I already have a Canon Powershot SD1000. I've always wanted the G9 and been saving up for it but I don't know if it's worth it. What do you guys think? What are the pros and cons? Is the G9 totally different from a Powershot1000 and almost like a EOS? I've heard that the G series is in between Point and Shoot Cams and DSLR's, is it true? Will G9 be worth the wait? Or do you have any other camera models in mind which is better?
My first point and shoot was a Canon G7 and I loved it. But... That was back in 2007 when mirrorless cameras were still on the drawing board. ; For the money, I would be looking at the sony NEX series or something comparable.
Well the G-series has always been considered an 'advanced' P&S model - it's still a P&S, but has a slightly larger sensor than many of the compact pocket models, and typically has more manual controls. ; The G9 is pretty old tech by today's standards - you're going all the way back to 2007, which is like a millenia in technology terms...the G-series went all the way up to the G16, and even was replaced about 2 years ago by the G1X...which moved up to a MUCH larger sensor about the size of that used in entry-level DSLRs. ; And of course, in the years since the G9 debuted, the entire category of 'mirrorless interchangeable lens' cameras debuted, with dozens of models released since then - all with significantly larger sensors and much better capabilities, PLUS the ability to use different lenses as needed. ; And all in a footprint around the same as the G9's size (though bigger when you put bigger lenses on them). ; The difference in the G9 sensor to a normal P&S sensor is like the difference between an iPod and an iPod classic and an iPod nano...there's a difference, but they're both small. ; Whereas the sensor used in the Mirrorless cameras and DSLRs would be like an iPad next to those sensors - many many times larger. Moreover, there's yet another category of camera that has popped up since the G9 - the new 1" sensor - much larger than P&S cameras and the G9 sensor, but still less than 1/2 the size of the DSLR sensors. ; The newest RX100 Mk II and RX10 from Sony have this sensor in a fixed lens form, and Nikon's Series 1 has this sensor with interchangeable lenses. ; This also might be a good compromise if you want to stick with smaller form factors and fixed lenses, but want a better sensor and better image quality. I'd definitely strongly consider a look at the mirrorless interchangeable lens camera options - from the slightly smaller sensor of the M4:3 cameras from Olympus and Panasonic, to the DSLR-sized sensors of the Sony E-mount and Samsung NX cameras...or Canon's EOS-M cameras which don't have much of a lens selection. ; The entry-level Sony Emount cameras and the Canon EOS-M can be found dirt-cheap - brand new cameras in the $300 range WITH a lens included...so quite reasonable. ; Or if you really like the G-series cams, consider the G1X or newer G1X II cameras, with much larger sensors than the older G9-16 cameras.
