?
A. The field of view with external finders is more than 100% because you can see around the projected frame lines. This allows you to anticipate movement into the frame. But with this model, the viewfinder is circular. It's not as much as the 28/35 finder but is still more than an SLR. Imagine the 3:2 frame, then draw a circle on the outside that touches all four corners of the guide.
Q. Does the finder disable onboard flash?
A: Yes it does, which I find very annoying! Not that I often use it, but I want the option to bounce it with a business card. I thought of sliding paper between the contacts to block the circuit but haven't tried it yet.
Q. Why not just use the built-in finder? It is free, zooms, has some parallax correction, and is more inconspicuous.
A. Yes, the G11 built-in viewfinder is less money, less obvious, less vulnerable, and may have less parallax. But the built-in finder also has less field of view, less clarity, generates less tactile satisfaction, and to me gives less of a sense of fun. This camera is about fun to me; I have DSLRs for business. The 35mm finder is also useful on other cameras and a treat to look through.
Q. Why use a 35mm external finder instead of a 28mm? Then it would match the G11 lens at full-wide, right?
A. In theory, yes. In practice, no. I nearly bought the 28mm but someone warned me of this: Because any external finder on the G11 suffers from a certain amount of parallax and inaccuracy, using a 35mm finder with a wider lens setting (28-32mm equiv) gives you just enough room to crop without cutting off your original idea. It sounded logical and now i'm finding it makes perfect sense. I'm glad I didn't get the 28mm because there is maybe a 5 or 7% degree of inaccuracy with an external finder, since the G11 was not designed to accommodate it.
Was this post helpful? Please share with others. Thanks!
A. See this blog post.
Q. What do you estimate the viewfinder magnification is (relative to naked eye)?
A. Hmm.. 50% or more perhaps. That sounds bad but for a wide it is not! It looks much better than the Canon 40D with lens set to 22mm (35 equiv.) and is far brighter, almost like no glass.
Q. Is there an FOV crop like the 78% visibility of the built-in finder?
A. The field of view with external finders is more than 100% because you can see around the projected frame lines. This allows you to anticipate movement into the frame.
Q. Is there parallax correction?
A. The only correction for parallax is manual - that is, myself purposely compensating through experience. I've only been doing it for two days and I'm already getting the hang of it, but YMMV. Think of it as moving to the next level in Tetris: it's harder, but the challenge makes it interesting and rewarding.
Q. Is the bright-line frame 4:3 ratio or is it 3:2 ratio?
A. 3:2. I like this, since shooting in 4:3 gives me room to crop in post for parallax!
Q. Roughly how much visibility is there outlying the bright-line frame (in rough linear or area terms)?
A. The field of view with external finders is more than 100% because you can see around the projected frame lines. This allows you to anticipate movement into the frame. But with this model, the viewfinder is circular. It's not as much as the 28/35 finder but is still more than an SLR. Imagine the 3:2 frame, then draw a circle on the outside that touches all four corners of the guide.
Q. Does the finder disable onboard flash?
A: Yes it does, which I find very annoying! Not that I often use it, but I want the option to bounce it with a business card. I thought of sliding paper between the contacts to block the circuit but haven't tried it yet.
Q. Why not just use the built-in finder? It is free, zooms, has some parallax correction, and is more inconspicuous.
A. Yes, the G11 built-in viewfinder is less money, less obvious, less vulnerable, and may have less parallax. But the built-in finder also has less field of view, less clarity, generates less tactile satisfaction, and to me gives less of a sense of fun. This camera is about fun to me; I have DSLRs for business. The 35mm finder is also useful on other cameras and a treat to look through.
Q. Why use a 35mm external finder instead of a 28mm? Then it would match the G11 lens at full-wide, right?
A. In theory, yes. In practice, no. I nearly bought the 28mm but someone warned me of this: Because any external finder on the G11 suffers from a certain amount of parallax and inaccuracy, using a 35mm finder with a wider lens setting (28-32mm equiv) gives you just enough room to crop without cutting off your original idea. It sounded logical and now i'm finding it makes perfect sense. I'm glad I didn't get the 28mm because there is maybe a 5 or 7% degree of inaccuracy with an external finder, since the G11 was not designed to accommodate it.
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Love mine: took it to Hawaii on vacation. I bought the same 35mm viewfinder that you recommended... love it for street photography.
James
www.jamesdavidphotos.com
Carlsbad, CA
Hey, James, thank for the comment. I live right by you, in Oceanside. Go figure.