G3 vs. G2

slipstream87 · Aug 4, 2003

After debating over this past weekend, I have decided that its not worth investing in the current 5MP cameras as there always seems to be some quality tradeoff with each manufacturer.

I was almost set to buy the Canon G3 but then I noticed that the G2 is still available on the internet at some very attractive pricing.

My question is this: With respect to the Canon G3 and G2, the DP review tends to indicate that the G3 does not have as sharp an image as the G2. I have also read some readers comments that they wish the G3 images were sharper. Is the Canon G3 image notably "softer" in everyday shots. Will adjusting the Sharpness to +1 bring the G3 to the default Sharpness of the G2? If I save images in RAW format will the sharpness become a mute point in that I can adjust the sharpness in post software processing? And one final question - can anyone recommend what software would best for processing RAW images from a G3?

If there are any prior G2 owners out there that upgraded to the G3 it would be greatly appreciated if you could give some insight to these questions.

Thanks.

CHIA · Aug 4, 2003

The G3 does most things better than the G2, and is only about a $60-80 dollar price difference these days. Don't even consider sharpness as an issue, as the G3 design has less in camera sharpening for a reason....it's calles less noise. Sharpness is a form of image noise, and using unsharp mask in Photoshop or any other image program is far better than having the camera dictate it for you. People who wish the image was sharper are probably amateurs or people who do little to no post processing, which is almost a must for digital cameras in order to get the best possible image. Case proven with the RAW format. This is the most time consuming format to work with, but ultimately, the best end result.

The most popular non-Canon software for RAW images would probably be breezebrowser. There is an Adobe plug-in for Photoshop, but it's about $100, which is pretty pricey for a plug-in.

Im my mind, the G3 is really the best bargain prosumer camera made today. The prices have dropped a lot in the last few months, and you are getting a whole lot of camera for your money.

CHIA

slipstream87 said:
After debating over this past weekend, I have decided that its not
worth investing in the current 5MP cameras as there always seems to
be some quality tradeoff with each manufacturer.

I was almost set to buy the Canon G3 but then I noticed that the G2
is still available on the internet at some very attractive pricing.

My question is this: With respect to the Canon G3 and G2, the DP
review tends to indicate that the G3 does not have as sharp an
image as the G2. I have also read some readers comments that they
wish the G3 images were sharper. Is the Canon G3 image notably
"softer" in everyday shots. Will adjusting the Sharpness to +1
bring the G3 to the default Sharpness of the G2? If I save images
in RAW format will the sharpness become a mute point in that I can
adjust the sharpness in post software processing? And one final
question - can anyone recommend what software would best for
processing RAW images from a G3?

If there are any prior G2 owners out there that upgraded to the G3
it would be greatly appreciated if you could give some insight to
these questions.

Thanks.

slipstream87 · Aug 5, 2003

Thanks CHIA,

I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I think I'm finally set on the G3 - after agaonizing over what to buy for several days its nice to have made a decision - now I can go get a camera and start having fun taking pictures.

Cheers,
Rob.

CHIA said:
The most popular non-Canon software for RAW images would probably
be breezebrowser. There is an Adobe plug-in for Photoshop, but it's
about $100, which is pretty pricey for a plug-in.

Im my mind, the G3 is really the best bargain prosumer camera made
today. The prices have dropped a lot in the last few months, and
you are getting a whole lot of camera for your money.

CHIA

slipstream87 said:

After debating over this past weekend, I have decided that its not
worth investing in the current 5MP cameras as there always seems to
be some quality tradeoff with each manufacturer.

I was almost set to buy the Canon G3 but then I noticed that the G2
is still available on the internet at some very attractive pricing.

My question is this: With respect to the Canon G3 and G2, the DP
review tends to indicate that the G3 does not have as sharp an
image as the G2. I have also read some readers comments that they
wish the G3 images were sharper. Is the Canon G3 image notably
"softer" in everyday shots. Will adjusting the Sharpness to +1
bring the G3 to the default Sharpness of the G2? If I save images
in RAW format will the sharpness become a mute point in that I can
adjust the sharpness in post software processing? And one final
question - can anyone recommend what software would best for
processing RAW images from a G3?

If there are any prior G2 owners out there that upgraded to the G3
it would be greatly appreciated if you could give some insight to
these questions.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Glen Barrington · Aug 5, 2003

I agree with CHIA, although the G3 is FAR from perfect. You aren't going to find anything better right now. Even from Canon (i.e. G5).

CHIA said:
The most popular non-Canon software for RAW images would probably
be breezebrowser. There is an Adobe plug-in for Photoshop, but it's
about $100, which is pretty pricey for a plug-in.

Im my mind, the G3 is really the best bargain prosumer camera made
today. The prices have dropped a lot in the last few months, and
you are getting a whole lot of camera for your money.

CHIA

slipstream87 said:

After debating over this past weekend, I have decided that its not
worth investing in the current 5MP cameras as there always seems to
be some quality tradeoff with each manufacturer.

I was almost set to buy the Canon G3 but then I noticed that the G2
is still available on the internet at some very attractive pricing.

My question is this: With respect to the Canon G3 and G2, the DP
review tends to indicate that the G3 does not have as sharp an
image as the G2. I have also read some readers comments that they
wish the G3 images were sharper. Is the Canon G3 image notably
"softer" in everyday shots. Will adjusting the Sharpness to +1
bring the G3 to the default Sharpness of the G2? If I save images
in RAW format will the sharpness become a mute point in that I can
adjust the sharpness in post software processing? And one final
question - can anyone recommend what software would best for
processing RAW images from a G3?

If there are any prior G2 owners out there that upgraded to the G3
it would be greatly appreciated if you could give some insight to
these questions.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

--
G. Barrington
Teradata Certified Professional

YanniG · Aug 5, 2003

I owned the powershot G2 for a whole year.I then sold it and bought a Powershot G3.I only owned it for three months and upgraded to the 10D EOS DSLR...
Personally,from all the powershot cameras I enjoyed most the Powershot G2.

I would recommend you to save your money and go for a G2.

YanniG
http://www.YanniG.com

slipstream87 · Aug 5, 2003

Thanks for the response Yanni.

I needed to get a camera today for some work shots so I got the G3 as I could only find the G2 on the internet at US sites (I'm in Toronto).

Like yourself I will probably upgrade to the 10D (or some future version) at some point but the G3 is good enough for now. Paid $999 CDN with a case and 256MB card. The current price difference to the G2 is now less than $100. Our company has two G2's and I must admit its a very nice camera. I figured I'd try the G3 to get the 4x zoom and the neutral density filter. I'll write back in a few weeks to say how I like the G3.

Cheers,
Rob.

YanniG said:
I owned the powershot G2 for a whole year.I then sold it and bought
a Powershot G3.I only owned it for three months and upgraded to the
10D EOS DSLR...
Personally,from all the powershot cameras I enjoyed most the
Powershot G2.

I would recommend you to save your money and go for a G2.

YanniG
http://www.YanniG.com

rwh · Aug 5, 2003

I've got a G1 that's starting to shows signs of its age with some stuck pixels and the likes. After looking at what's out there the G3 looks pretty good but there are some occasional deals that float by for the G2.

Since you've had both I have a quick question on the speed with the G2. I was playing with a friends G3 and it is quite a bit more responsive in switching modes, scrolling, etc. than my G1. It can take forever to switch between capture and play on the G1, but the G3 makes the switch fairly quickly. What was your impression on the speed of the G2 vs the G3?

--rick

YanniG said:
I owned the powershot G2 for a whole year.I then sold it and bought
a Powershot G3.I only owned it for three months and upgraded to the
10D EOS DSLR...
Personally,from all the powershot cameras I enjoyed most the
Powershot G2.

I would recommend you to save your money and go for a G2.

YanniG
http://www.YanniG.com

CHIA · Aug 5, 2003

Rob,

Not sure if you already placed your order, but noticed that tigerdirect.ca has the G3 for $782.99CAD, which you could either buy from them, or use the price to get a price match from Future Shop, or whomever you are looking at....just a thought?

Us Canadians gotta look hard for deals, as we don't have the luxury our US friends do when it comes to super competitive electronics.....

CHIA

slipstream87 said:
I needed to get a camera today for some work shots so I got the G3
as I could only find the G2 on the internet at US sites (I'm in
Toronto).

Like yourself I will probably upgrade to the 10D (or some future
version) at some point but the G3 is good enough for now. Paid
$999 CDN with a case and 256MB card. The current price difference
to the G2 is now less than $100. Our company has two G2's and I
must admit its a very nice camera. I figured I'd try the G3 to get
the 4x zoom and the neutral density filter. I'll write back in a
few weeks to say how I like the G3.

Cheers,
Rob.

YanniG said:

I owned the powershot G2 for a whole year.I then sold it and bought
a Powershot G3.I only owned it for three months and upgraded to the
10D EOS DSLR...
Personally,from all the powershot cameras I enjoyed most the
Powershot G2.

I would recommend you to save your money and go for a G2.

YanniG
http://www.YanniG.com

Click to expand...

redgtxdi · Aug 5, 2003

I just posted on the G2 speed the other day. Good news is that it's much faster than I thought it would be. I recently got rid of an A40 & bought an A70, then got a smokin' deal on a G2 ($300us) in excellent condition. (Guy had only taken 2,000 pics w/ it). I gotta say that I love this thing. While the images may be too sharp to some, it appeals to me 100%. You could turn the G3 sharpness up or turn the G2 sharpness down, but I'm finding more & more that the G2 defaults actually do reeeeally well. I was doing some white-balance testing out in the California desert recently & I've gotta say the best WB setting (for truest blue sky) was 'auto'.

I have an A70 so I know what fast is. I've played with the G3 numerous times and it is slightly faster, but going from a G1 to G2 will feel like night & day. The improvement scale is definitely not linear. The G2 was definitely better than the G1, then the G3 was a slight improvement over the G2. (To be honest, I do like the way Digic version Canons over-saturate color though some may say the G2 does it better.) and the G5.........well, flip a coin, I guess. I call the G2 a "Digic" impersonator, 'cuz it's older than my A40 was but has most of the bells & whistles of my A70. I suspect my G2 will be with me for a loooong time.

rwh said:
I've got a G1 that's starting to shows signs of its age with some
stuck pixels and the likes. After looking at what's out there the
G3 looks pretty good but there are some occasional deals that float
by for the G2.

Since you've had both I have a quick question on the speed with the
G2. I was playing with a friends G3 and it is quite a bit more
responsive in switching modes, scrolling, etc. than my G1. It can
take forever to switch between capture and play on the G1, but the
G3 makes the switch fairly quickly. What was your impression on the
speed of the G2 vs the G3?

--rick

Kurt Foeller · Aug 6, 2003

I own a G2, and have traveled the world with it over the past two years. I have considered upgrading to G3 and G5, but the functionality is not worth reinvesting for me.

When I sent 1200x1600 files to Ofoto.com and ordered 16x20s, I was amazed at the quality of the prints. AND, I realized that these files were only 2.8 megapixels. That said, I don't need 5 mp anytime soon, and I highly recommend you take advantage of the prices of new G2s.

I paid $750 for mine, and now you can get one for about $300. Now that's a deal!

There is insane pressure to unload the G2s for the fact that the G3 and G5 are on the market.

Make no mistake, the G2 is a lifetime camera. Even if you go to 10D or other digital SLRs, you will never want to sell your G2...kinda like why great photographers always have a rangefinder camera on hand...for portability and ease of use, etc.

slipstream87 said:
After debating over this past weekend, I have decided that its not
worth investing in the current 5MP cameras as there always seems to
be some quality tradeoff with each manufacturer.

I was almost set to buy the Canon G3 but then I noticed that the G2
is still available on the internet at some very attractive pricing.

Martin H. Schwartz · Aug 6, 2003

Kurt Foeller said:
When I sent 1200x1600 files to Ofoto.com and ordered 16x20s, I was
amazed at the quality of the prints. AND, I realized that these
files were only 2.8 megapixels. That said, I don't need 5 mp
anytime soon, and I highly recommend you take advantage of the
prices of new G2s.

I paid $750 for mine, and now you can get one for about $300. Now
that's a deal!

There is insane pressure to unload the G2s for the fact that the G3
and G5 are on the market.

Make no mistake, the G2 is a lifetime camera. Even if you go to
10D or other digital SLRs, you will never want to sell your
G2...kinda like why great photographers always have a rangefinder
camera on hand...for portability and ease of use, etc.

To Kurt Foeller: Very well said. I have been using a G2 for the last year and a half and don"t think I will ever part with it regardless of the newest and best upgrades. The results are fabulous and have not seen anything that beats its image quality. Just love it.

slipstream87 said:

After debating over this past weekend, I have decided that its not
worth investing in the current 5MP cameras as there always seems to
be some quality tradeoff with each manufacturer.

I was almost set to buy the Canon G3 but then I noticed that the G2
is still available on the internet at some very attractive pricing.

Click to expand...

Mike Hunt · Aug 6, 2003

Get the G3. It is clearly the better of the two cameras, and has numerous improvements over the G2 which are rarely even discussed.

Canon may have reduced the G3's default sharpening levels but that is in keeping with the goal of delivering the best images with the most detail. Oversharpening loses detail which can never be restored.

Yes, you can increase in-camera shaprpening and get sharper looking photos. But it's better to post process in Photoshop with unsharp mask to get better results.

Personally, though, I reserve this process for exceptional photos I intend to print. For evryday photos, I leave camera sharpening to the default setting.

slipstream87 said:
After debating over this past weekend, I have decided that its not
worth investing in the current 5MP cameras as there always seems to
be some quality tradeoff with each manufacturer.

I was almost set to buy the Canon G3 but then I noticed that the G2
is still available on the internet at some very attractive pricing.

My question is this: With respect to the Canon G3 and G2, the DP
review tends to indicate that the G3 does not have as sharp an
image as the G2. I have also read some readers comments that they
wish the G3 images were sharper. Is the Canon G3 image notably
"softer" in everyday shots. Will adjusting the Sharpness to +1
bring the G3 to the default Sharpness of the G2? If I save images
in RAW format will the sharpness become a mute point in that I can
adjust the sharpness in post software processing? And one final
question - can anyone recommend what software would best for
processing RAW images from a G3?

If there are any prior G2 owners out there that upgraded to the G3
it would be greatly appreciated if you could give some insight to
these questions.

Thanks.

Mike Hunt · Aug 6, 2003

You obviously didn't spend much time with your G3, and the experience was entirely overshadowed by your purchase of the SLR.

The G3 is much better than the G2. It has a much better focusing system, and that alone is worth the trade-up. Aside from that, the G3 has a sleeker camera body with a much better grip, better control placement operations, an infinitely useful job dial, and various other small but significant enhancements.

If I had a G2, I might wait a while before replacing it. But if I were shopping for a new camera, I'd defintiely get the G3 over the G2.

YanniG said:
I owned the powershot G2 for a whole year.I then sold it and bought
a Powershot G3.I only owned it for three months and upgraded to the
10D EOS DSLR...
Personally,from all the powershot cameras I enjoyed most the
Powershot G2.

I would recommend you to save your money and go for a G2.

YanniG
http://www.YanniG.com

Mike Hunt · Aug 6, 2003

Yanni's not the best person to ask, because his impression of the G3 was obviously clouded over by his acquisition of a 10D only a short while afterwards.

The G3 is much better. Period.

Yes, it's controls and menus are faster and more responsive.
Controls and menus redesigned and significantly improved.
Auto and manual focus are much improved.
Custom programmable shooting modes.
Improvements to arbitrary limits on shutter speeds and apertures.
Better grip.
Jog dial.
ND filter.
4x zoom.
Better battery life.

rwh said:
Since you've had both I have a quick question on the speed with the
G2. I was playing with a friends G3 and it is quite a bit more
responsive in switching modes, scrolling, etc. than my G1. It can
take forever to switch between capture and play on the G1, but the
G3 makes the switch fairly quickly. What was your impression on the
speed of the G2 vs the G3?

--rick

YanniG said:

I owned the powershot G2 for a whole year.I then sold it and bought
a Powershot G3.I only owned it for three months and upgraded to the
10D EOS DSLR...
Personally,from all the powershot cameras I enjoyed most the
Powershot G2.

I would recommend you to save your money and go for a G2.

YanniG
http://www.YanniG.com

Click to expand...

Glen Barrington · Aug 6, 2003

I've never owned a G2, but I have considered (handled, evaluated, etc) one when I was looking for a digital camera. along with several Nikons', a couple of Sonys', and the Oly 4040. I chose the G3.

I would say if money is tight, go for the G2. It's a fine camera and it will give you years of service. On the other hand, if you can afford a G3, I would recommend that camera.

I would say that the G3 is a major "tweak" of the G2. On the surface, it is a very similar camera. But I think it handles better, the controls are a bit better placed, and I think the new Digic processor is an under appreciated improvement in Digital technology. 8X10 inch enlargements from the G3 are as sharp as they can be. While I haven't tried it, I'm sure the images will hold up if I went for an even larger print.

This may be why the G5 has not been as well recieved as Canon had hoped. There just isn't that much difference in USABLE quality between the G3 and the G5.

The G3 isn't perfect, but it did address some of the issues G2 owners complained about. It's not often any manufacturer takes two passes at an already successful and popular camera design. In the future, think the G3 will be considered a classic collectable.

slipstream87 said:
After debating over this past weekend, I have decided that its not
worth investing in the current 5MP cameras as there always seems to
be some quality tradeoff with each manufacturer.

I was almost set to buy the Canon G3 but then I noticed that the G2
is still available on the internet at some very attractive pricing.

My question is this: With respect to the Canon G3 and G2, the DP
review tends to indicate that the G3 does not have as sharp an
image as the G2. I have also read some readers comments that they
wish the G3 images were sharper. Is the Canon G3 image notably
"softer" in everyday shots. Will adjusting the Sharpness to +1
bring the G3 to the default Sharpness of the G2? If I save images
in RAW format will the sharpness become a mute point in that I can
adjust the sharpness in post software processing? And one final
question - can anyone recommend what software would best for
processing RAW images from a G3?

If there are any prior G2 owners out there that upgraded to the G3
it would be greatly appreciated if you could give some insight to
these questions.

Thanks.

--
G. Barrington
Teradata Certified Professional

kfoda · Aug 6, 2003

Mike Hunt said:
Get the G3. It is clearly the better of the two cameras, and has
numerous improvements over the G2 which are rarely even discussed.

Well a G3 does not really take a better photograph in the same conditions compared to a G2. In some cases maybe the extra zoom is of advantage, but you pay for the that with the inferior sensor/lense match compared to the G2 anyway. Increased CA on the G3 compared to G2 at the same apertures will be the norm. It's not really bad, just worse than that of a G2. Many sites have reported this fact. The examples on http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_g3-review/index.html seem to show it well. I would have expected Canon to improve, not go backward. Of course the G5 is even worse again!!

Yes the G3 has many other little functional updates which I liked. A general overhaul of the G2. Areas that I thought might have big improvements were a dissapointment. Autofocus on the model I looked at was only slighly faster than a G2. DIGIC seems to be a bit of a flop in this regard.

Mike Hunt said:
Canon may have reduced the G3's default sharpening levels but that
is in keeping with the goal of delivering the best images with the
most detail. Oversharpening loses detail which can never be
restored.

Agreed. Problem is most consumers don't postprocess, so G2 default of relatively sharp with fallback to lower sharpening for "prosumers" seems to me to be a better compromise for the masses. Don't really know why they changed this. Noise levels do not appear to have dropped with the reduced sharpening, only slightly at ISO400 according to this site.

Mike Hunt said:
Yes, you can increase in-camera shaprpening and get sharper looking
photos. But it's better to post process in Photoshop with unsharp
mask to get better results.

I use http://www.applied-maths.com/paul/sharpcontrol.zip . It's free.

In addition the best free RAW converter out there PowerShovel II http://www.morpheusmultimedia.com/ps/ps2.html is best tuned to support S40 and G2.

So my advise is get a G3, but only if you can't get a cheaper G2.

--
Cheers,
http://www.worldisround.com/home/kfoda/index.html

Mike Hunt · Aug 6, 2003

kfoda said:
Mike Hunt said:

Get the G3. It is clearly the better of the two cameras, and has
numerous improvements over the G2 which are rarely even discussed.

Click to expand...

Well a G3 does not really take a better photograph in the same
conditions compared to a G2.

The choice of camera is not limited to image quality - not by a long shot. It has everything to do with the cameras features, capabilities - the ways in which it helps or hinders the photographer's efforts.

The G3 is a much more usable camera than the G2.

kfoda said:
In some cases maybe the extra zoom is
of advantage, but you pay for the that with the inferior
sensor/lense match compared to the G2 anyway.

No. Both the G2 and G3 havbe the same sensor and the same quality lens. The sensors and lenses are equally matched.

I think you are thinking about the G5's mismatched lens and sensor.

kfoda said:
Increased CA on the
G3 compared to G2 at the same apertures will be the norm.

Wrong again. You are thinking of the G5.

kfoda said:
It's not
really bad, just worse than that of a G2. Many sites have reported
this fact. The examples on

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_g3-review/index.html seem to show it well. I would have expected Canon to improve, not go backward.

I don't see anywhere in that review where I can compare identical images and settings between the G2 and G3 so I can decide for myself if one has more CA than the other and if so, how much.

I ignore subjective comments like that unless they're supported by clear evidence.

kfoda said:
Yes the G3 has many other little functional updates which I liked.
A general overhaul of the G2. Areas that I thought might have big
improvements were a dissapointment. Autofocus on the model I looked
at was only slighly faster than a G2. DIGIC seems to be a bit of a
flop in this regard.

Autofocus is not only faster on the G3, but it's much more controllable and predictable. You have more zoom. You have MUCH faster control and menu responsiveness, and much better workflow all around with better designed controls and menus. You've got a buil-in ND filter, a new IR sensor on the right, the option to fire the camera from the remote without a delay. You have the jog dial which is a vast improvement over what was there before. You have the custom shooting modes. And you have the sleeker body with the much imnproved grip.

Would I pay double for these features? Maybe not. But I'd certainly pay a little more for them.

kfoda said:
kfoda said:

Canon may have reduced the G3's default sharpening levels but that
is in keeping with the goal of delivering the best images with the
most detail. Oversharpening loses detail which can never be
restored.

Click to expand...

Agreed. Problem is most consumers don't postprocess, so G2 default
of relatively sharp with fallback to lower sharpening for
"prosumers" seems to me to be a better compromise for the masses.

Not for me. And if it's not to your liking, you can always increase the sharpening level. No big deal.

kfoda said:
Don't really know why they changed this. Noise levels do not appear
to have dropped with the reduced sharpening, only slightly at
ISO400 according to this site.

It's not about noise. It's about image detail. Over-sharpening loses detail. For demanding users, the less sharpened image can be post-processed to deliver more detail and resolution than would otherwise be possible. Pro DSLR cameras require post processing.

kfoda said:
kfoda said:

Yes, you can increase in-camera shaprpening and get sharper looking
photos. But it's better to post process in Photoshop with unsharp
mask to get better results.

Click to expand...

I use http://www.applied-maths.com/paul/sharpcontrol.zip . It's free.
In addition the best free RAW converter out there PowerShovel II
http://www.morpheusmultimedia.com/ps/ps2.html is best tuned to
support S40 and G2.

So my advise is get a G3, but only if you can't get a cheaper G2.

I'd only advise the G2 if there's a hige price difference and you're either on a REALLY tight budget or you care more about the deal than the camera.

kfoda · Aug 6, 2003

Mike Hunt said:
The choice of camera is not limited to image quality - not by a
long shot. It has everything to do with the cameras features,
capabilities - the ways in which it helps or hinders the
photographer's efforts.

The G3 is a much more usable camera than the G2.

I'll put up with a lot for image quality, I think most would, though maybe not. The G3 had some nice updates on the G2 functionally, I don't think "much more usable" is a valid statement. The one area that is a big improvement is the manual focus control.

Mike Hunt said:
No. Both the G2 and G3 havbe the same sensor and the same quality
lens. The sensors and lenses are equally matched.

I think you are thinking about the G5's mismatched lens and sensor.

No, I am talking about the CA on the G3 compared to a G2. The lense/sensor is simply not as good a match on the G3/G5 compared to the G2. The G2 F2-2.5 3x zoom lense seems to be a perfect match with the least CA of the lot.

Mike Hunt said:
Wrong again. You are thinking of the G5.

No. CA is increased on both G3/G5 compared to G2. Got a bit worse on G3, a lot worse on G5, still a backward step on both cameras, shame on Canon for letting this happen.

Mike Hunt said:
I don't see anywhere in that review where I can compare identical
images and settings between the G2 and G3 so I can decide for
myself if one has more CA than the other and if so, how much.

I ignore subjective comments like that unless they're supported by
clear evidence.

I believe this is a widely held opinion that has been expressed on many forums, (not just this one) by many ex G2 owner that expressed dissappointment. I am amazed that you do not concur.

Mike Hunt said:
Autofocus is not only faster on the G3, but it's much more
controllable and predictable. You have more zoom. You have MUCH
faster control and menu responsiveness, and much better workflow
all around with better designed controls and menus. You've got a
buil-in ND filter, a new IR sensor on the right, the option to fire
the camera from the remote without a delay. You have the jog dial
which is a vast improvement over what was there before. You have
the custom shooting modes. And you have the sleeker body with the
much imnproved grip.

The autofocus on the G3/G5 is simply not a big improvement on the G2. All the fuss about DIGIC has been for very small improvements in performance. On the the DIGIC topic, colour at default seems a little more saturated on G3 compared to G2, however G5 seems to have returned to less saturation.

Mike Hunt said:
It's not about noise. It's about image detail. Over-sharpening
loses detail. For demanding users, the less sharpened image can be
post-processed to deliver more detail and resolution than would
otherwise be possible. Pro DSLR cameras require post processing.

Yes both cameras support RAW and low sharpening modes. I think the G2 actually retains more image detail than G3 because the lense is superior. Pitty they did not keep it around in the G3.

Mike Hunt said:
I'd only advise the G2 if there's a hige price difference and
you're either on a REALLY tight budget or you care more about the
deal than the camera.

Well, I would probably buy a G3 now too as I can't get a new G2 in Australia, but I still believe the G2 is as good a camera (or better for image quality).

--
Cheers,
http://www.worldisround.com/home/kfoda/index.html

rwh · Aug 6, 2003

Thanks, I found a review at Imaging Resources that compared the processing speed on the G1, G2 and G3. They had the G2 as 2x as fast as the G1 and the G3 as 'considerably' faster than the G2. The other thing that I like is the G3's RAW mode is 12-bit.

I've got a 10D as well and there are times when the 10D is the best camera for what I want to do and there are times when I prefer the G1. In reading Phil's review of the G3 it seem like Canon has made a number of small changes since the G1 that make the camera a lot more convenient to use.

The thing about the 10D is that the camera with a couple of lenses and a case can weigh 10 pounds and cost $2,500+. There are a lot of times when I don't want the hassle, afterall, this is about having fun. I can throw the G1 in my backpack and its there if I want it. And I can take the G1 places that I wouldn't take the 10D - like on a canoe trip, or biking.

I'll have to keep an eye on the Dell specials. I think they've been selling the G3 for about $500 when they run their coupon specials.

--rick

Mike Hunt said:
Yanni's not the best person to ask, because his impression of the
G3 was obviously clouded over by his acquisition of a 10D only a
short while afterwards.

The G3 is much better. Period.

Yes, it's controls and menus are faster and more responsive.
Controls and menus redesigned and significantly improved.
Auto and manual focus are much improved.
Custom programmable shooting modes.
Improvements to arbitrary limits on shutter speeds and apertures.
Better grip.
Jog dial.
ND filter.
4x zoom.
Better battery life.

Mike Hunt · Aug 6, 2003

The trouble with Dell is that they'll offer the camera at a seemingly low price and claim it is in stock. Shortly after placing your order, you will likely receive an email telling you the camera is on back order. They will not give you an accurate delivery estimate. By the time they send you the camera, it may be weeks or months later, and by then it will be available elsewhere for the same or lower price.

rwh said:
I've got a 10D as well and there are times when the 10D is the best
camera for what I want to do and there are times when I prefer the
G1. In reading Phil's review of the G3 it seem like Canon has made
a number of small changes since the G1 that make the camera a lot
more convenient to use.

The thing about the 10D is that the camera with a couple of lenses
and a case can weigh 10 pounds and cost $2,500+. There are a lot of
times when I don't want the hassle, afterall, this is about having
fun. I can throw the G1 in my backpack and its there if I want it.
And I can take the G1 places that I wouldn't take the 10D - like on
a canoe trip, or biking.

I'll have to keep an eye on the Dell specials. I think they've been
selling the G3 for about $500 when they run their coupon specials.

--rick

Mike Hunt said:

Yanni's not the best person to ask, because his impression of the
G3 was obviously clouded over by his acquisition of a 10D only a
short while afterwards.

The G3 is much better. Period.

Yes, it's controls and menus are faster and more responsive.
Controls and menus redesigned and significantly improved.
Auto and manual focus are much improved.
Custom programmable shooting modes.
Improvements to arbitrary limits on shutter speeds and apertures.
Better grip.
Jog dial.
ND filter.
4x zoom.
Better battery life.

Click to expand...

G3 vs. G2

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