I've never had much luck with macro shots however I have got lucky a few times in the two years I've owned my G2. I used to shoot almost exclusively with a tripod but I've found myself becoming increasingly lazy about carrying it with me, and sometimes the memory card, and sometimes a charged battery, and sometimes I just forget the camera altogether Tonight I had it at the ready while out canoeing and then once, just once... I got out of the canoe and onto a bridge to stretch my legs, leaving the camera in the canoe, at that very moment, with a nice sunset background... a beaver swam strait at me and came with in five feet of before diving. Sometimes I just have to laugh at myself.