Canon Powershot SX110IS 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Silver)

Just came back from 9 week backpacking trip in Asia. I usually use a Canon DSLR, but could not bring my SLR due to size, weight, worrying about its safety all the time, attracting too much attention, etc.However, if you're an SLR user like me, you miss all the professional functionality, versatility and most of all, zoom range when you settle for most point-and-shoot (PAS) cameras.The SX110 IS was my dream come true. The 10x optical zoom makes all the difference... in 35mm terms you have a max focal length of 360mm -- like carrying a massive zoom lens on an SLR. Can't count how many beautiful shots would have been impossible if I had been using an 5x zoom or less.Pros:- full creative modes (Av, TV, Manual, exposure adjustments) that are actually faster to adjust than my SLR, no fake "Manual" modes that lots of PAS's have, which are anything but Manual- (it's still got all the scene modes, e.g. Landscape, Action, Portrait, etc. and most of the common ones are on the main dial so you don't have to cycle through them onscreen to get them quickly if you're not comfortable with the creative modes)- lots of white balance options- you manually flip-up the flash, only when you want to use it... I hate it when cameras automatically decide for me when to pop-up and use the flash (or you have to cycle through the flash buttons to get control of them) ... I know whether I want flash or not dammit... also you can adjust the flash intensity (great for using light flash on daytime shots in the shade)- massive and beautiful 3-inch LCD- form factor... compared to others in its class, i.e. PAS's that have great zoom and full creative modes, this was the smallest -- it actually fits in your pocket (bizarrely I've seen a bunch of reviews that say it's too big for your pocket -- not true at all as long as you're not wearing ridiculously tight pants), unlike those PAS's (including a lot of Canons) that are, to me, in no-man's-land because they're too big for a PAS and too small, not enough lens quality and w/o lens interchangeability to be a SLR- has a jog dial! (like SLRs have)... so great, and not that many PAS's have it. Let's you very quickly review/search through tons of photos, and quickly change shooting parameters like ISO, aperture, shutter speed, instead of pushing pushing pushing buttons to get what you want- the awesome Canon user interface -- I have tried all different brands and Canon is the best hands down- image stabilization seemed to work pretty wellCons:Big Cons- I do not like the AA battery as power source. This camera chews up AA batteries like no other... on one day when I took about 250+ pictures I went through 8 AA batteries. Granted: I probably should have bought a rechargeable AA system before I left, never tried that and also, the batteries for sale in Asia are cheap but they are absolute crap (even Western brands, although they were probably knockoffs). The high-quality $12 lithium AA's I bought in the US before I left lasted much longer, but still not that long.- the flash has to sit there and get recharged by the batteries before you can shoot again. My guess is it takes about 3-5 seconds, which is an eternity when you're asking people to hold a pose or you've got a fleeting chance at a great photo opp... this actually caused me to miss a few good shots- video -- you cannot zoom in or out once you start filming! I have no idea why not. Also, the video quality options are that of cameras from a few years ago.. can't shoot in HD, and can't shoot at a super-high rate of frames per second like some tiny Elphs from years ago canSmall cons- can't shoot in RAW -- won't bother most people since most people just shoot JPGs but I will be moving to RAW soon- a bit slow to focus, I have definitely seen better in lots of PAS cameras- face detection was not as good as some other PAS's I've seen -- slow to recognize faces if it even recognized them at all -- although not a huge deal for me as I never rely on face detection to focus- in the display review, there are four displays to cycle through -- the 4th is a "focus check" which zooms on the center of the photo (or face if detected). It's pointless -- it does nothing more than what you do anyway to check focus when you do a standard review, you zoom in using the zoom buttons and move around the picture to see what you want to check -- except it adds extra cumbersome steps. Canon should get rid of this -- all I want when I cycle through review display modes is the 3rd display -- to check the histogram and see what the camera chose if I'm not in full Manual (i.e. what ISO if I'm using auto-ISO, what shutter speed if I'm using aperture-priority, etc.)- would be nice to have an exposure bracketing feature, but this is something you almost never see on PAS's anywayAnyway, I gave this 5 stars, I couldn't have bought a better camera for my trip, but would have given it a 4.5 if possible due to the above issues... HOWEVER, I see now that Canon has already fixed some of this in a new model called the SX200 IS, which has rechargeable lithium ion battery, more megapixels, HD video and more zoom (although I believe this is deceiving since the 35mm equivalent is actually lower than the SX110, maybe the SX200 has a smaller sensor? Anyway the upside is you have a wider angle shot when not zoomed).In summary I highly recommend this camera.

I purchased this camera after a great amount of research. It was my fourth digital camera purchase from Canon. I tested it immediately upon receipt and really liked the controls, zoom, and image quality. One month after receipt I took it on a trip to American Samoa and a number of other Pacific islands. The interior lens surfaces fogged extensively after it's first exposure to outside tropical air. I understand the proper procedures for moving a camera from an air-conditioned room to a hot, humid environment and I thought I had warmed the camera adequately before taking it outside. (I live in S. Florida) I could not get the lenses to clear no matter what I tried.When I got back home, (after being unable to take any usable photographs on my trip) I sent the camera back to Canon. I was told I had water damaged the camera and that it was not repairable and it was not covered under warranty. I spoke to 3 separate people at their service center and was treated rather rudely. After my experience with Canon's customer "Service" department, this will be my last purchase from Canon. I am in the process of shopping for a new DSLR, I will probably go Nikon instead.Long story short, I managed to take about 20 good test shots of my back yard and living room, my once in a lifetime trip to the South Pacific however, totally photo free. Thanks for nothing Canon.

Too bad it won't let me change the star rating. The camera was well taken care of, kept in a case, wrist strap always used, never left out for little hands to grab. Went on vacation and was in the process of putting the camera back into it's case when it dropped to the floor (maybe a 2 foot drop). Immediately the flash stopped working, even when it was raised I got the 'raise flash' error. It still took pictures, but you had to have perfect artificial lighting for the camera not to need the flash to focus. I kept it throughout the summer and sent it off to the repair facility. For all purposes of this review, I will skip 99% of this story. Just make a mental note that if you crap from Canon breaks and it 'might not' be under warranty DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THE SERVICE CENTER. They are by far the worst customer service center I've ever had to deal with. After keeping my camera for a month, (and failing to email me status updates, as they had promised) I find out the camera is being shipped back to me because it's 'beyond economical repair'. For a camera that was as well taken care of as this one was, and dropped ONCE, 5 months old and cost a few hundred dollars. It should be a little more durable than that. I went from a 'buy nothing BUT canon' to a 'never buy Canon (or allow my family to buy) canon ever again.' It's pitiful that one customer service department cost this company hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of business from screwing over my family alone. We will be upgrading to Nikon and participating in the extended and accidental warranties. Surprisingly all of the photographers I personally know recommend Nikon anyway. Now why didn't I just listen to them in the first place?^ EDIT ^I put a lot of work into picking out this camera. I wanted a better quality camera for a great price. The more professional cameras started at $400 it seemed, so I stuck with the bargains. I had the Powershot A630 with a flip out screen previously. My daughter found it on my desk and started to play with it, dropped it and the shutter broke and the auto focus seems to be off too. (For Christmas she got her own durable kid's camera, lesson learned!) So the first brand I started reading about was Canon Powershot. I saw an ad for this camera by chance while browsing another Powershot and immediately I loved it. It looked like a great balance between the SLR's and the pocket cameras. It's exactly what I wanted.Pros: Very large LCD screen, large viewing range, 9MP, Great auto focus and a great pop up flash. It's a 'meaty' camera. It makes me feel like it's durable-although I'm not going to let my 3 year old test that theory.It takes AA batteries. I guess that could be a pro or a con, depending on your preference. I prefer AA's because if I get in a bind I can just run into any store and pick up some cheap batteries to last a few hours.Cons: No eye hole (sorry, don't know the correct term for that thing!). It's a little slow recovering from a busy picture. If there is a lot going on in the background it takes a few seconds to write the picture and be ready for another one. It's also large for a pocket camera. That doesn't bother me, but if you're looking for an Elph size, this isn't for you.