Messages

1

PowerShot Cameras / Re: G15 dissapointment

« on: September 17, 2012, 11:25:21 AM »

Count me disappointed, too.

No flippy screen - that rules it out entirely.

Not only that, but it's still missing the GPS and 200/400 fps video modes introduced in the S100!

And also no 1080p/60.

The f/2.8 lens on the G11/G12 is fast enough for me - I don't need a faster lens in a compact (I have a DSLR if I need that, but it doesn't fit in my everyday backpack.)

I'm not at all interested in the G15.  I'm going to shop for a used G12 on eBay instead (to replace my G11).

2

PowerShot Cameras / Re: Canon PowerShot G15

« on: September 16, 2012, 03:05:44 PM »

If it has a flippy screen and better video than the G12, I'll happily pay $600 for it and replace my G11.

If no flippy screen, NO SALE.  (The leaked photo doesn't look look promising.) I'll sooner buy a used G12 on eBay.

3

EOS Bodies / Re: More Photokina Chatter [CR1]

« on: September 07, 2012, 11:27:41 AM »

I agree with you, but about the lens: the quality is there, but the G12 lense specifications are quite outdated: 28-140 f/2,8-f/4,5 are ridiculous compared with new Nikon P7700 28-200 f/2-f/4
I hope Canon will bring a new lense. as written above, a 24-180 f2/f/4 (or 24-140 f2-f/3,5) would be perfect

Unfortunately lens technology doesn't change very fast.  I don't think the G12 lens is "outdated", it's just the result of a different tradeoff.

If you move to a lens like the Nikon P7700 (28-200 f/2-f/4), you have to give else something up - it'll be bigger, heavier, less sharp, or more expensive.  Or some combination of those.

I'm pretty happy with the existing G12 lens - it's really sharp and f/2.8 is enough for me. And it focuses really close, which I use a lot (the G1X fails here).  Wider would be nice, but it's OK.

4

EOS Bodies / Re: More Photokina Chatter [CR1]

« on: September 07, 2012, 10:11:08 AM »

I hope it has:

manual video control, 1080p, manual audio, AF during video, zooming during video
RAW+jpg mode and wifi, to allow immediate sharing of small jpg, plus RAW for later use.
Good low light performance

Agreed.  Manual video control (esp. shutter speed!) is really important.

5

EOS Bodies / Re: More Photokina Chatter [CR1]

« on: September 07, 2012, 09:33:41 AM »

I have no inside info - just guessing based on technology and Canon's other products.

Recall that the G12 was introduced together with the S95 (the predecessor to the S100).  So the G12 is now 2 generations old.

I think the body size, lens, and ergonomics of the G12 are already pretty good - I can see why Canon doesn't see a need to change them.

But I think we'll see the G12 replacement (G14, at a guess) has the CMOS 1/1.7" sensor from the S100 (or slightly newer), DIGIC 5, improved movie mode (1080p/60 would be great), and the high-speed movie capture from the S100 (200 and 400 frames/sec).

I hope it'll also have GPS (again like the S100) for geotagging.

And maybe, maybe, if we are very lucky, it'll have hybrid phase detect/contrast detect focusing (like the latest Rebel).  That would mean a huge (and much-needed) improvement in focus speed.

If it has even 2/3 of those, I'll buy one the first day it's on the market to replace my G11.  I've been waiting a long time, and the G1X isn't what I'm looking for.

If I'm right, externally the new camera won't look much different - same body, lens, controls.  But inside a lot of changes that matter.

6

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: It's Not Even April Fools [CR1]

« on: May 26, 2012, 11:54:09 AM »

Here's an idea:

If you look at the Nikon CX mount, the Nikon 1" sensor is a good deal smaller than the mount would fit.

I think you could fit a 4/3" sensor in there - maybe even a G1X sized sensor (it'd be close).

Suppose Canon put out a CX-mount camera with a LARGER SENSOR than the one Nikon uses.

Canon could then sell lenses to BOTH Nikon and Canon body owners.  Nikon lenses would mount on Canon bodies, but would be inferior because of the smaller image circle- the Canon body would have to crop only data from the center of the sensor.

And by using a mount only supported by Canon and Nikon, they both could charge first-tier pricing, without having to compete for lenses with the second-tier Micro-4/3 guys and Sigma/Tamron/etc. (for a while anyway).

7

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: It's Not Even April Fools [CR1]

« on: May 26, 2012, 11:26:35 AM »

Do you think the Canon G12 is a "crapcam"?  I have a G11 (same sensor) as well as a 60D.

The G11/G12 is a great camera in a body far more portable than any DSLR.  Yes it has limitations on ISO, DoF, and dynamic range - that is the tradeoff for a small camera.

The Nikon CX sensor is THREE TIMES BIGGER than the one on the G12.

The laws of physics demand tradeoffs in camera design - if you want one thing, you have to give up something else.  I think the CX format is an excellent tradeoff - MUCH better IQ than compact cameras, yet MUCH smaller than DSLRs.

And Canon could do a much better job on the design of the body than Nikon did.  (So could have Nikon, if they'd tried harder!)

8

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: It's Not Even April Fools [CR1]

« on: May 26, 2012, 10:10:53 AM »

More likely, Canon licensed the right to use the Nikon CX mount (Nikon 1) for their mirrorless offering.

This makes a lot more sense than Nikon licensing the EF mount.

Why, you ask?  For all the technical reasons the CX mount is a good design (see my writeup here: http://nerdfever.com/?p=1891).

Bottom line is the Nikon CX mount is great, but Nikon really failed to exploit it with the J1 and V1.  Canon may well do a better job (I hope so!).

I know a lot of people want to see a APS-C or even full-frame mirrorless camera from Canon, but I don't think it's likely.  The whole purpose of mirrorless is that the camera can be SMALLER than a SLR; otherwise why even bother with a mirrorless?  The CX format allows much smaller cameras and lenses than other mirrorless formats, and leaves a healthy gap (marketing-wise) from DSLRs.  (Of course there will be an adapter for EF/EF-S lenses.)

[FWIW, my predictions about the G1X were pretty spot-on...]

9

Lenses / Re: Odd Canon video lens

« on: April 11, 2012, 08:35:08 PM »

Wow - that guy is asking $1750 for that lens.  I paid $50 for mine.  Somehow I don't think he's going to get the $1750.

I've been googling on this.  It seems the market for these broadcast video lenses has collapsed because nobody wants lenses that aren't designed for HD. 

But I'll bet the better ones still work pretty well at HD, depending on the pixel pitch of the sensor.  At $50 it's a toy I can experiment with.

Jon - here's what I've learned so far:

1 - The flange focal distance (flange to image plane, aka 'register') is supposed to be 20mm, which matches what I measured.  To mount it on a camera with an adapter, you need a camera with a flange distance shorter than that, to allow some room for an adapter. 

20mm rules out all standard DSLR bodies.  According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance, the only mounts with a flange distance less than 20 mm are:

Micro 4/3, 19.25mm
Sony E-mount (Sony NEX), 18mm
Fuji X-mount (Fuji X10), 17.7mm
C-mount (video/cine), 17.52mm
Nikon CX (Nikon 1) mount, 17mm
Pentax Q mount, 9.2mm

2 - The image circle is designed for a 1/2 inch CCD (4:3), which is 8mm diagonal.  See the attached spreadsheet I made (info collected online) - according to that, the ONLY modern interchangable lens digital camera that won't vignette with that lens (because the sensor is < 8mm diagonal) is the Pentax Q.  (Which I think is a crappy camera.)

So the compromise I'm thinking of is to mount it on a Nikon V1 or J1.  It'll still vignette like crazy, but I can crop afterwards.   Micro 4/3 should work too, but the pixels are so big and the sensor is so large compared to the image circle, that I think there won't be many pixels left after cropping.

3 - There do seem to be a few adapters out there.  But they are incredibly expensive:

Here's one to adapt the JVC 1/2" bayonet to Nikon - it's $590 (!!):
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/77577-REG/Century_Precision_Optics_0LA_N120_00_LA_N120_Nikon_to_1_2.html

And here's one to adapt it to C-mount - $424:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/77584-REG/Century_Precision_Optics_0LA_12BC_00_LA_12BC_1_2_Bayonet_to.html

(C-mount adapters for cameras are easy to find and cheap on eBay.)

Those are the best prices I found.

Since I only paid $50 for the lens, I'm not going to even consider those.

The mount is attached by 8 screws.  I think I'll try to take it off and see if I can jerry-rig something...

10

Lenses / Re: Odd Canon video lens

« on: April 11, 2012, 06:53:21 PM »

Thanks - that's very helpful.

Can I ask where you looked that up?  Any info I can find about the lens might be useful.

Any idea if the 1/2" JVC mount can be converted to C-mount (or really anything more popular that I could get onto a Nikon V1)?

11

Lenses / Odd Canon video lens

« on: April 11, 2012, 05:26:41 PM »

I just picked up this Canon video lens on eBay.  It's a YH17x7KRS12U model.  But what kind of mount is on it? 

I (foolishly) expected a C-mount or CS-mount lens, but this is some kind of bayonet mount I'm not familiar with (it's not EOS that's for sure).

See pix.  There's a marking '1/2" F.B' near the mount.  The back focus distance (flange to image plane) is about 20mm (I measured it).

Can anybody identify this mount?  Is there a way to convert this to a C-mount?  The image circle is meant for a 1/2" CCD so it's way too small for a APS-C sensor, but I was thinking of putting it on a Nikon V1....if I can figure out how.

12

Lenses / Teleconverter for EF-S 55-200 ??

« on: April 08, 2012, 06:39:34 PM »

Anybody know if there is a teleconverter out there that works with the EF-S 55-200?

This is for video use (on a tripod), so the optical quality doesn't have to be great (just decent).

I'm doing manual focus, so I don't care about AF.

But I can't find any TCs out there that work with this lens at all.

Is there one?

13

PowerShot Cameras / Replacement for G12 (not the G1X) coming ever?

« on: March 06, 2012, 07:23:44 PM »

What do people think - will Canon replace the G12 with a newer small-sensor G, or is the G12 the last of that series? 

I've got a G11 now (love it!).

I was hoping for a G13 with the new features from the S100 - GPS, high-speed video, and new sensor, but obviously they've done the G1X instead.  Which doesn't have any of those, and is bigger.

The G1X just doesn't get me that excited.  I'm sure it's great for many people, but I'm not so happy about trading a bigger/heavier camera for the larger sensor (I have a DSLR too...).  I'd rather have a smaller camera (G12 size is OK) with the new S100 features (but the flip-out screen is a must, which rules out the S100).

So - is a "G13" still coming?

Or do I wait longer and see what the G2X eventually looks like?

14

PowerShot Cameras / Re: Canon PowerShot G1 X Announced

« on: January 09, 2012, 04:16:34 PM »

Next question is how much bigger is it to the G12.

0.2" taller, 0.2" wider, 0.6" thicker.

If it grows by those dimensions again, it'll be the size of a Rebel. Heck, as it is the G1X weighs the same as the T3.

It's not quite that bad.  The G1X is 534 g, compared to the T3i at 570 g, without a lens.

Those numbers are from this comparison:

http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/side-by-side?products=canon_g11&products=canon_g12&products=canon_g1x&products=canon_eos600d

Which, indirectly, points out that Canon deliberately crippled the G1X video.  The T3i (with basically the same sensor and the previous model of the DIGIC processor) does 1080p/30 (vs /24 for the G1X) and 720p/60 (vs /30 for the G1X). 

Maybe this is something that can be fixed if Magic Lantern gets ported to the G1X.

15

PowerShot Cameras / Re: Canon PowerShot G1 X Announced

« on: January 09, 2012, 02:33:08 PM »

Hold on, am i reading this right?

Every one happy with a Canon release?
No dissenting warriors? No one gonna jump ship because Fuji and Sony are doing it better?
No parts missed, no massive features missed that makes you wonder what Canon have being all this time?

Well, I'm a little disappointed.  It's bigger than the G12, which was already at the upper limit of acceptable size for me.  And I expected the GPS and high-frame-rate video features from the S100, which aren't there.  OK, maybe that sensor can't do the high-rate video, but surely they could find room for the S100's GPS in there.

Personally, I'd have preferred a smaller body with a sensor midway between what they did and the G11/G12 (something like Nikon's 1 inch sensor). 

But I do understand their thinking - it's a spec war, now about sensor size instead of megapixels.

On the plus side, the big sensor is nice to have, and they kept the flippy screen (love those!) and made it bigger and with more pixels on it.

I have a G11; I'm tempted to see if I can get a real bargain on a G12 as they're closed out, and then wait for the G2X in another 18 months.

I think I'll wait for the reviews and then decide.