Canon PowerShot G3

corey1121

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
2-5 years

Visitors rate this review
2.33 of 5,
3 votes

Price Paid:  $500.00 from amazon.com

Summary:
Probably more then a casual photographer needs, but I am extremely happy with the camera. Pictures are beautiful (I use it in auto most of the time). Focuses fairly quickly (when you are not zoomed in too far).

Strengths:
Photo quality!!! Battery lasts a long time

Weaknesses:
Mode switch changes easily Fairly big compared to other digital cameras

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
21+ years

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
1 votes

Price Paid:  $550.00 from Henry's, Toronto, On

Summary:
Went shopping ready to plunk down more cash for either a G5 or a 300D. Got the G3 for a very good price (US$550), one of three left in stock at Toronto's main camera store. Had the camera for a month. Generally very happy, an excellent camera for an enthusiast who also must share it with their non-enthusiast spouse. My first digital camera. I'd been waiting for the quality to rival film. Well, it is definitely there. Plus going digital is a lot of fun. So easy to catalog, manipulate and distribute images. A true delight.

Strengths:
Picture image White balance Above-average macro Size Flash hotshoe Long battery life Bright LCD Excellent software (incl. bundled Photoshop Lite)

Weaknesses:
Fairly slow autofocus Wide array of features may make it a bit daunting (read the manual) No docking station Battery must charge in camera Should come with a wrist strap, not a shoulder strap

Similar Products Used:
Canon AT-1

Customer Service:
unknown

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
0-1 years

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
2 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Frys

Summary:
I purchased this camera based on the strength of the reviews posted here, and I have not been disappointed at all. I can wholeheartedly recommend this camera for those seeking something between the SLR and the point and shoot. I have printed photos shot using the highest quality format at A3 size and cannot fault them (HP Deskjet 9000). The video quality is also very good, better than some 5 mega-pixel cameras I have seen. The main reason I'm writing this review is because I believe this camera corrupted a 256MB CF Card. The battery ran out whilst playing back photos onto the TV and after charging the CF Card was corrupted. The card had not been removed from the camera or exposed to heat/water etc etc. The camera now can't reformat the card and neither can my PC. Obviously proving this to Canon is a dead duck. Unfortunately since a friend bought it in the US and didn't get the warranty stamped by the store I can only get this checked out under warranty in the US. Since I live in Australia this is not a realistic option so it's buying a new CF card for me unfortunately! However, don't let this stop you from buying an otherwise excellent camera - just don't do what I did.

Strengths:
Battery Life Still and Video Quality Features Ease of Use Rotating LCD screen

Weaknesses:
Possible CF Card Corruption (see main review) Focussing can be a little slow

Similar Products Used:
This is my first digital camera, however it beats most non-SLR digitals I've seen hands-down in terms of features

Customer Service:
No global warranty so get your warranty stamped by the store if buying from overseas

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
6-10 years

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
2 votes

Price Paid:  $400.00

Summary:
I bought this camera recently as a backup for my Nikon D100 and to use when I didn't want to bring my significantly larger and heavier D100 body and lenses on a trip. I bought the G3 because there wasn't much difference between this and the G5, and I could get a great deal on the G3 now. I took this camera to Paris recently and took about 600 shots. I am impressed with the battery life of the BP511 and could go the entire day without having to use the backup battery that I bought. The swivel LCD screen was very useful, allowing me to avoid contorting my neck for many shots that I would otherwise have had to do with my dSLR. The manual controls are quite extensive and useful, making this a great camera for the enthusiast. At the same time, a beginner can put it in auto mode and let the camera do all of the work. Pictures straight out of the camera were quite good and only required minimal post-processing. If you weren't too fussy, you could easily print the shots without manipulation and would likely be happy with them. The camera's 4-megapixel resolution is plenty for snapshots(4x6) while allowing the possibility of blowing them up to 8X10 if necessary with good quality. The start-up time of this camera was quite good for a point and shoot although it isn't the almost instanteneous start-up of a dSLR. Shutter lag is manageable if you pre-focus by holding the shutter button down half-way first. It is not the camera for action photography, however, but then again no P&S camera is either. My only criticism is the low-light focusing ability of this camera and this sentiment is echoed by the others who reviewed this camera on this forum. Manual focusing is a joke and is an almost useless feature. I only used it when the auto-focus didn't do a good job in low light. Even then, I estimated the distance and dialed it in using the distance scale that shows up on the LCD screen. The ability to use Canon Speedlight flashes is also a useful feature.

Strengths:
Fast lens. Extensive manual controls. Ability to use shoe-mount flash units. Swivel LCD screen.

Weaknesses:
Low light focusing. Can't use higher ISO over 100 due to CCD noise. Not a take-everywhere camera like the Canon S-series digital cameras(S400, etc).

Similar Products Used:
Olympus C4040 Canon s10 Nikon 990

Customer Service:
Not needed yet.

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
0-1 years

Price Paid:  $508.00 from B&H

Summary:
I bought the G3 for my wife as a travel camera. We wanted to have something smaller than an DSLR, but also have some of the creative controls that a DSLR would provide. The perfect compromise was the G3. I actually borrowed the camera quite a bit from my wife, the immediate feedback with the photos is addicting. Overall we really like the camera and are glad that we added it to our aresenal.

Strengths:
Great quality for a camera in this price range. Good range of manual controls to satisfy artistic needs. Swivel LCD is great for candids as well as self portraits. The battery life seemed to be decent. I don't think we ever went through a whole battery in a day. The white balance control was designed better than I've seen on most cameras. The white balance is very easy to get to and allows for quick changes. The cameras layout seems to be pretty easy to get the hang of. My wife mastered the controls after spending a few hours going through the users manual.

Weaknesses:
As with all cameras in this class shutter lag is annoying. The lens cap is worthless (We bought the lens adapter and new lens cap). I don't like focusing through the LCD screen (I'm used to using SLR's) and the viewfinder isn't the best with only partial views as well as the lense getting in the way (you can see it) when looking through the viewfinder.

Similar Products Used:
Different Nikon Coolpix cameras and Sony Mavica. Minolta Film SLR's

Customer Service:
Haven't had to use as of this time.