I'm sorry to have to correct you but the Canon G9 does have an optical viewfinder, it certainly isn't a digital LCD screen inside that viewfinder. In fact one or two owners have complained about the viewfinder as when the lens is in it's shortest position. i.e. in the wide angle position the lens tube can be seen at the bottom of the screen when looking through the viewfinder. The 3 inch LCD screen on the back of the camera is exceptioally good.

As for the ability to swap the lens then you are correct, well partially. There are Lens Conversion kits that go over the lens and attach to the body of the camera giving the camera a longer zoom and a wider wide angle.

Where the G9 is good is it sits between the compact & SLR having the capability to be fully manual, have programmable modes, shutter or aperture priority and in fact anything else you may want.

What I do say to those who show an interest, if you want a "point and shoot" camera then don't waste your money on a G9 (or G10/G11) as it is a compact for the enthusiast.

Have you tried the 3 side by side though, or is that just from memory?

Both the N95 and K800 were inconsistent performers. The flash was fairly useless on both, and stills could range from stunning through to absolute rubbish.

I stand corrected on the G9 viewfinder

Thats a good point of view - I often forget about people possibly wanting manual controls on something compact, bracketed exposures, raw file output, etc. Although I'm rather enjoying messing around with the limited controls on my Panasonic compact, have got some surprisingly good results. Not a patch on the DSLR though.