Here's my $.02. As for classifying the G2 as P&S, I think the black G2 with microdrive tells us that Canon realizes this camera is acquiring a large pro user base.
As for JonW's "correct me if I am wrong", well I agree a neophyte can use the P/Auto mode with success in many situations. For that matter, many modern SLRs (film or digi) have decent Point and Shoot modes, and neophytes can pick them up and get decent pictures. (This includes the Dimage 7!) But here comes the mild correction: my opinion (as a G2 owner with many years of film experience) is that there are a few gotchas/traps with the G2 that can ruin shots - where a film-based P&S SLR or another simpler digicam might work better for a neophyte. There are hundreds of posts to back up the point.
Some of the weaknesses:
1) The manual! Although for the most part it is pretty good, it would help neophytes to have more discussion of basic photography and some camera features - e.g. details of the Program/Auto aperture and shutter selections, and pointers on when to over-ride the defaults. No explanation of flash duration vs shutter speed, the importance of distance to subject for flash pictures or what Tv and Av flash modes are for. Documentation of the long shutter speed limits in non Tv/M modes. All of these have caused problems for users in this forum.
2) Flash mode defaults of f2/2.5 and 1/60 in Auto/P modes. The f2/2.5 is chosen to get the max range, but then you run into overexposed pictures with close subjects. This is a basic problem in the Canon E-TTL system - it doesn't use distance information, which is often critical for flash photos.
Another problem with the f2 default is narrow depth of field leading to out-of-focus pictures. On a film P/S camera the maximum aperture will be smaller, giving a wider depth of field and a better chance for a neophyte to get a clear shot.
3) Autofocus - it's usually more precise and faster with SLRs and film P&S.
This has caused some upset even with experienced photographers in this forum, you can imagine what trouble neophytes have.
4) Soft pictures. Canon doesn't do a lot of in-camera sharpening which has caused complaints from neophytes complaining that their 4MP G2 pictures are softer than the old 1-2MP P/S digicam they had before.
My thinking is that the G2 is probably not the best choice for a snapshooter who has no interest in learning how to take better pictures. They would be better off spending less on a camera with fewer features and less control. The G2 is a much better choice for a someone who is serious about photography and realizes that non-Auto modes are there for a reason. And I do agree with JonW that the G2 is a better choice than the D7 for a neophyte - but primarily because it costs less. GKL
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the G2 is a camera a
neophyte could pickup, make sure it was in automatic mode, and for
the most part take nice pictures.
If someone wants an excellent camera, and both the G2 and the D7
are that ... but they don't really want to learn a lot about
photography, seems to me the G2 is a better choice. Yeah, sure they
could buy something cheaper. But the original poster merely asked
"G2 or D7?" with no further input.
That's all I was saying.
Cheers!
