Gets the Big Things Right

Canon's latest Powershot entry, the G5, is marginally improved from their previous G3--mainly by upping the megapixel count from 4 to 5. I looked at comparably priced Olympus, Sony and Nikon before settling on the G5. Having taken thousands of pics over the past month, I am happy with the G5 and feel it was the right choice, at least for my needs.

First and foremost, picture quality is excellent. Pics are vibrant and sharp. Flash quality is first-rate for a compact, on both indoor and outdoor fill-flash modes.

Features are plentiful and work well. The panorama setting, in combination with the supplied software, provides true panorama. Black and white and sepia settings work very nicely for those so inclined. All of the usual aperture priority, shutter priority, manual options are included. What stands out, besides the range and breadth of choices, is that the G5 has a decidedly user-friendly blend of buttons and menus that allows easy navigation and customized settings.

Other positives: having been disappointed with the woeful video on my old Olympus (3040), hadn't expected much of the Canon in this regard and was pleasantly surprised. The G5 video provides decent picture (though no zooming capability) and sound that captures just enough detail to provide a great counterpoint to stills on a slide show. Plus, you can even do basic editing (deleting as much or as little as you'd like right on the camera from start or end points).

Other standout points:
1) the swivel LCD is amazingly flexible and a genuinely useful feature. It actually opens up more creative options by enabling the camera to be held at practically any angle and still frame the shot. Kids enjoy seeing themselves in the LCD should you turn it toward the subject, and you can now see shots using the self-timer even from 10 feet away.
2) the battery lasts and lasts. This weekend, after hundreds of shots plus 5-10 minutes of video, all with the LCD on, it is still going! Of course you should purchase an additional battery and have it charged because, sadly, the battery out indicator provides precious little warning. But, as noted by others, the G5 battery life is among the best out there.
3) Manuals: reasonably coherent and clear, a revelation compared to the lame documentation provided by my old Olympus 3040.
4) "Raw" capability: though I haven't explored this much, the G5 possesses the ability to convert a picture to RAW after it's been taken (though you've got to act fairly quickly). For purists looking for maximum picture quality, this opens up a new creative option to scan a shot and then convert to RAW based upon its appearance.
5) Software: major improvement over my old Olympus. Not terribly sophisticated, but downloads pics easily and provides all the rudimentary functions.

Negatives? None that matter appreciably save perhaps one. The camera at times suffers from an ailment afflicting many digicams--autofocus and shutter lag. Having briefly tried out comparably priced Sony, Nikon and Olympus models, must say that the Canon seems no better or worse in this regard, but there are undeniably times that the autofocus will struggle, a frustrating experience for those accustomed to the quick response of a high end SLR. Still, this circumstance is relatively uncommon, can often be anticipated and, over time, one adapts to it.

Other negatives? The camera is a bit big for a compact. While it slips into most pockets, it can be a tight fit... On wide angle shots thru the optical viewfinder, a piece of the lens protrudes into the field of vision, which one quickly adapts to without problem. As for concerns expressed by others regarding noise and chromatic aberration, I have yet to see any after several thousand shots (shooting mostly at the ISO 50 or 100).

In sum, the G5 offers a great blend of high photo quality, wide range of user-friendly features, long battery life, solid documentation and software and reasonably compact size at its price point. Highly recommended.