Anyone have the g1x and are happy with when your dslr is not around?

[KKCFamilyman]

Just looking for a much more portable dslr alternative when I cannot bring my gear.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I looked at one a week ago in our local camera store, its reasonably portable for a aps-C body, the way the lens collapses means you can cary it in a jacket pocket without having the lens stick out.
 
However, the price is well over what its worth to me, and it is not wide enough.  A 21mm or so equivalent focal length would be nice rather than the 28mm.  If the price drops to $500, I'll get one.

[KKCFamilyman]

Yeah i'm thinking the same thing. Just a little steep for a p&s.

[Flake]

It's not that expensive once you see the results!  Imagine a camera not much bigger than a G12 capable of image quality as good if not better than cameras like the 7D or Nikons D7000.  The lens is of 'L' quality with low dispersion elements, which is another reason it can outperform a DSLR with kit lens.

If what you need is a carry round with amazing image quality then there's never been a camera as good as this one, made better because of the hotshoe and the fast sync speed.

[gonzalo]

i have the G1X and i'm very happy with it¡¡¡¡

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gonzalovidalsoler/sets/72157629235962232/

[Daniel Flather]

I would rather pay more for FF mirrorless camera and a 50/2 lens.

[KKCFamilyman]

Would it be better for a vacations vs my 60d or would I regret it.

[Flake]

You'd need to define better!

In terms of image quality there's no way the 60D with a kit lens will outperform it, but it does have an issue with the closest focus distance and presumably a software focus limit into what is laughably termed 'macro'.  This happens a long way from the subject and can be very annoying when auto focus can't lock and you need to manually switch it to macro.  I assume that this is to prevent the lens hunting through its focus range and speed things up, but as things stand it's a pain.  This doesn't happen with jpeg, it's a RAW issue.

The battery life is comparatively poor with a very real 250 shot capacity, you might need a spare to carry around, start to use video and batteries are eaten with surprising speed.

Having said the minus points, it's reasonably light and compact, with good build quality.  The image quality and high Iso performance is just amazing, expecially compared to the G12 which it's not much bigger than.  There should be some more reasonably priced filter adaptors comming along soon and a set of 58mm close focus filters will  help to reduce the macro problems.

[!Xabbu]

I only have second hand experience, but a friend of mine got one on top of his 50D (with Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 ). He uses it a lot more than his DSLR, because of its easy portability. He loves the IQ and states that it's very close to the 50D. However, he really feels the slower AF is quite a drawback.

So, overall he's very happy with it. You just have to know what you want to do with it - getting candid portraits, shooting moving things, go with your DSLR, but for many other situations it will give you great IQ and a much lighter and smaller camera.

[MARKOE PHOTOE]

Sorry to say I don't have the G1X but wanted to add a deal breaker for me that I've read about this model is the extremely slow focus. Now the IQ is supposed to make up for that however I'm not sure it would fit a jacket pocket.
IMHO, Canon's S100 is THE best P&S camera out there, bare none.  Read the reviews and go see one.  Extremely small, fast focus and more features than you would probably ever use.  Its even got HDR like our 5D3's. !!! I've had most of Canon's P&S cameras over the past 20 digital years and the 'S' series is still the little winner in my eyes.

[Flake]

Sorry but the image quality from the G1X is of commercial quality - approaching that of the 5D MkII or the Nikon D700, Whereas the S100 will not cut it as a commercial quality camera.  There's a country mile between them in terms of image quality.
True it's not a speed demon in terms of focus speeds, but it's no worse than the G12 and I believe the S100 autofocus is very similar.

[neuroanatomist]

The lens is of 'L' quality with low dispersion elements, which is another reason it can outperform a DSLR with kit lens.

In terms of image quality there's no way the 60D with a kit lens will outperform it...

Not sure I buy that one.  The construction of the G1 X lens is nothing special - moulded glass aspherical elements and low dispersion elements are found in many inexpensive kit lenses (17-85mm, 28-135mm, etc.).  Chuck Westfall indicated that the lens in the G1 X delivers optical performance similar to the EF-S 18-135mm lens, which is well short of what I'd call 'L-quality'.  Since the 60D is sold in a kit with the EF-S 18-135mm lens, I'd say optical performance would be about the same, speed performance would be a clear win for the 60D, portability would be a win for the G1 X.

[Dylan777]

Just looking for a much more portable dslr alternative when I cannot bring my gear.

My 2cents: In term of size, I don't really see much diff. between portable(mirrorless) Vs DSLR. I would rather take my little S100 instead.

[Bennymiata]

Just got a new G1X this evening and have been playing around with it, in very low light (it's almost winter here in Australia).
I've been pleasantly surprised about the speed of the focussing, compared to some of the horror stories I've read about it.
It's not as fast as my 60D, but it only takes a half a second or so to focus in low light, which is pretty good for a P&S.
The high ISO is pretty good too and probably better than my 60D at 1600.
The built-in flash is amazingly powerful too.

I took some videos of one of my cats under very poor light, and the video came out surprisingly well and it plugged into my Samsung HD TV and the TV automatically switched the source to the camera as soon as I turned the camera on, and the video looked pretty good to me.

I'll play around with it over the weekend to see how it goes when photographing something decent, but so far, I'm a happy camper.
Funny thing is that the retail price of it here in Oz is cheaper than it is from B&H.
A$749 as against US$799, but I got it as a grey import for A$650 delivered from Hong Kong.

[itsnotmeyouknow]

In the UK it is even more expensive - £699 which makes it the equivalent of $1,085 or A$1,113.  Rip off britain is alive and well it seems.

I had a look at one and was disappointed at not just the price but the viewfinder too which is tiny and only covers 80% of the image recorded.  Instead, I bought an Sony NEX c3 with two lenses for £150 less.