5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
A lot of camera
Date of Review: Oct 28, 2008
The Bottom Line: A solid fully featured camera. This one is for someone above the "casual" stage who wants portability and convenience combined with high quality
Having owned several Canons including excellent SLRs, this is easily the most feature-laden camera I have ever owned.
This camera feels solid and a bit on the heavy side; but it is a giant step up from a pocket snap-shot camera. One can just take pictures and enjoy the highly mobile view screen; or use the on-board software to analyze each photo to a fare-thee-well and develop almost professional pictures. There are more than enough options and pixels to do the job.
This is an ideal camera for most travel situations, family use and semi-professional picture back-up. The optics are excellent, end-to-end focus is very good, color is excellent and the zoom lens is easily manageable. Pixels are a step below the need for image stabilization and this camera does not require it.
The truth is, there are more features in picture taking, image editing, transfer, storage and file management than I will ever use. But it is nice that these features are on board. The camera also does a decent job of making short AVI "movies" that help capture a child's first steps or ride on a pony. This feature is not a substitute for a camcorder; but used as an adjunct for still pictures, it is highly servicable and reasonable easy to use.
The automatic focus is excellent most of the time. Focusing options are adjustable however. The recycling time for the flash depends on battery power and if battery cost is a concern, a set of NiMh recharables is advised. The eyepiece viewfinder is mostly accurate; but the screen is better for accurate framing. The tilting screen offers many options for holding the camera and taking pictures. The automatic shut off will prevent leaving the camera on when unattended.
View and reviewing pictures is easy to do. I prefer to transfer pictures to the computer by inserting the SD card directly into the computer's reader; however the transfer software works well. The Canon editing software works well enough for family photos and a good bit organization and basic editing.
Make no mistake; this is a serious camera. It is not your teenager's leave-on-the-bed under "stuff" cam. It should be protected in a good case and not tossed around in back pack.
