The techno shopper with everything
As with all electronic gadgetry these days it’s a never ending parade of innovation, upgrades and hype. In the early days of conspicuous consumption and “keeping up with the Jones’” it was just cars, lawnmowers, and the house; now its iphones, blackberries, gamestations, big screen TV’s and countless other electronic distractions as well.
And well yes, fishing gear is somewhat the same but yet different, it’s actually necessary right? I mean, as simple souls enjoying a simple sport we rarely go overboard do we? Remember that first evening with your first Sage, there was no going back to your old rod, it was like launching your fly with a medieval catapult! Never mind the $600 price tag. Besides, how much damage can you do with a fly fishing outfit compared to a mountain of electronic, techno wonder bombs?
The same can be said about cameras. The rotation of features and upgrades is almost seasonal. Three years ago I bought the G9 which was a pretty hot camera at the time and still is in my opinion. It was small, durable, took great pictures, had video and could fit in a vest pocket. The picture quality is comparable to my full on DSLR with Canon L lenses. Since then the camera has gone through two more revisions, the Canon G10 and the Canon G11.
Basically the real evolution has taken place in the camera sensor, the pixel count, actual image processing, the ISO ratings and the corresponding effect on image noise levels. Some physical changes have been made. The G11 is slightly bigger but the biggest change is the fly out LCD. It pops out away from the camera for different viewing angles. A pretty cool feature until you snag it on something. The G11 screen is a little smaller, 2.8 as compared to 3.0 on the G10. Viewing quality is nearly identical other than size (excellent by the way). The optical lens range is identical, 28-140mm (35mm equivalent).
Canon G11 LCD viewing screen
The G10 boasted a 14 MP processor which is pretty hefty but it was putting a load on the actual quality of image processing. At higher ISO’s the images were getting pretty noisy so Canon pulled out of the more pixel wow! business and opted to reduce the count to 10 MP on the Canon D11 and improving the actual quality throughout the ISO range especially in the mid to higher end. So, basically a better quality image across a broader range of shooting conditions with marginal sacrifice in terms of actual pixel count. Bigger is not always better?
So, what model to buy? Personally, I don’t think I’d run out and upgrade, even from my G9 (more thoughts on my Canon G9). Not yet. I’m interested to see if Canon adds HD video (720p anyway) in the next upgrade of this camera. That would change my view tremendously. A wider angle lens (20mm) would be nice too. I actually like the G11 fly out LCD for doing weird angles without becoming a contortionist myself. I also like the path Canon has taken with the G11 in terms of actually making the DIGIC-4 processor more efficient in overall capture and quality instead of just cranking out more pixels. All three of these cameras, the G9, G10, and G11 have their own merits. At this point the G10 is probably the least desirable because of its limited feature set so if I were going to buy a new Canon G-series camera today it would be the G11. The adjustable LCD and image quality being its strengths when compared to the G10.
For details on image comparisons check out dpreview’s in-depth analysis:
I’m still happy with my G9 and it may have to stay in my arsenal for some time to come because my current camera lust is to go underwater which opens up a whole new set of digital camera diversions and capitalistic chicanery. If you quite honestly feel you have to show up at the neighbors barbecue with something cooler, try Canon’s strategy, go retro- and still upgrade with the G11.
Canon G11, 10MP- $459 US, Abe’s of Maine
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