New Canon Powershot G1X camera announced, with larger sensor

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 10:37 am

A couple of links to the new camera announcement:

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canong1x/default.asp

Here's a couple of paragraphs from the above review:

"The sensor in the G1 X is 18.7 x 14mm, which means it's 20% smaller than the sensors Canon uses in most of its DSLRs. However it's slightly larger than the Four Thirds size used by Olympus and Panasonic, and more than 4x the area of the Fujifilm X10's sensor. Noticeably, its pixel count is also around 20% lower than Canon's 18MP DSLR chip - supporting its assertion that its design is closely related, with the same underlying pixel design. This can only bode well, given the high quality results that cameras such as the EOS 7D can produce."

"On top of this the G1 X offers almost all of the extensive external controls that appear on the G12 - a camera that is itself the product of many generations of evolution. The only reservation we have about the G12 is that there's an awful lot of camera for such a small sensor - so the combination of G-series build quality and ergonomics with a sensor to match that capability is extremely promising. The G1 X doesn't replace the G12, but instead supplements it in Canon's lineup, adding a new tier to the G series."

And here's a Canon web page, which has some links re the new camera:

http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/pro ... ot_g1_x.do

I assume I'm correct in that one would have to use close-up filters such as the Raynox brand to work with macro.

EDIT:

Here's dpreview's macro info table link:

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canong1x/page3.asp

(Scroll down to the table, part-way down the page.)

I couldn't find the maximum magnification for the camera. Is it possible to estimate this from the closest focus and 35mm-equivalent focal length info they provide?

Also, dpreview.com says it will accept the MT-24 flash, with a Canon Macro Light Adapter MLA-DC1.

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 1:47 pm

I'm not entirely sure what the intended market is for this camera... Surely at $800 and all that heft any photographer would be better off with one of the mirrorless bodies with interchangeable lenses? Okay if you're really picky about sensor size then it's slightly bigger than micro 4/3 but the Sony mirrorless sensor is full APS size isn't it? Personally I'd pick a micro 4/3 body and a nice macro lens to go with it for the same money.

DQE · Post by **DQE** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 3:26 pm

I think I'd rather have one of the newer P&S cameras with some sort of macro capability for those occasions when I'm out and about and see a bug of interest.

I see that they have included 58mm filter capabilities, so I guess it would work OK with a Raynox macro filter attachment...maybe that means one could use it for macro work.

I further assume that its street price would be more like $400-500, but it still has a lot of competition in that price range.

Having the ability to write raw files would be important to me, too.

Bottom line for me is it's either my 5DII DSLR rig or a pocket-sized P&S, I think. If it's more trouble than a P&S to carry around then I'm happy lugging my DSLR. For sure, others may have many other ways of looking at these options. Many people use these intermediate size cameras to great effect in their macro work as well as for general photography.

I assume that the larger sensors many of these newer cameras now come with would enable reasonably useful high-ISO photography.

I wonder where we'll be in say 5+ years. Some argue that most people are rapidly migrating to cell phone photography, and they're rapidly improving, too.

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:25 am

IMO this beastie won't be $400-500 equivalent in the UK, it will be £500+.

I still think the world will 'tend' towards smaller sensors. I think now even 'little' 4/3 sensors produce image quality and iso performance well above what an average shooter would want/need. I'm not saying FF is going anywhere but not everyone needs a night vision machine gun (D4)

I think Nikon's new inbetween system is quite interesting, the one with the sensor 1/2 the size of 4/3 - that's quite a bit bigger than most P&S but another step down for a 'decent' camera. Maybe the IQ isn't _quite_ there yet at that sensor size, but it only seems likely to improve...

seta666 · Post by **seta666** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:42 am

The camera I see interesting is the APS-C Fujifilm X-pro1 with 16mpx and no
AA filter
If it had electronic first shutter curtaing would be a very nice option
Regards
Javier

**Administrators should move this post to the Equipment discussion forum ;-)

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:36 am

seta666 wrote:**Administrators should move this post to the Equipment discussion forum ;-)

Done -- thanks.

--Rik

Oskar O · Post by **Oskar O** » Sat Jan 14, 2012 2:18 pm

It's interesting that the Canon G1X is actually larger than the Panasonic G1X (Canon loses one point for bad naming...). The sensor is 4% larger than 4/3, so for all practical purposes it can be said that it's 4/3 equivalent, the difference isn't noticeable.

Agree that the new Fuji is the one to watch, the body seems professionally made and one of the first lenses for it is a macro!