We got a new camera this Christmas. I couldn't decide between the Canon G7 and the S3 IS. I never found a store that had a G7 that I could play with and there were several things that I thought I would miss about my G3. One of the biggest ones is the flip out screen. I don't really care too much that the screen on the G7 is bigger, it is much more about being able to position it, and tuck it away where it won't get scratched. The draw backs to the S3 included that both viewfinders are LCD's, so there is no "analog" aiming device. The biggest problem with this is that even if you get the shutter lag really good, you have the added video lag. Regardless either one was going to be able to take pictures much more quickly then the G3 does. Neither one had support for a remote control which will be much missed. In the end we got the S3 and I have been quite happy with it so far. Other detracting issues include no built-in recharging (no power adapter at all), no info display on the top like the G3 had.

Now the plusses. The zoom is huge, and the image stabilization (optical) works (you can't expect miracles of course). The picture above was taken from the back seat of my in-law's car (granted it is a Metro so it is the equivalent of the front seat in an SUV) at full zoom while zooming down the Pennsylvania turnpike at 60 mph. Pennsylvania is not know for smooth roads either, but I don't remember any big bumps =). Maybe my hands were just rock steady at that early in the morning (sunrise in Pennsylvania when we had come from California the day before).

The other thing I like is the improved video quality. I will have to take advantage of that...