Downgrade to P&S for a while - G9/10 or SD Series?

So now I am in the verge of being camera-less and the withdrawal syndrome symptoms have already started!!.. (Itchy finger, one eye closed, obsession with rule of thirds, unknowingly mentioning the name Canon every other word in a sentence, etc).

What am I to buy now?... Gonna be a while till a 50D.

At times I think of throwing the money I'd spend on a camera to an iPhone, and at least have the capability to instant email whatever the crappy onboard camera captures.

Others, I do look at the G9 rather seductively. My only problem with the G9/10 is that it seems to have all the good features, but for what is still a very small sensor. So does it really matter to have ISO control? Or Av?... If you own one and have seen a difference, please post a few words. Same if you have not seen a considerable difference.

I am unable to make this decision myself, and about to let the store clerk make it for me (six months ago I was shooting with 1D bodies and white glass, so at this point no matter what I choose, will not make up for it).

Cheers,

Actually, the SD series do let you control ISO. It's about all they let you select, though. Aperture, you take what they offer (not that DoF control's all that great even in the other PowerShots); Shutter speed, it's 'about the same lack of control unless you need s-l-o-o-w shutter. So, on the whole, I'd go with the G9, G10, or an SX-10; maybe an S5 if you can find one. The G9 has the largest pixels; the G10 and SX-10 finally bring decent wide angle (28 mm ff equiv) to the high-end compact range. And the G10 at M1 should let you smooth out a lot of that small-sensor noise yet still get almost a 9 MP image.

Looking them up right now. Thanks, Jon.

My vote would be for the G9/10 if you want real control and RAW. If you just want a great little P&S the A590 is a great value.

I sold my G9 and picked up a G10. Although I haven't shot very many pics as of yet, I'm very impressed. On the higher end of the spectrum it's worth a look.

Good luck!

Mike

Had a chance to spend a while this morning looking around several camera models at the local tech store. (Don't want to mention Circuit City).

Looked around at all the Canon lineup first.

The G9 I had imagined in my mind, and what I encountered were two different things. I liked what I saw. Just tethered to that silly little counter, I was able to go max on the focal length and 2.8 on the aperture, just to get a better DOF blurr against a sign hanging somewhere in the store. The G9 seemed unbeatable, specially compared to all other P&S models. I even saw some SI series that had an electronic viewfinder, just about the ugliest hole I have ever peeped through. (Don't get any witty ideas... ok, do imagine a bit though).

I was also impressed by an all metal -seemingly, at least- model from I think Olympus. Waterproof to 10m, seemed to take ok photographs.

Then of course you have the battle for the thinnest and fanciest of them all, from fucsia to Spongebob style, but I did not even bother to look through all of them, as after a couple the 'shutter lag' was useless.

So all in all, I really liked the G9, it took a couple of really good sample photos, I liked the quick review mode where I automatically get to check the a zoomed version of the focused area to ensure it came out the way I wanted it, I did think it hunted a bit, but no conclusion to draw from a store's counter.

So a bit more to think about, but like Mike said, I am leaning towards a G9 quite a bit. Just a matter of research (oh, and by the way, G9 is the fat cousin of all Slim PS cameras out there, I realized -though compact enough for carry-).

EDIT: Forgot to say thanks for the comments, and I will look into the G10, if it is anything like the 9, it might be well worth it.