I had a G1 and then a G7. I havent updated to the G10 yet. The one feature that it has that I miss in the G7 is being able to shoot RAW. But the G7 is still great, as is the whole series.

At one point in my life, when I was about 30 years younger, I would carry a 4x5 view camera, lenses, handheld light meter and tripod with me when I traveled. Oh, and film packs, changing bag and so forth. And yes, if I got a good shot it was stunning to see what you could do with 4x5 Fujichrome 50 or 100 ASA B&W but man, was it a pain in the ....

A digital SLR is a big simplification but I really do enjoy just a single, smallish camera like the G series. I have considered going to something even smaller, and still may as well, but the G series is a great compromise in terms of features and image quality combined with ease of carrying. There was thread on photo.net linking to an article about a professional war photographer that decided to try using point and shoots rather than SLR gear in Iraq. He found it changed the way he took photos and decided to stick with the point and shoots.

So Im inspired to spend more time with the G7 now. I probably dont carry it with me enough when I travel. Have to make a note to self to change that.