Canon G12 10 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.8 Inch Vari-Angle LCD

I got this camera to use in addition to a Canon SD450 which I already have. The SD450 almost always takes excellent pictures outdoors, but has very little you can change to control the picture the camera takes. For example, when indoors, with the camera set to auto, sometimes it will take good pictures and sometimes it won't. In an area with fluorescent lighting the pictures have a distinctly different color tone, and there is basically no way to do anything to change that until after you import the pictures and try to touch them up with photo editing software. The SD450 is great if you just want to put it in your pocket in case you happen to see something you want to take a picture of, because it is very small. I wanted the G12 to take better quality pictures of friends and family, especially at family functions like reunions and holiday gatherings. The G12 also has a better lense and more zoom. It is listed as having 5X Optical Zoom, and the camera actually has the capacity to zoom in to 10X with (I presume) an interpolated zoom for the 6x to 10X portion. I was especially interested in this camera's ability to take pictures in RAW format and the ability to take 720 HD video. When I import the original pictures, I save them in a folder I name with the date or other identifier and the word "Originals" and at the same time make another folder with the same first name and "Reduced" to put the modified pictures into. This way, if I happen to delete or ruin a picture accidentally while trying to improve it, I can always restore a copy from the original file and start over. I then use the excellent photo program that is included to reduce the size of a copy of all the pictures I decide to keep. (I was expecting yet another copy of the latest version of Adobe Photoshop Elements, but this camera comes with a much better Photo software package.) The SD450 seems to take a lot of pictures that have red eye, but so far I have not had that problem with the G12. This camera takes excellent pictures just by leaving it on full automatic. I am still learning how to use this camera, but so far, with just the auto settings I am very happy with the picture quality. The software has an excellent batch processing ability where you can select the pictures you want to change and it processes them all at once very quickly. This is very helpful if you send pictures to friends and family by e-mail. Canon also provides online storage of the pictures if you want, so you can just send people a invitation to the web site and they can go to the site by invitation only and look at, print or save any pictures they want. So far I am very impressed with the battery life. I charged it fully upon arrival and have used the camera several times, once almost all day and have not had to recharge the battery even once. It is getting low and I will fully charge it again after discharging it fully. Finally, I would like to say that Amazon was very helpful in getting the camera to me very quickly. I wanted to use it at an family reunion, but I actually waited too long to place the order. Somehow Amazon came through and I got the camera the day before the reunion. Thanks, Amazon!

I was looking for an alternative to my Canon DSLR for an upcoming trip to Europe: I don't want to lug a hefty camera and lens.... So I had certain key criteria, in no particular order: (1) size (but not too small)and weight, (2) picture quality, (3) ergonomics, (4) folding lcd screen, (5) viewfinder, and (6)ability to use in semi-automatic modes, but fully usable as a point and click. One at a time...the weight of the g12 is fine (quite light), and the size / ergonomics are excellent. It is easy to hold, the grips and controls are all logically placed. My wife definitely likes the size and feel of this camera. So far I've taken only a limited number of pictures, but all seem clear and sharp with crisp colors. I haven't explored all the shooting options yet, so it will take awhile before I'm completely comfortable with its flexibility. The folding lcd screen is critically important to me--I take closeup photos for eBay and this camera will be often mounted on a tripod extension arm (inside a "light-box"). Positioning the lcd screen so I don't need to do contortions is key(I'm replacing a beloved G1 camera that served me for many years). The viewfinder, although not perfect is also important when taking photos in full sun (however, the lcd screen does seem quite bright). The only negative so far is the documentation. Most features are well explained, but some like DR Correction and ISO Rate of Change are not described very well at all. I don't mind the pdf format since I can read the manual on my ipad. Also the documentation could use some examples e.g., provide a few useful camera settings and combinations when using C1 or C2. I can probably find this by searching on-line, but more of a tutorial approach would be appreciated. Update (Oct 1, 2012): I've returned after 2 weeks on vacation in Europe. The camera performed extremely well. Many of the outdoor shots were spectacular -- crisp image, vivid colors, etc. I took many pictures of poorly lit interiors where flash was not allowed. Using the low light setting (the one with the candle icon), I was able to take decent pictures with good color and acceptable sharpness. Yes, some of the pictures were a little grainy, but given the ease of use, these pictures were more than acceptable. I highly recommend this camera. Seeing the number of tourists toting heavy DSLRs around their necks confirmed this choice as an excellent travel camera. My DSLR is still my choice when taking holiday / family pictures and when traveling by car, but this camera will come along....

Getting ready for a long international vacation, I took my trusty Nikon D70 to the camera store for a cleaning. The guy at the camera shop said 1: you can't really clean these, they're disposable, and 2: this camera had enough clicks on it that it wouldn't be reliable. So much for supporting local camera shops... as soon as I got it home the card stopped responding reliably, and there's no easy way to tell if the card is bad, or the camera is making the card go bad... So, long story not so long, I asked a professional photographer friend of mine what I should do - spend $900 or $1300 for a new Nikon that supports all my lenses? He said, sure, and also get a Canon G12. More reliable, equivalent photo quality, great zoom range, and about 1/8 the size, when you factor in lenses. And of course 1/2- 1/4 the cost. Knowing that the best travel photos are the impromptu quick shots, I decided to hold off on replacing the Nikon and just take the Canon - what a great decision! The photos are fabulous, the battery life is amazing, even with lots of flashes, and the ability to quickly and accurately set manual or program settings is actually easier than on the Nikon! I shot mostly with Aperature Priority, and some with shutter Priority, but I could also set it for full auto in about 1/2 second, hand the camera to somebody else, and be in a great shot. Being able to flip the screen around lets you take pictures of yourself and family easily, and the screen has lots of different options for settings and playback that makes it great to look at. I got lots of compliments on the camera and the photos. My only wish is that I could get a little bit wider angle shots - I'm an architect and take lots of wide angle interior and exterior pictures of buildings, but it wouldn't have been worth travelling with the big camera just for those times when I wanted the extra view width. I'd probably agree with other reviewers that the viewfinder isn't very useful. There isn't any information in there, so it ends up only helping with the basic shot composition, which the screen does just as well... Great camera!

I wanted to upgrade from my Canon SD1100. I asked my photography friends about recommendations for cameras and one of them suggested that I look at the Canon G12. I know nothing about the ISO, shutter speeds, aperture, etc. so I thought buying a DSLR may be too much money and too high of a learning curve. My needs were to be able to take close up pictures of flowers with blurry background, better action shots of my kids' sports, better nighttime photography, better low light pictures, and so on. I am able to achieve all my photography needs with the G12. It is smaller than a DSLR so you can fit it in a purse or small bag. I love the swivel screen. It does come in very handy. The SCENERY modes are very useful. In fact, my favorite is Color Accent since you can pick a color in a picture, such as red, and the rest of the picture is in black and white. You can do the same thing in Photoshop, but it's very handy to be able to do the processing while you take the picture. The pictures turn out very artsy. The depth of field with this camera is a bit limited when trying to take close ups and you want to blur the background. My photography friend gave me this tip. He told me to shoot in Aperture Priority mode (Av). At the same time, use Zoom to zoom in on your subject. Change the f stop to the smallest setting possible with zoom enabled. Step back more from the subject and zoom in more. Take the picture. Voila! The blurry background is achieved! The Portrait setting in the SCENERY mode supposedly blurs the background, but not enough for me. I'm going to take a local photography class to understand more about basic photography concepts, but I'm sure I will be able to take even more awesome pictures with the Canon G12 after that. Take a look on flickr.com and search for Canon G12. You'll see so many pictures taken with this camera. This camera can take amazing pictures with the proper understanding of how to use its functions. **Review Update 7/30/12*** Been using the G12 for several months now and have gotten to know its pros and cons better. The G12 is a great camera to bring on travel. It's smaller size than a DSLR fits nicely into my handbag. The ISO, metering, and shooting mode controls on the top of the camera gives quick access to changing your settings. I took it to Hearst Castle and was able to take pictures indoor without flash for the first time in my life. The last time I went to Hearst Castle, I had my film 35 mm camera where if I turned off the flash, the pictures were too dark because I couldn't adjust anything with my old camera. With the ability to control shutter and aperture, I was able to use the G12 to capture low, light indoor shots and night time photography. The downside of the G12 is that for portraits where you want shallow depth of field (blurry background), you cannot get much blurriness unless you have the subject way in front of the background and stand far away and zoom into the subject. I've also had professional photographers try to help me achieve the look but it just doesn't give me a satisfactory look compared to the lenses on their DSLRs. However, if I'm doing macro photography, such as photographing flowers, I am able to achieve the nice shallow depth of field look, just not with larger subjects.

First off, I am not a professional photographer, but more of an advanced novice. Last year I bought a Canon SLR Xsi and thought it was the best thing ever. The pictures are awesome and I was very happy with it. The problem I ran into was its so darn big. So I left it at home most of the time and dragged along a cheap point and shoot just because I did not want to deal with the extra luggage associated with an SLR. I started researching the high end point and shoot cameras as a compromise. It came down to the G12 and the Nikon P7000. I am somewhat of a Canon purist and ended up with the G12. Man am I happy with this camera. It does exactly what I expected. The build quality of this camera is great. It feels comfortable in my hand and does not at all feel cheep. It's a bit on the large size as compared to a point and shoot, but it is much smaller than a SLR, so I am very happy about that. The overall picture quality is impressive. Its actually a bit better than I expected. I do not have the trained eye of a professional, but I would rate it close to what my Xsi was producing. Not quite as good, but close. The ability to access most of the important functions via dials on the camera has opened up a whole new world for me. No more chasing down ISO and exposure in the menus. The camera has a front dial that is customizable also. It also has a TON of built in features that I wont review, but it is more than I have ever seen on a camera. Several of the reviews of the video aspects of this camera did scare me, but it is a camera for gods sake and not a camcorder. From what I can tell so far, the video is just fine, but limited. At the end of the day, this is a slight downgrade from my Xsi, but it is something that will definitively get a ton of use due to it being smaller than a SLR. If you are looking for a high quality point and shoot and don't mind a bit of bulk, get this camera. If you need something to supplement a SLR setup, get this camera.

Had the G12 for over 8 months. At the time, I was looking at 6 other cameras: Ricoh GR Digital IV, Samsung TL500, Olympus XZ-1, Canon S100, Nikon P7100, & Panasonic LX5. Canon G1X, Sony RX100, and Fujifilm X10 were not out yet. - Ricoh & Samsung ruled out because of poor zoom (1X & 3X); cutoff was 3.5X - Scoffed at the XZ-1 because I was convinced that optical IS was MUCH better than sensor shift IS. (Could eat those words, because I have this camera on order as a complement to the G12.) - Canon S100 was my dream camera at the start of the search: 2.0 aperture & 24mm. But discovered that I hated menues & loved external controls; S100 didn't feel right. - Nikon P7100 had the best zoom, great external controls though not to my liking, but was turned off by partially articulated display, less dynamic range, and slow as the G12. Very close. - Panasonic LX5 was the speed demon of my top 3 choices, but disliked the controls & inferior image quality compared to the G12. 2.0 aperture, 24mm lens, & largest sensor of my top 4 choices were its strengths. It was in my Amazon.com cart, when I went to handle the G12. G12's attractions: 1) Large sensor (1/1.7) compared to other P&S cameras, 2) Great control layout, 3) Excellent image quality, 4) Self-closing lens cap, 5) Articulated LCD display can be protected by folding it in on itself, 6) Images can be saved as RAW (.CR2), 7) Ability to add filters; ND filter built-in, 8) Good zoom, 9) PASM (wanted to learn how to use these modes), 10) Great macro mode, and 11) Pocketable; if you have large pockets. Will not fit in a shirt & jeans pocket. That was BEFORE I bought it. One of its modes is HDR (High Dynamic Range); take 3 photos at diffent exposures & merges them ... requires a tripod. Use this when photographing a scene with a bright sky, shaded area, and normal landscape. Sky is darkened to make it a deep blue, detail is exposed in the shaded area. AEB mode is better because you can control the aperture & don't need a tripod ... but you will need software such as SNR (personal favorite), Photomatix, etc, etc. Latest version of DPP (included) merges photos, just not as good as the commercial packages. Why not 5 stars? Video is bad, and didn't realize until tonight when I used a Nikon P310, had bad the video quality really is. It's also slow, but I knew that before I bought it. If the G12 isn't for you, consider one of the others mentioned. Update Wed, 4-Jul-2012: Between having the Olympus XZ-1 for a week, and playing with a B+W polarizing filter, I was too harsh in this review ==> changing from 4 to 5 stars. Olympus did some things better than Canon, but the controls & menus are much better for the G12. Plus there are useful books about the G12; none about the XZ-1.

Additional comment to the previous review: I did replace the front lens assembly for nearly $200. I bought a very good hard case to give the lens the best possible protection. Within months, the camera was doing it again, scratching its own lens, eventually becoming unusable. I tried hard to keep the whole thing clean but to no avail. The camera destroys itself and Canon won't admit it. I have stopped using the camera, and would rate the thing, reluctantly because I like the camera otherwise, at one star. A camera that wrecks its own lens is like a car with an auto-crash feature that can't be over-ridden. ---------------- I like this camera. I use it all the time. I've had mine a year, and would recommend it. But... and a big but ... I was surprised when it was still quite new to see a significant scratch on the lens near the mid-point. How did that happen? I'm careful with my cameras. Never dropped it, always set it down with care. But there it was, a nasty scratch that caught the light in some situations and degraded the image. Frankly, I was embarrassed to think I had damaged my own camera. Now, months later, I have more scratches. A little cloud of scratches. I know I'm not doing this to my camera. I have come to believe that the metal curtains that open and close when I turn the camera on and off are doing the nasty deed. I don't think they're bent. I just think they're too close. A speck of dust on the lens can get dragged across the glass, resulting in a scratch. I will try to get an answer from Canon. But I see on photo forums that this is a common complaint. I believe it's a design flaw, and a serious one. It should be a note of caution for anyone considering this camera.

As I'm an old film guy who has resisted digital photography almost as much as dentist visits, I've really avoided making the jump. Of course, I've had a few small point and shoot cameras for quick snapshots. But recently, I've found it necessary to get a camera with more capabilities and quality. I'd love to have a higher-end DSLR, but flying these days really doesn't lend itself to lugging a big camera bag with a couple of lenses, flash, etc. I gripe just taking my shoes off at the security checkpoint. And I am avoiding paying checked bag fees as much as I possibly can! Last April, I finally decided to get something a bit nicer, and after weeks of searching through review after review, I finally settled on a Fuji HS10. At first, I loved that camera. Then, I discovered that particular unit was eating batteries with the voracity of John Pinette at a Vegas buffet. So, back it went. And I waited and continued to research. Then, along comes Canon with this G12. Remember, I'm an old film guy, so I like some controls. But after 5 minutes playing with this camera, I was most impressed. Startup - it's ready to go in a flash. Focus - spot on for 99% of the photos I've shot (nothing's perfect), and that 1% I can peg on me for focus issues. Low light? Simply amazing! This camera's ability to compensate for low light is borderline spooky. Combined with the lens image stabilization, I've taken shots that would have required a tripod, cable release, and good old-fashioned luck with a film camera. Sports mode is very good. While the 'rapid-fire' shots aren't blazing fast, they are sharp, clean, and quick to save. In fact, the camera is fast with saves in most every mode I've tried. And speaking of modes, I discovered one that I've fallen in love with - Nostalgia mode. With a quick click of the front-mounted scroll-wheel, one can age a photo making it appear a bit washed out and grainy. For artistic shots, this mode just made me feel like I was working darkroom magic without the darkroom! Some folks have complained that it's too big for a pocket. I didn't really have any issues with that. In fact, I think that for everything this camera can do, it's size is one of the biggest selling points. I just returned from a quick trip to Jamaica where I took all sorts of shots. The ones that got the most compliments were the low-light shots. And everyone that asked and showed this camera were amazed at what it was able to do. As I mentioned - I'm incredibly impressed with this camera.