Best Powershot G

John,

You didn't say if you use RAW.  If you do, that would let out the G7, although it's sharp and has very good color.  I actually preferred it over the G9.  And, of course; both have that OVF issue.

The G11 & G12 went back to 10 MP, have good color, and a better grip than the G7/G9.  In terms of what you shoot, the difference between them is that the G12 has a front wheel, and the G11 doesn't.  In my hands, the front wheel affected the handling, so I preferred the G11.

I mentioned (I think) the G7 was a little sharper.  To determine that, I downloaded the studio scene from Imaging Resource for each camera at several ISO settings, and then ran them through a good JPEG editor and added a little sharpening.  The edited shots were then printed as borderless 8.5" x 11" prints.  I then examined each print with a fairly strong magnifying glass that's normally used for thread counts in fabrics.  With my reading glasses, I can't see any significant difference up to ISO 400 at normal viewing distances.  I did run the G10 through that process as well.

I just took a break and went to my print files, and found ISO 100 and ISO 400 prints (as described above) for the G7, G9, G10, G11, and G15.  I also found my thread count magnifier and examined all 5.  As I said earlier, I really cannot see a difference with just my reading glasses, and I'm looking closely - like 6-8".  The G15 is the exception, as Imaging Resource changed the lighting and the whole image just looks different.  However, when I use the magnifier, I can see minor differences.

My advice would be to look for a really clean G11 or G12.  Same lens as the G10.  The G10 had over 14 MP, the G11 & 12 had 10.  Even so, the extra resolution is eaten up by higher noise at ISO 400.  And I don't see any better definition of fine detail; but I do see more noise grain.  Also, the G11/G12 will do better at ISO 800.  If I remember correctly, the G11/G12 had a fully articulated LCD; which is nice for sneaky shots with the camera at waist level.  Normally, for cameras of that size, I use a neck cord attached to the right hand strap lug.  Mainly because it wraps neatly around the camera and it's still able to fit in a loose pocket.  With a 2 point attached neck strap, they don't wrap well and the whole thing isn't pocketable.

Hope this helps,

Jerry

Jerry