The chap is asking for advice on the comparison between Olympus C-5050Z and G3. If you can't contribute, prehaps you'll be kind enough not to post irrelevant post in here?
Originally posted by Barrios
S45? No lens blockage and no focussing problem. :bsmilie:
I personally own both the Canon G2 and the Olympus C-5050Z. Before I buy, I'm also consider the pros and cons of Olympus C-5050Z and Canon G3. I finally bought former because of the metal alloy body.
My conclusion (personal opinion) are as follows (btw Oly C-5050Z and G2):-
(a) Oly is definitely heavier than G2/G3. With the heavier feel, it sort of give the feeling of rugged and robustiness. G2 is light, supposed to made of industrial grade plastic. Both are reliability. However, the only problem is both lens are protruding out, it's recommended to get a lens adaptor to prevent damage to the lens due to slight knocks.
(b) Based on visual conclusion, indeed Oly is more noiser than G2 at the same ISO setting. But this shouldn't be a problem if you limit to below R8 size printout.
(c) Both cameras come with excellent software and interface. Canon tend to give that little edge though, in user-friendly-ness.
(d) Both cameras have excellent battey-life. However no deny that Canon Li-ion battery is much long-lasting than NiMH batteries though. But NiMH batteries are much cheaper and comes in AA sizes. AA batteries are available almost everywhere and the Oly has a plus.
(e) Oly can take CF, SM and XD cards. Personally I relied on CF cards all the time and can be used on my G2 and Nikon D100. At the moment, CF is the most popular and I foresee it to be in years to come.
(f) 3x zoom range vs 4x. No difference to me.
(g) Shutter Lag. I think both cameras has min shutter lag. Can't compare to DSLR though. Focusing and taking photos using the LCD usually cause some delay. To shorten shutter lag, be anticipative of the action and ready your finger by pressing "half-shutter". Fast moving actions e.g children running around? Shut off the LCD and use the viewfinder.
(h) Siwel LCD (Canon) vs up/down LCD (Oly). Have to admit that the Oly LCD is crap. Not useful at all, as compared to the LCD(Canon). Swiel LCD can take self-protrait, and good flexibility.
(i) At wide-angle, G3 has the lens obstruction view in the viewfinder. Oly has the same problem after you screwed on its lens adaptor. But both are not big problems as to affect your photography.
(j) Oly has the super macro mode down to 3cm. A plus, but it's sometimes has difficulties in focusing. Master manual focusing is adviced.