Initial Impressions of the Canon G9

[scubapatton]

I just ordered my G9 last week. I also ordered the Canon housing and the assortment of land-based accessories (telephoto/wide/converter/external flash) this past Tuesday. I am going to get the Ikelite setup probably right after Christmas with the DS 125. I was torn between the two housings (Ikelite and Canon) but opted to go for both since the Canon housing pricing is pretty reasonable... I figure I can take the Canon housing on non-photo focused trips, etc, and the Ikelite for photo-focused trips. I was thinking of getting the Ikelite before Christmas to take with me to Roatan, but will probably just wait a little...

I have been waiting to hear solid reviews for both land-based and water-based, and this thread certainly helped. The big review on dpreview's site helped as well.

 

[matva]

Question:
Are all the camera buttons usable w/ the Canon housing?

 

[scubapatton]

I have heard the wheel is not available with the Canon housing but that it is a negligible issue in underwater for the price difference.. another reason I am opting for both housings... I will attach a strobe for the ikelite but not bother with a strobe with the Canon housing.

 

[friscuba]

Unfortunately the wheel is how to change scene mode (no biggie since underwater would be the one to preset) and to change shutter speed and aperature in those preferred modes. There's probably a workaround for the shutter speed and aperature I haven't figured out yet - I may have to read the directions, but any hint would be appreciated. So far so good anyways, but I've really only 2 dives on it.

 

[Wetpants]

All the features are available with the Canon housing. To access the wheel features, press (& hold) the (Shortcut) button and you can adjust all settings.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[KARELNIJEBOER]

I have heard the wheel is not available with the Canon housing but that it is a negligible issue in underwater for the price difference.. another reason I am opting for both housings... I will attach a strobe for the ikelite but not bother with a strobe with the Canon housing.

I also just bought a G9, but will not buy the Canon housing for 4 reasons:
-the weels for Iso and for Aperture selection cannot be operated underwater with the Canon housing. This is very bad, as you need to switch often the aperture and iso to get the best lighting situation; unless you make photos with a full ttl setup. When you have bright backgrounds such as light corals or sand, overexposure happens easily. You then need to reduce light. This can be done with aperture, iso or also changing the flash output manually.
If you make closeup pics; often too much light comes in, and you need to reduce light also. Also, when a larger object that is say 2-3 meteres away, which needs all the sensitivity you can get, you may need to increase the Iso, and decrease the aperture; in order to get a photo with nice suturated light.
-The Canon housing is half the price, but is not as sturdy, and o-ring inspection is more difiicult the on the Ikelite housing.
-The Canon housing does not have a connection for an external flash, so extending can only be done with an optically triggered slave flash.
-The canon housing is rated for 40m, the Ikelite 60meters depth. I think that the Ikelite will be more fault tolerant therefore. I have flooded 2 Canon S-80 cameras in a Canon housing (anyone wants the housing??)


I am very happy with the G9, it gives me more possibilities, and i eally like the way the manual controls are interactively shown on the very big and bright screen. This must be the best compact camera for underwater I think.

Regards from the Netherlands

 

[diverrex]

I also just bought a G9, but will not buy the Canon housing for 4 reasons:
-

You didn't mention Reason #5 - the Ikelite accepts a wide angle on it's port (the optional flat port at least).

 

[KARELNIJEBOER]

Yep;

you are right! Althogh I would think there will be someting around on the market soon by other suppliers, knowing that Canon sells most cameras, and this is the high end compact, well suited for underwater photograhy.

I have not ordered the iklite yet, I am building a small cardboard model of the much larger Ikelite to see if it fits my dual flash tray. I like the rig to be compact, and probably will not use the Ikelite arm that comes standard wit the housing.

Regards

karel

 

[matva]

I also just bought a G9, but will not buy the Canon housing for 4 reasons:
-the weels for Iso and for Aperture selection cannot be operated underwater with the Canon housing. This is very bad, as you need to switch often the aperture and iso to get the best lighting situation; unless you make photos with a full ttl setup. When you have bright backgrounds such as light corals or sand, overexposure happens easily. You then need to reduce light. This can be done with aperture, iso or also changing the flash output manually.
If you make closeup pics; often too much light comes in, and you need to reduce light also. Also, when a larger object that is say 2-3 meteres away, which needs all the sensitivity you can get, you may need to increase the Iso, and decrease the aperture; in order to get a photo with nice suturated light.
-The Canon housing is half the price, but is not as sturdy, and o-ring inspection is more difiicult the on the Ikelite housing.
-The Canon housing does not have a connection for an external flash, so extending can only be done with an optically triggered slave flash.
-The canon housing is rated for 40m, the Ikelite 60meters depth. I think that the Ikelite will be more fault tolerant therefore. I have flooded 2 Canon S-80 cameras in a Canon housing (anyone wants the housing??)


I am very happy with the G9, it gives me more possibilities, and i eally like the way the manual controls are interactively shown on the very big and bright screen. This must be the best compact camera for underwater I think.

Regards from the Netherlands

thanks for your input. Do you mind posting some of your shots with the G9?

 

[KARELNIJEBOER]

Hi Matva;

Yes, I will do so when I reveive my housing.

You have nice pictures on your S70 gallery. You could consider and external flash.

Regards

Karel