Canon PowerShot G11 10MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Stabilized Zoom and 2.8-inch articulating LCD
- New 10-megapixel High Sensitivity System; DIGIC 4 Image Processor
- Bright 2.8-inch Vari-Angle PureColor System LCD plus optical viewfinder
- Wide-angle 5x optical zoom (equivalent to 28-140mm); Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer
- Improved Smart AUTO intelligently selects from 22 predefined shooting situations
- RAW + JPEG shooting and recording modes; capture images to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)
The G Series comes full circle. You asked, and Canon not only listened, but delivered big-time. Advanced amateurs who have overwhelmingly embraced the G Series will be delighted with PowerShot G11, which features RAW mode for unlimited editing options, a 28mm wide-angle lens, and a 2.8-inch Vari-Angle PureColor System LCD. Add to that Canon’s new High Sensitivity System and high-speed ISO for incredible image quality, and Canon’s top-range compact digital camera is a truly groundbreaking successor.
List Price: $ 599.99
Price: $ 579.99
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 16x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and Built-In GPS Function (Brown)
- Powerful 16x Optical Zoom: The DMC-ZS10 features a powerful 16x optical zoom lens (35mm camera equivalent: 24-384mm).
- Touch Zoom Function: The touch-screen operation on the DMC-ZS10 makes zooming even easier.
- High-speed Consecutive Shooting
- Burst Shooting Mode in Category Playback
- Sonic Speed AF: The Sonic Speed AF system includes numerous re-engineering enhancements, including a higher-speed actuator
Get more ways to capture your most memorable moments with the Panasonic DMC-ZS10 digital camera. Intelligent Auto mode automatically chooses the best settings for your photos, while optical image stabilization makes sure they come out steady. 16x optical zoom lets you get in closer. A powerful processor makes sure that low light and action shots come out clear, and allows for incredible 3D photos and HD 720p video.
List Price: $ 349.99
Price: $ 349.99
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Awesome Camera and Image Quality –,
I am a semi-professional photographer, and wanted a small travel camera to go along with my DSLR. I have owned Panasonic’s TZ1, TZ5, ZS3, ZS6. The ZS6 was a disappointment regarding low light image quality. I purchased the ZS10 after I looked at the new specs, and saw that they changed the sensor and added the Handheld Nightshot Mode. This new model is amazing! The low light photos are clean and have low level noise as compared to the ZS6 and ZS3. I was able to use manual mode as well to accomplish some tricks in the field, such as smoothing a waterfal while maintaining the proper scene exposure. I love the other mode settings I can manipulate, such as the white balance and easier EV settings. I’ve gotten some great shots with that, including improved food shots in Aperture Priority Mode, over using the scene selection for Food, which turned out a little blurry (which may be my fault of being too close). The lense quality is simply amazing. The detail in the photos is remarkable. I would highly recommend this camera. If you would like to see a few shots, send me a message with your email address and I’ll put a few photos together for you to compare and help make your decision.
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Great camera for candid, event, and wildlife photography,
I bought this at Costco, so maybe this review won’t get printed, but if it does, here goes. I own and still love the ZS-3 and the ZS-7 and have taken tons of images with both. The ZS-10 is a small step backwards in image purity but a big step forward in usefulness. When I want to take a single image of a still life subject in difficult lighting conditions such as backlighting or very high contrast, the 3 or the 7 will yield more reliable results. In those conditions, the 10 sometimes shows some purple fringing or neon borders; not enough to make the images unusable, but remarkable simply because those defects almost never happen with the 7 or the 3. But most of my photography doesn’t involve still subjects in high-contrast lighting. I take pictures of the grandson playing with the dog, or of speakers and performers at an event, or of faces in a crowd in a public place, or of birds in nature. In those situations, the high-speed full-frame burst mode of the 10 opens the door to photo satisfaction in a way that the older models never could. When the kid takes the ball from the dog’s mouth, the action takes just a second, and with the older models my chances of hitting the perfect moment are statistically slim. With the 10, I can be taking 5, 10, 40 or even 60 full-resolution frames during that second, and I’m going to capture the perfect combination of facial expression and hand position to convey the magic of the moment. When talking heads speak, the motion of their faces makes all kinds of grimaces, and if I only have one or a few snapshots, I may have nothing that I can print without making the speaker look like a fool. With the 10’s fast burst mode, I have options; I can make the speaker or performer look at their best. If I were a news photographer in the thick of action, this is the camera I’d want in my shirt pocket. I also like to to take bird pictures. Birds rarely sit still, and if I can only squeeze off a few shots, I may not get the ideal pose with the head forward or sideways and an eye clearly visible. With the high speed burst mode in the 10, I get my choice of bird postures. And did I mention the zoom? I can get perfectly printable shots at the 21x zoom, the equivalent of a 504 mm telephoto lens. The digital zoom takes it out to 84x, longer than 1000 mm; and while shots at that range look like an Impressionist filter was applied, and won’t win too many photo contests, they are good enough to accurately identify the bird, or the person, or the object. I recently sold my digital SLR outfit with lenses up to 1000mm and I don’t miss it at all. What you can do with this combination of burst and zoom, and in a package of this size, is mind-boggling. And it does a completely satisfactory job with ordinary landscapes, sunsets, flowers, street scenes, family snapshots, and the like. In short, Panasonic’s switch to the high-speed CMOS sensor in the 10 does mean a small sacrifice in image quality in nasty lighting situations, but a big gain in usability. The 10 reliably gives me usable images, images that capture precious moments, that are worth printing, and that people love, in situations that were a photographic crapshoot until the 10 came along. To me, that’s a big plus in photo satisfaction.
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Canon G11 vs. Canon S90: A Matter of Personal Preference,
Canon G11 vs. Canon S90: A Matter of Personal Preference (I’m posting a very similar review under both the S90 and the G11.)
I’ve been trying to find a ‘carry everywhere’ camera to always keep on my person so that I don’t miss the amazing things that make up the events of everyday life (like tomorrow when I actually get to get off the R train at Cortland Street in Manhattan, something I haven’t been able to do for years due to construction). I wanted something that was (1) Small and (2) Had the ability for full manual controls for shutter speed and aperture. The two cameras that fit this bill very well were Canon’s S90 and G11 – Canon’s top of the line point and shoots in their respective series (S and G). But which one?
The two major things that the cameras have in common (in addition to the above mentioned manual controls) are:
1. The same image sensor (same size, etc)
2. The same image processor
Anyone who’s written a comparison of the cameras will point this out quickly – because normally ‘which camera’ would come down to these one of these two issues. In addition to these things, there are dozens of other features that both cameras share: this makes it very difficult to decide “which camera?” Having owned both of them (but ultimately deciding to go with the G11 and returning the S90) I would like to make a short list of positive/negatives which I think could be deciding factors when trying to choose between these two excellent cameras. Instead of listing both positive and negative points by each camera, I’ll simply point out the positives of each that the other model does not share – I hope that this is helpful in your decision!
G11: Advantages
– Hot shoe: but on a compact? Some people will say “it’s pointless to use an external flash on a compact camera – the whole point is to be compact!” That’s a valid critique, but at the same time there are times when it’s nice to be able to throw a flash on a compact if you really need one. I own the 430EX and the 580EX II (both compatible) but I picked up the newish 270EX with the G11 and it works fantastically with the camera without adding a lot of weight. Both the camera and the flash fit perfectly into the Pelican 1060 case side by side but with enough room to stay padded with the foam insert. And hey – if I want to throw the nearly-twice-as-big-as-the-camera-itself 580EX II on the G11 I can do it! Yet I can also do without it – the camera is versatile this way in a way that the S90 is not.
– Vari-Angle LCD: which at first I found annoying. The screen adds just enough bulk to the camera that it does not fit in smaller cases which it otherwise would. When I first got the camera I was really rather annoyed by it in fact – not only because of the bulk but because it is actually smaller than the LCD on the S90. I had to read another review to realize that it was a much better thing than I realized – because it allows you to hold the camera at all sorts of different levels and angles while still allowing you to see what you’re shooting. I really enjoy doing photography with the camera low to the ground (I have an angled viewfinder for my DSLR) and so this works perfectly for what I need. As others have pointed out, the Vari-Angledness of the LCD allows you to flip it while in storage so that it’s even more protected.
– Remote Shutter Release: you can use one! I love doing night photography and that the G11 allows me to use a cable release really seals the deal on the S90 vs. G11 for me personally (granted on the S90 you can always use the 2 second self-timer). Good news too if you use a Canon Rebel DSLR – it’s the same cable release.
S90: Advantages
– Very compact: quite a bit smaller than the G11, it would easily fit in pockets and cases that the G11 never could. If you’re into Pelican cases like I am, you can fit the S90 in the Pelican Micro Case 1010 with room to spare.
– More efficient controls: the ring around the lens is amazing and an excellent idea. Especially when in manual mode, this makes setting aperture and shutter speed a snap (it’s more awkward on the G11 – you have to use the small back dial and then toggle between aperture and shutter speed with a separate button which can get to be messy when you’re trying to shoot quickly).
– The f2.0 lens: a full stop faster than the G11’s 2.8 lens. This is a LOT of light, and especially important when you want to take photos in low-light situations (note though that the lens on the S90 doesn’t zoom in far as the G11 if that’s important to you – both lenses are the same focal length when zoomed out).
Both the G11 and the S90 are beautiful, well made cameras that will serve any photographer well when you’re looking for something that’s not DSLR sized.
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Very pleased with the Canon G11!,
I recently purchased this camera and wanted to post my impressions of the camera from the perspective of an average camera user. I bought the G11 for my husband, who wanted an easy-to-use camera with an optical viewfinder and a swing-out LCD that was viewable in bright light. He is an avid hiker, cross-country skier, & mountain-biker who just wants to get a good shot when he pulls out his camera. On the other hand, I’m a more advanced (not pro) camera user with an SLR setup and I’m comfortable with manual controls. Both of us take photos for our own enjoyment and to share with friends and family.
We both love this camera! The wide angle is wide enough for vacation and scenery shots. It takes very good people pictures and we like the face-detection feature, but turned off the anti-blink mode (maybe I DO want a picture of my granddaughter with her eyes closed!). The close-up/macro photos are incredibly sharp and have impressive depth-of field. My husband likes the brief on-screen tips when he changes settings (and will likely turn them off once he’s more familiar with them). When I use the camera, I find it very easy to change settings, although I sometimes find I’ve inadvertently pressed the metering mode button when I pick up the camera.
Power-on is very fast and shutter action is quick as well. The colors are very good – I have no complaints at all in that regard. I’ve taken both jpeg and RAW photos; the jpeg’s look really fine to me, and I think I’d use RAW only when taking pictures I’d want to play with, such as landscapes, sunsets, close-up portraits, things like that.
We found that in auto mode, the camera takes slightly over-exposed outdoor pictures in bright light. That is easy to adjust using the exposure compensation button in one of the non-auto modes. Or by just turning a few more degrees away from the sun – that works well, too! I like that there’s some resistance in the adjustment buttons on the top of the camera, making it hard to change something by accident – a common problem I’ve encountered with other P&S cameras. I also like the adjustment wheel in the back; I find it easy to use and like that I can use it to move quickly thru the various options.
Both of us are comfortable with the handling/heft of the camera. It feels solid and well-built. Neither of us likes the neck strap so we bought the a wrist strap to use instead. It would have been a nice “option” for Canon to design and include a wrist strap with the camera – it seems counter-intuitive IMO to have a smallish camera need a neck strap!
I hope this brief review helps some people who are looking for another perspective on the G11. It’s not meant to be a comprehensive review – just the personal impressions of two “average” camera users with a couple of different expectations.
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An Amazing Camera!!,
I actually still shoot film the vast majority of the time however I purchased my mother a G-10 for her birthday last year and spent a couple weeks using the camera so I could adequately teach her how to use it. I have since borrowed it on numerous occasions and was actually about to buy my own G-10 but then I heard about the G-11 so I figured I would wait and buy the new upgraded version. I am glad I did just that. For me this camera is worth upgrading to just for the swivel LCD view screen on the back. I cant tell you how many times I have shot outdoors and was completely unable to see the LCD screen even when you shaded it with one of your hands. Adding the swivel option basically eliminates this problem. This option is so nice when shooting outdoors that I am honestly thinking about upgrading my mothers camera for this one reason alone as she doesn’t have the best eyesight which means if I am having problems seeing the viewfinder, I can only imagine how hard it is for her to see it.
The next best thing I have noticed about this camera is its improved film speed ratings. I have already done a lot of testing with the G-11 and to say that they have improved the speed ratings is a huge understatement especially in the higher film speed settings. I was extremely hesitant to use a film speed over 400 with the G-10 yet I am using speeds above 800 with the G-11. Depending on the conditions your shooting in you should see anywhere from a 1.0 to 2.0 stop difference. I did some tests where the G-11 shot pictures at 800 that were basically equivalent to a 200 on the G-10. I was hoping for an improvement in this area but wasn’t expecting this big of an improvement.
The next biggest improvement has to be with the auto mode. I tested the auto mode extensively with the G-10 as that was going to be the mode my mother used the most, at least out of the gate, and I was unimpressed. There were too many shooting situations to count that easily fooled the camera into shooting with settings that were less than optimal. You would still get decent results but it definitely needed improvement and they have done just that. Running the identical tests I did with the G-10 clearly showed that this camera is much better at selecting the appropriate shooting mode. Some conditions were drastic improvements. This is probably the 2nd biggest reason why I am most likely going to be upgrading my mothers camera to a G-11.
A lot of people were concerned with the G-11 as it actually has a smaller picture size than the G-10. The G-10 has a 14.7 MP size and the G-11 only has a 10 MP size. Overall that’s a 32% decrease in maximum size. People who have a high understanding of digital imaging sensors knew not to worry as the MP size is not the most important aspect to an imaging chip. Details such as dynamic range, image noise and low-light performance are just as important, if not more important, when discussing overall image quality. I for one have always hated the MP war as we passed the quality that the vast majority of the population would be content with a long time ago. It has basically become a numbers game where people think that bigger is better and they just don’t seem to grasp that they will never have any use for such high MP images. So I tip my hat to Canon for taking this extremely bold step as this is the FIRST time that we have seen resolution reduced in a line of cameras that is still progressing forward. IMO this is the white flag that signifies the war of the MP is finally coming to an end and we will finally see companies focused on these other, equally important, image qualities as much as they have been with the MP size. As for the image quality of the new sensor, its outstanding! I immediately noticed a difference in the overall quality of the images. They seem richer with much less compression on the higher and lower ends. If I had the choice of choosing between the G-10 sensor and the G-11 sensor I would take the G-11 sensor every single time. Again a big tip of the hat to Canon for boldly choosing to go this route with the G-11 sensor.
The G-11 retains the same 5x optical zoom lens from the G-10 which in case your unaware is equivalent to a 28mm to 140mm lens. Also the same is the aperture settings which go from f/2.8 to f/4.5 depending on the zoom setting. Shutter speeds range from 1/4,000 to 15 seconds and it has the same metering modes as the G-10 (evaluative, center-weighted and spot). Thankfully they didn’t make any changes to the manual dials at the top of the camera as that is easily one of my favorite aspects to these cameras. ISO speed and the camera mode dials let you quickly and easily switch the most important settings. I an an old school photographer so I still prefer dials to buttons. IMO its the best set up out of all the point and shoots on the market.
2 other noticeable improvements include an increased flash sync speed of 1/2000 and a…
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