Mt Spokane Photography said:
The G16 is the end of a line. Canon is now coming out with larger sensors and upscale P&S bodies, the G7X, the G1X, and a large sensor superzoom that is not officially yet announced.
I have no way of knowing if the G16 will become a classic, or if it will lose its value, but it is still a very nice camera, and costs less than a G7X.
Canon has slowly evolved the G line over the past years, so jumping to large sensors is a reflection of changing user demand. I think they should have moved to large sensor P&S cameras several years ago. It was apparently marketing that held things back. Now, they are forced to try larger sensor bodies. The 1 inch sensor may become the standard for P&S cameras, and the 1.5 inch sensor for high end P&S.
You're right - I too think the G16 may be the end of the species. It is a vastly evolved species, but likely a dead end. Or actually it is not - the G12 was. Canon does seem to be trying to re-invent the professional compact camera, and it has, with limited success - for some time.
To summarize, the G1X was a bit of a 'freak of nature', based on the G12 but with a bigger sensor. Nicely 'modern' but sticking to the 'old', known formula. Strangely the G15 and 16 still came out after that. Why?
Was Canon not entirely confident the G1X could take the lead?
So the G15 and 16 were based on the old formula but yes they were made more compact to fit below the G1X. They mostly achieved that by sacrificing the vari-angle screen (and by sticking to the old 'tiny' sensors). After all if you wanted that in a largish 'compact', and a bigger sensor, the G1X catered for that. Right?
Concurrently, the 'S' line became the pro-line of real compacts and - not so surprising in retrospect - that now has spliced off into the G7X as was the case with the G12 to G1X mutation. But in going to a bigger sensor, the truly defining aspect of the compact camera is lost - that tiny little sensor with seemingly endless DOF. And now the G1X II has lost the OVF too... what's going on?
Whatever the future of compact camera evolution (or revolution), I've finally decided to go for the old 'proven' Canon compact. Canon has built a name for itself in this segment for a reason, and the G-series was the best.
Considering all of this though, I never thought I'd actually want to own a G series camera - they always seemed oddly big to me in comparison to the tiny sensor, and what's the point of that? There's a reason I jumped at the S90 when it was announced! Eventually though, the convenience of a well evolved compact camera with room for all the required controls and optical viewfinder (hence the size) got my attention.
I have owned the S90 for a long time, but despite that great little camera's abilities, it was clearly an unfinished product. I ended up tweaking it with Richard Franiec's Custom S90 Grip, Lensmate S90 Control Dial Solution, and a paper spacer on the battery to make sure it made good contact with the pins in the body (so that the camera would not falsely report the battery as being empty). Even with these tweaks, the S90 never lived up to its potential due to a lack of operability, and to be honest the A590 IS that I owned previously was a lot more satisfactory in use as a *real* camera, despite its low build quality and so-so image quality.
So now after having held out so long I've finally decided to get Canon's 1D equivalent of the compact camera's. The ultimately evolved 'compact' - tiny sensored 'pro' camera. As a replacement for my S90. It may be a classic but I know it will surely loose its (monetary) value. Nevertheless I see possibilities and that's what counts. It's the second body that will always fit in my bag. It has the potential to match my DSLR's in ease of operation and post processing workflow. It's not for low light and not for shallow DOF, but it's a well evolved little all-rounder. Let's see what it leads to.
Canon is good in evolution, not revolution. And at the end of the evolution, Canon has won me over.
No matter. I will have lots of fun with this smallest of *real* camera's. And like every camera/lens/accessory in my kit, it has the potential to inspire, and further my development as a photographer. It's another tool in my 'shed' and I will put it to good use. I hope.
Honestly, is the G16 worth it? It does seem to be a little bit more refined, and has that dedicated iso button. Hmmm....