I bought this camera about 15 days back. I have used it a couple of times indoors, outdoors and indoors with low-light conditions.
Used correctly, this camera does a great job of taking good quality images. I had to play with the camera for about 15-20 mins to get familiar with it so I could take the best pictures possible. My sister owned a Powershot A530 before this one and i had the same experience with that too.
This camera fits nicely in your jeans pocket and is quite light.
You will need a tripod to take good low-light shots. I have a cat and a rabbit and a 3 yr old nephew - The kids and pets setting really works well to take pictures of them. Generally the few manual settings it does have are good enough for a serious amateur photographer.
One gripe I do have is that with regular AA alkaline batteries the flash recycle time can go up to 8 seconds and the camera is blank and unusable during this time. This of course is a problem with most canon Powershots. The solution I have found is to use batteries made specifically for taking pictures (Duracell makes some) or just use rechargeable NiMH batteries. This works great. Almost down to 1 sec between shots with that.
Overall I'd definitely recommend this camera to anyone. But you have to be a little patient and get used to it first - I think this is true for any good camera out there though. Canon Powershot A1000IS 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Grey)
This camera takes excellent pictures. I particularly like the Optical Image Stabalization, Motion sensor, and face recognition. I only make 4 X 6 prints. So far no problems. The pet/children mode does a good job of stopping action.
I've used the optical viewfinder a couple of times. It doesn't show 100% of the picture, but it sure makes a difference in extreme sunlight.
Sometimes it is necessary indoors to increase the ISO in order to increase the flash distance (easily done with a button). I still get great pictures. I know some reviewers blow the pictures up and indicate the noise in the picture. It's just not evident in normal picture prints. I'm sure there would be obvious noise if I was using high ISOs. Battery life is great also. I use Lithium AAs. They last so long there is no need to use recharageable batteries.
The only thing I definately miss is a button to delete "ALL" pictures. There's a button for individual deleting, but you have to use the menu to detete all. I guess you could look at it as a safety feature, making it hard to accidentially delete all your pictures.
There is a lack of manaul controls, but I never used the manual controls in my prior cameras.
The camera size will fit into a pocket, even though I prefer using a case that fits on my belt. I would highly recommend this camera to others.
I got this camera a few weeks ago to replace a previous Canon digital camera (the A540) that I absolutely loved. So far I've been very happy with this one, with one glaring exception - not specifically about the camera itself, but rather the software that comes with it.
I'm an amateur photographer and find that this type of point-and-shoot works well for me - especially since it has a 4x optical zoom which gives clearer, more vivid photos. I really like how easy the Canon cameras are to use and the range of features - and this one doesn't disappoint. I also like the 2.5" LCD and the fact that this camera is small enough to easily fit in a pocket or purse. It's really very versatile and I love that about it.
The only things that I really can complain about are that I do somewhat miss the chunky handgrip on my previous Canon, but that's not a huge deal. What IS a huge deal, for me anyway, is their 'updated' version of the Camera Window software that comes with this camera. This is the software that you run to download photos from the camera - and I can't believe how horrible this particular version is. The previous version that I used with my other Canon camera was great - it was windows-based and you could select any photos on your card then download, print or delete them as you wished. However, in this new version - it's got a black interface, no text by the icons to tell you what they do - and there is no way to delete the photos from your card. I e-mailed Canon to double-check and was told that yes, this is the case - you have to use Windows Explorer to delete your photos. Why I would want to use two different programs when before I could easily use just one is beyond me... I'm going to re-install the old version that I have and hope that it will work with this camera, because I am incredibly annoyed with the new version right now.
Other than the software issue, I love this camera and think that it's a very good choice for someone who wants a camera that takes a great quality photo and is easy to use and carry around. I only hope that Canon will re-think the Camera Window decision - I'm a loyal Canon enthusiast, but am very disappointed in them right now.
Unfortunately not many point-and-shoot cameras have optical viewfinders anymore and that's a shame. This camera DOES have an optical viewfinder and that helps it to stand above the crowd. It also has an LED screen but such screens are nearly impossible to see in bright sunlight. Holding a camera at arm's length to compose a picture on a screen can introduce shake and cause blurry photos. Therefore, for many, using an optical viewfinder is a much better option.
Since this camera has an optical viewfinder, image stabilization, face recognition and a 10 megapixel sensor an amateur photographer who is using this camera can take superior photographs in good light that will yield sharp 8 1/2 X 11 prints. Although I usually use a digital SLR, I must say that I'm impressed with the quality of the images that this camera delivers...especially considering its low price, small size and 7-ounce weight. With rechargeable or lithium AA cells, battery life is excellent and recycle times are short.
The July 2009 issue of Consumer Reports features a cover photo of this camera and ranks it just below a $450 camera in its "compact camera" ratings. On their recommendation and after doing considerable comparison shopping and reading other reviews, I bought this camera for my stepson. However, before I gave it to him, I took many photos under varied conditions to ensure that it would be adequate for his needs. I was so impressed that I'll probably get one for myself.
The fact that I could favorably compare the photos from this camera with those from my much more expensive digital SLR was remarkable, but there are inevitable limitations. There are no manual settings for exposure or focus. The 4X optical zoom may not give as much range as some photographers need and the effective flash distance is limited. The sensor has excellent dynamic range, but introduces noise in the pictures when they're taken in low light with ISO settings above 100.
A couple of AA batteries are included with the camera, but you'll soon need more and better ones. A small 32MB SD card is included but a much bigger SD card or cards will be needed if you want to store more than seven or eight full-resolution photos. Therefore, your initial investment will need to be larger than the base price of the camera for it to perform up to expectations. Nonetheless, when considering the price, small size and very good image quality I believe this camera will meet or exceed the expectations of all but the most demanding amateur photographers.
About a year after I bought and evaluated this camera, I bought Canon's replacement for this model; the Powershot A1100IS, for my wife. It is about the same size and price as this camera was last year but offers more pixels a bigger included memory card, more sophistication but retains the optical viewfinder. Check out the A1100IS. It's even better.'
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