I once won this camera on eBay for $15 with free shipping, it cost the lady who sold it $17 to ship it to me. So, I got a free camera and only had to pay shipping I guess. And its fun.
My first "high end" digital camera was a Canon G3 that I purchased in 2003. By the end of 2003, I had dropped it and broke the lens mechanism. You mentioned making post card sized prints, but I have made 8" x 10" prints from the 4mp jpegs and they look great. In 2004, I upgraded to the G6. And then I upgraded to the G11, G1X, and G5X II over the years. They are all great cameras. It is nice to see these old cameras getting some use. Over the summer, I saw a young man using a G6 at an automotive event. And for those wanting to use one of these old cameras but are worried about compact flash cards and readers, there are SD -> CF adapters, so you can use your existing cards and readers. As long as the card capacity is compatible with the old camera.
I bought a G2 myself earlier this year. I've often heard about how CCD digicams would be a film-like experience but it was all bla-bla. Until I tried the G2! Damn, that thing just handles and delivers like an analog point and shoot! Use it like a film camera with the screen being turned around so you can just use the viewfinder, set it to center focus point and enjoy. Lovely camera!
I currently shoot MFT, which I got into because I needed Olympus' IBIS to fight a tremor in my hands. That being said, before the tremor developed, I used a Canon PowerShot G2 as my first digital camera. After shooting 35mm film cameras for over 30 years, I didn't consider the 50-400 ASA--oops, ISO--range a problem. And the G2 was always fun to use! Further,one of the best, most artistic, and most meaningful (to me) photos I ever took was with the G2. It printed out on 8" x 10" matte finish paper with a beautiful soft filmic look. And I can't even take full credit for wonderful photographer's skills. I was just in the right place at the right time and recognized a wonderful photo right in front of me. The moral: always have a camera, any camera, with you. You never know when a special photo possibility will walk right up to you and shout, "Click the shutter! Now!"
previously I was using Lumix LX3, was my daily point and shoot until I chanced upon a G2 sales on eBay. Out of all the ccd camera that I have tested, I would say G2 definitely has one of the strongest flash for day scenes, you’ll be amazed how bright and usable it is. One thing you need to take note is that to avoid screen giving you vignetting issues, you would like to switch it off whenever you are not using as it overheat easily. Other than that is one of the best you could ask for.
My main digital cameras are : Sony DSC R1, Minolta Dimage 7i, Canon 120sx compact. I also use a variety of other Sony and Minolta bridge digital cameras. Film cameras I use: mainly Canon, the Canon 50e being my favourite. But I also use Canon 300 series bodies, like the 300V and 300X. Meanwhile my Canon 200D stays in the bag. I love using older tech. Nice video, sub'd. Regards Rob.
Great side by side, and cool to see how you did the post-processing. If anyone is interested in instant film, but doesn't want to waste a lot of film, it can be fun to get an Instax smartphone printer (they come in all 3 sizes instax sizes of film), and you can add the app to your phone. With a card reader, you can upload old digicam (or any digital camera) photos to the phone and then print out with the printer. Can be a fun addition to your photography!
The images from my G9 are delicious. I love how easy it is to use its flash to fill in back-lit portraits. A delightful travel camera. Powershot G for me.
Nice! I have the G2 and G3 and prefer the G3. It fixed a lot of the issues with the G2 and you also get a built in ND filter which is awesome. One of my favorite cams to use for the film look.
The Canon G2 was my first digital camera and I loved it. Really sharp. I loved shooting RAW and I made a lot of A4 size photos. Remember how smooth it felt to touch. A very pleasant camera. Still have it somewhere. Should check it. Hope the battery will take some charge. Thanks for an inspirational video again!
I got a black G2 without CF card or charger and it was sold untested for 25 euro. I was lucky and it works perfectly fine. I am so happy with it because my other camera broke this summer. I love to leave my phone at home and just take pics with it. :D
I enjoyed your video. I was surprised to see it because of the age of the G2. I have one myself actually. You definitely replicated the look of the film that came out of the medium format camera, but I actually like the look of the raw un-edited file better. The colors are more saturated, closer to something like Kodachrome film. Of course my view is just an opinion which is subjective. Thanks for the content you put out. I really enjoy it.
One of my fave' old lil' cameras is the 7 mp Sony DSC P-200. Still bounces around in my waist-bag when I go for a run ! Sharp images, pretty good DR (jpeg only)- and to my mind- similar colour and texture to early Canon's !
I took a g9 after your video and I had a lot of fun, I’m going for the G11 now: same CCD sensor size but 10Mpxl (Yes, less), exposure compensation wheel and pivot screen to let it close and use the ovf :)
The camera actually supports multi gigabyte CF cards, because it was designed to support IBM MicroDrive (CF Type II). So it sitting at 999 shots remaining is something that happens. Maybe don't use an ACTUAL IBM Microdrive, that's bad, you're pissing away both battery performance and reliability of 20 year old mechanics isn't great, maybe just a Lexar 1GB or 2GB card, CF Type I. The 1GB Microdrive is an original Canon accessory though, maybe put it to the side to preserve it. Kind of crazy though, i thought the value of this camera should be like $15, not $100. I mean it's not got an interchangeable lens system or anything it's just a point and shoot camera from over 20 years ago, and i bought mine for $100 back when it was being discontinued, i compared it with the G3 and it wasn't so much a money question, i just didn't like the G3, i thought they overstretched what they could do with the lens there and made it too prone to colour fringing. If the display is scuffed up at the surface, you might just be lucky covering it up with a mobile phone screen protector film, matte version is available. The glue should just seep into the scratches and make them disappear. Apropos displays useless on a sunny day. I have a very unique late 90s camera, 1MP Sanyo VPC Z400. It's built in a robust magnesium enclosure and the lens solves a problem that most cameras based on the same Fujitsu/Sierra chipset have, that when the battery runs out, the lens doesn't always reliably retract into the body and stays vulnerable. So they spring loaded the entire lens assembly and even when fully exposed, you can just force it in with the lens cap with barely any force and without any damage. This is one low tech solution to a high tech problem. The other high tech problem of course is that the CCFL backlight is woefully inefficient and does plain nothing in sunlight. So they have a window up top at the camera, when you open it, it allows the sunlight to flood the backlight prism, and the internal backlight is disabled. The way you do it, you look at the screen while pointing the top of the camera at the sun, and you can review the photos just fine. I don't remember if the camera actually has live preview while you're shooting or whether this is usable at all, i don't think it was, or whether the screen is just for settings and review.
I have a G2. I have too many cameras. Keep it. You know you are onto something when other photography creatots are pissed with your "this camera shoots like film" 😊 I love it! Can you review half frame cameras?
So funny, I have a G2 I bought for a birthday divisible by 10 quite a while back. I had the IBM micro hard drive too! All in, my memory is that it was about $1,400 USD for the set. The mini-drive gave up the ghost years ago, but the camera still works great. As for printing enlargements, I might disagree with you. I made some 16x20 prints of the G2 images and I was very pleased with them. Even sold a few back in the day. Very nice sensor. Thank you for the trip down memory lane.
Those are some nice edits and I think your video shows the lasting quality of these early Powershot G-cameras. The G2 is a chunky piece of premium CCD-goodness, with the "boat window" viewfinder in front, F2.0 lens, swivel screen etc.
I also have one but it's a newer canon powershot g3, it's very good but I'm finding a battery for it and it also suffered a stuck shutter problem which I'll fix when getting a new battery for it
At 4:41 you said the dynamic range is quite poor and that you know how to fix it. But you forgot to mention it again. Could you tell me what you did to make it better?
You should do another video of using an ai upscaler to print 20x30. You could technically print a billboard from Canon G2 with as good of quality as a PhaseOne 100mp camera.
Thank you for this video, very informative! I have an Olympus Camedia c-5050, very lovely files, amazing lens and sensor, but clunky as a shooting experience. Did you try it? How would you compare it to he G2 in terms of image rendition and shooting experience?
Hello George. I have the same camera but i got soft image (like out focus) at f2 at wide angle position. It got much sharper at the tele position even at f2.5....Do you have the same problem?
$100 seems like a lot of money for a chunky clunky camera like this. Canon G6 would probably be a better choice. Smaller faster better LCD Etc and photos just as good.
Yeah not the same censor dawg. Do you not know that different cameras have different sensors? Do you not understand that different sensors give off different looks? Jeezus…you must be one of those photographers who edit there pictures so much that they are unrecognizable from SOOC
The color science and digital design engineers, from the early 2000s, were trying to capture the film market base. It took convincing, but they basically had demonstrate to film customers that they were not losing the look of film they were used to. Again, coming from the color film era, these designers were aiming to simulate film in order to get a target set of film customers...THINK about it.
The comparison to Mamiya is a bit flawed. You will never have that depth of field and bokeh. Perhaps the dynamic range is similar in a well-lit situation.
