Canon G2/G3 Digital Cameras

[clare]

I agree that it is always good to get info off of someone who has experience of a camera - that's the sort of info the manufacurer would not let you know

Have you decided on your camera of choice?

Clare

[chris h]

I have been tempted by digital SLR's Clare but I dont really need the facilities and I know if I bought one I'd be back on the interchangeable lens treadmill!! Probably a Canon G3 or an Olympus 5050. I've shot a lot of stuff on an Olympus 3040 in the past couple of years and it gave reliable service and as mentioned earlier I have a few bits and pieces from the 3040 that could be utilised by the 5050.

[jerry]

Chris
I just did some testing with the Canon Raw format.. I took a pic. and instead of using zoombrowser, I imported the raw picture straight into Photoshop..The supporting software aoutmatically gives you the option of where to import the files..After in Photoshop, you can do with it what you want..Adjustments etc. and save it in an approved Photshop format..

Canon RAW files have a ".crw" extension..This is not a supported file type in Photoshop ..The ".RAW" extension supported by Photoshop I don't know what equipment produces it.. Therefore, you can not open a ".crw" extension file directly into Photoshop using the standard open command..However, they can be imported directly into Photoshop from the camere using the camera software..

Jerry

Please excuse the spelling and grammar..In a hurry heading out to a SuperBowl Party..

[chris h]

Thanks Jerry I've heard of PS plug-ins that will sort out the transfer, I just want to cut the distance between camera and PS.


I assume Superbowl is some sort of curry evening!

[clare]

Chris,

I have only just gone from the Casio EX3000ir to the Sigma SD9, there are vast differences between the two camera. One of the first recognisable differences for me was the depth of field. The Casios was fantastic for a depth of field where everything is in focus, but the Sigma is more dependant on the f stop. The Sigma is more like using a normal film camera, and personally I am really enjoying having this control over my images again - but not to put down the great depth of field that the Casio gave, it was good to always know that the backup was there and editing could be done later in PS.

The only thing I have to add is that look at the other manufacters like Casio, Fuji, etc. Sometimes these have added features that will not cost you more, when going for these camera rather than the main makes of camera like Nikon and Canon. I always used OM cameras through my training, and one of the main reasons was the reasonable price and the quality the camera gave in the results.

Clare

[chris h]

Ok I used mainly Canon SLR gear in the 70-80's but then gravitated to large format such as Sinar and Linhof stuff. Years of hauling that type of gear up to 10 by 8 format have given me a great love of small cameras!!!

[gland]

This is some information I got off the Canon website.

PowerShot 350 / 600 / A5 / A5 Zoom / A50 / G1 / G2 / Pro70 / Pro90 IS / S30 / S40 / EOS D30



PROBLEM:

WHICH SOFTWARE WILL READ CCD RAW IMAGES?

SOLUTION:

The CRW format is a Canon proprietary format which can only be accessed via the TWAIN driver.

No applications can read CCD RAW images.

Once the RAW image has been acquired through the driver Into a TWAIN application (i.e. PhotoImpact) the application will convert the image a JPEG file. It can then be saved in the format of the user's choice.

[chris h]

I wonder if the Zoombrowser software for V3(230) and G3 are one and the same?


Additional: Well I had a look at the V3 Zoombrowser suite and it has the .raw conversion facility so they must toss in the same suite for both.

[chris h]

I assume if you hook up the Canon while using XP it will show up as an extra drive the Olympus did on the rare occasions I downloaded directly.

[gland]

First impressions of the Canon G2:

Bear in mind my old camera is a 3.2MP Kodak DC-3800. The Kodak has some rather serious low light-noise problems.

The G2 is quiet and starts up very quickly. The pictures I've taken so far are all high res jpg that are around 2 megs. Writing to the CF card is very fast. This unit even feels like a camera.

I did install the twain driver as the manual suggested. When I switch the camera to "read" and the USB cable is hooked to the computer a little window will pop up and ask what application I want to open. I select Photoshop-the program opens and I've got a little control panel full of thumbnails of all the pictures I've taken.

If Photoshop was already open, I could just import the images.

I have not taken any .raw images yet.

No problems so far that can't be solved by reading the manual.

[chris h]

Thanks for that outline of your first experience with the G2, theres a large difference in price between the G2 and3 over here roughly $170 so I'm still giving it serious thought!

[gland]

First .raw image:

I took a picture of my foot.. It imported into Photoshop just like the .jpg did. It did go though a little conversion mode but this is about as easy as it can get.

I can only assume I must have a newer revision of the software that comes with the camera.

[chris h]

Well I was going to bite on a G2 but a generous offer on some old Pentax gear by a local dealer made me go for the G3 instead. The styling is a bit quirky but not bothered if the results are OK. Can't offer much else at the moment as the camera battery is charging . Nice to see a decent sized manual supplied that doesn't need a microscope to read it.

[gland]

Well Chris the G3 is supposed to be better. All the reviewers think so anyway...

My G2 manual is very readable too.

[chris h]

Ok I ran from the shop before the dealer changed his mind the Pentax gear was worn out and looked it. G3 came with a lot of gear, the supplied AC adaptor being a nice touch and a continental plug adaptor, power sockets differ between the UK and Europe.

I was going to buy an extra battery but the dealer said the supplied one lasts a long time.