Quick & Dirty G12 test

[tbear]

G12
Settings:
Av
100 ASA
Macro mode
Hand Held
Light from the top CFL
RAW

All shots put in PS 5 Extended.
Color corrected.
Cropped
First shot no sharpening.
Second shot sharpened.

 

[Sam]

It doesn't appear that sharpening was needed based on the first shot. This coin has a strange looking rough surface.

You can see how the focus starts to diminish around LIBERTY, but it's a good exposure and all the detail is clearly visible.

Incidentally, for general photography I have found that f4 is the sweet spot for sharpness on my G12. You might give that a try and see what kind of results you get.

 

[Mario Sarto]

I have read about the technical capabilities of the G12 - is the HDR (High Dynamic Range) mode expedient?

 

[Sam]

It's ok, Mario. I made a few shots with it but was never very pleased with the results. It basically shoots three shots and automatically combines them for HDR. I think better results can be achieved by doing it by hand in Photoshop, but I haven't really shot enough G12 HDR shots to say for sure.

 

[rod]

I have taken some of the highlight values down on one of your nickel photo to demostrated that a picture can sometimes be rescued, by narrowing the histogram. Perhaps I have overdone it. Sam, I did this in iPhoto, but we know Photoshop would be better, do you recommend this to get more contrast?

Rod

 

[tbear]

Sam,
Your right it does have a strange surface finish. Using a 10X loop the surface looks just like the photo but the photo seems to suffer from some amount of grain. I will have to go back in and see why. I sort of did it in a hurry and normally would process it in Lightroom first. As for the Sweet Spot, on my G9 it was f4. I have not tested this camera yet. Here are two web sites that show how to find the Sweet spot. On the first one I had done it with the G9 and had the camera on a tripod and 3ft. from the ruler and about 45 deg. It should work for the G12 also. The second web site you can download different charts to test the lenses. I have not tried them yet.
Thank you for your input. By the way I just received Chasing Hammer Flat/Flat that you designed. It 's really a nice little hammer. Just have to sand the handle a little more to get rid of some glitches from the turning machine.
Terry
http://lightdescription.blogspot.com/2007/12/g9-sweet-aperture.html#uds-search-results

http://regex.info/blog/photo-tech/focus-chart

 

[Sam]

Can you shoot a modern nickel with no processing? I can't put my finger on what's wrong with the two shots, but both appear to be over processed. You should be getting very low noise with the G12 @ ISO100.

Glad you like the hammer

Rod: I think you went a bit too far with that edit. As I said, I'm not sure what I'm seeing in the two photos, but something tells me they are over processed. The tonal distribution seems ok...as in it's not over or underexposed. Maybe a couple of really small blown highlights but within reason I think.

 

[Sam]

Incidentally, the new Canon GX1 is the new point-and-shoot golden boy. Not sure when it'll be available but probably soon. I read that the sensor is 6 times larger than the G12

 

[rod]

Point taken, Sam,

I overdid it.

Boy, that Canon GX1 is attractive!

I'm sure all will agree any fine camera still demands a photographer to put the camera in front of an an excellent picture. No substitute for that artist' eye.

I can admire it in the work of others, but I'm not bad in the hit and run department.

Rod