1. Use manual focus. Lock the focus and then gently rock the camera back and forth until you find that sweet spot (where the image looks crisp in the LCD). This takes a lot of practice.
2. Use full zoom. This is especially important in situations were vignetting is likely (e.g., if using a 2xTC after some stacked close-ups).
3. Use a small aperture (large F value) to maximize depth of field (the amount of the image in focus). The more magnification, the less depth of field.
4. Fill flash is usually a good idea. The majority of my shots are at F8 (which is the smallest aperture a prosumer digital camera gives), 1/250 with fill flash.
5. I typically used the F8 trick on the Canon G1, that is, I use Tv (shutter priority) mode and set the shutter speed to 1/640th. Because flash is enabled, it will drop down to the max synch speed of 1/250 with F8. While the G3 doesn't have the F8 trick, it does permit high speed synch (higher than 1/250 with the external flash), which should be useful for fill in bright light.
6. The next most frequent mode I use is aperture priority (Av) with, of course, F8 (the smallest aperture my camera gives). I like this mode, because I can tolerate shutter speeds down to 1/100 or so on a good day (if I have skipped the morning coffee), but I am more likely to have success with 1/160 or 1/200. This helps to get a lighter background than with 1/250.
7. Lastly, I sometimes shoot in manual mode, but the main problem with that is my Canon G1 fires the external flash at full strength in this mode (in which case, I wrap it in tissue as well as the diffuser). Since the G3 gives much more control over the flash, I will probably use manual more often with it.
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