On the Trail- Canon G10

On the Trail- Canon G10
May 2019, Carl Garrard

Canon's G10 is one of my favorite cameras of all time. Although it didn't make my magnificent seven list overall, it remains a close runner up. I have made some special memories with this camera, and I've bought the G10 for other's who have also put together some great memories with this camera too. I've been missing it again, so I went ahead and purchased another for dirt cheap to have around. Even though the G10 didn't make my my all time best list, it is arguably my most favorite fixed lens camera to hold and operate. It's just the right size and weight that I think a rangefinder camera should be (even though it's not a rangefinder), and it's an absolute pleasure to shoot with. Here, I take it out on the trail to capture a few more spring photographs before the flowers and green disappear to summer.

 Canon G10 Used Prices


Tis been a while since I've used a G10, yet I re-familiarized myself with it rather quickly. Although it's not as fast focusing as my G16, I still benefit from using it because it forces me to slow down a bit more which helps me "see" more compositions and light around me. They say, whoever 'they' are, that bright sunny days aren't much good for photography. Being the rebellious person I am, I take those words only as motivation to find compositions and light that might ordinarily be missed, going against the rules.

My rule I believe is much more simple to follow. Rule #1: There's always a great photograph to be found 24 hours a day, if only you have some motivation to find and make it.

ISO 80, raw converted to bring up shadows

Further down the trail, I found sunlight through the trees reflecting off the oak leaves. The sunflare is real, and adds to the photograph. Another creative tool if you so choose to use it.

I heard that Tijeras Creek Trail took a pretty big hit from all the rain that we endured in the first three months of 2019 in Southern California. This is the first time this year I ventured down along the creek side portion of it. I was delighted to see that the trail was still very much in tact, but that the creek had definitely widened as flood water rushed through.

Looking down about a ten foot drop from the trailhead to the bottom of Tijeras Creek. It will be running all year long thanks to heavy rains this season. Animals such as Deer and Bobcats, will show up here more during the summer months to get a drink.

One of the reservoirs just off the main trail filled up to max capacity, the highest I've seen in my twenty plus years here in Rancho Santa Margarita. The last time I saw it, two areas of the reservoir had spilled over and created a couple of temporary creeks that lead down to Tijeras Creek. This time, the entire surface was covered with blooming "red" duckweed, it appeared as though it were hard red mud and that you could almost walk across the surface. I wouldn't try that.

Under all that (what I'm calling) red duckweed is clear water and a lot of bullfrogs. I've never seen this temporary reservoir so full. There's enough water to last a couple of years here now, even in drought conditions.

All of the species of wildflowers I've heard about in our area have come to life this spring. I lost count at some point, but there were at least some forty plus species alone blooming on this rather short 2 plus mile long loop that I do. One species of wildflower that is very rare, is Owl Clover, and I was thus delighted to see a large patch of it near this reservoir.

The small white flower at the top is how this clover got its name. Looks just like a front view of a roosting Owl. I could have shot closer with the G10 if I wanted, as it has excellent macro capability.

Another wonderful surprise was the amount of  the even-more-rare Catalina Mariposa Lily's that have sprung up on the tail end of the spring bloom here. They are scattered all over in the area I live in, yet they were more concentrated on this trail for some reason. Ours are more lavender than the usual Mariposa Lily's (which made identifying them a big pain in the butt). To me they look more like a variant species of our state flower, the Golden Poppy. They aren't usually this dense, but I managed to find a group of them together and had to get this shot of them.

The stems and shape all scream cousin of golden poppy, but what do I know. I'm just happy to see them.

On my way back I found a few compositions I liked, and never once did I regret bringing the G10 along with me even though I have much more "capable" and expensive equipment. It's lens is capable of macro, wide angle landscapes, and medium telephoto- all to which are very sharp. And with nearly 15 megapixels there is plenty of resolution if I choose to print any images. I like using its 140mm setting to get subject separation from the background (background and foreground blur), just as the image above and below demonstrate (they say you can't do that with a small sensor, hah!).

Mariposa Lily's in high contrast- "boring" blue skies for the backdrop. For some reason, I really like the look of this processing in raw. There's just enough grain to give the image an organic/chemical look without destroying image quality. I used the standard Canon preset in ACR and increased the local contrast a bit more.

On the wide end the Canon G10 does a great job for landscapes. At the 28mm setting, its lens is very sharp corner to corner without any of the vignetting/dark corner shading you often see with larger sensor/lens combinations. Just point, compose, lock exposure, and shoot. You don't have to worry about blurry images since it has built in lens stabilization, and you never need to stop down past f/4 for sharp landscapes either. So yeah, even and old "outdated" digicam for under 100 bucks is plenty to make an excellent portfolio if you choose.

Sharp and fun to use, what isn't to like about the G10? Well, it turns out, not much. Just a basic sample of its landscapability. Yes a new word.

I should know the name of these yellow and orange flowers, but I don't. They are quite common out here during spring time, but soon they will be gone to heat from the chaparral.

All in all, our chaparral still looks great despite the waning colors. This spring has been the beautiful one I expected and more. All during our wet and dreary rain season, I kept reminding everyone in my circle to be patient and be on the look out for a stellar spring. This year hasn't disappointed. Although I didn't document my blog here with all of the wildflower shots I've made this spring yet, be on the lookout for future camera reviews that I used to document it.

Even at the tail end of a waning spring, with a bargain bin used Canon G10, you can make plenty of excellent images. Some advice If I may? Never let the lack of equipment or money be an excuse for to not getting out there and making excellent images. And hey, enjoy nature while you are at it because after all, we only have a few short trips around the sun.

Canon G10 Used Prices 

Stay Focused.

-Carl Garrard

Canon G10 Used Prices 

Canon G10 Used Prices