I have become a Canon convert

I used to love Nikon cameras. Not sure why... the first digital camera I bought was a Nikon Coolpix 5000. It was a nice little point-and-shoot I bought in 2001, and I took it to China with us when we adopted Kenzie. For one of the first 5 mp cameras that Nikon made, it was a really nice camera, and I had taken thousands of pictures with it... most of them were really very nice.

So, when buying new cameras, I was always a bit sceptical and afraid to change from a Nikon to anything else. So I bought a Nikon Coolpix 3700 (not bad for a 3 mp camera), a Nikon Coolpix P1 (small 8 mp camera - not high on my list of good cameras), and a Nikon Coolpix 8700 (another 8 mp camera - and another big disappointment from Nikon).

After being mostly disappointed with the performance of 3 of the four Nikons I had bought, I decided I wanted something better.

So what do I do? I went and bought a Canon Rebel XTi. I outfitted it with 3 sets of lenses, filters, a battery grip, and my husband even bought a 580 EX flash attachment. I love this camera - it's a bit beyond my capabilities, but I'm still learning, and I look at it as a labor of love to get to know how to use this camera.

However, this camera is heavy and bulky, and I certainly don't want to carry heavy camera equipment with me if I'm going back to China to adopt again. So, I wanted to find another small point and shoot - but not one that would disappoint me again. I decided to start researching more closely what I wanted. I wasn't going to make the mistake of just adhereing to a brand name just because it was all I had known...

I finally found what I wanted. It is small, functional, has from 80 ISO to 1600 ISO, and is 12 mp. And I found it in a Canon Powershot G9. The pictures it has taken are nothing short of gorgeous. I have been taking pics of flowers here lately, and I have been extremely impressed with the detail and quality of the pictures. OK, I'm not a professional here, but as just a regular Joe Shmoe, I like what I see. Here are some examples. To see the full size of the pics, click on the picture. I think you'll like it, too.

Close up #1:

Full Size pic
Even closer close up: Cropped close up:
Cropped close up and image has been manipulated with an editing program.

Purple iris I liked: