Canon PowerShot A650IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

This is the best camera I could ever imagine! We took it on vacation and found it to be versatile and fun to use. I was taking shots out of the windshield and side passenger window and you would have never known it. We were at an airport and the chain link fence was too high, so I used the swivel screen and stood under it and got an awesome shot. I would highly recommend this camera to anyone. The zoom is more than adequate. My last one had a 10x zoom so was afraid I would be a little disappointed. I have mine set on 8 megapixels and the pictures from vacation turned out better than I could have imagined. I had read negative reviews about the card being where the batteries are. I haven't found that to be a problem. I love the swivel screen and the fact that when you shut the machine off, the lens automatically is covered. On my last one, I had to put a cap on and that took extra time. It is quick to turn on and shoot when there is something you want to catch. Good job Canon!! The A650IS is a great camera. You get a lot of performance for your money!

I reviewed a ton of cameras before I bought this one. What I really wanted was a DSLR (as my 35mm has worn out) but got tired of waiting until I had the money. So, I needed something affordable but still capable of nice shots. I have had this camera about a month and am pleased with it. The indoor shots have turned out really well (based on reviews of other cameras I was concerned about this). The outdoor shots during the day are also great. I haven't yet figured out how to best use the 2 different "night" settings but the pictures I took of my husband on a dark street turned out fine when I used the landscape mode.
I prefer using the portrait setting instead of the "pets and kids" setting even when I'm taking shots of the dog playing with our new kitten. It seems to work better that way. I'm not sure of the value in the "pets and kids" setting. I can't seem to get it to work well for me so I just don't use it. Also, I love the video mode. The videos are decent for a photo camera and very convenient when its nice to have a quick video of something happeneing fast and unexpectedly. I found it easy to run the software and download to my computer. All in all I would definitely recommend this camera to anyone looking for some great pictures in an affordable price range.

Canon PowerShot A650IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

This camera is awesome. Much better than the older Nikon coolpix camera I was using before. Controls are easy to use and intuitive, image stabilization excellent. ISO rating is very good also. Excellent review in July 08 Consumer Reports. Battery life is outstanding.

Beware the new SD HC cards require an updated card reader (one that can read newer HC cards). I purchased a new 8 GB SD card, and my old card reader could not identify it. I bought a new HC compatible card reader for $10, and everything works fine now.

Only used it for one vacation but the pictures were great ... much better than previous camera. Easy to use. The only bad thing was a small memory card 32 Meg. I got a 2 GB card.

I bought this camera after I gave my Canon A95 to my niece. I loved that camera and knew--after reading the
reviews here and checking Consumer Reports--that I'd like the A650IS too. It is a heftier camera than my old
A95, but it's also much more capable. I'm not going to give any technical evaluation here because people far
more capable than me have already done that. So I'll just give some impressions after a few days of use:
- This camera is bulkier and heavier than I'd like to carry on a fly fishing trip. But it's not too bulky if I really
wanted to take pictures on such a trip. It'd fit in my fishing vest's pockets. Though, I'd have to re-balance
the contents of my pockets due to the extra weight. Perhaps I need a smaller camera for fishing trips.
- The cover to the battery compartment is trickier to close. One has to take care and not rush the job.
After all, the compartment's cover is made of a rather thin piece of plastic.
- I also didn't like the cover for the A/V Out compartment. It just looks cheap and it doesn't always close
properly for me. Luckily, this cover should only be opened when the camera is attached to something else
and not when my hands are unsteady, anxious to take the next shot.
- I love the 6x zoom. What a difference this makes over my A95's 3x zoom!
- I was very pleased with the sharpness of the 2.5 inch LCD viewfinder. I like that it can be tilted--a feature
I use a lot.
- I read a review from CNET, which said that the next shot delay was "an arduous 2.8 seconds"
Having taken over 100 pictures already, I can say that the camera is ready for the next shot almost
instantaneously. I use 8 GB SDHC, Class 6 type memory. Perhaps that makes a difference...
- The pictures I've taken look great. Then again, I was already impressed with my 5MP A95's pictures.
- The quality of the video it takes is much better than my old camera's.
- I'm a novice when it comes to photography, but I love gadgets. This camera has enough features
built into it so that I'll be busy studying the manual for quite a while.

In conclusion, I like this camera. It's not perfect, but it takes great pictures and videos.
The imperfections I found so far I can live with or can work around.