This is a wonderful camera and I am very pleased with it. I actually bought a Kodak Easyshare Z812IS 8.2MP Digital Camera first but was disappointed with it. There is a lag between pressing the button and the photo being taken. Especially when you have young children this is a deal breaker!!! They would often be heading out of the shot by the time the photo was taken. This Canon Powershot SX100IS is a huge step up from the Kodak. Also the book that came with the Kodak camera was really minimal - you were instead supposed to go to the website and download the guide book. Very annoying and also cheap on Kodak’s part.
I had previously owned a Canon and was very pleased with it so I ordered this camera. Like my previous Canon it is very user friendly and intuitive. Here are my pros and cons
Pros
Large view finder
Complete and in-depth guide book included with camera
Sharp, clear photos
10x optical is wonderful - you can get great closeups without moving close to subject. Also for portraits you can throw the background out of focus with a long zoom in. (A long optical zoom is one of the most important features to have on your camera - the longer the better.)
Face recognition is quite useful. Allows you to concentrate on the photo you’re taking and let the camera take care of the faces being in focus.
Taking a picture in “portrait” size can be viewed full screen in viewfinder if you turn the camera.
Lightweight & easy to hold
Takes AA batteries. Easy to change batteries if they die, unlike lithium.
Very easy to scroll thru photos on this Canon.
User friendly, my kids can even use it with ease
Cons
Need to raise the flash manually to use. (Wasn’t too clear at first why flash wouldn’t fire but once you realize you need to raise the flash yourself its no problem.)
Seems to go thru batteries quickly. Easy to solve though - just get a recharger.
I had seriously considered a digital SLR but chose this camera instead because it has such large optical zoom & very clear photos . Its also a fraction of the cost and so much easier to carry around with you.
This is just a fabulous camera for the price. I am very happy with it.