I'm a hobbyist who long ago owned a Konica SLR and shot lots of slides. In the digital age, I've only owned point-and-shoot cameras and have become frustrated by their lack of flexibility and quality. I looked long and hard at SLRs but don't yet feel I can spring for the price. I also wanted something more easily portable. But I wanted complete control over shutter speed and aperture, and I wanted to be able to shoot in RAW for more post-processing flexibility. I decided to spring for the G10.

Since purchasing this camera about a week ago, I've taken about 2,000 shots. (I went a little nuts!) Here's what I've learned so far:

-- Although the auto settings produced very good pictures, this camera really comes into its own when you shoot in Manual mode. I was able to routinely get some vivid fall sunset scenes on a lake with beautifully saturated color and contrast by tweaking shutter speed and aperture settings separately.

-- I'd say that the... Read more

I am what one may call a "serious amateur" photographer. My first serious camera was a WWII-vintage 35mm Leica rangefinder that my dad, while in the U.S. Army, got from a captured German Oberleutnant (he said he won it from him playing cards!). I still have that camera, though it needs work. My first "modern" SLR was a Canon F-1 I got back in the early 1980's. Wife Number One got that - along with all the lenses and accessories - in the divorce. <Sniff!> <Sob!>

At this stage in my life, I still care about the quality of pictures I take, but I no longer have the money or the desire to carry around a bulky DSLR body with a satchel full of lenses, flashes, filters, etc. Forgive me, O gods that guard the purity of the photographic arts - I want a point-and-shoot! But I don't want a toy, either.

My first choices would have been something like a... Read more

If you're in the market for a general purpose advanced point and shoot digital camera, try this one for size.

- The controls are nicely laid out - all the things you need to compose your shot (exposure settings, macro/normal button, flash on/off etc) are all readily accessible on the right side of the camera body
- It's lightweight yet feels sturdy
- It lends itself well to accessories such as teleconverters, external flash units, and even a waterproof shell
- The LCD screen is huge and bright and contains plenty of useful information like (for example) a live histogram, exposure settings, gridlines to help you shoot straight, and even an exposure meter when shooting fully manual
- At 28mm wide you can get a big group of people into the shot quite easily
- There's plenty of shooting options that will cover most needs

I gave the G10 4 stars because I'm being nitpicky:

- When shooting through the viewfinder, there is no info at... Read more