G15 or G1X for my mom???

[Nishi Drew]

I got a G15 for my dad, and he hasn't had a whole lot of chances taking it about yet but he's happy with it. In fact I was happy with it and I took it for some street shots and the overall speed and versatility was great.
Personally a G1X might have been good, but the whole point of a compact camera is size and weight advantage, so go for the lighter and more convenient option. "The best camera is the one that you have on yourself" is important, especially if bringing along the camera for anything begins to get based on whether or not the weight/bulk is worth it, then it won't be used anymore...

[jevel]

Had a chance to play with both cameras at a local camera show last week. I must say that both works pretty well, but my female coworker did mention that the G15 fits her hands better than the G1X. But then, G1X has the better advantage in low light...

Well, I think either should work fine.

I am contemplating these cameras myself, and the way I read the figures, the G15 has a far better lens than the G1X. But you say here that the G1X has an advantage in low light conditions. Why is that?

-KJ

[pwp]

I have a slight case of buyers regret with my G15. It handles beautifully, has quick AF, has that fast lens and a raft of other attributes that are well documented. But it's not a pocket camera. That's the role of an S110. So seeing as the G15 failed to qualify as a pocket camera, I may as well have gone for the slightly bulkier G1X and benefited from the obvious qualities that the bigger sensor will deliver. Where I have the greatest frustration with the G15 is the dynamic range. It's probably class leading for such a tiny sensor, but the way the highlights blow so abruptly has soured the overall experience.

Still, while it was fun to have for a couple of months over Christmas, I'll take a hit on it and push it onto the secondhand market or give it to one of my kids. I'm so used to 1-Series and 5D3 files that the quality drop is hard to swallow. Maybe the next generation M series will do it for me...

-PW

[bholliman]

I haven't used either camera, so am probably not much help.  However, I have been looking at the specs of these two and S110 trying to decide which to get for my wife.  For me the S110 seems the best option since small size is one of the top priorities she gave me.  The OP states that a somewhat larger body is desired and good low light /high ISO performance, making the G1X the best option in my opinion.  This website is somewhat simplistic, but compares the two cameras pretty well:

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-G1X-vs-Canon-PowerShot-G15

The better low light/higher ISO performance of the G1X is probably due to the larger sensor.  A larger sensor will yield better image quality and better low light performance.

[dougkerr]

My wife has excellent results from her PowerShot SX150 IS, which is very compact. Of course with the very small sensor, the noise performance becomes an issue at higher ISO sensitivities.

A problem for me is that it has no viewfinder of any sort, but the chimp panel is quite nice.

Doug Kerr