Outdoor Adventure USA

ssc wrote:Sean,
Why do you favor the G12 vs the S95?

Regards, Steve

The ability to get RAW files. There's always a lot of heated discussion on RAW vs JPEG but for the way I work, RAW is king. Storage is a moot point as the price of drives keeps going down. Keep your best and throw away everything else.

On the G12, you get a 28-140 lens. The S95 is 28-105. Not sure if the extra reach is necessary to you or not. In terms of physical size, they are roughly the same. The G12 is only slightly larger and will still fit in your pocket for walks. Price wise, the G12 at Amazon is about $40 less than the S95 right now. You also get a hot shoe on the G12 so you can use a full size flash if needed.

The G12 gives you the control of a DSLR in a P&S format.

There are reviews of both cameras on dpreview although you'll have to read the one for the G11.

G11 review
S95 review

Sean, Thanks for the info. It helps to reinforce my thoughts on the S-95. I shoot jpeg and am aware of the controversy. I mention it on my photo website. I do not need extra reach as this is just for when I have the little guy and parent duties. It is just a supplement to the 1dm3, which will be close by. I have handled both and the size is a dealbreaker. I need small. I have a powershot pro1, and it is approximately the same size as the g-12, need smaller. dpreview had nice reviews and I have spent time there. I wish they would do a review for the G-12. As an aside, have you read the review on the Oly XZ 1? It sounds like a winner for sure. If it becomes available before the s 95--well you never know, I might be enticed to buy it.

Best, Steve

They both do RAW. They also both have the same DSLR-like controls over internal functions, and similar performance. The key differences are really in the lens and external options (hot-shoe, swivel screen, etc). There are a few specs to consider though (the G12 is clearly superior with the exception of low-light performance here):

- S95 aperture goes to F2.0, the G12 only 2.8

- G12's max shutter speed is 1/4000, the S95 only 1/1600

- G12 will macro as close as 1cm, the S95 only 5cm (but there is a lens for closer focus)

Chazz Layne wrote:
- G12 will macro as close as 1cm, the S95 only 5cm (but there is a lens for closer focus)

There is an entire macro lens and flash kit for the G-12 also.

OLLIE wrote:There is an entire macro lens and flash kit for the G-12 also.

Nice, I'm guessing it lets you get the effect without risking physical contact?

Chazz Layne wrote:

OLLIE wrote:There is an entire macro lens and flash kit for the G-12 also.

Nice, I'm guessing it lets you get the effect without risking physical contact?

I guess... The flash attachment includes the two side flashes for proper illumination.

I found a S-95 in a best buy in Vegas. I have been shooting with it and testing it out. Seems to me that many of the settings are gimicks, but it is fun to play with. So far, the pros are low light abilities and landscape in good light. The video works well and the size is perfect. It takes a nice picture. I suspect, those who shoot in raw, spend some time at the computer and I can see some benefit. Cons, gimick settings, bad focus issues on fast moving objects, terrible pictures when the flash goes off, a bit slow.

It will work for my limited purpose, but it will never be in the same park as a dslr--for my needs. So, for basic scenery shots, good as well as lowlight. Problem is that you must be shooting still subjects or OOF. The FPS is too slow. I am learning to get shots of grandson in focus with fast setting-iso must stay up, wide open etc. Still playing with it so my opinion may change, but it is so convienent.

Regards, Steve

Well, it's been a few months for me now too. I have a small filter kit with polarizer, ND, and clear UV filter (which comes in super handy for protecting the lens from things I probably shouldn't put the camera near). I need to pick up the ND400 they make, 8 just isn't enough to take advantage of F2.0 in daylight.

I'm very impressed with build quality, I was getting worried there for a while. My last 3 or 4 "premium" P&S cameras have been total garbage (build only, pics were great) and all suffered premature failure from dust/sand/moisture that earlier models would have shrugged off. Even the SX series suffers from this. By comparison, of my first 5 P&S cameras (2 of which were heavily abused, as in, shot at and blown up), 4 are still in service to this very day. They just don't build the "consumer" line like they use to. I'm very glad the S series is still built solid like the older SD's.

Picture quality is great IMO from a camera this small. It has been quite a while since I last used a DSLR, but my memory puts the S95 about half-way between a good P&S and real camera. I agree, most of the shooting modes are gimmicky goofyness and would be better left out. P, Tv, Av and M are great though, and their interface is intuitive and easy to use coming from Canon's other cameras. The extra controls and shortcuts help a lot getting to advanced settings. The sensor may not be that much bigger, but the increase is enough to drastically improve the useful pixels (sharpness) over the small sensor in the SD line. In other words: where the image had to be shrunk 50% or more to look good before, from the S95 it looks good with no shrinking (and great reduced by 10-15%).

Lack of a "true" macro mode hasn't been nearly as annoying as I had originally thought. It is easy enough to get the same effect with the generous aperture.

Video is pathetic. I know it isn't a video camera, but I've had better results with the bottom end P&S cameras. The S95 tops out at 720p, and has a bad habit of blowing the whites way out (and has no setting to fix this). It also tends to lock the focus on an inappropriate depth when recording leaving you with useless fuzzyvids. The stereo mics are a nice touch, audio quality is impressive.


Sample videos: (in HD, of course)

Chazz Layne wrote: By comparison, of my first 5 P&S cameras (2 of which were heavily abused, as in, shot at and blown up), 4 are still in service to this very day. They just don't build the "consumer" line like they use to. I'm very glad the S series is still built solid like the older SD's.

Video is pathetic.

Shot and blown up, eh?? No warranty coverage there, I'll bet.

BTW, the video wasn't that bad.

DaveK wrote:Shot and blown up, eh?? No warranty coverage there, I'll bet.

Tannerite pleases me.