Rating: 
Summary: Great camera, but not so good a user interface
Review: Let me start by saying that I bought this camera because we couldn't get the PowerShot G3 in time (for the price I wanted). I was more than content with the 3.x Megapixels and wasn't looking to buy a 5MP camera.That said, the G5 is a great camera, with many features that will make your mind boggle (time spent with the manual will definitely come in handy - btw, this is one of the better manuals I've seen). It comes with with an Automatic mode (read as mode for dummies who don't want to deal with aperture, speeds, modes etc.) or you can choose different modes (landscape, portait, nightshot, stitch assist etc...). The controls for these modes is on the top of the camera and is designed well. I tried all of them and it does make a difference compared to the default mode. The stitch assist was also easy to do with the software that comes with the camera. I doubt it that I will use this feature again, but it's nice to know that it exists if the need arises. I was able to get the camera up and running quickly and transferring photos to the computer is a snap (just follow directions - equally well written manual) and you will be fine. What is not designed so well is the series of buttons at the back - specifically the White Balance (WB) and Menu. My hand tends to hit the back of the camera when you are taking shots. Also on extended zoom the lens is unprotected, making me a little antsy. Overall, I feel that this is too much camera for me. I still give it the 4 stars because it takes great pictures (get a 128MB memory stick as the 256MB memory stick has caused problems in the past - the 32MB that comes with it will not be adequate), it is easy to transfer and create an online photo album and the prints (4X6 as well as 5X7) that I developed are decent.
Rating: 
Summary: Full-featured but clumsy...
Review: I've been disappointed with this camera. While it has an abundance of features, the controls are annoying and confusing in many respects. For example, the auto shutoff delay, which is relatively short, can't be adjusted: if you opt to have it enabled, count on the camera being off just when the perfect picture presents itself. The on/off and zoom buttons are small and clumsy to use. Other controls are nonintuitive: expect to spend a lot of time with the manual. Serious purple fringing is evident in the images, a dissapointment for a maker of Canon's reputation. I'm not a novice: my first "serious" camera was a Minolta SRT-101 (in the late '70's), and I've since owned a succession of Olympus, Nikon and Canon SLR's. Currently I use a Canon Elan 7 for film photography, and it's a fantastic camera. Prior the G5 I was using a Kodak DC 4800 3mp model for digital photography: it was much easier to use and the image quality was nearly as good as the G5's. If you're considering this camera, be sure and take it for an extended test drive to make sure the controls suit you.
Rating: 
Summary: Who needs a digital SLR?
Review: I am not a professional photographer, but I love taking artful and beatiful pictures. This camera is allowing me to fully learn the art of photography. It is versatile enough to allow me to try anything I want to.
I would say that this camera is more than needed if all you want to do is take point and shoot snapshots. You can do that with this camera, but you can do so much more.
For someone who, like me, is becoming a serious amateur photographer I would say this a great camera. I have been very happy. I would also say get a photography how-to book. I'm reading "The Basic Book of Photography" by Tom & Michelle Grimm. Read that along with the manual that comes with the camera and you can use all the knowledge from the book.
Get Photoshop Elements and a companion how-to book. I use Scott Kelby's Photoshop Elements for Digital Photographers. With Photoshop you can make a good picture look great.
Get a quality photo printer. I got Canon's i860. It does a fantastic job at making gorgeous prints, and it's quick.
With all of these compontents a whole new world is opening up. If you have a Mac, like me, all of these components work together seamlessly.
The camera is fun and easy to use. I would recommend it without hesitation to anyone interested in getting serious about photography.
Rating:
Summary: A couple things you don't hear about
Review: There's plenty of repetition in the reviews you'll read about the G5. Here are a couple thoughts I haven't seen expressed yet. First, this is a compact camera, and that means the lens is made to tuck well into the body. The protective shell only extends part way out to keep the profile slim, so the fragile lens is somewhat vulnerable when extended. This is also the case with other maker's compact cameras. One solution is to add the lens/filter adapter, but if you've got any sense of style you'll be put off by its contrasting gray color. This, by the way, is the only way to add a protective UV or other filters - the lens barrel itself is not threaded. For a camera at this price and with these capabilities, the user should have a threaded barrel and sturdier lens construction. Second gripe is the placement of the controls on the back of the camera. I have average sized hands, but my thumb constantly bumps either the white balance or set buttons. It's more of an annoyance than a problem though, because they keys rarely engage from the contact. Canon clearly recognized both these issues, because they've fixed both in the new Pro 1. But don't let these turn you off. It's a fine, full featured compact camera.
Rating:
Summary: Very good, but not perfect
Review: If I could give this 4 1/2 stars, I would, but I can't. The G5 is a great digital camera for all kinds of users, however is simply too much camera for most people that will want to take snapshots; many people won't even touch on using or even understanding all of the features the G5 has unless they have some photography experience. The lens is quite good, it's very sharp no matter the aperature used, the autofocus is of average speed, and the zoom is roughly equivalent to a 35-140mm on a film SLR - you get a pretty good range of focal lengths as long as you don't need wide angle or extreme telephoto shots. Bokeh is okay at wide aperatures, but don't expect it to compare with a good SLR lens, because it won't. Macro shots are very good, with little distortion, sharp focus, and decent bokeh. Image quality of the pictures is excellent - colors are balanced and realistic, and edges aren't oversharpened at all, 8x10s look fantastic but I have yet to print anything larger (The G5 should be able to make a nice 11x14 print). Featurewise, the G5 is very well rounded - it has a full auto mode, which works quite well, except the auto exposure for shots using the flash tends to overexpose the picture (This does not bug me since I usually use manual or priority modes), it had a program mode which gives you some control over the camera settings, and various manual modes including full manual, aperature priority, shutter priority, and also several scene modes for taking portraits, night landscapes, and more. My biggest complaint with the G5 is that it takes very noisy pictures at a given ISO - ISO 400 is utterly useless for taking shots because they are so grainy, ISO 200 is usable but I wouldn't print an 8x10 with it, and ISO 50 and 100 are okay - this camera is great for outdoor shots but if you need something to work with inside without a flash, you are better off with a D-SLR of some sort. Ergonomically, the G5 is great, it's well built, easy to hold, and all of the controls are easy to reach and intuitive. There are numerous functions however, and it will take most people a while to become accustomed to and comfortable with all of the camera's features. The flip out LCD is a very useful feature, and it has helped me take many shots that I couldn't have made otherwise. Overall, it is a very good all around digicam, but for some people with specific needs (Long zoom, wide angle, indoor shots without flash), there are better choices. I strongly reccomend this for people with photography experience, but it is complete and total overkill for someone that wants to take snapshots.
Rating:
Summary: Sharp but with problems
Review: I ordered a G5 for work--we do a fair bit of digital imaging. We were very impressed with the resolution and sharpness of the images. I was reasonably pleased with the interface, though the other person who tried the camera thought the menus were too complex. HOWEVER .. this camera had very pronounced chromatic aberration showing at the boundary of light and dark areas in high-contrast situations. The dreaded "purple fringing." We had to send the camera back. It may be that this was an early lens or coating and this will be fixed in cameras produced later than the one we bought (December 2003). And it might not bother some users at all. But we thought it was unacceptable for a $600 camera. :-(
Rating: 
Summary: Buyers Beware! Defects and voided warranty
Review: I got my G5 on August through Amazon. In December the LCD has stopped working, and a few days later the Camera completely stopped functioning. At the time I was travelling with my wife to Europe and Canon refused to service the Camera. Apparently you can only get US local service to it (they even don't allow shipping back to the States) and get this - I took this to Amazon customer service which warned me that by taking this Camera outside the United States, "you void the manufacturer's warranty on this item. This could make any future servicing of the item difficult and costly."
Since we are due to get back to the States only in 3 months, and I need a WORKING camera to shoot while on vacation, not when I am home, I had to pay today $350 to fix it and replace the "Optical Unit". I will never buy a Canon product again. Sony gives you worldwide walk-in warranty, no matter where you are you in the world you go or call a local Sony service center and get your Camera fixed.
Now, that Sony offers CF and not just MemoryStick and with the excellent reviews it gets from the user community, there is really no reason to take the risk with Canon. Their Cameras ship with defects and the service is the worst I came across so far.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible camera, overpriced, shame on Canon
Review: I sent this back after 2 frustrating weeks...I got this camera over the S50 due to the faster lens, larger optical zoom and the hotshoe, boy what a letdown. The autofocus is miserable, this camera needs full light to focus correctly and it is VERY slow, if shooting in dim light (anything less than daylight) this camera took at least 10 sec's to focus, ofen it would just give an error beep and make me manually focus. Most flash photos were overexposed badly despite trying to deliberately underexpose. This camera is not worth the price, even if less than list. If you are willing to spend this kind of money spend a little more and get a digital SLR. I really don't want anyone to be dissapointed like I was, what a waste!
Rating:
Summary: WHY didn't I buy this sooner???
Review: I've been borrowing a digital camera for ages - debating between the digital rebel & the G5. WHY did I wait so long??? I finally decided that since I never used my SLR, I'd probably never use the digital rebel. I've used my G5 daily since its arrival & the only problems I've encountered were as a result of my failure to read the manual! I'd buy it again in a heartbeat!
Rating:
Summary: Don't forget the Memory !!!!
Review: Don't forget that the G3/G5 are using the Compactflash memories... which mean you can use the 1Go and 4Go megadrives from Hitachi (previously built by IBM). When I go on week-ends/vacation, I'm worse than a japanese busload: I shoot, I shoot, I bracket, I'm at the biggest resolution and I don't worry about the memory.
The result? On a 300 to 500 pictures week-end (G3 w/1Go microdrive), I can decently go to my Walgreens and print 5 to 10 AWESOME 8x10 pictures.
For less amateurs people, you can use this way the RAW format and still have room in your memory. Conclusion : when you choose your camera, don't forget that you won't have always your computer around to unload your memory sticks. Check also the price per Mo.
Go Compact Flash !! Go Microdrive !! Go G3/G5 !!!
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