Considering Canon PowerShot G9 X camera

For years I have been taking less-than-adequate photos. I take photos on my hiking excursions and various equipment setups.

Next year I will be traveling internationally and to the Eastern States of Australia, and I plan to write a travelogue, with lots of photos.

I have owned a couple of digital cameras, very cheap ones. The main complaint that I had with them was poor indoor shots, in particular hunting during auto-focus -- those cameras did not offer the alternative of manual focus.

I gave away my last camera, and for the last couple of years have been using my phone. Which is very mediocre for indoor shots.

So, what is out there, that ticks all the boxes? I want highly portable (pocketable), very large CMOS sensor, optional manual focus, USB-recharging. Still shots, not so concerned about video performance.

The problem is, I have found "just the right" camera, but it is not cheap. It is the Canon PowerShot G9 X, and costs between AU$500 -- AU$700.


What I really like is the touchscreen. Having become familiar with using the camera on my phone, I love being able to just touch somewhere on the screen to set focus at that point -- which the Canon G9X also supports.

Reviews:
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-point-and-shoot-under-500/
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/digital-cameras/compact-digital-cameras/1404460/canon-g9-x-review-all-the-right-ingredients

For such a tiny camera, it has a very large CMOS sensor, 1 inch, which is 15.85x13.2mm. Information on sensor sizes:
http://photoseek.com/2013/compare-digital-camera-sensor-sizes-full-frame-35mm-aps-c-micro-four-thirds-1-inch-type/

Don't know if I will actually buy it though, currently just "window shopping".

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Comments

Long-time Puppy enthusiast David sent me an email, commenting that the G9X does not have a very good zoom factor, compared with others much cheaper. It has 3x optical and 6x digital.

As I understand it, there is a tradeoff. To have the very large CMOS sensor in a compact case, is the cause of the lower zoom factor.
Other cameras with larger zoom factors have much smaller sensors.

The G9X is very small. the tradeoff is right for me.

David also commented on CMOS versus CCD. Many years ago, I had the idea that CCD is superior, now however, it seems to be the reverse.

In this site, a review of under US$200 compact cameras, the reviewer narrowed down the list by rejecting all cameras with CCD sensors, and gave his reasons why:
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-cheap-camera/


https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/canon-powershot-g9x-high-performance-compact-camera-g9xbk

It was in-stock at their Osborne Park store, so I bought one.

That would be about US$410.

last night I was experimenting in a room with a weak light bulb. With my phone, no way can I take shots without the flash, even with flash the shots look grainy. With my previous camera, I would have been plagued with focus-hunting, and end up with an out-of-focus shot.

But the photos in the room with the G9X were spectacular. no flash needed, the shots have incredible detail -- on the touch screen I pinched-out to look at the photos close-up and no graininess at all. Remarkable clarity.

Also tested the video in the same room, again remarkable clarity.

No problem at all with the auto-focus in a fairly dim room.

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_PowerShot_G9X/

Tags: light