Rating: 
Summary: Probably the best prosumer digital camera
Review: I bought this in September 2003 and am extremely satisfied with its performance. Originally I thought of getting a G5 but decided against it after reading negative reviews on www.dpreview.com, which by the way is an excellent source of digital camera information. Apparently the G5 suffers from severe purple fringing due to trying to "push" the abilities of its small CCD sensor to its limits. The effect is also apparent in a lot of other 5MP cameras that still use a 1/1.8" size CCD.Anyway the G3 is extremely great! Image quality is extremely high and since I don't print anything larger than A4 size, I don't need anything more than 4 megapixels. Controls are very intuitive but browsing through the manual helps to learn a lot of the advanced features. There are a lot of extra stuff that can definitely enhance one's photo experience (for example, there's a built-in neutral density filter to darken bright scenes and help saturate colors more). There is also an optional lens adapter that lets you attach 58mm filters (something available on Canon's "A" series Powershots as well). In fact, short of not having an interchangable lens, the G3 is practically a baby SLR camera! Size, though it bothers some people, is not a problem for me because it actually gives the G3 a good feel in the hand. If you need the extra pixels, I suggest you skip the G5 and go straight for Canon's new Digital Rebel (EOS-300D). Otherwise the G3 is an excellent performer for everyday use with a heaping of extra creativity when needed. I now intend to get my G3 housed for underwater use, sell off my Nikon 35mm camera & kit, and continue to purchase Canon's photo & imaging products. Conclusion: if you are after a non-SLR type digital camera and will be doing more than point-and-shoot, I highly recommend the Powershot G3. This may not be the camera to put in your pocket, but it will produce much, much higher quality images than any other non-SLR digital camera in the market.
Rating:
Summary: superfine camera
Review: I purchased the Canon G3 after looking at some of the pics taken by an older brother on his G2. I've been interested in digital photography for sometime, but with the recent improvements in the price to quality ratio of cameras, I decided to take the plunge. The G3 supports improved internals for processing pictures, including algorithms that clean up noise to produce cleaner looking images. A n00b to photography, I found it worthwhile to invest in some general photography books by greats like John Shaw. I also strongly recommend the Shorter Course on the Canon G3 book (sold here at Amazon). The user manual that ships with the camera is very good for what it is, but the Shorter Course does a better job of blending the general principles of photography with the mechanics of the G3. If you're a first time camera buyer, don't think that the G3 is just a point and shoot unit. My brother still uses his G2 as a second to capture photos while out driving around. The camera does an outstanding of job of letting new users take quality pics using auto settings, but to get the most out of your new toy, you need to understand things like aperture, shutter speed, light metering, etc. Not to worry, you could easily get by just sticking with the basic built-in image modes, but in my opinion, you would be robbing yourself of many pleasant afternoons out in the woods taking gorgeous pics. The pics themselves are remarkable for a number of reasons: 1) the colors are vivid and there's excellent depth and spread between tones. The consistency in output is just awesome. The camera offers users the ability to change the color settings to Vivid, b&w, sepia, etc. before or after a picture is taken, but I think that even without using any of these, the colors are really nice. 2) The pictures are clean and contain alot of detail even in the jpg format. Frankly though, I prefer to shoot as much as possible in RAW format and then save my pics as tiffs when I transfer them to a hard drive. I don't care for jpgs and would rather buy additional flash cards than use them as the storage format of choice. Jpgs should stay on web pages where they belong. The cool thing about the G3 is that in certain modes it will let you convert a jpg version that you've just snapped into a RAW image. 3) The hardware's UI is pretty intuitive as far as technical gadgets go. I found the display monitor to be just outstanding. Colorful, easy to navigate and a must-have for doing macro photography (IMO, the viewfinder is second choice in framing a shot with a digital camera). In addition, the display provides useful feedback when the shutter button is pressed half-way down. Bad lighting, the shakes, flash that isn't turned on, bad focus -- all these goblins are identified. The display enables the user to zoom in and identify blurs or other distortions caused by bad lighting, etc. after a picture has been saved to memory. No need to get film developed first, the user can make instant and accurate adjustments at the time of the shooting session. Of course, the display is not so good when looked at outside on a bright day, but that's true of most digital displays. Also, I've found that pics come out best when shot in early morning or late afternoon anyway when the sun is not as bright. Orchid pornographers will be especially pleased with the quality to price ratio of the G3. I've taken some stunning pictures of my own orchids as well as those in botanical gardens. Using an awesome camera like the G3 to take nature pics is a wonderful way of cleaning out cobwebs in the heart and mind. I'm looking forward to expanding my G3's abilities with the add-ons like the macro and telephoto lenses. (The Shorter Course book I mentioned discusses these for people unfamiliar with the why and wherefore of things like macro and telephoto lenses.) Canon has simply done a superb job with this camera and my only disappointment is that the additional lenses seem a little pricey.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Camera
Review: I was an amateur photographer who recently fell into owning a tiny photography business dealing mostly in scenic photography. The G3 is my second digital camera, and much research went into the decision to purchase it. I compared it to various Olympus and Nikon models, and even the G5. I have owned this camera for several months now, and have not been disappointed once. Everyone is so concerned with megapixels these days, and I honestly didn't see enough of a difference in a 5MP I borrowed and the 4MP G3. The clarity is excellent, although it does introduce some noise in low-light pictures. The "camera shake" warning is very sensitive and sometimes when shooting in the evening or nighttime, I am unable to eliminate the warning even when using a tripod in no-wind conditions. In reading reviews before I purchased the G3, I discovered that some people had problems with the On/Off button. I have had no such problems. I use gloves much of the time while shooting, and am able to operate all parts of this camera with no difficulty whatsoever. I operate in quite a bit of cold weather, and the battery life on the BP-511 which came with it, has been very good. I haven't run out of power in the field yet. In the beginning, I had planned on buying additional batteries, but so far have discovered that I have not needed any. My one complaint with this camera is the CF door on the side. Once you open the small door, you press an "eject" button that spits your CF card out. It doesn't quite eject it out far enough, and it's always a pain to try and dig my card out of the camera. This camera has a great many features, and I enjoyed testing it out and playing with all the settings once I received it. Certainly for $500-$600, this is a very good deal in my opinion.
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