I picked up the Canon G7 a couple of weeks ago. So far so good. It's quite small considering it's capabilities. I don't know that I would recommend it for someone who just wants to turn it on and point and shoot. There are lower costing cameras that do that better. They tried to make is easy, but over did it. There are like a dozen "easy modes". They work well, but you still have to set it for that particular situation. So here's my take.

Pros:
Light weight.
Big LCD.
Built in flash works well (you can set the intensity manually).
Very nice macro mode.
Controls are easy to use. Easy to change. shutter speed, aperture, etc.
IS is a godsend. Hard to stabalize the carmera otherwise.
External flash mount. Although it better be a small one.
ND filter works very well.
Variety of white balance presets including underwater.

Cons:
Don't even try ISO > 400.
No RAW images.
Batteries go in a hurry, especially with flash.
Viewfinder is worthless which forces use of the LCD. Difficult in bright sun.

Here was my dilemma. I needed something underwater and an underwater case for my Canon D20 weighs 8 pounds and costs about $1800. So for a little less money and a lot less weight, I got the G7 with an underwater housing. Should work well for that as long as I don't have to use the flash too much. It sounds like that won't be a problem snorkeling in Tahiti :D .