Before, we derail the discussion, let me clarify what I mean by 'crap': in my experience, in my opinion, for the usage of my G9, in the ISOs I shoot, for the quality I want, for the print size I'd like, for my taste, I've found that above ISO200, on my G9, in my opinion, is crap (remember, crap is a subjective opinion and not a statement of objective truth) and it doesn't suit my taste. Your experience may differ. If this discussion interests you further, let take it to a new thread. If you do, please, link to the new thread here, and let's move on.
BTW, thanks for the link to the noise discussion.
Now can we get back to the regularly scheduled discussion about what other cameras I should be looking at?
EDIT: My G9 went back to Canon today, so I guess I'll see if they do anything.