As a professional photographer who has worked primarily in 35mm for
the past 30+ years, my expectations of image quality were not only
met but exceeded with this camera. While I wouldn't expect to be
able to enlarge the images up to 11X14, the quality at 8X10 is quite
adequate for my use.
The manual functions are numerous and logically laid out with the most
commonly used ones accessible from external buttons on the camera
rather than through a cascading menu system. The light metering
system is excellent and produces good exposures in most situations.
The flash seems to be adequate for casual use, but an external unit is
advised for better coverage and more power.
One of the nicest features of this camera is the flip-out LCD monitor. It
is extremely sharp and readable in all but strong sunlight. Being able to
use it in a horizontal and vertical orientation is a big plus, as is the ability
to face it toward the subject. The menus are very easy to read and
arranged logically (no small feat in a digicam).
The software provided is excellent, and for folks who dont already own
an image manipulation program, it should suffice nicely. The panorama
stitcher works surprisingly well and is a nice touch.
Canon provides extensive documentation with this camera and the
users manual is one of the best available.
After extensive testing and research, my choices for purchase were
narrowed down to the G3 and the Oly 5050. While the 5050 had
some interesting advantages (most notably, 5MP resolution, standard
AA batteries, choice of 3 memory cards, and a more SLR type body
design) I felt on balance that the Canon edged out the Olympus.
While I initially balked at the idea of yet another proprietary battery in
my collection, the capacity of this Li-Ion unit is exceptional. I would
imagine that most people could use this camera for a full day of
shooting before a recharge was necessary.
While my stable of Nikon bodies and lenses will continue to perform the
bulk of my professional work, this camera will be a welcome addition to
my toolkit. Its also a camera that I can hand to my wife and be
confident that it will provide good results in fully automatic mode. A
great all-around digicam for the money.
Problems:
The battery charge-state indicator isn’t very useful. It’s more of a
battery dead indicator. An indicator with more segments and a greater
sensitivity to voltage drop would be welcome.
The autofocus could use a little more work. It is fairly slow to lock on
and fails to lock at all in some indoor low-light and outdoor landscape
situations. While most autofocus systems at this level of camera are far
from perfect, I think Canon could do better.
As many have noted, the optical viewfinder is blocked by the lens
barrel in all but telephoto mode. This is not such a significant drawback
in my mind, since I prefer the LCD in most situations, but is a glaring
design flaw nonetheless.
the past 30+ years, my expectations of image quality were not only
met but exceeded with this camera. While I wouldn't expect to be
able to enlarge the images up to 11X14, the quality at 8X10 is quite
adequate for my use.
The manual functions are numerous and logically laid out with the most
commonly used ones accessible from external buttons on the camera
rather than through a cascading menu system. The light metering
system is excellent and produces good exposures in most situations.
The flash seems to be adequate for casual use, but an external unit is
advised for better coverage and more power.
One of the nicest features of this camera is the flip-out LCD monitor. It
is extremely sharp and readable in all but strong sunlight. Being able to
use it in a horizontal and vertical orientation is a big plus, as is the ability
to face it toward the subject. The menus are very easy to read and
arranged logically (no small feat in a digicam).
The software provided is excellent, and for folks who dont already own
an image manipulation program, it should suffice nicely. The panorama
stitcher works surprisingly well and is a nice touch.
Canon provides extensive documentation with this camera and the
users manual is one of the best available.
After extensive testing and research, my choices for purchase were
narrowed down to the G3 and the Oly 5050. While the 5050 had
some interesting advantages (most notably, 5MP resolution, standard
AA batteries, choice of 3 memory cards, and a more SLR type body
design) I felt on balance that the Canon edged out the Olympus.
While I initially balked at the idea of yet another proprietary battery in
my collection, the capacity of this Li-Ion unit is exceptional. I would
imagine that most people could use this camera for a full day of
shooting before a recharge was necessary.
While my stable of Nikon bodies and lenses will continue to perform the
bulk of my professional work, this camera will be a welcome addition to
my toolkit. Its also a camera that I can hand to my wife and be
confident that it will provide good results in fully automatic mode. A
great all-around digicam for the money.
Problems:
The battery charge-state indicator isn’t very useful. It’s more of a
battery dead indicator. An indicator with more segments and a greater
sensitivity to voltage drop would be welcome.
The autofocus could use a little more work. It is fairly slow to lock on
and fails to lock at all in some indoor low-light and outdoor landscape
situations. While most autofocus systems at this level of camera are far
from perfect, I think Canon could do better.
As many have noted, the optical viewfinder is blocked by the lens
barrel in all but telephoto mode. This is not such a significant drawback
in my mind, since I prefer the LCD in most situations, but is a glaring
design flaw nonetheless.