Camera Labs

Hi Gordon, Have you heard this rumor yet? G7s have been discontinued and there is a strong rumor that by end of August Canon will announce a new successor called G9. That sounds amazing. Even though the G7 is a great camera, but it's being left behind by Super zooms or other high end digicams with wide angle lens and an actual grip.

Your thoughts? S

_________________
GH1 HD Video
Flickr

Hi Shiva, all I know is Canon will announce their new collection on August 20th - although beware some of it may be under NDA in which case journalists who sign the document won't be able to talk about it.

I would expect a refresh of many products, but would be surprised to see a successor the G7 so soon - then again it is a competitive market and hopefully Canon learnt their lesson by excluding RAW and a twist screen!

Gordon

we know 40D will be announced. No question, but I was surprised to read about the G9. But I think the idea of making the G series a compact was a mistake. The G series should have a decent grip. I can tell you, it would be near impossible at this stage for Canon to reintroduce RAW on their digicams. Since they have completley removed them from their entire range.

If there is going to be a G9, I want a nice, full size grip, like the H9, 3" screen, and 28mm...

_________________
GH1 HD Video
Flickr

And Canon is investing in a new CMOS sensor manufacturing facilty to produce smaller sized sensors for compacts.
I guess not in time for the G9. A slightly larger CMOS would be the break through in image quality compacts have been waiting for. It would be great to see a Ricoh style, fold in body, 18-200mm lens as well.
What is it with Ricoh? They produce a highly desirable, G7 killer, in the GX100 and they don't even bother to sell cameras in the US.
And I'm getting tired of having to explain what a 'Caplio' is every time I take out my R4.
By the way Gordon, there seems to be a glitch at the end of the 400D/Xti review: the 300D was actually the first model to have EF-S lens mount - the D60 and the 10D did not.

Hi Seemoss - good spot there! I got a little mixed up...

I found all the upgrades after the G3 powershot to be downgrades on imagequality. I really would like to see a 5-6 (not 10) megapixel compact camera with a bigger noise free sensor. A rugged metal body and at least 28mm( 20-24 would even be better) at the wide end. The removal from raw capability was a wrong choice imho. I mostly use Dslr's but if there was a compact with
good IQ and a bit more wide end i would surely go for it.

You know, in a way the P&S manufacturers are pretty clever:
They offer 12MPix at ISO 50 and downgrade resolution when you go to higher ISOs. So in the end you have an adaptive-resolution camera with little noise. As I said: pretty clever!

_________________
Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Well the G7 is discontinued. This is on dpreview from a canon rep in australia.

_________________
rv65
C-5050Z | SD700IS (IXUS800 IS) | JamCam | Quantaray RZ 800 w/ 50mm prime lens (just found but broken) (aka Cosina CT-7, Various other brands) | EOS 50D

Here's the new G9....with raw
[url]http://www.dpreview.com/news/0708/07082005canong9.asp
[/url]

http://www.photographyblog.com/index.ph ... /canon_g9/

Does this mean G7s will be getting a bike price cut?!

So Shiva, you gonna upgrade to the G9?

While I'm glad it's got RAW back again and a bigger screen, it's a shame it still doesn't flip out and also that Canon didn't widen the lens range. It's not really much of an upgrade really...

Gordon

daddy likes the G9...

let's see, the front is identical to the G7, same lens, except the lens ring is blacker and they moved the little rubber grip over a bit. The back looks great with 3", 230K screen and a little dip for your thumb. Otherwise it's basically the same camera.

The 3" screen is a must for a top 2008 camera and this is a top of the line digicam from Canon.

I was wrong about the RAW, you were right. I didn't think they would bring it back to their digicams, but glad it's there. I don't use it. It's silly to use RAW in such compact cameras. If what you are shooting is that important, get a DSLR. And if not, why bother. I see people use RAW on digicams to shoot their cat or gold fish, give me a break.

I like the sample images online. I don't get the 12MP, why pack-em in, but you know, their new batch of sensors, probably made by Sony, are 12MPs, so they'll spread them through their hi-end digicam range.

I wish they would have enhanced the front grip and I hope they added a battery indicator. Otherwise, you gotto have a 2nd battery ready, because soon after the battery low indicator shows up, the camera is basically useless.

But I am getting this, as soon as it hits the stores, it's a keeper. This camera if it doesn't break down, is good for 5 years.

S

_________________
GH1 HD Video
Flickr

Hey SHIVA, it'll be good for another 12 months or so until they do a version with a flip out screen and 28mm lens, right?! I think they missed an opportunity there, but then that would have involved a complete new body and lens...

By the way, I was also surprised they put RAW back into their compacts - I honestly thought - and feared - it would be DSLRs only for RAW on Canons in the future, but this is a reassuring move for many people...

But hang on, why are you gonna go for it if you don't use RAW? Is it just for the bigger screen and higher resolution (possibly more noise and lower DR?)

I hear you, this is really a G7 MkII.

...not for higher resolution, really, 10MP is plenty, and I shoot my web only shots at 5MP and print at full 10 resolution, I guess 12 can come in handy, but truly not needed. You can do a full magazine cover with 8MP DSLR images.

I've come to really appreciate the 3" screen, 2.5 was nice, but 3 allows you to really see what you shot. also this new canon, I maybe wrong, looks to have a bit of a grip on the front too. hard to tell from pictures

by the way, it's pre-selling on amazon for $499, that's a 100 cheaper than when first the G7 came out. how can you go wrong? Right? I mean, it's the G7, with better screen, for the same price...

I really hope it shoots faster. that would be a nice bonus. we'd have to wait for your video, where you'd tell us "in practice" how good this camera really is... S

Check out this paragraph from Canon:



and this one:

_________________
GH1 HD Video
Flickr

Well, remember the file sizes are bigger, so it has to work with more data...

We will of course be testing one as soon as Canon can get one to us...

But if you get your hands on one sooner please reveal all!

Gordon