great for nature shots
All in all, a very nice little camera, but with all the features, not a point and shoot. Most of the gripes I have read about this camera could have been prevented by reading the manual, unfortunately, there isn't one. If you have a question, or want to try something new, you have to go back home, crank up your computer, and try to memorize the appropriate page. I would gladly have paid extra for a real manual. I'm sure Canon could print one cheaper than I can. It is advertised as having an optical viewfinder. It doesn't. The optical viewfinder is just a tiny little LCD with pixels so large you can actually count them. It is OK for framing shots, but not much else. It does have a diopter adjustment for farsighted people like me. The light meter has problems averaging on indoor shots. Aside from these few cons, everything else is pros. The auto-focus, image quality, and color reproduction are outstanding. As I take mostly outdoor nature shots, the telephoto lens is wonderful. As usual, Amazon's end of the deal was outstanding, although I do wish they would stop shipping USPS to rural addresses. Having to drive 32 miles to claim my parcel at the nearest PO is not exactly free shipping.
I was undecided between this camera and other competing brands. But when my old Powershot A80, finally gave up the ghost, Canon took it back, fixed it for free, had it back to me in 10 days, and paid the freight in both directions. That sealed the deal on another Canon for me.
2010-03-15
