Canon SX230IS HS Blue 12.1 MP 14X Optical Zoom 28mm Wide Angle Digital Camera Canon SX230IS HS Blue 12.1 MP 14X Optical Zoom 28mm Wide Angle Digital Camera

Pros: This is an extraordinary camera. Excellent optics. Very long zoom. Good image stabilization. Good colors. Takes good videos. Lets you zoom during video. Flash is plenty adequate. On several occasions I have been amazed with the excellent pics I've gotten... i.e., exceeded expectations. It does fabulous nature shots and great people shots.

Cons: Some of the controls can be a bit confusing. One can always use in "idiot proof" mode. But overall there a lots of modes and lots to learn to really use all of the features.

Other Thoughts: It was time to upgrade from my 2004 point-and-shoot camera. Especially needed a longer optical zoom. Had originally intended to get the SX230 plus a DSLR in order to have broad-based capabilities. But the SX230 has been so versatile that now I'm nixing the plans for the DSLR. Very few use cases where it can do something that the SX230 can't (for the photography I do). At current price of $200 this camera is really a bargain.

Pros: I took over 2000 photos in 7 days in Rome and had no problems. I had long battery life taking photos and the GPS off. I did buy an extra battery because of excessive zoom use and on/off. Quick start up. Photos are beautiful, clear and the good color. Much easier to carry around than my super-zoom. Great photos even in low light. I liked the different scene modes. I only took short, 5 min. and less, videos in low light churches in Rome & they look good. I like that I can zoom while shooting video. East to hold a shoot with one hand. I bought a class ten memory card with my camera because the price was soo good.

Cons: The super vivid mode can make green look a bit too yellow but there is a foliage mode to use. While shooting video if you rotate the camera vertically the video does not rotate like when reviewing photos.

Other Thoughts: Over all I really like this camera. I did a lot of research on line and the digital photography sites I went to rated this as a if not the top choice. I would buy it again.

Pros: The video is awesome. You probably want to buy this for the point and shoot, but the 1080p video with the 14x zoom and 28mm is really unbelievable. Beats many camcorders I have tried.

I played back videos directly to my HDMI (gotta buy the cable separate, but NewEgg has them for five bucks) and everyone oohed and ahhed. The uploads to YouTube were just as impressive.

The zoom photos are great at 14x, but use a tripod. Image stabilization won't help you here. And the 28mm wide angle is great for group shots.

Cons: Battery life is terrible, especially when shooting video. You get 30 minutes max, and this includes playback. So of course I bought an extra battery from NewEgg, but I'm ready to buy one more since I am shooting a lot of video. Just taking photos it lasts a lot longer, but I use my Nikon DLSR for still photos, and this for the video.

Low light photos are not that great. You have to use flash. Your experience might differ, but again, I'll use my Nikon for the stills. Lowlight video on the other hand is great, no blurriness whatsoever. Go figure.

Other Thoughts: The h.264 video only plays back smoothly on my macs. On my older PC and laptop it's choppy, unless I convert them to mp4 or avi. I am building a new PC with muscle, so we'll see if editing works better that way.

Great little camera, but the battery life cost 1 egg.