Canon G5 - A Good Starter Camera?
Hello everyone. I'm in the market for a new camera and was wondering if the Canon G5 is a good camera. I've been to the store and really like the feel and the size is just right for me. So, i'm just wondering what the consensus is with the G5. Is it a worthy camera? Thanks for your help 
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Comments
And I've always hated how bulky and ugly it is.
I had a chance to play around with it and I am very annoyed by the slight delay (which is true for almost all consumer digital cameras) when you release the shutter.
The way you control the manual settings are also somewhat awkward and it will NEVER compare with what a single lens reflex will offer.
So here's my philosophy: Either get a consumer camera or go for the Digital Rebel (which we got before christmas) which is just an amazing camera. In fact, it has made me shudder in disgust when I have to now take pictures with consumer cameras (because you just don't have the degree of control and never know what's going to come out)
What's your budget? The Rebel is not a cheap camera, but if you're thinking of the G5, I'm thinking you have enough to get the rebel (since the G5 really is quite expensive).
If not, go for a cheaper consumer camera like a Sony P series or even a V series. (Which are great consumer cameras)
Where do you go off suggesting against the G5 but then mention the Sony V-series instead? The Sony DSC-V1 is basically the G5's feature and price equivalent. It's only very slightly smaller.
There's plenty of room between the $300 consumer camera pricepoint and the $1000 cheap D-SLR pricepoint for compact prosumer cameras. We're not talking about the worthless Sony DSC-F828 here.
tree, you can't go wrong with the Canon Powershot G5, Nikon Coolpix 5400, Olympus C-5060, Fujifilm S7000Z or the Sony DSC-V1. Both the Olympus and Nikon have 28 mm equivalent coverage at full wide-angle, which I think is notable.
The 28mm wide angle range is nice for indoor and architectural shots. I always buy a camera that handles this angle of lens. Getting as big a telephoto is also a good thing to look for. Watch out for cameras that advertise a certain "digital" zoom range, it's not as good as optical (real) zoom.
However, the Powershots are probably more convenient than the G series Canons for point and shoot applications because of their size. They just don't have as many manual options for "power" users that the G series has. There are probably other differences, so check out some comparative tables online about options, performance, batteries, etc.
Originally posted by BuonRotto
IMO, the picture quality of the G5 isn't quite as good as the (lower-megapixel) G3. The Nikon 5400 has a terrible time focussing in low light -- that's its one main shortfall (as with most non-pro Nikons until the 8700). I think everything Eugene mentioned, in general, would be good choice. Some have better menus, some have more comfortable buttons and such on the camera, some have more buttons than others, some have a better build or better battery life and so forth. I would handle some different models and check some stats about their performance on DPreview.com, then pick what feels best to you because they're all good choices from reputable companies.
The 28mm wide angle range is nice for indoor and architectural shots. I always buy a camera that handles this angle of lens. Getting as big a telephoto is also a good thing to look for. Watch out for cameras that advertise a certain "digital" zoom range, it's not as good as optical (real) zoom.
However, the Powershots are probably more convenient than the G series Canons for point and shoot applications because of their size. They just don't have as many manual options for "power" users that the G series has. There are probably other differences, so check out some comparative tables online about options, performance, batteries, etc.
I Don't think that the picture quality of the G5 is lower than the G3. The problems with the G5 is the small captor size, wich is a source of noise. Thus in theory the G5 is more noisy than the G3.
However the G5 has a magic chip : the digic. This chip (who is also in the rebel 300) reduce noise and artifact in a fine way.
The G5 is a good buy, however there will be always better.
Originally posted by tree
cool.....thanks guys. I've been reading some scketching stuff about the G5. I've been hearing some great things about the Powershot A80. I'm new to photography, so I'm thinking this will be a good starting point. Also, I'm going on vacation, so I want to stay mobile and be able to shoot on the fly.
As a very happy Powershot owner, I believe this is a wise decision.