Macro Photo of Violets with G1X Mark II

G1X Mark II was set at f/16 for 1/5 second, manual focus, aperture priority mode.

There are no flowers growing outside n the winter here, so I looked around for another suitable subject to photograph with my Powershot G1X Mark II.

Next to our back door sits a table with a few plants sitting on it. The Christmas cactus is just getting ready to bloom (6 days til Christmas) but these violets have had these flowers for quite some time.

I moved the flower pot into out kitchen where there are two sets of double-hung windows, one pair on each side of a corner of the room.

Soft natural light streams in from both sides and it makes a perfect situation for natural lighting and I've shot macro photos here on quite a few occasions.

I set my G1X Mark II onto my tripod and took this photo using the macro setting with manual focusing and the timer set for a ten second delay.

In my opinion manual focusing is THE ONLY WAY to shoot macro. I used the self timer because exposure was 1/5 of a second. Although the tripod is quite steady, any slight camera movement from pressing the shutter at this close distance will surely cause some degree of un-sharpness.

Exposure mode was aperture priority set at f/16.


Macro photography With the G1X Mark II

G1x Mark II at Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania

by Bruce
(Gettysburg PA)

I used my G1X Mark II to take a couple of quick photos during a location scouting journey to the famous civil war battlefield in Pennsylvania. It was a 40-minute drive from my campsite and I couldn't come away without clicking the G1X Mark II shutter button at least a few times.

Although I was not thrilled with the lighting, I couldn't resist popping on the EVF Viewfinder and "shooting" a few cannons with my Canon.

It was part of a 3-day weekend to get off the electronic grid, visit the memorials and photograph the battlefield. I knew that I wanted to return in the morning, using that "sweet light" at sunrise and shooting with my APS-C sensor with my Canon EOS 70D

The silhouette of the monument was taken with my EOS 70D the following morning. By the time you read this I've likely posted those 70D photos of the fields, fences , and cannons elsewhere.

Keep on shooting!

Close-up shots with the G1X Mark II in the Winter

G1x Mark II - Aperture priority - 1 second at f/16 - manual focus

Usually summertime is the right time for macro shots of flowers. One of the exceptions to this trend is the tradition in our home of having poinsettia around at Christmas time.

The poinsettia is one of my favorite flowers because of the sheer brilliance of the red. The white ones are okay I guess, but the vibrant red is such a pleasant break from the muted monotones we see so much of in the northeast part of the USA during the winter.

I always set my G1X Mark II on manual focus for macro. It's really the only way to go. I am a big fan of using the EVF Viewfinder and the cropped-in focusing feature that kicks in when you are in macro mode.
The EVF viewfinder is such a better way to see the composition before you take the photo. It is by far my favorite accessory for the Mark II camera.

I find the gradual fine tuning focus adjustment using the lens ring as a big plus when shooting macro with the Mark II.

I blurred the edges of this photo using Nik Color Efex Pro software.

G1X Mark II Photo of Ceiling Art in a Micro Brewery

by Canon Fan
(State College PA)

I rotated the G1X Mark II LCD screen about 180 degrees as if I was taking a selfie portrait.

I set the G1X Mark II on it's back, aiming the lens upward at the ceiling, and adjusted the angle of the camera with a cloth napkin underneath the LCD screen.

It took a few tries to get the angle just right to capture this ceiling art at a brewery in Sate College PA.

I used aperture priority and the camera's self-timer function to make sure I'd get a sharp image.

If you shoot RAW format you can adjust color, tweak the exposure, and modify to create the right effect more readily than if you shoot jpg images.

I usually use the EVF Viewfinder, but this was a case where I really needed the rotating LCD screen.

In the second photo, of the guy dressed in red with the beer hat on, I used essentially the same technique and the exposure was also 1 second long. I decided not to move the camera and used the railing in the lower left hand corner as a framing element in the composition.

I did think the location of the man relative to the location of the ceiling light a bit odd, but I won't delve into that topic any deeper.

Both of these images were cropped down from the original photos into a square format, which I thought were more pleasing compositions.

The biggest benefit of owning the G1X Mark II is the 1.5 inch sensor, its performance in low light (high ISO), and it's ease of taking it anywhere I go.



Have a blast.
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Return of the G for me

by Danny
(Netherlands )

Great to read and gives me hope. I want to order this camera next week. I always loved the colors on the JPEGS from Canon. In december I bought a Panasonic LX100 but sold it last week because of the terrible JPEGS and the colors certainly not have the punch that the Canon has. And for me the challenge is to make great JPEGS in the camera, not in Lightroom.