My decision to buy this camera was not a light one. I was initially after a high quality pocket model such as the Powershot S40, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I could no longer really justify shooting film on my EOS 50E kit when compared to the potential of a model such as the G2.

I must say I was wary to just stop using film. Black and White film especially has been a passion of mine for many years, and migrating to digital would mean no more developing tanks, chemicals, enlargers etc. etc. - which I think is a shame as I believe that for a photographer to truly develop his potential s/he must get down to the true basics of photography which teaches you what is happening for this image to appear in front of you.

However, I now find myself in the 21st Century face to face with this wonderful invention 'Digital Photography'. If I'm honest with myself then I have to say while I do very much enjoy film photography, I have been waiting for the day when I can finally rid myself of my EOS and say that my digital model is just as capable, if not more capable of producing high quality and well executed photographs. Well, after using the G2 for nearly six weeks, I can safely say that moving to digital has opened up my photographic horizons much much more than I initially expected....

Black model also available

For me, the three most important features of this camera were the brand, the resolution and the swivel display. Knowing this camera was a Canon, I didn't even bother to play with it in a shop before purchasing it because I knew that the combination between automation and manual control would be enough for any situation and that the menu system would be simple yet effective - I was right.
In order to fully justify my transfer to digital I had to ensure that the images this camera was going to create would be of high enough quality not just for standard size prints but for selective cropping and poster size images. I have found that 4 megapixels is sufficient for these purposes and gives a good balance between quality and file size. Photos printed at A4 after a bit of Brightness and Contrast foolery are, in all honesty, much better than anything I could have produced with my Canon EOS kit.
I said the final selling point for me was the innovative swivel screen. I was initially tempted by the Sony Cybershot F707 which has a swivel body (restricted to up and down movement) but was put off when I saw the difference in prices between memory sticks and compactflash. The G2 works slightly differently in that the actual screen is on a pivot assembly allowing you to pull the screen out and twist it to almost any position and if you want plug it back in to the back of the camera and use it as a typical rear LCD. The thing I like most about this is the fact that the LCD has a metal back, so when you aren't using it you simply fold the screen back into the camera and then there is no chance of the display becoming scratched or damaged. I feel this is particularly important as an LCD screen on a camera is just as vulnerable as a lens.

My reasoning for wanting an assembly such as the G2 or the Sony F707 was the fact that I take a lot of candid photos and you can always get away with them on these cameras. You simply hold the camera by your waist, or in the case of the G2 pretty much any position you want and you can see everything that is going on in your picture without putting the camera anywhere near your eyes. I have found this not just invaluable for sly candid shots, but also many other situations as it allows me to dramatically change the viewpoint of an image. For example I can the position the camera way above my head and very easily take a photograph from a completely new angle; this type of photography was simply not possible with film because of the restrictions of a standard viewfinder.

Even though I've dabbled with digital photography for about five years, I am still surprised by the potential it has to offer. Even though I've used LCDs on digicams for ages, the G2 has made me realise that it is actually the most invaluable tool that has ever assisted me in my photography. I have shot thousands of films not giving a second thought to the fact that I will have to wait maybe two weeks before I see the images, which is fair enough but when I use the G2 I can immediately assess whether or not my shoot has been a success and that I can walk away from that place knowing that I've got the photographs that I'm happy with.
The G2 utilises the display to the absolute maximum, in playback mode providing optional information about every aspect of the photo, everything from shutter speed to flash compensation level and in detail mode even a histogram providing instant information on light and dark areas within the image.
I very much like the fact that detailed image information is recorded and readily accessible from both the camera and the images once on computer.

I have found that this camera has dramatically altered the way I now take photographs. Although the amount of manual control is parallel to my EOS in terms of aperture and shutter control, in all honesty it was never something I fooled around with when shooting on film, but now I find myself playing around with shutter and aperture combinations a lot more simply because of the fact that I can instantly review the result and assess whether I can walk away or try again. I cannot stress enough the advantage of being able to instantly see your photograph a split second after you have taken it. The G2 allows zooming into the image in playback mode in two increments which makes assessing focus and camera shake incredibly easy.

The camera has a number of accessories available to increase its capabilities, a few of which I have purchased already. As soon as you buy this camera you should immediately order the lens adapter ring which allows the use of standard filters (55mm) and lens adapters. I kept my 0.42x fisheye attachment from my EOS kit and it works fine on the G2. The attachment ensures that no weight is put on the lens, it is all absorbed by the camera body.
Canon have two attachment lenses, a wideangle and telephoto. The telephoto is only 1.5x which is a little disappointing, as I would prefer something more powerful like a 1.8 or 2x. I have looked around for such an attachment without much luck so far but I'm confident I will find one eventually.
The wide convertor is similarly
There is a standard speedlite hotshoe on the top plate which allows for full synchronisation with the 220EX upto 500EX speedlite flashguns. Obviously standard flashguns will work also.
A close up lens is available for less distorted and closer macro shots.

Shooting with the camera is a pleasurable experience. I would be lying if I said it is the most comfortable camera I've ever held (it would benefit from an extended, possibly rubber grip) but I have got used to it quite quickly and everything is laid out quite logically and simply (something that Canon has a heritage of).

I stated at the beginning that I was initially considering a smaller, pocket model such as the Powershot S40, but I have found that I have been taking the G2 with me everywhere anyway because it has given me the bug again to go out and take loads of pictures.

I have found that I have begun to take a lot more pictures also. As there is no restriction of having a 36 exposure film, I find myself pressing the shutter button a lot more often and once I get into the rhythm I find it difficult to actually stop taking pictures.
When I ordered the camera I got them to throw in a 128mb CF card to complete the deal (as well as the included 32mb card). This gives me around 110 pictures in the resolution I shoot at (four megapixels, fine JPEG compression). There are many other quality modes including RAW, but in all honesty I haven't even tried them because I am usually very happy with the images in that mode which I think is the optimal balance between image quality and file size.
If I'm out for a day then I usually fill that card (which includes deleting say sixty throughout the day - images I'm not happy with), compared to with film when I'd probably take a maximum of about sixty images.

I'll conclude on the features by saying that control is offered at all levels as well as automation on aperture, shutter speed, focus, white balance, exposure compensation, flash compensation, flash mode, resolution, compression, file format, ISO speed (50-400), digital zoom, Auto Focus mode (continuous or single), light metering mode, spot AE point, continuous shooting, image review time, contrast, sharpness and saturation. The level of control is simply immense.
Three boxes running across the frame are also selectable for a left or right shift in exposure and focus assessment.

A movie mode is also available for short films with sound. They can be a lot of fun and the sound plays out of the camera in playback mode (much to people's amazement).

On to the software. The camera comes with a whole array of Canon programs which sort everything from downloading the images to performing remote image capture directly to computer. There is also an included photostitch program for montage and panorama images.
To download the photos to your computer you can either plug in the USB cable, or if you have a PCMCIA slot with adapter, directly from the CF card. The included program, ZoomBrowser EX recognises both and downloads fine quality images at about three seconds each which is perfectly fine with me.
Once the images have been downloaded they are displayed in thumbnail format. The program is highly customisable and folders can be very easily setup. I now use the program over Explorer to browse my image library as it is very simple to view every detail about the image including exposure, aperture, flash mode, the lot. This is quite exciting for me because I've always wanted such information to be readily available with my pictures; doing it with film is such a burden because you have to write it down yourself, but the G2 just does it all for me - brilliant!

I'm sure I could continue, but I think you get the idea. I was moved towards this camera because it received UK's Amateur Photographer Digital Camera of the Year award, and I can see why. I have always been impressed with Canon products but I feel they have truly surpassed themselves this time, not only because they have created a highly competent and able camera, but because they have completely transformed the way I take pictures to the extent where I could never go back.

Please visit Urban Exposure for sample images taken with this camera (check the caption to make sure it was taken with the G2 - most are).


www.powershot.com