Canon G11 or SX20IS

[ScubaJoy65]

Okay, shutter bugs, I'm looking for some opinions. I'm moments from purchasing my camera. I was sold on the G11 then I stumbled upon the SX20IS.

Bottom line - I'm looking for a camera that will not have lag time in the shutter speed when taking photos underwater.

I realize the Ikelite housings are expensive on both of these. Before I tackle that purchase, I need to buy the right camera and become comfortable using it on dry land.

What say you? I wanna hear all your thoughts...

Thank you,
Joy

 

[phillybob]

Canon G-11 stats:

Imaging

Resolution
Effective: 10.4MP, Recorded: 10.0MP

Sensor
1/1.7" CCD

Bit Depth
Not Specified By Manufacturer

File Formats
RAW, JPEG, QuickTime

File Size
Not Specified By Manufacturer

Color Spaces
sRGB

Image Stabilization
Yes

Crop Factor
N/A

Optics

Lens
6.1-30.5mm f/2.8-4.5 (35mm film equivalent: 28-140mm)

Zoom
Optical: 5x, Digital: 5x

Lens Mount
N/A

Focus Type
Autofocus

Focus Range
Normal: 1.6' (50cm) - infinity
Macro: 0.4" (1cm) - 1.6' (50cm)

Accessory Lens/Filter Mount
Integrated Mount for the LA-DC58K Lens Adapter

Shooting Controls

Sensitivity
ISO 80-3200

Shutter Speeds
1/4000 - 15 sec

Metering
Evaluative, Center Weighted, Spot

Exposure Modes
Auto, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, Scene

White Balance
Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Underwater, Custom 1, Custom 2

Mirror Lock-Up
N/A

Burst Capability
Up to 1.1fps

Self Timer
2 seconds or 10 seconds

Interval Recording
No

Remote Control
Canon Remote Switch RS60-E3

Flash

Built-in Flash
Yes

Effective Flash Range
1.6' (50cm) - 23' (7m)

External Flash Connection
Hot Shoe

Dedicated Flash System
Canon Speedlite EX-series

Max Sync Speed
Not Specified By Manufacturer

Memory

Built-in Memory
No

Memory Card Type
SD/SDHC

Still Images per GB
RAW: 67
JPEG: High Res: 374 - Low Res: 7,684

A/V Recording

Video Recording
Yes

Video Resolution
640 x 480 @ 30fps, 320 x 240 @ 30fps

Video Clip Length
Up to 1 hour of 4GB

Audio Recording
Audio with Video Only

Viewfinder/Display

Viewfinder Type
Optical Zoom Viewfinder

Viewfinder Coverage
77%

Display
2.8" LCD

Connectivity/System Requirements

Connectivity
USB 2.0, Dedicated A/V Out, mini-HDMI (Type C)

System & Software Requirements
Windows XP, Vista
Mac OS X (10.4 or later)

Environmental

Operating/Storage Temperature
Operating Temperature:32-104°F/0-40°C

Weatherproofing
Not Rated

Durability
Not Rated

Power

Battery Type
NB-7L Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery

Power Adapter
ACK-DC50 AC Adapter Kit (optional)

Physical

Dimensions
4.41 x 3.00 x 1.90" (112.1 x 76.2 x 48.3mm)

Weight
12.5 oz (355g) body only

 

[phillybob]

Canon SX20IS stats:



Imaging

Resolution
Effective: 12.4MP, Recorded: 12.1MP

Sensor
1/2.3" CCD

Bit Depth
Not Specified By Manufacturer

File Formats
JPEG, QuickTime, WAV

File Size
Not Specified By Manufacturer

Color Spaces
sRGB

Image Stabilization
Yes

Crop Factor
N/A

Optics

Lens
5-100mm f/2.8-5.7 (35mm film equivalent: 28-560mm)

Zoom
Optical: 20x, Digital: 4x

Lens Mount
N/A

Focus Type
Autofocus

Focus Range
Normal (wide): 1.6' (50cm) - infinity
Normal (telephoto): 3.3' (1 m) - infinity
Macro: 0.39" (1cm) - 1.6' (50cm)
Digital Macro: 0" (0cm) - 3.9" (10cm)

Accessory Lens/Filter Mount
N/A

Shooting Controls

Sensitivity
ISO: 80-3200

Shutter Speeds
1/3200 - 15 sec

Metering
Evaluative, Center-weighted, Spot

Exposure Modes
Auto, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, Scene

White Balance
Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Custom

Mirror Lock-Up
N/A

Burst Capability
Up to 1.0fps

Self Timer
2 seconds or 10 seconds

Interval Recording
No

Remote Control
No

Flash

Built-in Flash
Yes

Effective Flash Range
1.6' (0.5m) - 22' (6.8m)

External Flash Connection
Hot Shoe

Dedicated Flash System
Canon Speedlite EX-series

Max Sync Speed
1/500 sec

Memory

Built-in Memory
No

Memory Card Type
SD/SDHC (Class 4 or higher for video)

Still Images per GB
JPEG: High Res: 313 - Low Res: 5,122

A/V Recording

Video Recording
Yes

Video Resolution
1280 x 720 @ 30 fps, 640 x 480 @ 30fps, 320 x 240 @ 30fps

Video Clip Length
HD: Up to 4GB or 30 minutes
SD: Up to 4GB or 1 hour

Audio Recording
Up to 60 seconds with a photo

Viewfinder/Display

Viewfinder Type
Electronic Viewfinder

Viewfinder Coverage
100%

Display
2.5" LCD

Connectivity/System Requirements

Connectivity
USB 2.0, A/V Out, mini-HDMI (Type C)

System & Software Requirements
Windows XP, Vista
Mac OS OS X (10.4 or later)

Environmental

Operating/Storage Temperature
Operating Temperature:32-104°F/0-40°C

Weatherproofing
No Rated

Durability
Not Rated

Power

Battery Type
4x AA-size Batteries

Power Adapter
CA-PS700 Compact Power Adapter (optional)

Physical

Dimensions
4.88 x 3.48 x 3.42" (124.0 x 88.3 x 86.9mm)

Weight
19.8 oz (560g) body only

 

[phillybob]

The G11 is clearly the superior camera. But for me, the HD video and wide angle native lens was more important so I got the SD980. Same deal with the S90 ( You may want to look at this one, too. Everyone around here is going nuts over it.). Better all-around camera, but no HD, so I passed on it. I guess it's all relative to what you're looking for and how much you want to spend. My set-up is what I want now, yet it was inexpensive enough that if I want to go in a different direction in a year or so ( you know I will ), I won't take that much of a financial hit.

 

[avster]

The advantage of the SX20IS is its long zoom - which is fun topside but isn't really a value UW. For reef and schools and underwater landscape you will be as wide as you can get and for macro you want to be close to your subject. A zoom underwater is advantageous if you want to get closeups of items you cant get close to - but keep in mind the farther away from your subject you are the softer the picture and the harsher the blue shift because of the increased volume of water between you and the subject. So being able to zoom in 20x might be a moot point because the focus will be so difficult.
Also at your widest - the lens will be set back quite far from the port lens....

 

[shoturtle]

Okay, shutter bugs, I'm looking for some opinions. I'm moments from purchasing my camera. I was sold on the G11 then I stumbled upon the SX20IS.

Bottom line - I'm looking for a camera that will not have lag time in the shutter speed when taking photos underwater.

I realize the Ikelite housings are expensive on both of these. Before I tackle that purchase, I need to buy the right camera and become comfortable using it on dry land.

What say you? I wanna hear all your thoughts...

Thank you,
Joy

The G11 is a better camera between the two. You may want to look at the SX1IS, it is a much better camera the the SX20. The SX1 matches up very well with the G11. If hd video something you want. I would consider the SX1IS.

 

[olyvtx]

I've owned a couple Canon SX IS series cameras. I loved them for the 20x zoom, swivel lcd display and super macro features. They make a great topside camera. I dont know how it fares as a underwater camera but you can pick up a housing for about $800 from Ikealite. The new SX1 IS has had some up and down reviews. But a great new feature to it is the HD quality video. If I had the money, with it's super macro mode and HD video I'd be looking at the Canon SX1 IS too.

As far as your comment about lag time...sorry, every P&S camera has to focus and take a light meter measurement. This takes time. From what I've seen, all P&S have about the same delay...they're not like the high end DSLR's which can focus and meter much faster.

 

[shoturtle]

I've owned a couple Canon SX IS series cameras. I loved them for the 20x zoom, swivel lcd display and super macro features. They make a great topside camera. I dont know how it fares as a underwater camera but you can pick up a housing for about $800 from Ikealite. The new SX1 IS has had some up and down reviews. But a great new feature to it is the HD quality video. If I had the money, with it's super macro mode and HD video I'd be looking at the Canon SX1 IS too.

As far as your comment about lag time...sorry, every P&S camera has to focus and take a light meter measurement. This takes time. From what I've seen, all P&S have about the same delay...they're not like the high end DSLR's which can focus and meter much faster.

Very true,

The bridge cameras that the OP are looking at are better then a point and shoot camera in shutter lag, but there is no way they will equal a dslr. But the 2 under consideration and the SX1IS are very good, and most likely better then what the OP is using now.

The long zoom can be very useful topside, but if this will be a dedicated dive camera, the G11 would be my choice. It is more compact.

 

[Texasdivechick]

I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. I've been contemplating between the G11 and the S90 for a while now. I would love to get a dslr but money is a huge factor in my decision-making process and unfortunately, this trumps shutter speed for me.
I'll have to check into the SX IS series.
I am curious to know which one the OP ends up with.

 

[smellzlikefish]

I agree with everything posted thus far, there is some great knowledge, but what hasn't been posted are any arguments with the Ikelite housings. We got five Ikelite housings when I worked for NOAA, of which two broke within the first month and a third was assembled wrong. These were all for Canon P and S's. Conversely, I have been nothing but happy with my Canon housing.