Canon Powershot G10 or Nikon D60??

[Brendan Donohue]

I'm not a pro photog by any means, but looking to invest in a nice new digicam for my "company". I've considered a couple options between point and shoot and D-SLR, but narrowed it down to the Canon G9/G10 and D60. I know its hard to compare between the two types, but I feel they are comprable in terms of image quality.

I've seen some incredible shots taken with the G9/G10, although it suffers the obvious downfalls of non-interchangeable lenses and not as much tactile manual controls. I do like the compact nature of the powershot since it may be an inconvenience to be lugging around a full D-SLR rig in some of the situations I plan on shooting in.

any opinions or suggestions of other cameras in this range are welcome too!!

thanks,
brendan

[Jeff Donald]

Sorry, but these two aren't even close in image quality. I'm a Canon shooter, but the D60 will kick the G10's *ss. This site should convince you if what I've written hasn't.

Compare cameras


Click the tabs to see the entire comparison.

[Brendan Donohue]

thanks for that link Jeff, I figured that would be the response I would get. I totally understand that the G10 or any p and s is gonna get smoked by most DSLRs in terms of those specs. When I use the camera finder on flickr and see some of the images the G10 produces, it's very impressive for what it is..and that's what matters in the end...obviously it will never be as good as a D60.

Anyways, in the consideration of a small form factor camera, I came across the Evolt E-420 from Olympus...it weighs in at 13.4 oz and is the smallest DSLR on the market...you can get it with a 25mm f2.8 pancake lense (less than an inch long)...this compact form would be perfect for my needs...all the reviews I've read are pretty favorable and I've seen some stellar images from it around the web...anybody have one?

[Jeff Donald]

If you are only going to use the images on the web, it's fair to use the web to evaluate them. But if you could see prints from both there would be no comparison. Pancake lenses are notoriously poor quality and I would advise you to test the lens, particularly wide open, before making a purchase (or get a decent return period like 14 to 30 days).

[Robert Lane]

A bit late chiming in but...

One of the biggest considerations for which style camera to use - SLR or compact - is the type of photography you intend to do.

If all you need is something to record a scene as-is with little to no control over perspective then a pocket-cam would be fine. However if you need more creative control over depth-of-field, long shutter times etc then only an SLR will suffice, period.

Regardless of brand or resolution on the chip all pocket-cams suffer (or benefit from depending on your perspective) almost infinite depth-of-field, which means there's no optical method available for separating your subject from the background - everything will be in focus. The only exception to that rule would be a very tight Macro shot in which only a small area would be in focus - but the object perspective would also be seriously warped, as if it were wrapped around a sphere.

The other thing to consider is that pocket-cams also suffer from seriously limiting color depth or dynamic range. Until recently not many people really understood what dynamic range on a digital camera actually meant, however these bar-graphs from DXOmark.com clearly illustrate just how little color information is actually captured by the G10 compared to the D60. (see pic)

Again, comparing these two cameras isn't a fair comparison; they have completely different capabilities and as you can see very different outputs as well.

Pick the camera based on how well it fits your needs, not how many people like "brand x".

[Mugurel Dragusin]

I love Canons but the comparison is just not proper between G10 and D60 ... they are in different leagues. None are bad, in principle, but definitelly not up for a fair comparison.

I very much second what was already said above.

[Paulo Teixeira]

Why not consider something like the Olympus EP-1 or the Panasonic G1? The biggest difference besides the G1 being slightly bigger is the HD video mode of the EP-1 and the articulating screen of the G1.

[Ray Bell]

Now that the G11 has shown its face you might want to consider it instead of the G10...

[James J. Lee]

I am a professional photographer (photojournalism) and have both Nikon DSLRs and a Canon G10. The DSLRs come out strictly for still photo work. If I'm shooting primarily video, I keep the G10 on me. In fact, it was the only still camera I took with me on a recent trip to do some documentary work in Kenya. I've had images published from both my old G7 & G10. The Canon G series is certainly capable of high quality work in the right hands. It's major limitations are a slight shutter lag, and low light performance. The shutter lag is something I've learned to compensate for to some extent. The low light work is best overcome with a DSLR.
A lot depends on what you're trying to do with it. For long lens, low light work, there is no alternative to a modern DSLR with bigger imaging chips. For general shooting outdoors, the G10 is a very handy tool.
If I were buying another still cam today, I'd certainly be looking at options that provide HD video capabilities to give me some unique alternatives (shallow DOF) to my V1u.
Let me know if you have any questions on the G10.