I don't know much about the G5 other than it's 5 megapixels. I have the G3 and love the pictures that it takes, an overall great camera. If you are planning on a lot of Macro shots you can't beat the Nikon products. One other that I would recommend would be the Sony DS-F717 that is an amazing camera. I just didn't like the barrel size when taking pictures but I believe the quality was a little better then the canon or nikon. Just my 2 cents worth. Check some of the camera review sites and they can give you a ton of information. My two favorites are dpreview and dcresource, but there are several others with good information on different brands and models.