Should I sell my 350d and buy a Powershot G12?

December 1, 2010 11:12 AM

Should I sell my 350d and buy a Powershot G12?

I have been having a look at the Powershot G12 but can't seem to quite justify the price. I have a 350d with the standard stock 18-55 lens and an 80-200 spare but dont really use them all that much so getting rid of those on ebay would buy me a G12 (ish).

I have the Ixus 70 which is such a fantastic camera and although the G12 is a lot better on paper i'm not sure how much better for me the features would be. The main reason I dont use the 350d is because the Ixus 70 produces such similar results in a much smaller form (pointing and shooting photos of the dog/cereal/uninterested girlfriend... basically nothing that fancy that I really need an SLR for)

Also I would be interested in any suggestions of any different cameras in and around the same league as the G12. I always loved the idea of a Lumix but in reality the software and, I dunno how to explain this one, general feel never compared to the Canon's i'd used in the past. Call me a Canon fanboy if you will :D

posted by aqueousdan to Technology (10 answers total)

Here's a thought: If you own the G12 and will use it much more to do photography, I'd say get it - much better than a SLR sitting around not doing much. Personally, I'm a Nikon shooter (Minolta Fanboi) - but for P&S, I'd definitely get either a Canon or Panasonic (I own a panasonic P&S atm). LX3 or LX5 would be awesome, just not justifiable.

Have fun shooting!
posted by TrinsicWS at 11:36 AM on December 1, 2010

I own a 400D, a 30D and a G11. The G11 takes comparable photos to the SLRs, except under extreme conditions, and I can take it many more places easily.
posted by miscbuff at 11:39 AM on December 1, 2010

If you don't use the 350 to the advantages of a DSLR, yes, you should consider the G12. It's newer tech, so the smaller sensor on the g12+newer tech should =350D.

Also, a lot of the "full control" features of the 350D, and DSLRs in general, can be had using CHDK, or whatever it's called.
posted by notsnot at 11:40 AM on December 1, 2010

How about a Canon S95? It uses the same sensor as the G12, a faster lens, full manual control, and very pocketable.
posted by jaimev at 11:48 AM on December 1, 2010

Get whatever you're actually going to use! I don't go anywhere without an SLR, but that's fine for me.

One thing that might make it more fun for you is a nice, small, light bag that you don't mind carrying around with you. I got a Crumpler Ben's Pizza Medium, which happily fits my 400D, and it's so small I don't mind taking it everywhere. It fits the camera with one lens, a spare card and battery and basically nothing else. When I got a bigger SLR, I bought a similar, but slightly bigger bag, and now that comes everywhere with me. It also means that you've got super-quick camera access, as you just pop the top off and grab the camera, and you're away.

I don't think they've made the Ben's Pizza range for a while (though an eBay seller has one in a less-than-subdued orange, but I'm sure there are similar alternatives. The Jimmy Bo 300 sounds decent.

As far as more pocketable cameras go, a Canon S95 might be more up your street, as the G12 is actually relatively bulky. The front control ring on the S95 is super-sweet.
posted by Magnakai at 12:36 PM on December 1, 2010

Response by poster: Argh great suggestions guys thanks a lot! I forgot I had looked at the S95 a couple of weeks back so I have to factor that into my research!

It has taken me quite a while to come to the conclusion that my SLR, however fabulous it is, just isnt getting used as much as I would like. Magnakai has a great point though, my camera bag for the SLR is rather over the top with spare pockets for lenses, chargers, batteries etc and that puts me off immensely.

@TrinsicWS The LX5 and LX3 seem to come in around the same price as the S95 and G12 give or take a little each way... I see they are aimed at the "enthusiast" which sounds awesome. Are they better cameras? I really dont have a lot of experience with the Lumix range other than a quick go with one a few years ago that appeared very clunky with awful shutter lag.
posted by aqueousdan at 12:57 PM on December 1, 2010

I've got both the 350d and an S90. I'd guess 95% of my photos over the past year have been taken with the S90. The 350d takes significantly better photos if you've got a really good lens to stick on it, otherwise the S90 is better in every way. At this point I leave my 50mm f/1.4 on the 350d and use it almost exclusively to take pictures of my kid. If I were only going to keep one of the cameras, there's no doubt that the S90 would be it.
posted by foodgeek at 1:28 PM on December 1, 2010

LX3 is a great camera (imho it beats the s95) but it and anything else that size will focus more slowly than a SLR.

Get the one you'll carry.
posted by devbrain at 3:53 PM on December 1, 2010

Here's my perspective.

If you're going to have to hang an alternative camera off of a strap or put it in a bag, then you might as well deal with the (minimal in the grand scheme of all DSLR rigs) bulk of the 350D.

Any compact will pale in comparison to it in most respects.

If you want something really tiny, the I'd vote for an S95. It'll still suck in mosat respects to the DSLR, but you may find it more convenient.

As we say in the biz, the surest recipe to get no good pictures is to not have a camera with you.
posted by imjustsaying at 4:08 PM on December 1, 2010

Get the Canon S90. The G12 is still pretty big.
posted by chunking express at 1:37 PM on December 4, 2010