Canon PowerShot G1: Not funny
In the year 2000, digicams were more like fun gadgets. But the G1 is a serious camera. So serious that even 20 years later it's still no fun to take photos with it. Although it is so bad that it should actually be fun.
The PowerShot G1 is not just any old camera. It is legendary. In 2000, Canon launched a famous series that still exists today - in a slightly different form. They are Canon's most powerful compact cameras - but also the biggest and heaviest. Today, the G1, weighing half a kilo, could hardly be described as compact.
An ambitious camera
Built in 2000, the PowerShot G1 is only one year younger than the PowerShot A50. Nevertheless, the differences are huge. With the A50 I can set almost nothing manually, with the G1 almost everything. The lens is significantly faster at f/2.0-2.5. The resolution is 3.3 compared to 1.3 megapixels.
Despite the much higher data volume, the camera only needs a fraction of the time to save a photo. The A50 is blocked for an incredible 20 seconds after a RAW shot. With the G1, thanks to a buffer memory, I can take five RAW photos in a row before the camera needs a time-out to save. The G1 even has a video function. That would be unthinkable with the speed of the A50.
The screen is tiny and yet bulky. But it can be folded out 180 degrees and rotated 360 degrees - not a matter of course even 20 years later. This is doubly practical with the G1's rubbish monitor, as it only displays the image correctly from a very specific viewing angle. By rotating it, I can adjust the viewing angle accordingly.
Thanks to a second screen without backlighting and a viewfinder, I can also take photos with the G1 without the screen. That saves battery.
The original scope of delivery would have included a remote control. Unfortunately, I don't have one. The camera also comes with an optional lens adapter and three matching lens attachments. A 58mm filter can be screwed onto the adapter. For example, an infrared filter, as the camera is supposed to be well suited for infrared photography.
My anticipation is great. So is my frustration afterwards.
Somehow tedious
Even setting up the G1 is tedious. Like the Nikon Coolpix L3, mine comes from our in-house (scrap) camera collection. To get it working, I first have to get a charger and a new battery.
First of all, the fast lens does not lead to better images, but to overexposure. This is because the G1 cannot expose faster than 1/500 of a second in manual aperture priority mode - which is already too long in good weather. In shutter priority mode I can set it to 1/1000 second, but then the aperture is always fixed at f/8. The point of this mode is that the aperture is automatically adjusted. Apparently this is a firmware bug.
Later, when I have the exposure under control, the pictures disappoint me. As with the PowerShot A50, I can't correct the colour of the RAW files as flexibly as with a modern camera. But with the A50 I like the colours as they are. Not here. I would like the green to be more yellowish, which is almost impossible to achieve. The emergency solution: black and white shots.
Nearly black and white and therefore okay is the randomly created series of shadow images.
Bracketing: Why fail simply when it can be complicated
The dynamic range is very limited: In hard light, the bright areas are completely white or the dark areas are completely black. All digital cameras are affected by this problem, but the old compact cameras in particular.
This is why the Canon PowerShot G1 has a bracketing function. The camera shoots three images in succession with different exposures. You then combine the three individual images on the computer to create an HDR image.
It fits in with this story that I didn't manage to do this properly either. Among other things, the following things went wrong (Murphy's Law sends its regards):
- Something moves in the picture, for example leaves in the wind. Or some joggers appear out of nowhere. That's not possible, the three images must be exactly the same.
- The camera, which normally always overexposes, has no overexposure in the bracketing function of all things, making it useless.
- Even the darkest image is still overexposed.
By the way, Lightroom refuses to combine individual images from the G1 into an HDR. It works in Photoshop.
This image is an HDR bracketing image. Okay, that's pretty nice. Okay, I'll stop grumbling.
But without bracketing, it doesn't come out much worse. So I still grumble a bit.
The video function
This leads me elegantly on to the video function, which gives more than enough reason to grumble. Sure, it's a miracle that such an old digicam can do video at all, but somehow 320x240 pixels aren't the real deal.
The video ended at a point where it shouldn't have. So, once again.
I see myself in front of the camera, but I can't see whether the recording is running. I only really realise what the problem is on the computer. The problem is that the recording always stops after 30 seconds. Naively, I assumed that with 320×240 pixels it should be possible to record a little longer. Always remember that: I was still using an analogue modem in 2000.
Conclusion: Protestant workaholic buzzkill
I've already tried out a few old Digiknipers and it's always been great fun. With the G1, of all cameras, which I had the highest hopes for, it's different. Shooting with this camera always feels like employees - not pleasure. Probably because the G1 was designed as a workhorse.
Evil tongues could object that I'm actually at work here and that it should feel like work. But these evil tongues should hold their tongues. Because they have one thing in common with the G1: they are both humourless, Protestant workaholic buzzkills. <p
19 people like this article
David Lee
Senior Editor
David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.chMy interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
