Steve McKenney
I needed to replace my old camera - a Panasonic Lumix - because of persistent issues of dust on the CCD and in the lens, one of the most common complaints for the entire line. I have had Nikon SLR and DSLR cameras in the past but I decided to get the Canon this time, due to good reviews. The camera is solid, feels good in my hand. However, it is not the most easy to use camera I have ever had, and MUCH more complex that the shooting menu for the Lumix line. Let me first say that the lens quality and picture quality is excellent. I dearly love the 40X telephoto capability and while I would like an eyepiece the LCD screen is pretty bright and generally easy to see outdoors. I had several specific complaints, the most important being that in Shutter mode you cannot set the shutter speed and assume that the camera will not override your choice. This IS what shutter mode is supposed to do, right? And it is critical to one of the more common tasks that I have with this camera. After REPEATED emails with the service people I finally ended up with a straightforward comment from a technician that confirmed that the camera is built to override my setting. My concern was that there was a defect with the camera. The second major area of disappointment is the Macro mode, which I have yet to figure out. It does not seem to actually do anything in terms of getting me closer to my subject. Although it is too early to tell about long term lens integrity, I would have high hopes based on the feel . I am still trying to decide if the deficiencies are worthy keeping the camera.