Would you buy a G6 today?

There are so many choices. I sold my G3. Loved it, but wanted higher resolution. Loved the portability. I put it in a case on my belt when travelling. My main gripe was I wish the optical zoom went a little longer. The My future camera will be a DSLR but I'm not there yet. The Panasonic Lumix FZ30K has the zoom I miss, but it's heavier and does not look like a camera you clip onto your belt. Much bulkier.
Now I'd like to hear what some of you are thinking.

If I had definite plans to buy a DSLR in the future, I wouldn't buy a G6, you can get a smaller Powershot with a DigicII processor now, and though the lens wouldn't be as good, it doesn't make sense to me to have a kinda big camera and a big camera, i'd rather have a big one for important stuff, and a small one to carry around with me all the time.

As it is, I just wanted one camera, (and I have a film SLR if I REALLY need it,) so I went with the G6, which as it turns out is maybe a little big to lug around all the time, but I do anyway, and I've been really happy with it's performance. I bought it in the spring, if I was looking now, i might consider the S2IS, because of the much better zoom and movies. I don't have a digital video camera, so i often shoot movies with my camera. (iMovie and iDVD make it easy to assemble the movies and photos on a DVD for the grandparents). But the G6 is superior to the S2 in image quality, so it's a tough call.

I had a G5, but wanted more zoom... S2IS fits the bill for me. Great all-around performer. Awesome macro capability. My biggest gripe is lack of hot shoe, so I'm considering a suitable slave flash for it. (Vivitar DF200 is a leading contender.) Other consideration is switch to SD memory, and AA rechargeables instead of G-series types.

Those are two good points... I was thinking the S2 had a hot shoe, but it doesn't... though sometimes I'm tempted to try out one of those point-and shoot slave flashes, since they're so smaller and cheaper than a 420EX, and can be moved around... but I'm sure I'll end up buying a 420EX and doubling the size of my camera bag

And despite what that other thread says, there are very few cameras with the battery life of the G6. When I bought it, i was coming off using a camera that burnt through a pair of AAs every 10-20 flash photos, so battery life was very important to me, and the Canon's has been so good that I've forgotten what an important consideraton it was.

If only for the RAW capability of the G6, I would buy it. It is compact enough to fit in a jacket's or cargo pants' pocket, and would be a complement to any future dSLR that you may purchase. I am almost always with a camera wherever I go. When I can't bring my dSLR, I carry my G6 (sans adater for maximum portability) so that I don't miss out on any photo op. And the prices now are really good.

I think a good set of NiMH batteries (i.e. 2300 - 2500 mAh) in an S2 would give a G5 or G6 a run for it's money. Obviously a lot depends on conditions such as use of the flash and zooming, but I can take several hundred flash pictures with one set of 4 AA batteries. I don't think I could do that well with my G5 on one battery pack. You're right about quickly burning through alkaline batteries, however.

I was using NiMhs (2) and they worked pretty well when both the camera and they were new, but over time, once i started rotating in new batteries, it was hard to keep track (I actually labeled pairs with numbers and dates so i knew how old they were and kept pairs together) That was a drag, sorta, but it worked OK. Then for some reason, the camera started crapping out and burning through any batteries very quickly I suspect I damaged it from using an off-brand power adapter, so it wasn't normal.

Probably 4AAs would work a lot better,and the S2 is newer and probably more efficient, and it's nice to have the option to buy new batteries in a pinch, but I've got two batteries for the G6 and just switch and charge them as they run out and it's been FAR easier and better than my old camera. Personal choice, i guess. It would be really cool if there was an adapter that held AAs and fit in the G6 for emergencies, but that would probably be tough to engineer and expensive.

Yes, I've thought the same thing, but for 7.4 volts, it would take 5 alkaline or 6 NiMH AA cells to do the job. Maybe you could squeeze AAA cells into the same space as a BP511, but some other (and less available) types may be required to do the job... so then why bother.

You can't go wrong with a G6 and it is a bargain now. Dell has it less than $450 usually.

It is shy on the whiz bang features like superzooms and it still has Digic I. It does have all the features your G3 had that you don't want to do without.

Bottom line. It takes wonderful pictures.

I would buy again a G6 if I had to choose an extra camera to keep with me all the time. I have my G6 and am very happy with it...I strongly recomend it, but I would purchase it on a reputable store (like B&H for eg.), I bought mine at dell and was never happy with them, bad customer service and it takes forever to get to your home...

If you are palning on purchasing a dSLR in the future you will definitively be close with the G6, and of course you will have this forum to your help....

regards,

I see no alternatives for a while to G6, for the bigger zoom I am going to buy soon teleconvertor. This is convenient, if you do not need it, leave it at home and you have pretty compact camery, but if you think you will use it, take it with you. I have already own wide convertor and happy about it, going to buy 420EX this week so I will be equiped and be able to use flash with convertor and bland.