Is it still good enough?
QAbout five years ago, and after lugging around a heavy DSLR and spare lens, I purchased a Canon PowerShot G15 for holidays. I also have an Olympus Tough, which takes care of wet weather and sandy beaches. I read AP each week and over the last year or so have wondered if my G15 is good enough or whether I should upgrade it. Usually, I am a Canon man, but recently I’ve been reading glowing reports on Panasonic Lumix and Sony Cyber-shot compacts.
I like my G15 and think it takes good pictures and the odd video. Also, as well as the auto setting I can control speed and aperture, and under- and over- exposure. There is a small flash for fill in. A real bonus is the viewfinder which, although fairly small, is really useful on a bright sunny day. Is my G15 still up to the mark, or should I upgrade? Jan Sommerfeld
AThe Canon G15 is an excellent compact camera. That’s the key thing – it’s a compact camera, with a small image sensor. Therefore, it’s limited by the ambient conditions; bright and contrasty scenes will be challenging compared to a larger sensor camera. This can preserve highlights and shadow details better and work without issues at higher ISOs when needed. If you would like to creatively limit depth of field, again, a larger sensor camera will make this easier. However, the larger the sensor, the larger the camera will become. But don’t worry, compact mirrorless cameras are now making inroads into DSLR territory with small and light bodies and lenses for the same sensor size as traditional DSLRs. Micro Four Thirds is the most established mirrorless platform, with the smallest and lightest models from Panasonic Lumix and Olympus, but Canon is now hastening development of its own EOS- M system. You have plenty of models to explore, but in the end it’s your choice as to whether you need to upgrade.