Canon PowerShot G9 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I have been shooting with manual focus, manual exposure SLR systems since I was twelve years old. That's almost thirty years using kit like the Olympus OM-1 (my first love, too bad it was stolen!), Pentax MX, numerous lenses, professional flash equipment like Vivitar 283 and Sunpak 383. My cousin asked me to shoot her wedding, so I thought maybe the time had finally come to switch to digital. Okay, so maybe I'm old school, and maybe I have some unrealistic expectations for modern equipment, but every time I looked at the digital SLR offerings, I was disappointed. Even the Nikons (well, the affordable ones like the D70 and D80) were polycarbonate bodies with plastic lenses. Not professional-grade. Do you have to pay thousands of dollars to get a metal-bodied SLR today? Something built to withstand a 5 fps motor drive, like in the old days? Well, I looked at the Pentax K10D -- metal body, reasonably affordable, fully compatible with all my lenses -- but I just had this vague sense of dissatisfaction. These fragile contraptions are big, clunky, dare I say dorky compared to an old film SLR. Hey, and don't let any dust get on the sensor. Sheesh, talk about wearing kid gloves. Then a friend told me about the Canon G9. Whoa, paradigm shift here, folks. I hadn't considered a non-SLR, but I sure am glad I did. This thing has pro-grade features: aperture and shutter priority modes as well as full manual exposure, manual focus, RAW capability, decent optical zoom range, spot metering, a hot shoe that works with all my existing flash gear, and many other things that usually only make it into SLR's. For example, with most P&S cameras, shutter lag is a huge problem. Good portraits demand instant shutter response. The G9's shutter is almost instantaneous SO LONG AS you half-press to lock the focus, and compose with the optical viewfinder (i.e, turn the LCD off). I am getting great portraits of my kids using this technique, and it does feel a bit like using an old Leica rangefinder. Never understood why anyone would give up an SLR; now I get it. Quiet, easily concealed, doesn't announce "I AM A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER!" or otherwise make you look or feel like a dork. The optical viewfinder zooms pretty closely with the lens, and parallax has not been a problem. I wear eyeglasses and the viewfinder works just fine with them; in fact, better than with my MX. When using the viewfinder, the LCD just displays important camera information: shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, stuff like that. I've found it's pretty easy to glance down at the LCD to check those things, then return to composing in the viewfinder. For those moments when I really need to see exactly what's in the frame, I switch to composing with the LCD. This is handy to set the manual exposure, too. I shot some pics of my kids in front of the fireplace and in front of the Christmas tree, with available light, and I just dialed down the shutter speed in manual mode until the exposure looked right in the LCD. And what an LCD -- again, it's SLR-grade. Overall, the build quality is phenomenal for this price. It feels solid. Others have compared it to a tank, or a swiss watch, or a Leica. It is very enjoyable to hold and use. Taking pictures is fun again! Video capability is a bonus, too, that you won't find on SLR's. I'm not a big video shooter, but I have two young kids and there'll be times when I want it. Back when I was looking at SLR's, I always figured I'd need to purchase a separate (cheap) video camera, maybe a Pure Digital Flip model. Not anymore. The G9 is not perfect. Some shortcomings can be overcome or compensated for, while others simply can't. I am disappointed with the noise above ISO 200. Autofocus is not as fast as an SLR. Wide-angle zoom isn't as wide as I'd really like. The retractable lens looks a bit fragile to me. I recommend the Lensmate lens adapter for when you think you might bump into things. It's anodized aluminum, so it's rugged; unfortunately, it really sticks out into the optical viewfinder, cutting off about half the view. Well, that's when you go with the LCD, I guess. Works of man fall short of perfection, and all gear has strengths and limitations. Learn them and use them, or work around them as best you can. There are lighting conditions that NO digital handles well, and for those, I'm happy to continue shooting film. But for everything else, I'm really happy with the portability, control, responsiveness, and quality of the G9. All things considered, especially that it's less than half the price of a D80 or "serious" DSLR, it is a great camera.

After working with this camera for a month I ended up sending it back to Amazon. I didn't want to have to buy a DSLR and a compact camera to get everything I used to get in one good workhorse. That is why I researched all sorts of cameras for several months before deciding on the G9. In theory it appeared to have all the qualities of both in one camera. I specifically wanted a camera that was physically small enough to become a permanent attachment for those spontaneous shots, one that could take candid shots without spooking people, extra optical zoom, high megapixels so I could print large-sized photos, one that would take spectacular macros. I also needed a camera to take good, clear, close-up photos of jewelry for online sales. I take hundreds of jewelry photos per week, and don't have time to color-correct them all in an editing program. Perhaps I got a lemon, I don't know, I'll try another G9 from a local camera shop before I completely jump ship on this one although at this point I'm pretty gun-shy about Canon. The white balance totally sucks when using the G9 in the studio under ECA lamp bulbs, even when setting the custom white balance using a grey card (or any other color card for that matter). Cyan colors in turquoise and other glue-green gems are interpreted as plain old blue, even in RAW mode. I have an old Sony DSC-S75 that records turquoise as true turquoise under ECA bulbs without any color-correcting needed. I have asked numerous people about this issue, one professional said my Sony was the exception and that most compact cameras have problems interpreting the cyan colors correctly under artificial light. Even directly speaking to the Canon support representative produced no comments or solutions to this issue, it was as if they never heard of this problem before. The battery life is unacceptably short. Apparently this is an issue with other Canon compacts as well from what I've read. I thought it was just because I had the camera on a lot trying to learn how to use the features, but even so the battery should last longer than a day. When I finally did have one of those great spontaneous photo moments, the battery died almost immediately and I had to use my trusty old Sony dinosaur instead. There is a blue cast to the live view screen, but I have noticed that when I download the photos, they all have a slight blue cast when viewed on my computer. Blue seems to be the G9's favorite color. Probably okay for average amateur shots, definitely not acceptable for professional product shots or award-winning photos (like my old Sony has done for me). Macros were okay but not likely to win ribbons. I had trouble getting the G9 to focus on what I wanted it to focus on, and I had tremendous trouble trying to get a sharp photo of earrings hanging on a display, it just would not get it all in focus no matter what settings I tried and, believe me, I tried all sorts of tricks. Back to the Old Sony once again. Apparently newer is not always better, especially with ECA lamps.

Background - I used to own a 7.1 mega pixel Sony Point & Shoot for around an year, back in India. When I came to US i decided to buy a new camera. I wanted a high end Point & Shoot, as they are easy to carry and I thought SLRs would be tough to use. I had multiple choices at hand Sony T200, Canon 850, Canon Powershot S3 or Canon G9. Well I read a lot of reviews, went and checked out all these cameras at B&H Photo Video and finally i decided to buy G9. It was a little pricy when compared to all the other choices I had, but it offered tons of other features which none of them had. Usage - I have been using G9 for over 3 months now and believe me its worth every bit of money and more. First of all the colors that I get from Canon G9, i could not get such beautiful colors from my Sony Camera. The features provided by G9 gave a lot of control and creativity to my pictures. I always shoot my pictures in the Manual Mode now, and G9 makes it so easy to use. The wheel at the back controls a lot of features but mostly i use it for shutter speed and aperture. You can also control the ISO separately and it goes up to 3200. When you play around with these shutter speed, aperture and ISO you get to know that there is so much more to photography. You can freeze motion by using high shutter speed and bigger aperture or you can imply motion by using a shutter speed as low as 15 sec. There is a whole set of pre-adjusted modes available, but when you start using the manual mode and read a little bit about photography you will prefer the Manual Mode. Apart from shutter speed, aperture and ISO you can also use presets for White Balance, flash (both strength and timing) and manual focus. The 6X optical zoom is better than most of the cameras in its class except Canon Powershot S3. Some say that 12.1 mega pixel is an overkill, but never the less its very useful when you want to take pictures and edit them on your computer, most helpful when you want that wide angle look from your photo. Size - Canon G9 is a bit on the bulky side, its not one of those cameras which you can slip it in your jeans pocket. But i guess you can pack all the power in a smaller camera. It feels a little heavy, but then again you will get used to it and when you see your pictures on that 3 inch wide screen, you wont regret the size. The screen is very bright and beautiful. Pictures - I think i have used G9 for all sorts of pictures - I have taken Portraits, Landscapes, Kids, Slow Shutter speed, Fast Shutter Speed, Indoors, Outdoors and they all come out great. I don't use the presets much, but once i used the Snow preset and it did the job perfectly well for me. I have used the RAW pictures a few times and its really useful feature to have, if you would like to edit the pictures without loosing quality. I have also taken a lot of Movie shots and they also come out reasonably good, I don't expect much from it as its primarily for photography. One good thing is that you can zoom in and out while taking the video, which was absent in my Sony. Finally speaking you will be amazed to the pictures you take...when they start to look pretty professional. Other useful features include Color Ascent mode, where only one color gets highlighted in your picture and rest of the picture is B/W. You can use this to play around with your pictures and it gives excellent results. Battery Life - Well Battery lasts for only one day out i.e. around 200 photographs without flash. It also depends on the time you spent in viewing your pictures on the wide screen. But I would have loved it, if it lasted more. I guess you need to keep an extra battery with you. Memory - Only a meager 32 mb card comes with the camera. You definitely need a bigger card. Buy a 2GB or 4GB one, so that you can make full use of the 12.1 mega pixels. Recommendation - Well i think this is the best Point and Shoot camera available. It has acted as an inspiration to me and I have learnt a lot about photography after buying and using this camera. I just love the hobby now and probably in few months I would shift to SLRs as now I feel comfortable in using them. Hope this review was helpful to you. PS: Talk about inspiration - I did a blog post on Photography, if you get time do read it, here is the link - [..]

1. Background info: I am not a Canon user (but I have nothing against Canon products), I've shot with film for many years (Contax), and digitally for the past 4+ years (Sony 828, Sony V3, Sony R1). 2. I was very interested in the G9 when it was recently announced because of the great reputation of the Canon G series and most importantly--> the return of the RAW format in the G9. Furthermore, everything on paper completely outshined my ancient Sony V3; a very good camera but very very slow... and with limited zoom range etc... 3. Thus it was very dissapointing when I had to return the Canon G9 after several days of testing. Here were my impressions of the camera. a. Build Quality: Good b. Size: Good; actually smaller than my V3. c. Performance: excellent--> RAW write times were impressively fast (for a point and shoot). d. LCD: completely terrible. This is supposed to be the state of the art LCD (3 inch), but there was an overt cool /bluish color cast. I tried every suggested variable (via Canon Tech and various on the forums), I went to a local camera store to try another G9 (same problem), and my observations were also confirmed via numerous folks on the web. Some suggested that I just ignore the color cast and just use the LCD for framing and for checking basic exposure--initially a resonable argument but then when you logically think about it--> why should anyone put up with an overt color cast (and also an overly contrasty) image on the LCD, in a supposed top of the line point and shoot camera, from an industry leader like Canon? It just doesn't make sense. I mean, a $200.00 cheap 5 MP camera has better color rendition on the LCD than this G9. e. Even with the above LCD issues, I was still going to keep it if it weren't for the only "ok" image results. I did some basic testing comparing the G9 vs Sony V3 (real old camera)--> all shot in RAW, all shot via Tripod, all shot using calibrated gray card etc... Bottomline, the G9 images were good and I'm sure that people will be able to get nice shots from this camera--> but when / if you actually compare it to something like the Sony V3 (which again is an old camera)--> the Sony consistently just produces more sharper images. 4. Thus each person will have to decide what's important to them in regards to their photographic needs / wants / goals etc... For me, it's always image quality and thus I had to return the G9. All around a decent camera that could and should have been a lot better. For now, I'll continue using the Sony V3 and episodically be frustrated with the slow performance, but at least the image quality will be excellent.

I bought this camera as a smaller, more compact solution to my DSLR's when traveling out and about with our newborn child, a diaper bag camera so to speak. I had bought the Canon S3 IS ealier and while it was a good camera it was still to big to fit in my pocket and had no ability for external flash if I wanted. I decided to go with the G9 and so far I'm pretty happy. First the feel of the camera is very solid and well built and you defintely get the feeling that this is a nice camera. It is relatively small(campared to the canon S3-S5) and can squeeze into my pocket if it where the only thing in that pocket. Image quality is exceptional at 200 ISO and very managable at 400 ISO, anything above that you will need to have some decent noise reduction software to make the picture relatively usable, that goes for any Point & Shoot though and the G9 actually has better quality than the S3 at comparable ISO's. The G9 has all the auto shooting settings you could want and the capablity for creative & manual controls. The button layout I find very nice and I simply love that the ISO has it's own dial on top of the camera for quick changing when needed, no more fiddling in some menue to change the ISO, I wish my DSLR had that feature. The screen is very large and takes up most of the back of the camera and it is nice and vibrant, too bad it doesn't swivel out like the canon S series, though that would probaly make the camera bulkier. The shutter delay(time from when you push the shutter button to when the camera actually fires) is low and the camera is actually pretty fast with minimal lag especially if you have already focused on what you are shooting. As for focusing it seems to work well with very little search time to lock on to your suject. I really like how you can move the focus point anywhere you want on the screen allowing you a bit more compositonal control while maintaing what you want in focus, this was a pleasant surprise. The focal lenghts of the lens are nice from a wide end all the way to the telephoto end covering just about everything you need and the Image Stabilization feature really helps in low light to avoid from motion blur. The G9 also has a macro function that allows for a nice close shot if you are into flowers, insects or any other thing you may want to fill the frame with and I was very impressed with its performance. As for the onboard flash I must preface that I do not like onboard flash for any camera and I try to avoid having to use it unless I do not have a choice. There is no exception to this flash as it seems harsh and causes red eye frequently even with the redeye reduction on. The nice thing about the G9 is that it has an onboard redeye reduction editing funtion where you review the photo and remove the redeye there on the spot instead of at home on the computer or at your photo printing kiosk, that option is pretty cool I must say. The savior for the onboard flash is an external flash and the G9 has a hotshoe mount so you can attach a canon speedlite. This allows you to diffuse or bounce the flash making for a much nicer picture in my opinion and is one of the main reasons why I got rid of the canon S3 and bought the G9. Though I find it a bit silly you have a camera for the fact of it being small and compact and then have to carry an additional flash, so I rarely do as I might as well take my DSLR. The G9 has a movie mode so you can record video and they are of decent quality and I am please with them. You have to switch the dial to movie mode on top of the camera which is no big deal though on the S3 & S5 there was a quick movie button that I wish this had so you could just start filming with the push of a button regardless of what shooting mode you were in at the time. Battery life is about 200 or so shots, give or take, which I find pretty low, so you will need an additional battery. I could go on about more features and the such but I think I covered the pros and cons that realy caugh my attention. Pros: Somewhat Compact Build Quality Image quality- up to 400 ISO Large LCD viewer ISO Dial Button Layout Lots of shooting options especially creative and manual conrols Macro capablities Hotshoe Mount for external flash Ability to move focus point anywhere on the LCD screen Redeye reduction with in camrea editing Movie capabiltities Cons Image quality -800 and above Onboard flash Battery life Price So to close I would recommend this if you are looking for a Point & Shoot as it has almost all the bells and whistles you could desire in a camera and it performs well.

I really love the G9. This is the perfect camera for street photography. It takes much sharper pictures than the typical point and shoot and it is much easier for me to carry around than my Canon XT. (I keep it in my messenger bag when I walk around the city.) The 2 downsides: 1) Noise. The pictures are definitely noisy indoors, no matter how much light. However, it's not any worse than your typical P&S. (It is worse than DSLR for sure though) 2) Poor quality control. SHAME ON CANON. I'm on my fourth unit. All of them have been defective: a) Green cast on LCD edges when the LCD is black. b) Tilted/crooked LCD screen c) 4 bad pixels (two red and two white) d) Green case on LCD TOP AND BOTTOM I've given up on getting a good unit and am keeping the last one. Of all the potential defects I've seen, the green cast on the LCD is the least bothersome (since you can only see it on dark images; in most normal cases you can't really detect it). Much rather have a bad screen than bad pixels. I don't think I've really seen non-defective units of the G9....maybe at B&H at the store (where I bought mine), but now I think the lighting in the store just made it difficult to detect the defect (since when I looked at mine at the store, it was really hard to see the defect in the store lighting for some reason). Again, I'm REALLY disappointed in Canon's quality control. They made a great camera, but not a single one I've seen is defect free. This is the only reason why I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 4 or 5. This also gives me great hesitancy to buy other more expensive Canon products. ($500 for the G9 is not chump change, but I can live with bad qualtiy for good design. If I spent $1,500 on a Canon 40D and had a bad screen or hot pixels I would totally go nuts.) In addition, in reading many online forums on this issue, it seems that no one has gotten Canon to even acknowledge the LCD defective screen exists. Finally, I give Amazon 5 stars for their customer service. Much better hassle free returns with Amazon than at one of the local big New York camera shops (they are good at making recommendations, but returns? forget about it).

I've owned the G7 for about 1 month now and I've really learned to appreciate all its advanced features - but recently I received my G9 and I will be returning the G7. What I like about the G9 over the G7: 1. Bigger screen (3.0" vs 2.5") - with no apparent decrease in battery life. 2. Picture quality is better. I have done many parallel tests using the exact settings on both cameras (with the exception of the 12 vs 10 MP of course) and the results have been clearly more favorable towards the G9 in terms of light metering and sharpness. The G9 has a new metering system as well as a more advanced focusing system too. 3. RAW option is great. Even though most pics will be taken using JPEG (to conserve memory space), you know it when you've got a great landscape with just the perfect lighting conditions that you know may result in a printable pic, in which case you will want to have a raw copy for processing it to the highest potential. 4. Timelapse photo functionality is a very nice to have option which the g7 lacks 5. The physical handling of the camera is better, the front has more grip. 6. Some other design aesthetics have also gone into the g9 which I prefer. 7. Noise levels are exactly the same as in the G7. I tested both up to 400 ISO (I would not use anything higher that that) many times and the speculations found on the internet forums that the higher number of pixels would result in more noise is simply incorrect - at least in my ability to see it in my tests. * the only thing I dislike in the g9 over the g7 is that new usb connection door mechanism. It feels like it may one day break even with proper use. The "slide out" door (like the battery door) mechanism was so much better in terms of use and possible durability. If I were a G7 owner (and you could not return it because you've had it longer than 30 days) I would not upgrade as the g7 is a superb camera - but if you were looking to buy a new camera the g9 is a better choice over the g7. The g9 is the perfect camera alternative to a bulky SLR - without the loss of total photographic control or quality. Highly recommended.

I was very happy when I first received the camera, it was great. For almost a month. then one day I turned the camera on, the lens extended to the maximum position, and got stuck. the display said lens error, so I tired cycling power, and even removed the battery, but nothing changed. Not wanting to have to send it back, I thought since I could hear a motor turn after the camera was powered up, that I might be able to fix it if something was loose. Wrong. There is a ring around the lens, and the user manual said that if you press the ring release button, you could rotate the ring and change lenses. This didn't work so well, the lens became loose, so I had to send it back to Canon. I sent it to their repair facility, and they sent me a letter saying since the lens was broken, they would have to charge me $120. I agreed to that, since I shouldn't have attempted to fix it myself, but then a week or so later they called me up at 7am to tell me they couldn't fix it at all. They said when they looked further, the noticed that there was damage from liquid. I told them this was not possible, as the camera was never exposed to liquids while it was in my possession. One of their reps said something about corrosion, but I don't think I owned it long enough for it to be corroded by anything I would have done anyway. So I am out the $500 I paid for it, and I will never buy another Canon product again. It's their word against mine, and I know the camera was never exposed to liquids while I owned it, so they are calling me a liar. My only recourse, as I told them, is to tell everybody I know they can't be trusted. So here I am, telling even people I don't know, don't trust Canon. I am sure that most of you will be happy with your Canon product, but for the small percentage who aren't as lucky, it seems like they don't have to honor their warranty.

Good pics

This is a great little camera with all the big camera features. Too bad that Canon stopped producing them. If you can get your hands on a really good quality one (like I did from this seller), you will not be disappointed. You can not compare a real camera to a phone. Phones are just a toy. This is a real camera that also fits in your pocket ;) .

So far so good. I was a little concerned about getting a secondhand camera, but so far so good. I ordered this because I already have a PowerShot G9, but needing repairs. This helps me to not have to learn a whole new camera. I still love this camera, after quite a few years.

A good camera if you are going from phone photography to camera for the first time, with decent photo quality and has everything included (SD card, battery charger, camera case, etc.). I love it!

I really like the quality of the camera, there are so many things I learnt with it. I have had a spectacular experience. Problem is you need to buy a battery pack for it to make it work for sometime. But for casual street photography, it's phenomenal.