This was our first digital camera. Very easy to use, useful features, and high quality photos. Definitely a good deal.

I bought this camera in early 2003 when the camera was to be discontinued and sold around $400. I am mostly a happy user of this camera.

Pros:

1. Excellent lens, very bright (F2.0) which make shooting indoor without flash a possiblity.

2. Good resolution. 4MP is enough even today.

3. Great photography control, more F stops, great range of shutter speed which you won't see in most consumer level digital cameras. This means you can shoot a wide range of objects under many different environment, without compromised quality.

4. Better looking than successors like G3, G5.

Cons:

1. Relatively lousy battery life using the bundled battery

2. Slow startup time. This sometimes becomes intolerable when you want a fast shot.

3. Hard to get CF card out of the camera.

4. ISO 400 speed gives noisy image quality. However this is the issue with most consumer digital cameras.

I have had this camera for more than a year and I am just now getting to write a review. Which means I have had much time and practice to test this camera.
This camera is very much in the middle and by that I don't mean just ok. It is not to hot and it is not too cold, it is "just right!" It has features and manual controls for those who like to manipulate their shots, but in the same respect if you are used to just snapping a picture with one button and letting the camera do the work, then this camera is for you too! The image quality is great! You can buy accessories and extra lenses for it just like those hot shots with expensive film cameras! I have 3 lenses and two filtering lenses(polarizing and UV filter.) One of my extra lenses is a macro lens which really is wonderful. Which brings me to the point that the camera's macro capabilities are wonderful as is! If you don't know what macro means, I can take a picture of those unsightly pores it gets so close. I have taken some wonderful nature photographs with the macro. I love up-close, detailed pics. This camera has a little bit of everything but not too much it is overwhelming. If you want to use it, it is there and if you don't keep it on automatic! The best part is that there have been two cameras in the "G" line that have been introduced since the G2 but they aren't as good as this one(in my opinion.) So the price has dropped dramatically you can get one for less than 300 if you know where to look.

I just cannot stress enough how much this camera has been in service to me. I never even used a regular film camera before I got this camera because I never had the money to get a really good one. Sure I took the occasional pic with my aunt's point and shoot film camera at Christmas, but that wasn't much fun. When I got this camera I just experimented and took soooooooo many pictures. I am really enjoying photography. I guess the reason I never got interested in photography before was the expense of film and then developing, as well as not being sure the pictures were even any good until you got them back from the drug store. With this camera you just look at the shots and if they stink you delete them and take another shot. No wasted film! IF you don't have a printer at home then you can easily take them to Walgreens or upload them to Walmart's site and get prints from your digi pics. So simple.

I have experimented with many consumer valued digital cameras when I took my photography class last year( which was the reason I bought this camera) and let me tell you, it was the best in the class. We had Kodak and Olympus and so many other brands and they all stunk compared to mine. Olympus C something was pretty comparable but still not as good as my G2. I would recommend this camera to the new aspiring photographer as well as to the family photographer who wants to capture all the good things. I am sure once we become professional photographers we will have a SLR digital camera but for anyone less than a professional who is actually getting paid for their pictures, this is the best quality at the best price. When printed on photo quality paper my digital pictures are as good as if not better than other film photographer's pictures. I have been told my shots are good enough to be in National Geographic! Have fun with this joyful contraption.

I have had my canon for almost a year now, and I just want all to know who are looking for a camera, that there are a lot of cameras out there that you will not be satisfied with if you are looking for excellent photo quality.. this camera creates beautiful pictures, and they are easy to load on the computer with included software, and when I order prints, they look like they were done professionaly. this camera is not for someone who wants a camera you can slide in your pocket, it is an amatuers camera and is made for good quality picture taking, it can be attached to a tripod, and is intened for light duty amatuer photos, however, if you dont mind the weight of it, it is great for all your picture taking needs, and it really isnt that heavy, just not as slender as the little pocket cameras, same with the G3 by canon, anyway defientely an A+ on this one.

In general this is a very nice camera with lots of goodies and quite foolproof for even a beginner. Lots of functions, good optics and high resolution, all give it high marks.
On the downside, the camera has a serious speed problem. If you're used to the typical 35mm SLR, this is not the camera for you. The time it requires to focus (a couple of seconds!?) as well as the time it takes it to 'save' (probably about 5-10 seconds with the color monitor open) an image and ready itself for the next one all but guarantee lack spontaneity in picture taking. A moving toddler, a pet, virtually any unstaged snapshot are usually ruined due to the camera's slow reaction time.
The software that accompanies the camera has goods and bads as well. While it offers all the capabilities one would want, it is cumbersome and immature as a product - or rather a medley of products thrown together and forced to talk to each other. Yes, you can adjust nearly any parameter you might want, touch up pictures, make photo albums, etc. But try just clicking on the print button to print one single picture out - it is infuriating. Page after page of dialogs, repetitively asking for the same information, often in uncomprehensible ways. At the end, that single 4x6 picture you wanted printed on a 4x6 paper ends up in the wrong orientation, parts of a head cut off and parts of the paper left white. Ouch!

The G2 is a special camera. I bought it after 3 months of research in December 2002. It was a time when Canon had fixed all previous issues with the G1 and was improving on G2 to release the G3. I wanted a digital camera that can be used as a point and shoot one and also some advanced features for me to do some pro kind of photography and guess what I concluded and bought... the G2 After having it for more than 2 years, I think I can write a reasonable review of it. It is a simple advanced camera !!! Sounds like an oxymoron, but it really is that. It is simple enough that an average Point and shoot person can use it and advanced enough that a pro can do some good shots with it. It has enough options in the preset modes to give a quick nice picture in each of those modes and also has a set of manual features for more creativity. The pictures are clean, crisp and nice. It has the largest lens compared to any camera in that segment. The software that comes along with the box is good value for money & sophisticated. I do not have to list the long line of features that this camera gives for such a small price
Some of the negative things I find in this camera are
1. Is heavy and is a little oversize to be carried in the pocket
2. The operations like switch on, switch off, writing image to disk and few other actions are a little slow.
3. The flash recharge is also slow.
If you are a beginner or just want a simple easy to use point and shoot camera, don't buy it. If you are pro and want an advanced camera for professional shots, don't buy it. If you are inbetween, then this camera is for YOU.

Otherwise, is a great camera, love it and I think I have already taken my investment out of the camera, but looks like this just the beginning !!!

I've had this camera since April 2003, and it has been one of the best electronics purchases that I have made. I've taken about 5,000 shots with this camera to date, and the image quality with all of them is outstanding, even by today's standards.

This camera is capable of producing images up to 11x14 inches without noticeable image grainyness. The F2.0 lens is superb and produces super sharp images. The features are fantastic. The panorama mode is something I use a lot more that I thought I would and produces stunning, seamless panoramas which could easily pass as gallery prints.

If you can still find this camera, purchase it! You will not be sorry.

This is the kind of camera that is a joy to use and explore. I have been using this along with a Digital SLR for about 3-4 years now and it still works great. I must have shot over 10000 shots using this camera with most shots being exceptional. The lens is fantastic, build is rugged, battery life is exceptional. This is a classic camera worth keeping for many years. For an avid photographer, the Powershot 'G' series is a good camera to have along with an SLR.

I've had my Canon G2 for four years and it still takes simply Gorgeous pictures. People ask me if my pictures on the wall was from a studio. I tell them I shot them with my Canon. Crisp and super clear pictures. Easy to use. The best find!! Love it!!!!! Even when you enlarge to 10x15. The clarity is still perfect...

Canon PowerShot G2 4MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

I bought the black Powershot G2, however the features on this triple-tone champagne beige colored case are the same.

This is an amazing camera. I've shot flower and jewelry closeups that compete favorably with higher megapixel models. Clarity is exellent, ease of use very good. This is a semi-pro model that would be a great choice for a beginner or a more advanced photographer.

The zoom lens and auto-focus does an amazing job both outdoors in natural light or in a photo cube.

Download is fast and simple, and there are a variety of formats supported.

Comes with a re-chargeable lithium ion battery.

A fully molded hand grip eliminates problems encountered with earlier models. Featured is an extending 3x, F2.0 - F2.5 'Zoom Lens', evaluative center-weighted spot metering, 3 selectable focus areas and 10-bit RAW mode. Comes with a 32MB compact flash card, but add a 2, 4 or 8GB card and you're good to go ... anywhere.

Highly recommended.