The all-glass Canon 7-21mm 3x zoom (34-102mm 35mm equivalent) boasts a maximum aperture of f/2.0-2.5, and is constructed in 7 elements with 8 groups. The real Iris-type aperture can be used to create background blur for professional-grade portraits.

Focus range is 70cm (2.3 ft.) to infinity in normal mode. Macro autofocus range is 6cm (0.2 ft.) (wide-angle) / 20cm (0.7 ft.) (telephoto) to 70cm (2.3 ft.).

The autofocus is accomplished via a three-point TTL system with user-selectable AF points visible on the LCD monitor. The G2 also features an AF assist illuminator for accurate focusing even in dim to dark environments.

The Manual focus option is enabled by pressing the "MF" button on the side, the focus range is 6cm (0.2 ft.) (wide-angle) / 20cm (0.7 ft.) (telephoto) to infinity. While manually focusing, the subject area covered by the active focusing point is digitally enlarged on the LCD to aid in critical focusing.

You can also see the speaker which is used for playback audio as well as camera sounds.

The optional Conversion Lens Adapter LA-DC58 lets you use the specially made Canon conversion lenses and 58mm filters.

Canon designed three add-on lenses for use with the G1/G2, they all require the LA-DC58 lens adapter:

• WC-DC58 - 0.8x wideangle, focus range 0.4in to infinity, 58mm threads
• TC-DC58 - 1.5x tele, focus range 1.3ft to infinity, 58mm threads
• 250D - 250mm macro lens, focus range 4.7 - 7.9in., 58mm threads
  Lets you shoot macro shots from a more comfortable distance.

Shown here is the $22 LensMate G2 lens adapter that allows you to attach any 49mm lens accessory including UV, Polarizer, Infrared, Skylight, Macro, Telephoto or Wide angle filter-type lenses. It can be left on permanently as it makes a great way to hold the camera and it protects the lens surface and lens mechanism.

Canon has listened to our request for easier handling and has put this nice fingergrip on the front of the G2. This makes it much more stable, especially when using one of the Canon speedlights.

This is the same type of swiveling color LCD used on the PowerShot Pro 90IS and the PowerShot G1. It can can tilt up or down and can be turned all the way around to face forwards...

or the LCD can be folded up against the back of the camera with the screen exposed or turned around the other way to protect it when not in use.

To save battery power switch off the LCD and frame your shots with the eyelevel optical viewfinder. There is a diopter adjustment for those of us with less than perfect eyesight. The LEDs on the side indicate recording, autofocus and flash status. The eyelevel finder shows approximately 87% of the captured image.

The only thing in the optical viewfinder is a set of cross hairs, no framing or parallax guidelines and no data display. The LEDs indicate focus and flash status.

The builtin 5-mode (Auto, Redeye, Slow-sync, On, Off) flash will handle most average picture taking tasks. It has a range of 0.7m (2.3 ft.) - 4.5m.(14.76 ft.) (W) / 0.7m (2.3 ft.) - 3.6m (11.8 ft.) (T) (sensitivity at ISO 100 equivalent)

On top is a flash hot shoe with dedicated TTL contacts for the Canon 220EX, 380EX, 420EX (shown above) or 550EX automatic speedlights

It will also accomodate Canon's MR-14EX macro speedlite too.