Canon G3 as walkaround camera?

I will be in France and England for most of the summer, and plan to

take my Canon 10D, three lenses, a 550EX, and a tripod for early

morning and evening photography on my own.

 

During the day, I will be sightseeing with my wife and daughter, but

still want to document what we see, without holding them up or

hauling all my gear, so I'm thinking of buying a mint/used Powershot

G3 for about US$275 to carry during the daytime trips with the

family.

 

Could anyone who has used both a DSLR and a G-series Powershot please

tell me how big a price in image quality I will pay by using the P+S

instead of the DSLR? The most of the prints I would make from these

shots would be $" x 6", with the occasional 8" x 10" (shot RAW).

 

I'd also be open to suggestions for better cameras than the G3 for

this purpose, although the fact that the G3 uses the same batteries,

CF cards, and external flash as the 10D makes it attractive.

 

Thanks for your thoughts.

Since most P&S cameras have enough resolution for most uses, two things jump out: noise, which will be much higher than a DSLR, and AF and handling. The AF systems on most P&S cameras are simply tortorous to use. The damned things are so slow, you'll probably lose more pictures than you get.

The G3 is a fine camera. The disadvantage that you'd most likely find is that they aren't "fast." It's not a sports camera. If your subject matter is leisurely, then you probably will find it quite satisfactory.

Personally I would get myself a minty Canon D30 (you want 3 megapixels) and slap a 35/2 on it.

 

It would make a very respectable second/spare body to the 10D (assuming an EOS 350D is out of budget) and be relatively compact.

 

I have not done the research but I think it also takes the same batteries/CF cards etc.

It's still a point and shoot, they always annoy me; not enough control or what control they do have is too fiddly and slow.

 

I'd opt for the 10D and a single lens like the 17-40L if you have that. Otherwise spend part of the $275 on a 35/2, like someone else already suggested.

 

Get a hip bag you can slide it into when you are not using it. Works for me!

If you are rambling around with your family taking your SLR everywhere is not always the best option.Taking such a large camera everywhere with you can look daft especially if you need another chair at a restaurant to PUT you camera bag on!

 

Digital p an s are slow and noisy at high ISOs but you CAN work around this MOST of the time.

 

Have you thought of the Canon Pro1? I know it is much more expensive but it is quite a small and lightweight camera considering it has a 28-200mm lens.

 

What about a powershot S70 - this has 28-100m lens and it IS quite small too?

 

There are probably smaller cameras out there but they take SD cards and Tthis would mean additional cost and incompatibilty with your SLR.

I would haved recommended a new S70 myself (as I have been using a new one for 2 weeks alongside my D70 and love it) but Brent mentioned a budget of 275 dollars.

I myself don't use p&s normally. I'd go for a zoom, auto everything and fire away. No P&S can be faster. Removing the lens cap from a good DSLR is significantly faster than awakening a old p&s. I have a Casio 3000 which is really slow.

There's nothing wrong with a digital point and shoot for walking about with the family. Disable the AiAF in favor of a center focus point for faster AF. Otherwise, aside from the noise you'll see at higher ISOs, you'll be fine. It's simply a matter of spending time with the camera before you go. Get used to its differences from your DSLR and you'll be able to use it without any problems.

Brent, I have used my G3 for 3 yrs now as a supplement to my DSLR rigs. It replaced my Stylus Epic film camera. Its a great little camera that goes everywhere with me hiking,kayakking etc. In Fine JPEG and with lower ISO's I've made exellent 8x10 s and even 11x14 s . The trick for street candids/ action etc. is to keep the camera awake and pre focus in the event zone. I also use the optical viewfinder 90 % of the time.Its faster and is much more steady than the LCD. Use the center auto focus zone to focus then quickly recompose. I also keep the exposure comp set at - 1/3 to - 1/2. If you have any questions or would like to see more images please e-mail me. Thats a great price also ! Safe Travels, Mark

I have the 10d and a G2. The G2 needs to shot at the lowest asa (50) to get reasonable (Low noise) results at 8x10. My problem is that I hate carrying and using 2 cameras. I usually just carry my 10D and 17-40 f4 as a walk around and let my girlfriend use the G2.

It isn't so much the quality loss that you will notice, but the very deep depth of field. Not much you can do about that. I used to have a G5, and it worked great for daylight shooting, provided that I wanted *everything* in the frame in sharp focus. Not the fastest camera either, if you plan on shooting action, bring the SLR. If you need some extra reaction speed on a G3, manually focus it to 6-10 feet, close the aperture down to f/4 or f/5.6 to further increase depth of field, and you should have something to the effect of 3 feet to infinity in focus. Combined with the flipout LCD, it works nice for street photography :)

 

Just keep it out of situations where you need to use ISOs over 100, and if you must use 200 or 400, you will likely want some noise reduction done on the images through a program like Noise Ninja.

I have the G3 and the 20D, they are great combo. I captured the Blue Angels with it in manual focus.

For normal touristy shots you shouldn't have any trouble, the hardest thing is that quick capture of a facial expression that you weren't ready for.

Specs wise, it's a very fast lens: F2.0-3.0 at 35-140. That is hard to beat for low light speed. For those bright days you can flip the Neutral Density filter down and it lets you shoot 3 stops slower.

You get movable partial metering along with movable focus.

The flip screen is great for candids and shooting over your head when watching a stage show.

 

If you need faster focus/shutter response, you might want to look into a Sony W5 or W7. It has a big screen that actually works in bright sun. Pics are sharp and it does give you limited manual control. Better movies than the Canon G series and a relatively decent built in flash. I like it as a point and shoot, fun camera.

Thanks very much for your responses, everyone. I now have a much better understanding of the capabilities and limitations of a P+S digital for casual shooting.

 

I think I will go ahead and get the next G3 that comes up for sale on one of the boards at a decent price.

I have a G3 and a Nikon D70. After Aquiring the D70, my G3 was promoted to travel/party camera. The G3 in terms of quality vs compactness and portability is excellent. If you do not want to/need to travel with a heavy and big DSLR, use the G3. The most irritating feature with the G3 on travel is the shutter lag, which is quite prominent if you are used to DSLRs or low on battery.