To give you some piece of information that is helpful; stuff you might not hear about elsewhere ill list a few attributes from the PowerShot G1.

1. The little cover which is the plug for the powersuply/usb connector is quite flimsy, but with some care wont break. Just have to watch out for it.

2. Get a decent Operating System like Windows 2000 that wont crash every two seconds with the use/development of the pictures on-line. I have a Pentium III 600 with 8mb video card and windows 98 Sec edition, and that thing would not handle the Canon ZoomBrowser Product that came with the camera. However i got windows 2000 loaded with a new 32Mb NVIDIA Video Card, and now the thing is yet to crash... SO smoothe... I forgive it...

3. Dont be fooled with the 16Mb FlashCard (Give it to the kids to use as a coaster for their toy tea-pot set, because it has no other use). Go out, budget an extra card (i.e. 128 or 1GB Microdrive) its so much more worth it to get the extra space and keep your setting to LARGE (SUPERFINE QUALITY) because the quality of that print is so superior to its counterpart digital 3+MEGAPIXEL cameras...

The petty downsides are very very nitpicky, and you will find these "issues" on 90% of cameras... Some cameras will have a set of features, but lack in others... While others have different features, but lack in others as well... The Powershot G1 has all the features you can ask for. A quick List of Pluses (just to be fair because i talked about the minuses)

1. The Optical Zoom is quick and provides VERY high quality shots. (Not to mention that the Additional Lenses you can buy will bring you so close to the action youll need to buy cheaper seats to get further away from the action) (Sitting at glass level at a hockey game, i can get a photo of a Goalie from head to toe, with about 2 inches in top and bottom of image with the 1.5x lens)...

2.The LCD flips out, allows for weird angled camera manipulation, (in a crowd, or under things etc..) You can put the camera anywhere at arms length to take very unique photos. It also closes face-in to prevent scratching between shoots... LCD high quality, and feels really sturdy.

3.It has the capability of a HUGE SLR/DIGITAL camera all in a small package. Slightly heavy but Very small for its power. People will see you with this thing, and think you have some 80 dollar camera, when it really has capabilities beyond the intermediate camera enthusiast.

4.Interface/Menus are easy to work with.

5. Taking a picture, loading it to the on-line software, touching up, and presenting (email/website) takes LITERALLY less than a minute. (provied you are near your computer)...

6. Expandability is amazing. It is FLASH 1 AND 2 compatible (if you dont know what that is; check it out because that is an important part of a digicam)... (very good quality) this means its compatible with IBMs Microdrives, and Normal Flash Cards...

7. Litium Rechargable bateries are absolutly amazing. I have a 128mb, 192mb, and 64mb FC card, along with the provided 16Mb card, and i filled them all up at a bruins game (about 200 pics), and the batery icon just began to show some degredation. The only reason you might need an extra battery is if you are on lengthy vacations AWAY from powersources... this also leaves room for improvement, you can get stuff like the "car outlet" reacharge station (which charges two at a time) or use the provided "regular power source" to recharge them...

8. I could go on... but email me for about question you have...

Overall, im very happy with the camera. Ive had it for 6 months, and have never been disatisfied. I might add that to get the highest quality from the photos, (if you print your own) make sure you understand about DPI. I tried printing some of my shots (and was somewhat disapointed) but found out that i had set my dpi to 72 on the images i had... When i set it over 300dpi, i was absolutly amazed! And you will be too.

_____
Ive added this part, because it has been a year since i wrote this original review.

Note only this change:
There are two newer version of this camera out (As you probably know): The Powershot G2, and G3. If i were in the market today for a Digital Camera, (after seeing, and reading what i have) i would try to find a deal for a G1, or G2. The Newer versions (G2, and G3) dont have enough "extra" or "more" or "additions" to warrant the extra cost. New versions should only drive the old versions price down. Id say the G1 would be a steal at 400-500 bucks. See if you can find a NEW G1, and make sure its a reliable source, and ill tell you, you cant go wrong. :)

Summary of things I like:
Takes great photos
Battery life, battery life, battery life
Ease of use
Easy to download photos to my computer with USB cable
Comes with Adobe Photoshop LE & Zoombrowser photo management software
AV out to view photos on your TV
Motion video capable
Did I mention it takes GREAT photos and has a fantastic battery life?

Things I dont like:
Not SLR lens compatible
The PhotoRecord photo layout software is a little quirky

I purchased the G-1 as an impulse buy while on vacation and have not regretted it one bit. Its a great all around camera.

.

I was initially reluctant to go digital, and am now truly impressed. As a compliment to a 35mm camera you cant go wrong with the G1, for the price.

If you decide on the G1 (or the G2 for that matter), I suggest you visit...and purchase the lensmate adapter and UV filter to protect your lens. It makes the camera a bit larger but will protect your investment.

My setup:
Canon G1
IBM 340 MB Micro Drive
Lensmate Adapter with UV and Macro Lens
Extra Battery
Speedlight 420 Flash

I havent found any real "cons" with the G1. Nothing is perfect.. heres my list:

*recording AVI movies runs battery down pretty quickly

*Dont use the camera in freezing conditions.. it wont work
*It would be nice to have a better grip (G2 fixes this)

Also, Im not certain that I like the Speedlite 420 with the G1.. Im no expert and have to work a bit more with the cam/flash combo but my pictures are normally over saturated when using the bounce flash. Im guessing its just because I havent got the experience.

This is a great camera.

The LCD flip screen is a big plus with crystal clear resolution and the ability to protect the screen while in the case or in use.

The Canon G1 has only three problems. First, in extremely sunny settings I find the background can be quite overexposed (burned out). Second, I noticed a pixel in the periphery is intermittently bright green suggesting this portion of the CCD is not functioning. Not a big deal, but I am inquiring with Canon about resolving this issue. Third, the Canon G2 came out shortly after my purchase. Oh well!!!

I think it would be unlikely one will be unhappy with the purchase as long as it fits within your budget.

Good Luck

The biggest advantage to G1 is that you can get additional IBM microdrive (340mb or 1gig) and NEVER take it out. I have 340mb and my camer always shows space available for 999 more pictures at a medium resolution, medium size. It just cannot show a bigger number. I brought home about 600 pictures from Disney, never had to change the card.

The quality is just amazing! My Disney pictures turned out to be postcards - bright and full of color. I sent the files for print and print turned out to be better than from a regular camera.

Another feature I love: the swivel screen. I take movies of myself and send them overseas to my friends. Or I take movies of falling stars and fireworks.

There are things that I would change though:
- Movies stop recording after 30 sec, even though I have plenty of space left.
- It charges VERY slow.

In short, this is the best digital camera on the market. Yes, Nikon is good, but it doesnt support Microdrive, what good is the camera if you constantly have to change cards?

I love my G1!!! :)

I purchased a 128 mega Viking memory card and a
second battery. The memory card is a must. The 2nd
battery is only used now & again & is a luxury
which I could have done without. However its a nice
feeling to carry a charged spare.
Dont buy a Canon battery there are cheaper ones out
there.
I did an online survey before I purchased & I am
happy that I purchased a solid Camera.
The movie feature (30 seconds AVI file is a nice
gimmick but not good enough quality to use other than
for a laugh.

The auto focus is sometimes a little touchy.
Its worth double checking your frames before
moving on.
The only serious problem is the Canon ZoomBrowser
software..It is cumbersome & not very well made.
It seems to clash with my Windows 98 on my laptop
& doesnt get on with my Desktop Windows 2000 either.
Perhaps Canon have a FIX available?

However I have used the Photoshop included & sent some
photos (approx 1.5 mb) to the local printing house & am
very pleased with the 8x6 prints. No one can tell that they
are from a digital source!!

END

While not the simplest appearing camera, it is extremely flexible and takes photos rivaling a good 35mm SLR. If left in "auto mode", it takes great shots with virtually no "start-up" issues. The G1s ease of use facilitates exploration of the manual and semi-automatic features which can help open the eyes of those who have avoided pro type photography, thinking it was far too technical.

Thats the beauty of going digital. After the initial purchase, its cheap to play and explore the realm of photography since the cost of experimenting, developing, modifying the photos is nil--here Im considering my own time to be nil.

You will want to invest a padded case and in larger Compact Flash units ASAP, but CF costs have come down dramatically in the last few months. I recommend the 128 meg sizes (. . .)

The plusses of this particular camera are its simplicity for beginners, full range of features, long battery life, and high build quality of the body, lens, and electronics. Ive banged it around mountain trails and taken well over 100 shots in two days. The evening between, I used the the G1s LCD to review and edit-out pics I didnt like--without re-charging or using-up the full battery charge.

Ive had the thing for six months and have had excellent results with photos capturing close-ups of bugs on flowers, over-the-head shots at a junior high commencement (using the swiveling LCD), family portraits using the cool included remote, and gorgeous landscapes in Yosemite. High quality prints using my PC and HP printer are as good as 35mm at 8x10 size and would make passable poster size prints as well.

The biggest issues Ive needed to deal with probably relate more to my expertise than the cameras fault, like over-exposure in very high contrast conditions: for example, faces or bodies being half-sunlit. So, I do still need to overcome periodic "pilot error", and Ive had only marginal success with the cameras sound and video modes.

The camera is even "upgradable", as I have downloaded and re-configured its operating system (BIOS) from Canons web-site, so Im not stuck with last years bugs--although Im still not sure what the upgrade fixed since Id never noticed operational problems.

As far as the included Canon software, I think its quirky and cumbersome, but I dont consider this to be a fault of the camera. The USB-camera connection is recognized by Windows and I prefer to take my photos straight to Photoshop or Paintshop Pro for manipulation or printing rather than using Canons Zoom Browser. Since I have a variety of CF modules, I usually use an external Sandisk USB-Compact Flash reader (about $20) rather than keeping the camera plugged-in for downloading.

Im looking forward to a long relationship with this camera.

Note that the G1 has been upstaged by a slightly bulkier G2, but the on-line prices for the older model make it an exceptional buy.

I did quite an extensive research before I finally bought the G1 and never in any of the online reviews of the G1 did I hear of this defect. Maybe the people with this problem should contact Canon and find out if the defect is with the particular pieces.

I bought this mainly to take pictures of my 3 month old daughter and the few pictures I took so far came out great. People wanted to know where I "had them done". Pictures printed out crystal clear on my HP Inkjet printer with the Kodak paper.

Its well worth the money! BUY IT TODAY!

I used Kodak DC280 and a SONY digital camcorder before, so i have an idea about what the LCD should look like. I will try to contact Canon to find what the problem is.

Overall Im more than happy.

If you get this camera, buy a big memory card like one of the Viking 256MB CF cards. Youll like the high resolution images it takes, but they eat up memory like crazy.

Oh, another thing: this camera works with Linux! Actually, thats only half-true. You can use Gphoto...to download images, but you need the RS-232 serial cable ... The smart thing to do, however, is to buy a USB Compact Flash reader, like the SanDisk ImageMate.

All-in-all, I couldnt be happier with this camera, and I dont think Id be as happy with any other camera out there right now.

The Canon people need to re-think the design though. The camera looks and feels clunky. On-off switch is inconvenient as is the lens cap. At this price Canon should aslo consider providing a camera case.

But instead of just adding more raving comments that you dont need, I like to share some of my experiences with it.

(1) Like one of the previous reviewer had said, the color saturation is not perfect. I dont know whether this is a problem unique to the G1, or it is a problem for all digicams. I recommend using high saturation setting instead of the default neutral setting. This helps a little, but the pictures are still under saturated. However, correcting this problem is easy with any of the softwares.

(2) While the default setting at ISO 50 is great for outdoor shooting during the day, it is not good for indoor shooting even during the day, or under artificial lighting. The on camera flash is simply not adequate. The best solution is often to set the ISO at 400, but the pictures will be VERY noisy. The median filter by Photoshop will not be of much help in denoising. However, some of the newer wavelet based denoising schemes work quite well.

(3) Dont overlook the manual setting option. I found it to be the best way to shoot night scenes or in low lighting situations. Set the ISO to 200 or 400, and experiment. Using the flash outdoor at night will give you a very blue tone. It can be nice but it is not realistic.

(4) The battery life is one of the strongest reasons to buy the G1. However, dont automatically assume you can get 700-800 pictures on a single charge. You wont! My experiements suggest that you get about 120-150 pictures if you use the LCD AND you use the flash for about 40% of your shots. Also, when the warning of low battery comes, the battery is gone within 3-5 shots.

(5) I had trouble getting the camera to work in cold weather. I use the 340 MB Microdrive. But after I warmed the camera using my hand for a couple of minutes it works properly.

(6) One of the most troubling problem with G1 is the optical distortion of the pictures. If you shoot wide angle you will see rather pronounced distortions at the two upper corners. Vertical lines of a far away building will appear tilted. I haven seen distortions this bad in cheap lens for 35mm cameras, but never in a decent lens. The problem disappears as one increases the focal length. This means the photostitching for wide angle shots is not a good idea. If you do plan to stitch photos, make sure you shoot them using medium to long focal length.

(7) The remote control in my package doesnt work. I dont really care about it, but you may want to make sure it works.

Despite of these minor problems I love the G1.

Positive:

Photo quality: Great at high resolution and more than sufficient for snap shots in medium quality.

Lens: Good, reasonably fast zoom lens. Too bad Canon hasnt gone for a more SLR variable lens approach.

Display: LCD screen rotation is very practical for group shots, or discrete people photos. Great to be able to preview shot on display, delete when unsatisfactory...what a change from long processing times.

Software / downloading: Good software, includes Photoshop LE (!), quick USB, good online support.

Operation: Excellent, SLR-like feel with all expected features, plus new ones made possible by digital format. SLR user will not feel feature deprived.

Improvements:

Memory: 16MB (included) is too small, but I have found an additional 32MB card is just about right for all but the longest time periods away from a computer. Multiple format flexibility is a nice touch.

No carry case / durability: Maybe its just me, but I dont trust the durability of this versus my Nikon SLR, I would encourage buying a case of some kind. I would really like to see an inexpensive underwater housing like one of the Sony digital cameras have.

The picture quality is terrific, battery life is unbelievable.

Id buy it all over again. As always I early adopt, but even better value now. The video snippets are super also.

I especially want to relate two instances where I found the "flipping" LCD invaluable. I wanted to take a picture looking down through a beautiful marble spiral staircase, to get the "nautilus" effect. With a standard camera I would have had to risk my life to stretch out over the ten-story space for the shot, or just hold the camera out over the space and hope for the best. With the G1s LCD, I simply flipped out the LCD and adjusted it to my direction while holding the camera out over the space, focused and shot a perfect picture.

The second instance was in a rather crowded building where I wanted to shoot a muraled dome overhead. Rather than crane my neck upward while framing and shooting, I simply held the camera at waist level pointing upwards, with the LCD this time flipped around to the front of the camera so I was actually looking downward to shoot an overhead picture. Worked perfectly. Great camera!!

This camera provides the right combination of features with its rechargeable batteris, which last a long time, to its size; this camera has it all. You can also buy other Canon flashes and lenses which further its capability.

Great camera - worth the money!!

This makes the Shutter Preferred and Aperture Preferred modes of limited value. If youre not going to be shooting on AUTO, you might want to look at another camera.

Not Canons fault is the fact that many older studio strobes can not be fired from the G1. The high voltage trigger circuit may even damage the camera. Speedortons 64V did not do any harm to mine but I can not use them together. The manual ought to warn against this.

I love the G1 and use it almost every day...besides an S100 that is in my pocket :-)

Its a very different machine to handle. I think its actually smaller than the Nikon, but the Nikon falls more easily into my hands.

The screen on the Nikon is fixed on the camera body, but the lens swivels around the body. The screen on the Canon can be swivelled in any direction. So the Canons would appear to be more flexible, yet I found that I was constantly fiddling with the screen to get it to an angle that I liked. That may just be a matter of familiarity.

The screen is very bright and shows up much better in sunlight than the Nikons. But I think the Nikons is better quality.

They are both bristling with manual controls that make them exceptionaly flexible. They could be dauntingly complicated for the novice. The Canon has the advantage of a hot shoe in case you want to use an external flashgun. Quite a big advantage since the on camera flash on both is nothing special. You will probably want to be able to get the same high quality results with flash as in natural light - if you buy the Nikon, you will have to buy their expensive external flash and the adapter.

Results-wise, in natural light, I cant really say one is better than the other. They are both superb.

Since January, I have taken over 2,000 pictures in all lighting conditions, and the camera has exceeded my expectations

The major features I considered important for purchase: * 3 megapixel * Long battery life * rechargeable battery with charger included * Microdrive capable * video with sound * spot metering * 3x optical zoom (the 4x digital zoom is useless) * built-in flash * fast focusing and small time interval between shots

Great features that go beyond my initial requirements: * swiveling lcd panel * video output to watch a slide show from the camera * simulated click sound when picture is taken * software bundle (powerful and easy to use) * stitch mode to create panoramic pictures (works great) * remote control (great for playback in slide show mode)

The only minor flaw in picture quality is that bright white light appears with purple overtones.

I also recommend fototime.com for uploading unlimited photos.

Warning about Microdrive: A friend has the same camera model with the Microdrive. At 7,000ft elevation, the Microdrive did not work for him.

The same friend purchased the 1.5x zoom lens. He says the difference is minimal, so the hassle of attaching the lens outweighs its benefit.

* The camera, once it powers on after about 5 seconds, is very very quick shooting. You almost cant want to shoot faster than it will allow.

* Focus can, however, slow you down a bit, especially in dark setting (despite focus-assist light), and in low-contrast settings. I am a dentist (couldnt you tell by the name?!), and the camera does have issues with intraoral focusing.

* Playback of images is very fast, especially when you use the RAW format. You can flip through about 2/second. If you can, buy a BIG memory card. I have the 340 MB Microdrive, and can store about 200 images in RAW mode. This mode is important. It is the equivalent of a TIFF file, but only takes about 2 megs/image, instead of 9 Megs with the Coolpix 990. Also, shot-to-shot in TIFF mode on the 990 is almost 10 seconds; on the G1, shot-to-shot in RAW is about 1 second. Also, in RAW mode, you can alter brightness/contrast/color saturation losslessly.

* Flash photography is a complete joy to do with this camera. The 420EX is a spectacular flash, there is tons of power, no red eye, and the E-TTL system makes even bounce and swivel photography a complete breeze. You can even over/underexpose the flash, and wirelessly control multiple flashes. Just totally unparalleled. Nikon and Olympus just cant touch this. 990 doesnt even have a hot shoe...

* The battery is on steroids; just never wants to run out (realistically ~400-500 shots til reload). With the Coolpix 990, you have to buy batteries and a charger. Koodos to Canon for adding this value to the G1.

* The layout of the controls is such that just about every button is within easy reach of my fingers. Excellent.

* Optional adapter (... LA-DC58) screws into the front, and allows you to use standard 58 mm lenses and ring lights to further expand your creativity.

* Camera is fairly hefty, and builty like a tank. This sure isnt going to break in your hands...

* Setting the ISO to 50 (Nikon cant do this) gives just absolutely fantastic photos with very minimal noise, even in the dead of night (Nikon had MUCH more noise).

Negative stuff (hey, it cant be perfect!):

* There is no Program Shift!!! HOW could they do this?!?! This actually is a bummer, and the standard Program mode always seems to favor wide open F-stops; stick to aperture-priority. 990 has this....

* You cannot have multiple folders to store images to. This is a pain, since I can store about 200 images between downloads, and I never want to have my patient photos mixed up. 990 has this feature, but I consider it a minor inconvenience.

In conclusion, the unique highs of this camera include the image quality (ISO 50), awesome flash capabilities, IBM Microdrive support, RAW image mode, great battery, and lots of great accessories. The negatives include suspect night/low contrast focusing and no program shift. Ive used most 3 megapixel cameras, and I think this is the gem of the lot.

Two other things I dont like the camera apply to most of other digicams: the battery and the memory card. These lithium batteries are expensive and not widely available, especially for tourists who travel to far and distant places where choices of batteries and the time to recharge are usually limited. To me, AA batteries are the most convenient, widely available, least expensive and therefore are the best choice. Besides, they seem to last just as long as their lithium counterparts.

I put my pictures in the computers albums and burn them on CDs to share with friends and family. Therefore, I always use the highest resolution with the lowest compression rate. An 8 or 16 MB memory card is simply a joke, especially when you go on a long trip. At this time of digicam development, the minimum size should be 32 MB.

* The "night portrait mode" does a great job of popping the flash to fill in the foreground (subjects) while leaving the shutter open for about 1/2sec to burn in the background. This feature produces really good results in parties and other darker rooms.

* The long-exposure manual modes do a really nice job of uniformly exposing the shot, completely without any artifacts or other noise from the CCD.

* This camera, with a little work, can be made to work with Linux. ... ... ... that explains the sprocedure. Being a Linux user myself, this was very important to me.

On the downside, the included 16-meg compact flash card is way to small. It will only hold 5 RAW images or 8 hi-res jpegs. A 64-meg or greater is recommended. And as I mentioned earlier, the camera is a little on the big side.

I wanted a camera I could have complete control of and this is it. It has a full-auto mode along with program AE, shutter priority, aperture priority, and full manual modes. It also provides a bunch of pre-programmed modes for things like portraits and landscapes (Ive not made much use of them though).

The battery life is excellent. The battery is the same that powers their full blown digital SLR, the EOS-D30, so it has more than enough power for this camera. I havent come near running out of battery life yet.

In addition, the camera supports CompactFlash types I and II and microdrives (muy importante!), has a 3x optical zoom (and a 2x or 4x digital zoom, but I dont use it), and supports an adapter for 58mm filters and additional lens attachments. The LCD flips out and twists making it very easy to position the camera where it needs to go and still see the image.

The best feature of the camera, though, is without a doubt the image quality. Colors are excellent and the pictures are crisp and very detailed. The camera supports resolutions of 2048x1536, 1024x768, and 640x480. It can store images in a raw CCD format or in super-fine, fine, or normal JPEG. I use both the high and medium resolutions in super-fine JPEG and consistently get outstanding results. The raw format requires the TWAIN driver or other compatible decoder to convert the raw CCD data into a normal image format (such as TIFF), but this is a small price to pay if you want a totally unaltered image off the CCD.

I have a gallery of images taken with the camera at my website, http://moibus.jfm.net/ for those interested in seeing what it can do.

All in all, wonderful!

When I purchased the camera, I bought both a 128 meg viking (~130 photos at full resoloution) compact flash memory card and a 1 GB IBM Microdrive (~1200 photos). I bought the static memory in addition to the microdrive because I was worried about the increased usage of battery life due to the moving parts of the drive. However, I was shocked by the length of the battery life in comparison to other digital cameras (even other powershots). Using the LCD, flash, and the microdrive I can take over 270 shots before running low on battery. The extensive battery life and number of photos that can be taken on a microdrive are a big plus, especially considering my first gripe: the cover for the USB/Power connectors. There is a rubber cover over these that connectors that I fear I am going to break every time I take it off. It is incredibly solid while in place, and then as soon as you push it hard enough it flips out and is only held in by a tiny little rubber plug. Luckily I dont need to charge or download my photos that often.

The second complaint, isnt much of a problem for me, just a comment that Ive received. Friends will use the camera, and say "Thats an absolutely phenomenal camera, its just a little heavy though". I agree, it is a little heavy, but the control I have over the camera and the benefits from its design are worth the extra weight.

If you are in the field for a top level digital camera, I would reccomend this with no reservations, compared to the drawbacks of many other digital camera, the Powershot G1 presents unprecedented power and control for all your digital photography needs.

It is easy to use and takes excellent pictures for a "prosumer" (Ive taken over 500 since it arrived). The user interface will be familiar to Canon film camera users and it seems to offer the right combination of automated and manual features.

This camera comes equipped with everything you need: cables, storage, rechargeable, remote control, software, etc. The only complaint would be the size of the 16MB CompactFlash. You probably will want a 32MB or bigger device -- but that purchase can wait because the computer interface on this is excellent and uploading is a pleasure.

The USB interface and Type 1 and 2 card support are the way to go. This gives you a lot of future protection and upgrade options.

The included software is more than adequate. ZoomBrowser the camera manager is the best picture organizer I have used. The TWAIN driver has worked with all my photo and video editors.

The battery is incredible -- long life and fast recharge -- cant ask for more.

The LCD display is really useful. There are better displays out there but none more convenient. The ability to tuck it away saves on battery and cleaning the display. The 360 degree orientation is great. I use it in conjunction with the remote control to great effect.

1. Microdrive support The Microdrive removes the restrictions posed by limited in-camera picture storage on CF cards. You have to experience the loss of this restriction to really appreciate how important it is. We just returned from a week-long cruise where we took over 300 full-size pictures and still had a lot of in-camera storage left.

2. Amazing battery life Using a camcorder battery to power this camera provides an enormous amount of long-term power. You can leave the LCD on and use a Microdrive without any fears of having the power come up short.

These two features put this camera in a class by itself. When you combine them with the other outstanding capabilities, this is clearly the right choice!

I brought a film camera on my vacation as well, and was so impressed with the G1 from day 1 that I ended up taking only about 5 shots on film and 200 digital (high resolution, medium size) images. The G1 really is that good - and a joy to use. Take it from a picky photographer.

As with other reviewers, I was worried about the hinged/swiveling LCD panel. But now that Ive used it, it seems to be extremely well mounted and very solid. Its a high quality display, and I love the flexibility it offers for viewing during the shoot from in front of the camera, next to the camera, behind the camera - and for viewing images after the shoot at unlimited angles.

Do not buy this - or any other 3 meg camera - without a large memory card. I bought a 128M card for use in this camera, and even with that you can only store less than 100 images at full resolution & full size (which is plenty, unless you go on long trips without a computer to offload images). Go with at least a 64M card. And do not buy this camera without a case for protection - there seem to be plenty available here at Amazon for a few dollars. Unfortunately, Canon did not include a case with the G1.

If you just want a simple point & shoot digital camera, this one would probably be the least economic for you - unless you want to impress your gadget buddies (this definitely will). There are others with fewer features & flexibility. But if youre a pro or a darkroom photographer (Im the latter) who is looking for quality AND functionality, youll be extremely happy with the G1. Its worth the higher price.

ps: If youre reading this after about September 2001 you should probably check around a little because there will probably be 10 more 3 meg cameras out by then, and some of them may have matched or surpassed the G1 - especially economically.

The upsides (assuming you have read the specs already):

- Very controllable (as opposed to the ELPH, say). I can tweak and manipulate to my hearts content, when I feel the urge.

- Solid optics (but see below). F2.0 lens.

- Protected LCD (you can leave it turned in towards the body when not in use). (But see below)

- Light ENOUGH. This was my one real concern, as I was considering this vs. the ELPH. Was it light enough that I would carry it with me everywhere, or would it suffer the fate of my EOS - a fine camera, sitting at home on the shelf due to bulk and weight? Having carried it around for a while now, I have concluded it is being light enough for me - it does not impede me when backpacking...

- Photostich (where you can bring a series of pictures together to make a larger one (e.g., a panorama) is WONDERFUL! I have made a panorama for quicktime virtual reality from my porch, giving the viewer the feel of standing there, turning around at will. Great stuff. The camera works with this, so that you can easily create sufficiently overlapping pictures for the software to work well.

- The IBM microdrive compatibility is also wonderful - I have a one GB drive in there for extended trips, and can take about 600 pictures at max resolution and max quality.

Downsides:

- The rubber cover for the power and USB ports. I would be suprised if it were to survive a whole year. I have no idea what the replacement policy and options are, so you may end up with two naked ports.

- The lens cap is separate and there are no threads for a protective filter. That makes me nervous. But if a separate lens cap is the price to pay for good optics, then so be it.

- The optical coating is not up to the usual Canon EOS snuff (one gets sun glare to easily). But it is far better than the usual point-and-shoot lenses around.

- The LCD can be turned around, flipped, rotated... and protected. The protection provided is a good thing. The mechanical wear and tear of always moving these hinges makes me nervous. But if so, simply leave the LCS open in the back, and you are no worse off than with most other cameras out there.

- I have not gotten hold of a protective case yet, and that makes me nervous, too.

Summary: Well worth the money.

Im not sure if I got a defective camera; or is it normal performance for G1. Id like to hear that if you have; or for that matter, dont have the same experience with yours.

A couple of additional notes I would like to add for those intending to buy this camera and for existing owners:

1) I highly recommend Canons PSC1000 semi-hard case for the G1. It is a two-piece leather design that provides significant protection for the camera body, as well as making the camera easier to grip for those with large hands.

2) I have been pleasantly surprised with the software that Canon supplied with the G1 - the ZoomBrowser software provides a quick, convenient method of viewing large numbers of photographs. This camera also comes with a SE edition of Adobe Photoshop - a rich product that enjoys industry-wide support. Competitors often provide a TWAIN-compatible driver and a simple/cheap photo manipulation program - leaving consumers to purchase adequate software.

3) The 16mb card supplied with the camera is really included only to make the camera operable out of the box. In my opinion, this card should have been at least 64mb in size (high quality JPG images are 1.2mb in size). Be prepared to purchase a larger card immediately, or try one of the Microtech harddrives made by IBM, which the G1 supports fully.

Ive rated the camera 5 stars because I find it to be the digital equivalent to Canons excellent line of EOS SLR cameras in every respect.

The camera sets new standards in its price category with its support for IBM Microdrives and the use of a camcorder battery, meaning longer life and lots more pictures possible in a given session. The swiveling LCD is fantastic and is so bright I use it to compose for almost every shot... again, the longer battery life makes this possible. The menus are easy to follow and the ergonomics are great -- the camera feels very solid and not like some weirdly designed gadget. A hot shoe means its easy to attach a Canon speedlite flash (or some third party flashes) for even greater flexibility, and its a relief not to have to rely on clumsy brackets to hold a flash. RAW mode pictures make it possible to tweak pictures for things like white balance in the computer.

The picture quality is superb, and the camera is very adaptable to a variety of picture taking settings. What may cause an issue with novice users is the fact that pictures using auto settings, while OK, can be a bit cool, and in trickier settings on sunny days, end up slightly overexposed. The built-in flash is also on the finicky side and will require some experimentation to determine optimal range. Its simple enough to adjust flash strength, exposure or white balance accordingly and have those settings stick, but some folks may not want to bother. There are definitely more manageable cameras for those who primarily want point-and-shoot or those who want very saturated looking pictures right out of the camera (the Kodaks being best).

But by the same token, those who like to tinker will find the pictures possible with the G1 excellent--they compare very favorably to other digicams I evaluated such as the Nikons, Olympuses and Kodaks. This is a very good camera for people who want to learn more about photography. After an adjustment period of over a hundred pictures, I find that everything from portraits to landscapes to macro shots to night shots comes out very well. The software that comes with the camera for downloading and browsing images (Zoombrowser) is well done --I usually avoid installing camera manufacturers software because of bugs, but this is good stuff.

Most notable nits: a flimsy rubber door that covers the AC port, and a slow bootup time when using the IBM Microdrive. Otherwise, the camera feels wonderful and the time to take pictures from one shot to another is very fast.

Overall, I am very pleased. Beyond everything Ive already said, the fact that Ive taken nearly a thousand pictures in just a few weeks is evidence that taking pictures with this camera and making use of all its capabilities is absolutely addictive!

For those who are browsing this reviews probably knows a lot about this camera so I would skip the introduction. ...

In short, this is a very great camera (high res., microdrive compatible and a very, very long battery life) but it does have some minor things that I would like to share with you, by reading this hopefully you will know what youre going to expect when you receive this great camera:

1) The plastic rubber side door is very flimsy, so be careful not to break it!

2) During the movie mode you cannot zoom in or out, maybe I do not know how to do it but I doubt it.

3) The flash light does tend to have a bit over exposure, so adjust accordingly, you might have to experience it to find a correct exposure level for your taste.

4) This camera does not come with a camera bag therefore the metal body has to take extra care otherwise you might find your new G1 end with quite a few unwanted scratches.

5) Finally, the lens cap: why dont Canon design a built-in lens cover instead of a physical cap? Sometimes I forgot to remove the lens cap before I turn on the camera and it shows me error message,tell me to restart the start up procedure again. Quite troublesome I must say. Hopefully I will get use to it.

Overall I am going to give it a solid 5 stars because this camera, although has the above weaknesses, it does have a lot of improvements compare with some top of the line consumer camera like Nikon Coolpix 990, Olympus 3030 etc. So for the money I spend this is a very well worth camera!

My only complaint is with the flash, which tends to overexpose shots a tiny bit. Ive found that changing the flash exposure down by -2/3 fixes this (you can change this one time and forget about it).

For storage I use a 128 mb viking memory card, plus a 340mb microdrive. With the camera set to superfine and large images I can shoot hundreds of photos.

This camera is perfect for someone who wants high quality photos and is willing to spend the money to get it. As an alternative take a look at the Kodak DC480 - youll pay half as much but you wont give up control, a longer optical zoom, and some resolution. Personally, this ones a keeper for me.