Everything I Wanted!!

Author's Rating:

Pros: LOTS of features, great battery life, battery life meter, articulated LCD, works well in low-light

Cons: Nothing that matters! Audio quality not great, but that's likely true for most digicams.

The Bottom Line: 
You can't beat the price for a 4 megapixel camera. This camera has all the features you could possibly want yet is simple to operate.

Author's Review
I did a lot of research before deciding to buy this camera. Among helpful websites were:

- http://www.activebuyersguide.com/
This site asks you questions (few or lots, depending on what you prefer) in order to provide you an ordered ranking of the cameras that best meet your needs

- http://www.imaging-resource.com/CAMDB/camera_finder.php
Similar site but less comprehensive

I am someone who has only been using a point-and-click camera for the past few years (I haven't had time to use my SLR camera lately so I was using a point-and-click to capture family and vacation shots). I was looking for a new digital camera (my first) to help me return to a favorite hobby -- I wanted a camera that could be used on automatic mode as a point-and-shoot but I also wanted the flexibility to get creative and have some fun. I wanted to have as many special features as possible without paying an arm and a leg. Here's what I liked about the G2:

- It's a 4 megapixel camera, so I have the option to make very large prints of that rare masterpiece shot

- It gives you the option to save photos in either JPEG format or RAW format. The RAW format is more compact than TIFF (which means faster saving time) but it expands losslessly into TIFF format on your computer (using software included with the camera)

- The lens is very bright (f2.0) so even in dim scenes you can often do without flash. (The aperture range is f2.0 to f8.0)

- The camera has a tripod mount, a hot-shoe for an external flash, macro as close as 20cm, 3X optical zoom (plus digital zoom which I never use), an articulated LCD panel you can use for composing shots -- the panel can be put in any of several convenient positions), red-eye reduction if desired, self-timer AND a remote control

- the camera has a battery life display (super handy so you don't get caught with a dead battery), and the battery is *very* durable compared to other cameras. The camera takes a Lithium Ion (LiIon) battery, and you can buy non-Canon brand extras from places like www.batterybarn.com. I also bought a smart charger from batterybarn (the Lenmar Mach1) which will hopefully prolong the life of my batteries by not over-charging them. Note you don't have to buy an external charger, as you can charge your battery using the AC adapter that comes with the camera.

- You can film movies (up to 30 seconds in the finest mode) which playback on your computer in Quicktime (free to download, so friends/relatives can watch your movies too). The movies record sound, though I have found the sound quality to be so-so. The video quality is great for playback on a computer.

- The camera only weighs about a pound, but feels pretty solid

- The memory technology is compact flash (CF) and a 32MB card is included with the camera (much more than comes standard with most cameras). I like the fact that the memory is non-proprietary so I can hunt for low prices (instead of being constrained to buy, say, Sony brand memory sticks to use in a Sony camera).

- Menus are pretty intuitive on the camera

- Some reviews comment that the start-up time and delay between shots is slightly longer than average. I haven't found this to be in the slightest bit constraining. Perhaps if I was a sports reporter I'd want faster speeds, but frankly it takes me *much* longer to figure out what I want to shoot than it takes my camera to get ready.

- You can buy add-on lenses and filters that have standard thread sizes, and the standard lens is non-removable (the add-ons mount onto the standard lens) so there is never any danger of getting stuff inside your camera during lens changes, which I like

- The creative options include "stitch-assist" which helps you build 360 degree panoramic shots, and lots of other fun stuff (which I'll probably never use)

Now that I've bought, I've stumbled upon an active community of Canon users at
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1010 ... Folks there are always quick to answer questions and share helpful tips.