Digital-Camera Reviews

Good camera, easy to use, handy. Limited flash, and don't try to use an aux flash. The unit flashes 2x, to determine the correct exposure, thus firing an aux flash, and when the exposure flash is firing, the aux isn't. Anyone found a solution?

I was actually looking at a competitors camera (Nikon 885) and was torn between the S300 and Nikon 885. Both were the same price, and the Nikon 885 was a little more powerful (3.0 meg vs. 2.1)

However, I started reading a lot about issues people had with the 885 (oversaturation of red color in photos, software locking up their PCs, etc.). Two coworkers had the S110 (older Elph model) and loved it. I saw some of their photos and knew the S300 was the way to go for me.

I've had the camera for a week now, and I am impressed. It has a durable feel to the camera, not some cheap plastic that feels like it will crack if I'm not careful. The clarity of the pictures is fantastic, and it comes with a battery and charger included.

If you decide to purchase this camera, do yourself a favor, and get a larger memory card (64MB or higher). The prices have dropped significantly. Buy an extra battery too if you can.

If you want a small camera, that will just about fit in your pocket, takes great pictures, and has just enough enough manual features that will keep most people happy, then get this camera.

I'm happy with my purchase.

Pros:
Great pictures
Battery and charger included
Durable construction
Panoramic mode is great and easy to use
Movie mode W/ sound
Some manual features
Small in size

Cons:
8mb CF card too small
Flash could be a little more powerful
Slightly pricey for a 2.1 megapixel camera

I did a lot of research online, I knew I was paying more for the size and style, but I haven't been dissappointed. This camera takes great pictures. My wife and I have taken over 700 pictures (we have a new baby) and we have been very pleased with the results. I took the advice of others on the site and skipped the costly AC adapter. We have one spare battery and keep it charged. You have little warning when the battery is going out.

We bought a flash reader and a 64MB card (we never use the card that ships with the camera). We get about 100 photos on the factory default image settings, 1600x1200 and Fine resolution. That works well even for our new parent photo appetite.

A couple extra points, after having this camera for about a week, I dropped it on a tile floor Ouch! and it landed on the extended zoom lense Ouch! Ouch! That's a feeling I never want to relive, but... Although the inner most part of the zoom was jammed against the outer barrel, I gently dislogged it, turned the camera on and off a couple times to get the lense to retract and extend. The camera issued an error code once, before the lense had fully readjusted, but since then it has been working perfectly. I consider it to be pretty rugged despite it's small size. I suggest using the included wrist strap. Before this incident I had mostly used it as a convenient way to pull the camera out of my pocket.

I like the automatic lense cover, the panorama feature works well and is fun to play with, the movie feature is a lot more useful than I expected, the clips are of good quality, and are convienient to put on a web page or e-mail someone with broadband net access. We have a digital camcorder, but this is more convenient for web clips. 3X zoom is something I would not be without now that I've used it. Sometimes it's not convenient to get closer to your subject.

I was concerned that I might be overpaying, especially vs the new S110 which has most of the same features, other than the zoom, but I can say I have been very happy with the purchase.

I purchased this camera in place of the DC290, which I had done quite a bit of reading up on. However, when I went to buy the 290, it was not in stock. Because I absolutely HAD TO HAVE my new camera that very night, I purchased the DC280. And I'm glad I did. It is very easy to use. You can figure it out without having to read the instructions. And it takes great pictures - day or night! The clarity is excellent and comparable to a 35mm. I've only printed pictures up to 4x6 so far, but they turned out wonderful. It comes with everything you need to start taking pictures right away - an 8 MB card, rechargeable batteries, a battery charger, and alkaline batteries so you don't have to wait for the others to charge before using your camera. I bought a card reader so I wouldn't run down the batteries while loading the files to my computer. I also bought a 64 MB CompactFlash card. On standard quality, it stores almost 300 pics and on high quality, about 105. I use the sight finder instead of the LCD display to take pictures and have found that my batteries last quite a while.

The DC280 is my third digital camera and by far the best!

I spent 2 weeks shopping on-line for a digital camera for our department at work and found the DC280 Zoom to be the best bargain, by far. After purchasing the camera for $447, I kept seeing the camera in stores and in ads going for $600+! The metal hydride rechargeable batteries are a great addition, though the camera doesn't come with a case or an AC adapter. But that's okay, 'cause I ended up purchasing the accessory kit as well, which has a case, AC adapter, and 4 more metal hydride rechargeable batteries.

The camera and software is so easy to use, and the 8 MB Compact Flash card holds plenty of pictures at moderate resolution and quality. I just took some great nighttime photos; the flash and timer work extremely well. The USB connection also allows quick transfer of pictures to the computer. This camera is easy to use, and Kodak delivers tremendous quality for this fabulous price.

I actually bought one of these at a yard sale for 80 bucks, since previously I owned and used a Kodak dc 240. I don't quite know why this series of cameras take such amazingly sharp pictures (my 240 (1.2 MP) takes sharper photos than my 3.2 MP sony!!!)but they just do. The 280 has a more limited zoom (2x as opposed to a 3x), but the picture quality is amazing. You cannot buy a 2MP camera that takes sharper and more realistic pictures than the 280. The new Kodak series with the docking ports are made differently and they are not as good about focusing or sharpness of image. The 280 is a great investment!! I've seen prints from the 280 looking better than some 4MP cameras!! And that's all I have to say about that :)

I have been using this little camera regularly since march 2002 when I traded in my Canon EOS SLR (yeah I know but I wasn't using it enough - digitals are so much more convenient).Now I know what digi cameras are all about i'm ready to upgrade to a G5 or something similar. The A20 is fine for most situations but my main gripe is that it cannot cope when there is little detail in the subject; a plain background will produce an almost watercolour result. Where there is a lot happening the results are sharp enough. Batteries run down quickly but I always carry spares.The flash is inadequate.

I was concerned about spending around [price] for a new digital camera. I read reviews and reviews and deceided to go with a Canon A20. Well it turns out that this camera exhibits the fine art of turning out marvelous photos with minimum effort. Once you read the manual and get your hands on the camera, and use it, you will understand how wonderful "Digital Photography" is.
Fiddle free, simple camera operation and the result is great pictures. Who could ask for more. I've owned my camera about one month, have taken about 300 pictures and the results are marvelous. This is definitely the camera for those who want simply great pictures with minimum effort. It is mostly an all automatic operation with a manual override mode for those who want to do limited exposure settings. I use a 128MB Compact Flash Memory Card that gives me approximately 720 digital pictures at 1024/768 pixel--Medium compression. Beats buying film, and all those other features this camera supports are well worth the [money]I invested.
Don.

I've had the PowerShot A20 for about 8 weeks and have taken several hundred pictures with it of subjects ranging from single portraits, sporting events, macro stills and scenic panoramas. It's very comparable in size, weight and print quality to my point-shoot APS camera. But it's digital! ahhhh...

Pros:
ease of use - the entire family *likes* to use it; mode indicators are clear; menus aren't too deep
fast - even without locking the focus, the shutter is quick
imaging - skin tones are good; strong colors look good; white balance options are simple but effective;
optics - 3x optical zoom; good results in a variety of lighting
dimensions - about the same as my APS camera
AA batteries - you can find them anywhere
video out - immediately replay your latest photo-fest on TV

Cons:
flash - eats batteries; no hotshoe; weak red eye reduction
memory card - the included card is way too small
flimsy doors - the battery and CF doors don't inspire confidence

Recommendations:
read the manual; at least one 128MB CF; USB CF reader; at least 8 AA NIMH batteries; lowepro Z30 bag; and a bigger hard drive!

For printable snapshot work, the A20 is a keeper.

Let me start out by saying the CP 990 is a great "digital" camera but it is by no means a replacement for an SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera. Below is a list of the good and bad...

Good: 1) The 3 million megapixel output is terrific and I have used services such as ofoto.com and shutterfly.com to print out high quality 8x10s. 2)The option of full automatic or manual control (including white balance, metering, aperture, shutter speed, film speed, etc.) is very convienent. 3)The USB connectivity (lacking on the CP 950) makes downloading photographs onto your desktop unit a breeze. 4)Will accept filters, teleconverters, and wide angle adapter 5)Lightweight with unique design 6)The compactflash card loads from the side (older CP models load from the bottom - very inconvienent when using a tripod) 7)Lens is the equivalent of 28-80mm (on a 35mm format)giving you good versatility

Bad: 1)Drains batteries quickly 2)Using the highest quality setting (i.e. 3 million megapixel) allows only 10 shots to be taken with the 16mb CF card included 3)When using a teleconverter or wide angle adapter lens - the flash turns off automatically and you are forced to use the LCD in order to frame the photograph 4)Flash is incredibly weak. 5)Software included is virtually useless

My suggestion for anyone buying this camera is to invest in rechargeable batteries and charger (preferrably NiMh). Also invest in a larger compactflash card, at least an 80mb if you are going to take a lot of shots without the convienence of being able to download each hour/day. Another reviewer suggested buying a CF Card Reader to use with this camera rather than downloading from the camera to the desktop. This is an excellent idea, however, I have a solution to buying both a larger CF card and reader. Buy a Lexar CF card and receive a jumpshot cable for free. I have an 8X USB jumpshot cable that came free with a CF card I purchased. I plugged that into my computer and it now acts as a removable external drive. Additionally, Lexar CF cards are comparably priced to Sandisk and other manufacturers'. Finally, I recommend buying a decent software package, like Photoshop.

Overall this is a very good camera and one that I am extremely happy with and recommend to anyone interested in a high quality digital camera.

I was hesitatant about buying a digital camera, especially at the price. But after seeing many web sites with images from the camera, I took the plunge.

Shooting digitally is a bit different from traditional photography. I tend to use the LCD screen to set up shots, and you can't really fire shots off as quickly with a digital camera, it has to autofocus, etc.

But, I, and others who've seen my photos, love the quality. I print them out on a HP Deskject 1220, which when using photo quality paper makes brilliant prints.

I took this camera to France. I shot over 1,500 images. I took 4 flash cards with me, since I had no way to upload the images while I was there. The images I got from that trip were worth the price of the camera alone. I now have a bound book of images I printed on my HP.

There will always be arguments over film and digital cameras. I own both. I love each for what they can do.

The Nikon CP990 delivers great quality, a lot of flexibility in use, which takes some time to learn. You can shoot macro, adjust contrast, adjust the EV value, shoot in black and white and even capture 30 seconds of video.

I bought the Nikon wide angle 28 lens. The standard lens just doesn't capture as much as I liked.

All in all, this has been a great tool to have. I shoot almost daily with it.

If you want a digital camera and intend to use it heavily, then go for it. You won't be disappointed.

I've had mine for 3 years and it's just what I wanted for what I use it for. If anyone wants a great camera to use for just about any task or just fun? Buy it. Buy it now!

This is my third digital camera, my previous was a 3.2MP Casio QV3000EX. While Casio is not a well known name in the US for cameras, it's still hard to find a digital camera today that matches the QV3000EX feature/price point. The S50 does this and more!

The Good:
1. Made in Japan (not China as some other Japanese cameras ie Minolta).
2. Metal case, and it feels like it is well made (heavy). Buttons give a solid feel.
3. Turns on quick - 4 seconds.
4. Small size. This will easily fit into your shirt pocket. The S50 has the features of a G3 and the compactness of the S400. The best of both worlds. No other 5MP camera comes close to this size, with the exception of the Minolta F300.
5. Extreme manual control: 10 aperature settings (most digital camaras have 2), 45 shutter settings! You will not find a camera with more control at this price.
6. Lens can zoom in macro mode. Others such as Minolta S414 cannot.
7. Fast Canon lens - great pictures in low light and little to no blooming (purple fringe). In my opinion, Canon makes the best digital camera lens. The Casio QV3000EX has a Canon lens, and it takes great pictures. The lens makes or breaks a camera, don't compromise here.
8. Will NOT turn on when in your pocket. It's just plain annoying that manufacturers continue to make knobs that turn at the slightest touch. The dial on the S50 gives a solid and metal sounding click.
9. Battery charger is small an unobtrusive. Fits into the smallest of camera bags.

The Bad:
1. You pay a price for Canon. But you get what you pay for. You can get a cheaper digital camera, but you will not get one that has perhaps the best lens, great auto focus, and exreme manual control, and - in the end great pictures. Take a look at the sample pictures at Canon's site. Compare them to similar cameras. You will wonder why you thought of buying another brand. Also consider the S400 for a more limited point and shoot, or the G3 for professional/traditional SLR look and feel.
2. Uses a proprietary battery. To be honest, I'd rather use AA Ni-MH batteries. But with the Canon system, you probably get bettery power management since they can monitor the battery state better than if it is generic rechargables. In the end it's probably a wash. Buy a second battery.

As an avid amateur photographer, I love my Canon EOS SLR, but wanted to buy a digital camera for traveling and family snapshots.

Since a digital SLR body was out of my price range, i researched maybe 15 compact digitals before settling on the S50. I'm thrilled with my purchase and would recommend this camera even to folks who, like me, are used to higher-end SLRs.

The S50 offers an incredible array of features and options in an improbably small package. I've had it for about six weeks and have yet to take advantage of all the bells and whistles. Although the camera offers options galore, its controls are pretty intuitive. And despite its myriad features, you can use it right out of the box in its "Auto" mode.

Its color fidelity is stunning -- even with magentas, which some digital cameras don't capture well. Its automatic white balance is also superb; it produces none of those ugly casts you get with cheaper digital cameras. If you prefer to set the white balance yourself, though, this camera gives you plenty of flexibility.

I've had very good results with the focus. The couple of blurry pics I've gotten were probably my fault because I didn't give the camera enough time to focus. The focus lock seems pretty quick - comparable to that on my SLR.

There are a couple of areas in which this camera doesn't perform as well as my SLR (an unfair comparison, but worth mentioning). One is the slight, occasional shutter delay. This can be annoying but it's not the end of the world for travel and family shots. If you're big into anything that involves split-second action, though, I'd recommend you stick to an SLR.

I must also echo other reviewers' comments on the flimsiness of the lens cover. I contemplated returning the camera because of this but was so impressed with the quality of the pictures that I instead resolved to handle the cover with kid gloves. It's helpful to note that you don't have to use the lens cover at all, if you're worried about it... the camera powers down automatically after a while, and you can wake it up again by depressing the shutter. (Of course, this option leaves the lens exposed to dust and scratches...)

That said, the S50 offers a couple of huge advantages over film cameras. One is its performance in low-light settings. I've been amazed at the S50's ability to capture pictures indoors, without a flash. No funky purple ghosting, either!

And I love the LED screen that's built into the back of the camera. It has pretty good resolution so you can tell what's in focus, and you can adjust its brightness depending on whether you're shooting indoors or out. It's great to be able to compose your shot without having to mush your glasses against a tiny viewfinder, and it's even better to be able to review your photos at the end of the day.

The software that comes with the camera is easy to install and intuitive to use (on a Mac, anyway - can't vouch for the PC version!). The 32mb memory card that comes with the camera, on the other hand, is inadequate... I'd recommend buying a card with at least 128mb of storage. An extra battery couldn't hurt, either!

On the whole, I think this is one of the best compact digital cameras on the market today, and certainly in its price range. I'd expected to compromise some image quality in moving from film to digital, but am surprised and delighted to find that's not the case. If I had my choice to make over, I'd buy this camera again.

I have a lot of experience with a wide range of fully manual SLRs and digital SLRs, and this camera stacks up nicely. As an architecture student, I bought the S50 to have a quick alternative for shooting models, sites and other miscellaneous scenography to use in large scale presentation format. After 7 months, I have been very pleased.
A few things:

The good:
-RAW format (nice to have that versatility)
-color balance is nice
-easy acces to menus
-loads of manual functions
-light adjustments are right on
-nice lcd, crisp and bright
-overall great consistent pictures, and it's easy to be really creative (making you feel like a better photographer than you actually are)

The not so good (but no so bad either):
-there is too much discrepancy between the area that is seen in the viewfinder and what the sensors see. (You always get more than what you see)
-the 5-way toggle selector button has got to go!
-a little bit too brick-like
-noisy zoom

I would recommend this to semi-serious light-heavy shooters. (but get a spare battery, 2 for a full day of shooting with lcd on)

I've used several Olympus cameras at work and they were more expensive than this. I finally decided to buy one for my own personal use and, after reading LOTS of reviews, the D-510 seemed ideal for me. I'm familiar with the Camedia software package and the controls on the camera are similar to the cameras I've been using at work. I have been very pleased with the camera. The photo images are sharp, and some of the menu items have been simplified. My only complaint is that the camera defaults to HQ (high quality, but not super high quality) resolution each time you turn it off. I prefer to shoot in lower resolution SQ, so I get more pictures on the 32 MB SmartMedia card that I bought to go with the camera. (It comes with an 8 MB card, but it's worth the money to upgrade to at least 32 MB. I wish I'd gone ahead and forked over the money and gone up to 64 MB or even the new 128 MB...) Because of that, each time I use the camera I have to fiddle around and re-set the camera for standard quality. On the up side, there are two levels of SQ, two levels of HQ, and two levels of SHQ, for a total of six choices. In the lowest level of SQ mode, the camera can shoot several minutes of decent quality movie footage, which is fun -- but a REAL drain on the batteries. The camera comes with the Camedia software, which is adequate but not great, but it only works on Windows 98 and newer. I tried playing with it at work, where we have Windows 95/97, and it wouldn't work. That's OK, because my home computer has XP, and it does fine. Downloading with the Camedia 2.5 isn't as easy as Olympus says, but fortunately once you find your file, you can create shortcuts to get to your photos. The main thing about this, despite the small but pesky shortcomings, is that the quality of photos is good for such a low-priced camera. If I'd had a couple hundred more to spend I might have bought a better Olympus product, but for those on a smaller budget who want photos of the kids, vacations and other non-professional type photography, this small, solid camera can't be beat. It's as good, if not better, than the Olympus I use at work, which cost twice as much...

I've used mine for two years so far and gotten alot of mileage out of it. What I really love is that it doesn't require special software to download pictures. When we go to visit, we can just plug in the camera with the USB cable, treat it as a removable disc, and transfer our pictures to our hosts computer before we leave. One downside is that the viewfinder doesn't quite frame the picture accurately. For close-ups, I have to turn on the LED screen or I cut off half of the face...

After considerable research, I decided on the Olympus Camedia D-510Zoom for my first "real" digital camera. I couldn't be more pleased with the ease of use (considering the deep menu which is somewhat intuitive for a technophile), long list of cool features/controls, and excellent image quality. Although you can start taking pics immediately with the quick-start guide, TAKE THE TIME TO READ THE FULL MANUAL ON THE CD and practice!

The video clip and panoramic features are very fun toys/tools and proved to be much better quality than I expected. The Camedia software effortlessly stitches up to ten pics together for interesting panoramic shots and the video feature saves short silent clips in Quicktime MOV format. I would recommend spending the extra ten bucks or so on an Olympus-brand SmartMedia card with the panoramic code for your first or second large-capacity card (since the card that comes with the camera is only 8MB and other brand cards don't have the proprietary panorama code that works with the software.)

My camera says it will shoot about 22 pictures in the highest TIF resolution (1600x1200) and 1300 pictures in the lowest JPG resolution (640x480) on a 128MB card. The highest JPG resolution (SHQ at 1600x1200 w/minimal compression) is where I keep mine set most of the time and I get about 90 shots per 128MB card. The default JPG setting (HQ at 1600x1200 w/medium compression) gets about 230 shots per 128MB.

As with any zoom camera I've ever used, you need to keep the camera still or your image will blur. Use a tripod as often as you can, particularly for zooming, night shots and definitely for panoramic shots. The 3x optical zoom is nice but it will not make my SLR (35mm film camera w/zoom and macro lenses) obsolete by a long shot-perhaps if I dropped a grand or two on a high-end Nikon or Minolta digital...

The camera does eat batteries, but not as bad as I expected, considering all the moaning and groaning in these reviews. Just buy an inexpensive NiMH charger and eight rechargeable batteries. I find my Energizer ACCUrechargeables last much longer than the batteries the camera came with and I'm very happy with them. I also keep a set of Duracells in the camera bag just in case.

The housing has been described as cheap (among other things) but I think it has a good solid feel to it and if you treat it like the somewhat delicate piece of electronic equipment it is, instead of like a football, it will probably last a long time.

I don't have a card-reader or AC adapter yet since I don't see an urgent need for them. The camera works well by itself as a card reader and the transfers are quick (about 4 minutes to transfer a full 128MB card) so I don't think I'll shell out the fifty bucks for the adapter (ouch!).

I've used several Olympus cameras at work and they were more expensive than this. I finally decided to buy one for my own personal use and, after reading LOTS of reviews, the D-510 seemed ideal for me. I'm familiar with the Camedia software package and the controls on the camera are similar to the cameras I've been using at work. I have been very pleased with the camera. The photo images are sharp, and some of the menu items have been simplified. My only complaint is that the camera defaults to HQ (high quality, but not super high quality) resolution each time you turn it off. I prefer to shoot in lower resolution SQ, so I get more pictures on the 32 MB SmartMedia card that I bought to go with the camera. (It comes with an 8 MB card, but it's worth the money to upgrade to at least 32 MB. I wish I'd gone ahead and forked over the money and gone up to 64 MB or even the new 128 MB...) Because of that, each time I use the camera I have to fiddle around and re-set the camera for standard quality. On the up side, there are two levels of SQ, two levels of HQ, and two levels of SHQ, for a total of six choices. In the lowest level of SQ mode, the camera can shoot several minutes of decent quality movie footage, which is fun -- but a REAL drain on the batteries. The camera comes with the Camedia software, which is adequate but not great, but it only works on Windows 98 and newer. I tried playing with it at work, where we have Windows 95/97, and it wouldn't work. That's OK, because my home computer has XP, and it does fine. Downloading with the Camedia 2.5 isn't as easy as Olympus says, but fortunately once you find your file, you can create shortcuts to get to your photos. The main thing about this, despite the small but pesky shortcomings, is that the quality of photos is good for such a low-priced camera. If I'd had a couple hundred more to spend I might have bought a better Olympus product, but for those on a smaller budget who want photos of the kids, vacations and other non-professional type photography, this small, solid camera can't be beat. It's as good, if not better, than the Olympus I use at work, which cost twice as much...

I've used mine for two years so far and gotten alot of mileage out of it. What I really love is that it doesn't require special software to download pictures. When we go to visit, we can just plug in the camera with the USB cable, treat it as a removable disc, and transfer our pictures to our hosts computer before we leave. One downside is that the viewfinder doesn't quite frame the picture accurately. For close-ups, I have to turn on the LED screen or I cut off half of the face...

After considerable research, I decided on the Olympus Camedia D-510Zoom for my first "real" digital camera. I couldn't be more pleased with the ease of use (considering the deep menu which is somewhat intuitive for a technophile), long list of cool features/controls, and excellent image quality. Although you can start taking pics immediately with the quick-start guide, TAKE THE TIME TO READ THE FULL MANUAL ON THE CD and practice!

The video clip and panoramic features are very fun toys/tools and proved to be much better quality than I expected. The Camedia software effortlessly stitches up to ten pics together for interesting panoramic shots and the video feature saves short silent clips in Quicktime MOV format. I would recommend spending the extra ten bucks or so on an Olympus-brand SmartMedia card with the panoramic code for your first or second large-capacity card (since the card that comes with the camera is only 8MB and other brand cards don't have the proprietary panorama code that works with the software.)

My camera says it will shoot about 22 pictures in the highest TIF resolution (1600x1200) and 1300 pictures in the lowest JPG resolution (640x480) on a 128MB card. The highest JPG resolution (SHQ at 1600x1200 w/minimal compression) is where I keep mine set most of the time and I get about 90 shots per 128MB card. The default JPG setting (HQ at 1600x1200 w/medium compression) gets about 230 shots per 128MB.

As with any zoom camera I've ever used, you need to keep the camera still or your image will blur. Use a tripod as often as you can, particularly for zooming, night shots and definitely for panoramic shots. The 3x optical zoom is nice but it will not make my SLR (35mm film camera w/zoom and macro lenses) obsolete by a long shot-perhaps if I dropped a grand or two on a high-end Nikon or Minolta digital...

The camera does eat batteries, but not as bad as I expected, considering all the moaning and groaning in these reviews. Just buy an inexpensive NiMH charger and eight rechargeable batteries. I find my Energizer ACCUrechargeables last much longer than the batteries the camera came with and I'm very happy with them. I also keep a set of Duracells in the camera bag just in case.

The housing has been described as cheap (among other things) but I think it has a good solid feel to it and if you treat it like the somewhat delicate piece of electronic equipment it is, instead of like a football, it will probably last a long time.

I don't have a card-reader or AC adapter yet since I don't see an urgent need for them. The camera works well by itself as a card reader and the transfers are quick (about 4 minutes to transfer a full 128MB card) so I don't think I'll shell out the fifty bucks for the adapter (ouch!).

I just had a chance to test my friend's A60. After taking several pictures, here are what I came up with....

Goods:
- Fast start up time: less than 3 seconds. You are not gonna miss a quick shot. 3x optical zoom is also fast and quiet. The other nice thing is...it doesn't have a separated lense cap. This is what I hate about my Olympus C3040.
- Good picture quality: A60 produces properly exposed pictures and saturated colors in several different light conditions.
- Aperture and Shutter priority modes: you probably need this feature to take advanced shots.
- Great macro capability: you can take a picture of flowers as close as 2-3 inches. Focus is also fast. Compared to my minolta f100 and olympus c3040, I love A60's macro better.
- Improved night/indoor mode: this is what I don't see in canon s200 and the only reason I returned that little S200.
- Movie w/sound record: this camera records and playbacks movie with sound in AVI format at 15 frames/second. It runs pretty smooth.
- Lens adaptor: This camera can accept external wide-angle, tele, and filters.
- Use standard AA batteries: I think A-series is the only canon line that support AA batteries. If you don't wanna spend [money]for a second propietary battery, get A-series. Four fully charged batteries seem to last very long. I took about 100 pictures with LCD turn on, it's still full.
- Fast and easy USB connectivity: Compared to Olympus c3040 and Minolta F100, it takes very short for my windows xp to recognize this A60. In addition, you DON'T NEED a software at all.
- Feels: this camera is not too big or too small. It just comfortably fits in my hand. The body looks like metal and the handle is plastic. It's a good combination since you don't wanna touch a cold metal camera in winter.
- Low price

Bads:
- Ocassionally, purple fringe is visible in very high constrat shots.
- Poor auto white balance under tungsten light.
- No 1280 x 960 resolution. It has 1600 x 1200, 1024 x 768, and 640 x 480.
- Small LCD: could be 1.8" instead of 1.5".
- Rubber USB/AV port cap: with frequent uses, it can be broken soon.

You can take this camera right from the box, set it on auto, and take great pictures. Like to experiment... Set it up for partial, or FULL manual control. You even get decent video with sound! For 90% of folks, 2 MP is plenty, especially when they are QUALITY MP's like this camera has.

Picture processing is quick, and pictures look great, with little noise. Nice plus is it takes cheap AA batteries (get a charger) and uses Compact Flash cards... Easy to get and cheap! This camera is so feature rich, you will learn something new every time you use it.

Yes, the shutter lag at times is very long (especially in low light even with AF assist), and the flash indoors is at times weak, but the positives FAR outweigh the negatives. You have so much control, you can manually make many of these issues, non-issues. I took 1600+ shots the first week I owned it because of all the options you have to play with. For the price here at Amazon, w/free shipping, Buy 2!

I have had the Canon Powershot A60 for about 11 months now, and have taken more than 6000 pictures. This camera has given me no problems at all. I have yet to have an E18 error, even after I dropped it from more than one metre onto hard cobblestone. The A60 was my first digital camera, and it was great to learn on, but if you get past the beginner stage upgrading would be recomended.

I came to this website before I bought the A60, and read all the good and bad things about this camera. So far the only bad thing I have come across is the ocassional soft focusing, but this is not a problem unless you want professional quality photographs.

BOTTEM LINE: This is an AWESOME digital camera for beginners.

I bought this camera a year or two ago. I still love it. The batteries last a long time with flash, and longer without. With a 128mb XD card, I can take about 100 pics in the highest res, and best compression. I have printed pics out as 8x10s, and they look great, and would probably still look great printed larger. It does ALMOST everything I want to do. The only limitations I have found are when taking pics in subdued lighting, the image in the finder is too dark, and hard to compose the photo; the image looks great when actually taken though. Another thing is that when taking action (e.g. sports) shots indoors, without a flash, the pics tend to be motion-blurred. Another minor annoyance is that it seems to have a minor draw on the batteries when not in use, so that if you have put the camera down for a couple months, and then pull it out, the batteries are likely to be dead, or close to dead. Overall, it is a great camera if you can live within these minor limitations.

I bought this camera approximately 18 months ago and have been totally and completely satisified with its performance and picture quality. This is my first digital camera. When I was looking to dive into the digital world, I wanted a camera that would give me all of the features my SLR camera had (zoom, picture quality, etc.). I absolutely cannot say enough good things about my Fuji. It takes great pictures with little or no effort on my part. The battery life is long; consumption is at a minimum. I am able to take close to 100 pictures before I need to change batteries. I keep two sets of rechargables. One in the camera and one fully charged in the bag. So all I have to do is switch them out when necessary. I immediately bought additional XD cards. With the 128mb card, at normal resolution, you can store just over 200 pictures. I love to take pictures... My idea is take 10 pics and you'll probably get at least one really good one. My husband used to cringe at the sound of each picture, thinking about costly film developing. Now, he doesn't care. I take 10 pics, and delete nine. Only print out the one that is good. :-) The long and short of it is, I love this camera. It is a good purchase and well worth the money if you are looking to transition over from film to digital without giving up any features.

I bought this camera brand new at the store last week and was facinated by its sleek body design. I liked the fact that it is slightly bulkier than other digital cameras. The salesman told me that although it has 3.2 mp, you are able to print at 6 megapixels. After printing some pictures, I found out that if you enlarge the pictures to "poster" size the quality doesn't degrade. Luckily I have a photo printer. Like you, I read through all the reviews before finally deciding on a product. I don't know why there are people out there that give this camera a negative review. Of course there are pros and cons to any electronics product you buy so to help you out I have included some that I have experienced myself.

Pros:

- Extremely user-friendly!
- Both the LCD display and the viewfinder are in color.
- The zoom feature is decent.
- It has a pop-up flash and the brightness can be adjusted.
- As far as digital cameras go, this one does not consume batteries as bad as other ones.
- You can add date-stamp to your printed pictures
- Set at 0.3 Megapixels you can take up to 100 pictures with just your 16 MB memory card. (Can only handle 18 pics at its megapixel maximum-- But really.. who wants to print poster-size pictures of their vacations unless you happen to be a paparazzi?

Cons:

- The video is grainy, and needs to be utilized in well lit areas in order to be viewed better.
- The software it comes with is not all gravy but it is somewhat helpful. That's it.

If I weighed the good against the bad of this camera, then i would say that I made a wise decision in choosing this model.

I own the 950 since the first days when it was launched. Since it is a product with many reviews, I will perhaps focus on a few positive and negative aspects I have found over this time.

For positive, well, overall image quality is very good, colors are very balanced and not artificially saturated for that extra good look. I found myself doing some level adjustment sometimes, you will still need your Photoshop, but in any case, even with high-end professional models, you are likely to end up doing some digital darkroom work. The 2.11 CCD is quite good and enough to print excellent photo-quality A4 (I'm in Europe, that's about the area of a 17" monitor) prints that people will mistake for normal photos (matched with a good printer of course). The firmware is very effective, but a few features have been improved in the 990, which I have used too. The swivel design ends up being VERY useful. Trust me, you will notice the difference sometimes when a normal camera wouldn't work as good.

My favorite aspect has to be the absolutely AMAZING macro mode. The 950 can focus sharply at a ridiculously small distance from the subject. This thing is almost a microscope. Yes, it can be tricky to adjust lightning in those cases, but the ability to focus so well at such distances really impressed me when this model came out.

So to keep it short, I'm happy when it comes to overall image quality, color accuracy, and features the main problems with this model are:

-Considerable barrel distortion at wide angle. If you do a lot of architectural photos or are just unlucky and pick a tricky shot (like a door for instance) at the edges of the screen, at wide angle, well, it is way too obvious sometimes. Few digital cameras offer high-quality lens that are completely (almost) barrel distortion free, but I can't help looking at some cheap digicams using Zeiss lenses and feeling that the Coolpix deserved better. At Tele, the problem is a lot less obvious, but on wide, expect some of your lines to be more like,well...splines. -No USB interface, no Firewire, no nothing besides the plain' old serial interface. Ever tried transferring 48MB at 115k? Well, let's just say that it reminds me the days when I used analog modems. A lot of patience is required. Again, this could and should have been released with USB support (which was widely available at the time). -Big body. The camera is a big big, not cigarrete-packet size like some Canon's and other models, so, that might end up meaning that you'll take it with you less often. -Some chromatic distortion (purple edges, etc) under certain conditions. -Forget about using Alkalines they will last 10 minutes. Go for NiMh 1600 rechargeables. The 8MB default card will only hold about 10 photos at maximum resolution, or 1 if you don't want lossy compression. 48 MB or 64 MB cards are essential. -Panel isn't always visible under bright sunlight (newer firmware revisions have addressed this issue, but it's still tricky sometimes) -First versions of NikonView were incredibly , to the point of the user not being able to recover transferred photos after a connection failure (that meant that aborted transfers at 90% of the card when you're using a slow serial protocol meant starting all over, quite fun). Don't worry, NikonView is now a lot more solid and, but I did suffer with the first versions.

Overall, a very good camera that can give you very good photos (and that means printed photos). Also, keep in mind that the final price ends up rising, since you're likely to need at least the following accessories: A Bigger CompactFlash card (48 MB or 64 MB), At least 4 NiMh 1600 batteries + a charger, and a decent case

With Zeiss lens instead of the Nikkor 7-21mm used and USB interface, this could still be the best 2.11 on the market. Because of these details, and since I paid full retail $ when it came out, I'm keeping a star to myself...

I have used 11 different digital camera's and the 950 is the best currently offered in the $400 to $900 range. Price is a little steep, but quality outways the difference in price from competitors. the 950 will download 40 pix shot in Fine mode from Simple Technologies cardreader to a G4 in 11 seconds. It's a battery hog I recommend buying Energizer's NH15-AA instead of Duracell Ultra. I shot 150 pix in the fine mode 46 of them using the flash until they were depleted. It's ideal for Web publishing, however I shot several photos for magazine use and the results were non-distinguishable compared to film. If your a tweekhead you will spend hours trying different traditional photo techniques with this camera and your results will be quite surprising. Some of my favorites are Slow Shutter Sync, 8 second time exposure, and a very accurate white balance that is crucial when shooting in mixed lighting situations. Also try the macro mode, black & white mode and Optional Fish Eye Lens for more diversity. Have fun!

I am taking picture 3,901 and have never had a problem, other than trying to remember how to use the endless settings in the m mode. I just downloaded bios update to 1.3 and had no problem. Of course, I carefully followed all the directions. I had been at 1.2.