Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: psindrup on January 25, 2011, 02:37:28 am

Title: S95 or G12?
Post by: psindrup on January 25, 2011, 02:37:28 am
Hi all

I am looking for a small pocket camera to bring with me on the annual ski vacation.  8)

I would really like a camera that is able to shoot in RAW, and because of that, I am looking at the Canon S95 and the G12.

The S95 is - of course - quite a bit smaller - and would fit better in the jacket pocket. What do I "loose" by choosing the S95 over the G12 in terms of picture quality?

I really appreciate any feedback

T.i.a.

Peter
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: thierrylegros396 on January 25, 2011, 03:45:24 am
S95 is definitely more pocketable.

G12 lens is better in term of accuracy.

Personnaly I prefer the G10 as it is better balanced in my hands.

But G Series are "double weight and thickness".

Thierry
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: Christoph C. Feldhaim on January 25, 2011, 06:41:07 am
I have a G11 and found it not being pocketable enough, so I bought an S95.

The S95 has a nice lowlight mode (jpegs with reduced resolution) and f 2.0
when zoomed at at wide angle and is much better pocketable. I have it with
me every day in my trousers pocket. impossible to do that with the G11.
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: stever on January 25, 2011, 11:29:42 pm
very happy with S90.  i'd much rather have a 4/3 than g12.
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: Peter_DL on January 26, 2011, 03:19:59 pm
The S95 is - of course - quite a bit smaller - and would fit better in the jacket pocket. What do I "loose" by choosing the S95 over the G12 in terms of picture quality?

The re-introduction of the S90/95 gives me hope that the G series could move to a larger sensor
- soon if possible.

Peter

__
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: uaiomex on January 26, 2011, 10:22:48 pm
The S95 has being surpassed. Enter the new king of pocketable cameras. The Olympus XZ-1
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1101/11012620olympusxz1review.asp
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: bradf on January 27, 2011, 03:56:52 am
Hi all

I am looking for a small pocket camera to bring with me on the annual ski vacation.  8)



Peter

Hi there,
This  is a photography and a skiing question - depends on where and under what conditions you want to use the camera.
I always slip one of the small, waterproof, shockproof, freeze-proof jobs in my jacket, which suits my skiing style  ;D
like this
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1101/11012511panasonicts3.asp
Cheers,
Brad.
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: AFairley on January 28, 2011, 04:17:38 pm
The S95 has being surpassed. Enter the new king of pocketable cameras. The Olympus XZ-1
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1101/11012620olympusxz1review.asp

Which is considerably larger than the S95 (1/2" longer and 1/2" thicker), closer in size to the micro 4/3 cameras with a pancake lens.  The Oly looks very nice, but it is nowhere as pocketable as the S95.
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: uaiomex on January 28, 2011, 07:27:51 pm
Granted, but it seems to be a better camera in almost every sense.

Which is considerably larger than the S95 (1/2" longer and 1/2" thicker), closer in size to the micro 4/3 cameras with a pancake lens.  The Oly looks very nice, but it is nowhere as pocketable as the S95.
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: Christoph C. Feldhaim on January 29, 2011, 03:06:55 am
Which is considerably larger than the S95 (1/2" longer and 1/2" thicker), closer in size to the micro 4/3 cameras with a pancake lens.  The Oly looks very nice, but it is nowhere as pocketable as the S95.
+1
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: Peter_DL on January 30, 2011, 10:07:57 am
Which is considerably larger than the S95 (1/2" longer and 1/2" thicker), closer in size to the micro 4/3 cameras with a pancake lens.  The Oly looks very nice, but it is nowhere as pocketable as the S95.

The S95 -compared to the G12- offers a higher "sensor value per camera size".
The Oly XZ-1 -compared to the S95- would have to offer an extremely good sensor to outperform the pocketability of the S95.

Peter

--
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: nsnowlin on February 02, 2011, 12:20:54 pm
As noted in the very positive review of the Oly it lacked AEL/AFL.  That is a deal breaker for me.

Stu
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: Greg D on February 02, 2011, 01:48:41 pm
Hi all

I am looking for a small pocket camera to bring with me on the annual ski vacation.  8)

I would really like a camera that is able to shoot in RAW, and because of that, I am looking at the Canon S95 and the G12.

The S95 is - of course - quite a bit smaller - and would fit better in the jacket pocket. What do I "loose" by choosing the S95 over the G12 in terms of picture quality?

I really appreciate any feedback

T.i.a.


Peter

Lots of comments pointing out how much more "pocketable" the S9x is than the G1x.  True, obviously.  But is that a pro or a con for your use?  I bought a G11 to use when the SLR was too much, with skiing in mind particularly.  Even the G11 I find somewhat difficult to use with gloves on (impossible with anything more than a light liner glove) and can't imagine trying to use anything smaller.  The G11 fits a jacket pocket easy enough, but I carry it on the neck strap under my jacket in a simple neoprene cover - keeps the battery warm and gives a tiny bit of protection when I face-plant.
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: Paulo Bizarro on February 03, 2011, 04:43:33 am
For me, the largest size of the G12 is not a problem. Its ergonomics and handling are way better than the ones from the S95, which I find a lot more fiddly to handle.

Factoring in sky and gloves, it seems the S95 is not ideal.
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: curtphoto on February 04, 2011, 09:23:17 am
I pondered over smallish high quality cameras & settled on Sony NEX 5 w/both lenses. Very pleased. I prefer DSLR's, however the NEX is for skiing & backpacking & am extremely pleased w/image quality.
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: gsman on April 17, 2011, 09:00:55 pm
g12, enough said
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: John Camp on April 18, 2011, 01:17:56 am
I have a G11, my girlfriend has an S95. For the kinds of photos those cameras are meant to take, there's really not much practical difference in picture quality, IMHO. I'd take the S95 purely for its size, pick an appropriate automatic setting for what you're doing, and shoot. If you're looking for art, use a camera with a bigger sensor.

JC
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: stamper on April 18, 2011, 03:40:55 am
I bought the s90 almost a year ago. Michael endorsed it on the site. Good picture quality but the small size makes it fiddly to use. The AE lock is difficult to use as well. To sum up the small size, which a lot of people like is a drawback for me. Last week I bought the g12 and I have used it twice. Bigger and thicker but sits in your hand nicely. The controls are - imo - a lot better and I like it a lot better. The picture quality is the same so it is all down to handling. For me the g12 handling is a lot better and more enjoyable to use. It feels and looks like a camera where as the s90 feels and looks like a camera phone. The g12 has a swivel screen but the viewfinder isn't really useful. Less than 80% coverage. Thumbs up to the g12. :)
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: Ken Bennett on April 18, 2011, 07:47:43 am
Having owned a lot of p+s cameras over the years, including a G7, I would choose the G12 over the S95 simply for the size. I find a larger camera easier to handle when shooting pictures.
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: BernardLanguillier on April 19, 2011, 06:51:58 pm
Having owned both the G10 (it died fairly quickly because of internal sensor dust) and currently the S90, I find the S90 to be an excellent camera when used in raw and developped with DxO. I have been using it a lot with handheld stitching and get a clean 16mp out of it when combined with Autopano pro/PTgui.

Without DxO though the huge distorsion of the lens at the wise end makes it a lot less useful.

Frankly, I don't see the point of the G series at this point of time. For that kind of size/price I'd rather use a 4/3 camera whose image quality is in a different class all together as soon as light levels drop.

I had assumed at some point of time that the G was more robust, but as I said was disapointed to see it ruined by sensor dust (it must have been an internal issue) that Canon couldn't fix without changing the whole sensor/lens set at a high price.

Cheers,
Bernard
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: AFairley on April 19, 2011, 07:17:28 pm
Without DxO though the huge distorsion of the lens at the wise end makes it a lot less useful.

OOC jpegs are well corrected, and lens correction is incorprorated into the canned ACR profile as far as I can tell
Title: Re: S95 or G12?
Post by: stever on April 19, 2011, 11:25:13 pm
i've taken the s90 nordic skiing in the jacket pocket or fanny pack - it does well in good light (distortions processed in LR3) and really is a pocket camera.  the aftermarket grip helps a lot, the controls are a bit fiddly

to spend more money than the s95 and have it not go conveniently in a pocket, i'd go for micro 4/3 - better resolution and high iso performance - and much more flexibility - at a price