I have owned the G9 since January 2008, and it is one of the later batches that does not have the LCD light leakage on the screen. It does however have one hot pixel, that is not noticeable unless on a wholly black screen.
I am an amateur photographer, and even though this camera is in between an SLR and a compact, it is easy to use and understand.
The Canon interface on the camera is simple, and is not over done with options and accessory elements. The 3.0" LCD allows users to see clearly the pictures that they are taking, and is the best option for taking photos on the G9. Using the viewfinder is a pain because the lens gets in its way when zoomed out 3x or more.
One downside to this camera is the lack on on board memory - there is NONE. However, go to picstop.co.uk and buy their 8gb San Disk Extreme III SDHC card - I have got it and its fantastic. Cheap price too.
With just under 8 GB, you dont need to swap cards, and can always upload the images onto the computer (pc or mac) using the provided software thats excellent.
The image quality of the CCD is amazing, 3000 x 4000 pixels (12m) and there is only a little distortion at the far end of the zoomed lens.
Manual modes are ok, but do require setting up - best to use the C1 and C2 modes for setting your own custom settings. This will help if you need manual quality in action shots.
Auto modes with the flash off are excellent, make use of the scene settings.
Finally, the battery life is ok for this, and only buy genuine Canon batteries, preferably not off ebay (ive been sold a counterfeit one last week!). About 400 shots.
Hope this helps a bit.
by (100%):
12.08.2008 22:14
Welcome to Ciao. Nice first review, with some useful information.
11.08.2008 17:29
A helpful review. I don't quite understand the technical terms used and didn't see basic information of how you use it to just take a picture? If you update the review please let me know and I'll be happy to take another look with a view to re-rating. Thanks