I'm a happy owner of a new Canon G10 for one week now. Honestly I was torn between the LX3 and the G10, but the moment I opened the box and start using it, I know I made the right decision. I fell in love with photography all over again.

I'm a Canon user. I own two other Digital SLRs, a 6mp 300D and a 13mp 5D. I've worked with both cameras in creating beautiful and stunning images. I loved them, I still do.

Recently, my interest is in discovering life in the streets and documenting them. Although i prefer the quality of the 5D, it's too big for the job. I need a camera that is discreet, something that will not catch attention. I have no budget so I sold my digital SLR and bought the Canon G10. And I never looked back.

What's in the box?

G10 14.7Mp D-camera, NB-7L rechargeable battery, battery Charger, USB cable, Video cable, Neck strap, CD Software, User's manual (Eng&Frn) Warranty card.

SDHC memory card not included

Old School - The first impression I had with the G10 is the old school feel. It has three solid dials on top that looks like an old manual film camera my grandfather owns. But of course modernized. And with no shutter lag, it's always ready to shoot the action.

Compact design - It a 3.1 x 4.3 x 1.8" (78 x 109 x 46mm) and weights only 350 gm. Painted black and is very discreet. Small enough to fin in your purse, pockets or hang on the waist. It houses a 3in viewfinder large enough to view even to those who aren't 20/20. But if you want you can use the viewfinder. But as a warning, the viewfinder is not that great. And dont use it in macro mode, it's useless.

14.7 megapixel CCD sensor - resolution this size can print up to A2 size prints (4x the size of a normal paper). One photographer even compared it to the mouth watering 32megapixel medium format Hasselblad H2. He shot two identical image and print them A3 size. Show it to his colleagues, and guess what. They can't tell the difference. If you think I'm joking see the article HERE. The G10 can record both JPEG and RAW format.

Focal length - it has an optical zoom of 28-140 (35mm equivalent) so you can shoot wide for landscapes and groups or you can zoom in to capture a detail.

Macro - If photographing flowers and bugs is your interest, this camera will not let you down as it has a minimum focusing distance of 1cm, enough to for a human eye to fill the frame.

Low-light - If you're in a situation that you need extra boost to capture ambient light, the G10 boast from 80 to 32,000 ISO (sensitivity to light, the higher the more sensitive). the only drawback is the more sensitive the more grainier the image. If you don't know which ISO to use, it has a auto feature and in my opinion, maybe is a better option.

Built-in Flash - It can come handy if you need extra light to illuminate your subject. It also holds a hot shoe if you prefer to use external flash, and is compatible to all Canon flashes. Yes, it can read TTL.

Accessible Menus - All the menus you need are very accessible. I counted 5 dial controls and 12 buttons. The menus are also customizable so you can access those functions you use most.

Video - What's a camera these days without a video. It has a NTSC/Pal (640 x 480 @ 30fps) mov file that you can plug and view in any TV with the video cable supplied with the G10. It's not yet HD, but I'm pretty satisfied with the resolution. Anyway I'm not making videos to bid on any Oscar nomination.

Audio - Of course what's a video without an audio? You can choose from the audio the G10 has. It has a dedicated voice only recorder, and if you don't want to forget an image, you can use the G10's audio annotation. The mic maybe tiny but is very sensitive and can pick up background noise with clarity. But don't fear, you can turn the wind filter "On" to decrease the noise.

Software - The box includes the latest version of Digital Photography Professional image editing software. You can enhance your images and process your RAW format in the software.

In conclusion, this is one compact camera to reckon with. I can tell that that the G10 is finding its way to amateurs and professional photographers bags as its always out of stock. I'm satisfied with it and loving it I never leave home now without it.

If you have any questions about the specifics of the G10 don't hesitate to comment or contact me through my e-mail.

We will dig deeper in the camera functions in the upcoming posts. So stay tuned.