I looked forever for a new camera to replace my pentax EI-200, which works perfectly fine, but I wanted a new one. I bought a G1 used for @300 dollars based upon exhaustive research. 3mp, fold out lcd screen, unlimited manual control(lots of modes +full manual and manual focus), raw format(better and smaller than tiff) attracted me. What really turned out to be great was the battery life(lasts a long long time), remote, picture quality, the screen is fantastic- I don't know how I did without it. With photoshop and an epson printer, why spend hundreds more on a tiny no featured camera with more megapixels than you would ever need? why spend hours downloading pics so you can print only 3x5's or 5x7's. This prints beautiful 8x10's. You don't need more. Movie's with sound too.
By this camera and a 256 meg compact flash card. you will not be sorry.

Beyond the fact that this camera has accomplished everything it set out to do, the powershot G1 is just the pinnacle of camera technology bundled into a package that most middle market people can afford.

To give you some piece of information that is helpful; stuff you might not hear about elsewhere i'll list a few attributes from the PowerShot G1.

1. The little cover which is the plug for the powersuply/usb connector is quite flimsy, but with some care won't break. Just have to watch out for it.

2. Get a decent Operating System like Windows 2000 that won't crash every two seconds with the use/development of the pictures on-line. I have a Pentium III 600 with 8mb video card and windows 98 Sec edition, and that thing would not handle the Canon ZoomBrowser Product that came with the camera. However i got windows 2000 loaded with a new 32Mb NVIDIA Video Card, and now the thing is yet to crash... SO smoothe... I forgive it...

3. Don't be fooled with the 16Mb FlashCard (Give it to the kids to use as a coaster for their toy tea-pot set, because it has no other use). Go out, budget an extra card (i.e. 128 or 1GB Microdrive) its so much more worth it to get the extra space and keep your setting to LARGE (SUPERFINE QUALITY) because the quality of that print is so superior to its counterpart digital 3+MEGAPIXEL cameras'...

The petty downsides are very very nitpicky, and you will find these "issues" on 90% of camera's... Some cameras will have a set of features, but lack in others... While others have different features, but lack in others as well... The Powershot G1 has all the features you can ask for. A quick List of Pluses (just to be fair because i talked about the minuses)

1. The Optical Zoom is quick and provides VERY high quality shots. (Not to mention that the Additional Lenses you can buy will bring you so close to the action you'll need to buy cheaper seats to get further away from the action) (Sitting at glass level at a hockey game, i can get a photo of a Goalie from head to toe, with about 2 inches in top and bottom of image with the 1.5x lens)...

2.The LCD flips out, allows for weird angled camera manipulation, (in a crowd, or under things etc..) You can put the camera anywhere at arms length to take very unique photos. It also closes face-in to prevent scratching between shoots... LCD high quality, and feels really sturdy.

3.It has the capability of a HUGE SLR/DIGITAL camera all in a small package. Slightly heavy but Very small for its power. People will see you with this thing, and think you have some 80 dollar camera, when it really has capabilities beyond the intermediate camera enthusiast.

4.Interface/Menus are easy to work with.

5. Taking a picture, loading it to the on-line software, touching up, and presenting (email/website) takes LITERALLY less than a minute. (provied you are near your computer)...

6. Expandability is amazing. It is FLASH 1 AND 2 compatible (if you don't know what that is; check it out because that is an important part of a digicam)... (very good quality) this means its compatible with IBM's Microdrives, and Normal Flash Cards...

7. Litium Rechargable bateries are absolutly amazing. I have a 128mb, 192mb, and 64mb FC card, along with the provided 16Mb card, and i filled them all up at a bruins game (about 200 pics), and the batery icon just began to show some degredation. The only reason you might need an extra battery is if you are on lengthy vacations AWAY from powersources... this also leaves room for improvement, you can get stuff like the "car outlet" reacharge station (which charges two at a time) or use the provided "regular power source" to recharge them...

8. I could go on... but email me for about question you have...

Overall, i'm very happy with the camera. I've had it for 6 months, and have never been disatisfied. I might add that to get the highest quality from the photos, (if you print your own) make sure you understand about DPI. I tried printing some of my shots (and was somewhat disapointed) but found out that i had set my dpi to 72 on the images i had... When i set it over 300dpi, i was absolutly amazed! And you will be too.

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I've added this part, because it has been a year since i wrote this original review.

Note only this change:
There are two newer version of this camera out (As you probably know): The Powershot G2, and G3. If i were in the market today for a Digital Camera, (after seeing, and reading what i have) i would try to find a deal for a G1, or G2. The Newer versions (G2, and G3) don't have enough "extra" or "more" or "additions" to warrant the extra cost. New versions should only drive the old versions price down. I'd say the G1 would be a steal at 400-500 bucks. See if you can find a NEW G1, and make sure its a reliable source, and i'll tell you, you can't go wrong. :)

This camera is very SHARP,exposure is great,color is great,the only problem is the internal flash(little bit too flat),but if you use canon external flashes,every thing will be GREAT!
I bought the G2 for better resolution,but i found out that the difference was't much in resolution and the G1 was SHARPER so i returned it,i need more resolution,maybe 5 megapix,but so far i dont see any 3 or 4Mp better than the G1.
I have been using this camera for more than a year now and i am still in love with it.
IF you don't beleive me,go to :DPREVIEW.COM and see for yourself.
H R Ulysse

I have owned this camera for over a year and have shot lots of images. I really like the image quality and flexibility of use.Unfortunately the on/off camera mode switch is prone to turning on when stored in a bag or pocket. Also when the camera is turned on if you are not careful you can change from Auto to another mode without realizing it. Otherwise a fine product.

I have owned this camera for over a year and have shot lots of images. I really like the image quality and flexibility of use.Unfortunately the on/off camera mode switch is prone to turning on when stored in a bag or pocket. Also when the camera is turned on if you are not careful you can change from Auto to another mode without realizing it. Otherwise a fine product.

The Canon Powershot G1 digital camera is an excellent camera overall. However, considering how long it's been on the market, you'd think it's cost would be lower. This camera has many factory configured settings that will enable even the beginning photographer to take exceptionally clean images. Also, you can choose from many aperture and speed settings should you want to set these manually (highly recommended). There is also a manual focus capability. I recommend this camera for beginners that want to learn photography and then be able to take the camera along when they move on to the intermediate level. There are many third-party accessories (lenses, adapters, filters) available for this camera. For instance, using macro lenses and a couple of adapters on my G1 I am able to capture all of the color slide pictures and print negatives in my teaching collection. I have been able to transfer my slide teaching presentations to PowerPoint presentations.
The G1 is eay to use, very reliable, and you don't need to be a rocket scientist to learn how to use it. I recommend purchasing a higher power battery and a high capacity (>128MB) compact flash memory card (Lexar is very good) that has a high data transfer rate (12x-24x). I've owned the camera for over a year and have taken into the field many times without a hitch.