G3 or G5 ?

[Calv]

If anyone is having trouble deciding which camera to buy G3 or G5, I would recommend that you click on the 2 links to see for yourself.
The first link is a picture taken with the G3 and the second link, is the same picture taken with the G5.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/g3/samples/IMG_1134.JPG (G3)
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/g5/samples/IMG_0230.JPG (G5)
I was in the same position a month ago, and not knowing too much about cameras, I went into http://www.steves-digicams.com. I looked at all the cameras in my price bracket, and then opened up the sample photos (the same picture) for each camera. I concentrated on a focal point (the pitch of the roof), I then opened the photos in separated windows to compare one against the other.
I finally whittled the collection of cameras down to 3, Canon Powershot G3, Canon Powershot G5 and the Nikon Coolpix 5400. I found for me, the best for picture quality was the G3 (the G5 had a little more noise to the picture than the G3).
I now that the G3, is not on the production line anymore, but there are still some available on the shelves. The best place I found was Jessops (UK), although they will still try and sell you the G5. I also recommend that if you do buy from Jessops, hunt the internet for the lowest possible price on the G3 and print it out to take with you, as Jessops do a price promise even on internet prices.
Hope this may be of some help

[John_T]

Not sure what you are getting at. Looking at both shots at 100%, those two shots were taken at two very different times of day and it is very likely, considering the stuff laying around in the G5 shot, not even close to the same day. The light conditions are considerably different. Look at where the shadows are. Look at the differences in the exif. The G5 is taken at 12.7 mm and the G3 at 14.4mm. All these things make up a substantial difference. These two shots are not a valid comparison.

The lines in the G3 shot are fuzzy and in the G5 sharp. Actually all together the G5 shot is sharper, the shadow detail better and the color accuracy is better.

I have two G5s, and I will certainly keep them thank you.

[civis]

John_T wrote:
Not sure what you are getting at. Looking at both shots at 100%, those two shots were taken at two very different times of day and it is very likely, considering the stuff laying around in the G5 shot, not even close to the same day. The light conditions are considerably different. Look at where the shadows are. Look at the differences in the exif. The G5 is taken at 12.7 mm and the G3 at 14.4mm. All these things make up a substantial difference. These two shots are not a valid comparison.

The lines in the G3 shot are fuzzy and in the G5 sharp. Actually all together the G5 shot is sharper, the shadow detail better and the color accuracy is better.

I have two G5s, and I will certainly keep them thank you.

This reminds me of this other thread on dpreview:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=6385602

Not even close to a valid comparison, if you pay attention to when both were taken. His comparison was soundly debunked, and "Rafael" didn't come back to defend it (but then, how could he, it was extremely flawed).

[John_T]

...not to mention f4 vs. f8, and thank you G5 for 20% more pixels...

[Clive B]

With regards to your decision G3 or G5, I must agree with you. My partner has the G3, and as soon as the G5 become available, I bought it for his birthday. After taking numerous photos, I found that the overall quality didn’t match that of the G3. Primarily I found more noise in the photos of the G5 than I did of the G3. The G5 has an extra million pixels, but unfortunately still only has the same CCD as the G3, 4million pixels seems to be the optimum for that CCD, 5 million pixels slightly diminishes the picture quality.
I returned the G5 and spent the money on accessories for the G3.
Having said all that, I am not dissing the G5, I still think it’s a very good camera, but for the extra money, Canon should really upgrade the CCD.