G9 X - Picture edges unfocused on close range

[AnthonyD]

I just bought a PowerShot G9 X.

For close range photos the center focus is good, but the edges are out of focus. I've partially overcome this effect by selecting an edge for the focus frame, but then the center is out of focus though not as bad as the edges were. No matter what I try the focus is uneven and makes for bad close range photos. This camera is brand new.

My older,  lower-end PowerShot A2500 HD manages to focus the whole shot evenly. See the attached photo comparisson.

My two questions are:

1) Is this normal or is something wrong with my camera?

2) If this is normal, can I change it so the focus is even across the image?

Thanks!

PowerShot G9 X

(not the mark ii version)

[AnthonyD]

Thanks John, your answer is the most helpful (and sensible). Why would they make a camera that's supposed to perform this badly? If I'm messing around with manual program functions and causing the problem, that's well and good, but if Auto setting is causing the problem and I have to work around with finicky manual settings, and STILL not get a satisfactory picture, then something's very wrong. Either the camera is defective or it just sucks. I hope it's the former rather than the latter.

I'm returning it to Amazon. What a bunch of stupid annoying trouble. I wish it was clearly damaged, like with big holes or tears in the images, or something easy to determine as defective. These subtle issues take longer to spot, lead to debates over the cause, and mean I have to go through a painstakingly meticulous testing process the next time I buy a camera. Why waste my time doing actual productive work when I could invest it on trying to figure out if my camera is bad?

Thands, I'll mark your answer as the solution.

[John_]

Your welcome Anthony and thankfully Amazon has a great return policy procedure. Your right those hidden, subtle problems dont always show up so fast. Consider an extended warranty with your next choice too. I wish you the best of luck. By the way I have the SX50HS and have taken many close shots both macro and just close up and never experienced what you have with the focus.

[newsense52]

In macro mode make these setting: Light metering center weighted average, select f=8 or higher, auto focus off - use manual zooming, distance is 12 inches and no flash on.

I see as no dof is involved because it is a one plane surface, only it focuses on center or edge, and distribution of light is not even to all surfaces.

[AnthonyD]

Thanks for the replies everyone, but I really need to determine if this camera is faulty or not. If it's faulty then I have to ship it back to Amazon, a task I'm not looking forward to and would prefer to avoid. If this is actually normal, then maybe I can learn to live with it.  It's not the easiest thing to reasearch, is it: "Is this camera good for taking close-up pictures of small text without screwing up everything outside the immediate center?" 

One of the main reasons I chose this camera was to take close up pictures of text, because it has stabilization and works well in the dark without the flash glare. What's the point if most of the image is out of focus? The manual says absolutely nothing about this issue, which adds more reason to think it's defective.  "This model features macro mode! Too bad it sucks compared to your old crappy camera. Now fork over 4x the price please."

Another thing, let's say I return a perfectly fine camera, buy another one and encounter the same thing?