I spent months looking to buy my first digital camera and finally settled on the G5. I’m glad I did. Things I love: image quality, fast lens, twist and swivel LCD display, several shooting modes, easy to use menu, long battery life, and tons of advanced features – including: white balance, neutral density, macro mode. I didn’t buy it for its video capability, but that seems to work pretty well also.
I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of its abilities, but overall I’m impressed. I had to make a decision whether to buy a camera that’s cheaper and more compact, but has less features or a pricier model with more features. I choose the later because photography is becoming more of a serious hobby for me. If I just wanted something that took great snapshots I would have bought the Canon A80. I paid $500 for the G5 at B&H Photo. I believe the A80 runs around $360. The G5 has more features, a larger LCD display, uses a longer lasting battery type, etc. Plus it’s black!
Problems:
The much talked about purple fringing is not much of an issue. There is some, but it’s easy to control either while shooting or in Photoshop. The lens cap is loose, but it has never just slipped off by itself. I do wish I could get more depth of field, but I understand that’s an inherent limitation for all digital cameras.
I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of its abilities, but overall I’m impressed. I had to make a decision whether to buy a camera that’s cheaper and more compact, but has less features or a pricier model with more features. I choose the later because photography is becoming more of a serious hobby for me. If I just wanted something that took great snapshots I would have bought the Canon A80. I paid $500 for the G5 at B&H Photo. I believe the A80 runs around $360. The G5 has more features, a larger LCD display, uses a longer lasting battery type, etc. Plus it’s black!
Problems:
The much talked about purple fringing is not much of an issue. There is some, but it’s easy to control either while shooting or in Photoshop. The lens cap is loose, but it has never just slipped off by itself. I do wish I could get more depth of field, but I understand that’s an inherent limitation for all digital cameras.