I've owned the Canon PowerShot A70 for about 18 months and loved - LOVED! - it. Simple to use, plenty of options for full auto or manual operation, a ton of extras, efficient battery usage, great companion software for easy uploading - all in a compact, attractive, sturdy package. Then the lens retraction mechanism failed and I got the dreaded "E18" error message. I emailed Canon's support desk and got a speedy and thorough reply. But since the one year warranty had expired, I was told my only options were that I could send in the camera to its service center (average cost of repair: $100 - $200) or I could pay $150 and they'd send me a factory refurbished A70. Considering the expense, I'll just spend a little more to get a brand new camera. Unless somebody from Canon is monitoring these posts and wants to cut me a deal on repair costs for my beloved but broken PowerShot A70...

Although this camera takes wonderful pictures and it easy to use, I wouldn't buy it. We bought it for about $300 and we've had it for less than 3 years. We've need to repair it 2 times. After using it for less than a year, the LCD screen stopped working and the camera took all-black pictures. Canon fixed it because it was still under warranty. A year later, the camera had the same problem but Canon would not fix it. They said I could pay them $150 for a "refurbished" exact same model and send them my old camera. Humm...doesn't make much sense since this camera sells for a little over $190 now anyway. I think it is a bit of a scam. I'd look for something different.

Nice camera - until it stopped working. The lens mechanism jammed, i got an E18 error and the camera would have cost too much to repair by canon so i've had to spend money twice for a camera: one that doenst work and a new one. Never again

This camera was a good one as long as it lasted. However, we have used it lightly less than two years, and it has stopped working. We've been told that cost to repair these cameras is frequently more than replacement cost. Since we paid over $300 for this camera, I expected it to last longer.

I bought this camera in May 2004 and have been extremely happy. It takes excellent videos and pictures ofcourse! I bought a 256 MB card and it works great. It is very frugal on the use of battery so my regular batteries last for a very long time. A great buy I would say.

Das ist genau die Kamera, die ich mir nach Erfahrungen mit der "normalen" Spiegelreflexfotografie zum Einsteigen in die digitale Welt gewünscht habe: Liegt sehr gut in der Hand, komfortabel und selbsterklärend zu bedienen und nun nach dem ersten Urlaubs-Einsatz restlose Begeisterung für die gelungenen Aufnahmen, die auch mit der zugelieferten Software nett zu bearbeiten sind. Mit der (dazugekauften) 256er Speicherkarte bin ich bestens ausgrüstet.

Insgesamt bin ich mit der Kamera nach den ersten Wochen sehr zufrieden. Hier aber noch ein paar Details, die ich bisher in keiner Rezension gefunden habe.

Vorteile:
sehr viele, die meisten aber bereits oft beschrieben, für mich aber wichtig:
- geringe Auslöseverzögerung (schätze 300ms)
- fixer Fokus
- schnelle Auswahl durch Menürad (gleicht den Spiegelreflex von Canon)
- Panoramabilderfunktion (Verbinden mehrerer Bilder mittels Programm)
- fixe Anzeige, Löschen... der Bilder
- sehr gute Rauschunterdrückung, selbst bei Langzeitaufnahmen in leichter Dunkelheit (sehr, sehr wichtig!)

Nachteile:
- mit den VIER benötigten Akkus hohes Gewicht (trotz kleiner Kamera), da diese nicht im Lieferumfang enthalten sind, mit Ladegerät also ca. 30Euro extra (Anm.: Das Ladegerät Digital 2/4 wird von Hama und auch Easyline verkauft, beide sind baugleich und sehr zu empfehlen. Gibt es bereits ab 20Euro mit 2000mAh-Akkus)
- keine Tasche im Lieferumfang, das bedeutet für Sparfüchse 10Euro (aufwärts) extra
- die bereits beschrieben Spiegelung der Displayrückseite ist wirklich ein Problem bei Sonnenwetter, weiterhin könnte das TFT etwas heller sein
- obwohl Extra-Objektive aufgesetzt werden können, sind diese schwierig und teuer zu beziehen, also gar nicht hieran denken...

Summarum:
Ich würde die Kamera jederzeit wieder kaufen. Sie ist eine sichere Alternative zu den Kameras billiger Hersteller (hatte zuvor solch eine billige, selbe technische Merkmale wie A70: aber nie wieder!!!).
Der Lieferumfang ist allerdings lausig. Man muß also ein paar Euro zum eigentlichen Preis hinzurechnen.

Tips:
- CF-Karten gibt's preiswert bei größter deutscher Computerkette :-)
- Focus der Kamera stellt sich (z.B. bei herabragenden Zweigen Zweigen im Vordergrund) gern zu nah ein, also bei Landschaftsaufnahmen lieber manuell auf unendlich
- Programmpunkt "P" zu empfehlen + folgende Einstellungen:
ISO 50, leicht schärfen, -2/3 Beleuchtung (Außenaufnahmen, innen besser heller), mittlere Komprimierung (mehr Daten nutzlos), Blitz aus (nur innen manuell ein)
- ist zu wenig Licht vorhanden: auf Programm "Tv" stellen, 1/10sek einstellen (ist noch einigermaßen mit der Hand unverwackelt zu fotografieren) und durchdrücken, meist etwas dunkel aber erkennbar

Allg.: Mehr als 200Euro sollte man für ein Kamera für den Alltagsgebrauch nicht ausgeben. In Frage kommen daher nur 3Mpixel, die aber lieber von einem renommierten Hersteller
Neben dieser hier könnte ich dann nur noch für schnelle Schnappschüsse die Ricoh Calpio G4 empfehlen.

Wie hier schon gesagt wurde ist die Kamera für "normale Menschen" absolut ausreichend, bzw. wenn man den Preis in betracht zieht optimal.

Bildqualität: Nun, das erste was man darüber erfährt ist erst einmal, dass die Kamera 3,2 Megapixel hat. Und wenn man sich nicht mit Digicams auskennt denkt man wohl als erstes "da es bereits cams mit 10 Megapixeln gibt, ist das ja wenig". Das ist FALSCH. Die 3,2 Megapixel bringen bei Auflösungen von bis zu 2048 mal 1536 eine optimale Bildqualität hervor. Man bedenke hierbei einmal, dass man zu hause seinen Desktop auf 1024*768 gestellt hat. Das bedeutet, die Bilder der Kamera können durch doppelt so lange Länge und Breite das VIERFACHE an Fläche ausfüllen, das ist riesig. Eine Cam mit 10 megapixeln oder ähnlich viel braucht nur jemand, dar richtig professionell damit arbeiten, weil etwa ein Journalist manchmal nur einen bestimmten Bereich braucht, der er so noch sehr stark vergrößern kann. Ansonsten hat man eigentlich keine praktikablen Vorteile dabei, gerade deshalb, weil die Fotos, wenn man sie digital - also z.B. am PC - anguckt, sowieso verkleinert werden, sodass sie komplett auf dem Bildschirm zu sehen sind. Und da auch bei einer 3,2 MP Cam dabei wie gesagt auf ein etwa viertel verkleinert wird sind noch höhere Auflösungen dabei gar nicht merkbar.
Fotos dieser cam sind perfekt bei Tageslicht, und generell bei ausreichend viel Licht. Man kann Dina4 Ausdrucke der Fotos ohne Qualitätsverlust machen. Ich vergleich dazu hab ich in internetforen mal Berichte über andere digicams gelesen, die auch 3 oder mehr MP haben. Dabei waren auch voll aufgelöste Beispielfotos zu sehen, und obwohl die im vergleich zu dieser Canon höchstens MANGELHAFT waren, war der Autor stets davon überzeugt, es wäre gute Qualität. Bei dieser Kamera habt ihr aber 100% super Qualität, und mein Wort drauf.
So, wie gesagt muss man bei den Bildern zwischen Tageslichtbedingungen und dunkleren Motiven differenzieren. Ich hatte anfangs das Problem, das auch viele andere bei dieser Kamera hatten, dass Blitzlichtaufnahmen in dunklen Räumen echt grottig aussahen, und das bei allen blitzeinstellungen im Auto-Modus. Ich habe dann allerdings einfach mal etwas rumprobiert und herausgefunden, dass wenn man den Modus AV einstellt, Die Bilder gut belichtet und schön aussehend werden, eigentlich wie bei tageslicht. Kleines Manko dabei ist vielleicht, dass Weißähnliche Flächen ein wenig überbelichtet werden, aber wirklich nur etwas. Ich muss da allerdings dazusagen, dass ich mich aus Zeitgründen noch NICHT mit dem manual beschäftigt habe und auch NICHT alle Funktionen durchprobiert habe, was bedeutet, dass man wenn man dies tut sicherlich noch deutlich bessere Lösungen finden wird.

Größe: Ganz kurz: Die Größe ist okay. Es ist kein Mitläufer des dünner-schmaler-kleiner Trends (bei dem auch stets die Bildquali stark leidet). Man könnte sie in die Hosentasche stecken, ist aber eher unpraktisch. Aber in einer passenden Tasche und am Gürtel ist sie immer dabei, und zwar problemlos, evtl kann man sie auch in eine Hemdtasche stecken, aber dafür ist sie doch ein wenig zu groß. Tipp: die von Amazon angebotene Hama Tasche ist etwas zu klein. Man kann sie nehmen, die tasche geht noch zu, aber es ist knapp.

Material: Tadellos, schön Robust. Man sollte sich aber eine Displayschutzfolie kaufen.

Videos: Ich wollte unbedingt eine gute Videofunktion haben, das heißt die extrem hohe Auflösung von 640*480 und Sprachaufzeichnung. Denn in meinen Augen kommt es sehr häufig vor, dass man mal nicht nur ein Foto haben will, sondern bewegte Bilder in einem bewegenden Augenblick, und mit Ton versehen. Wenn man mal im Zoo ist und die Tiere gerade rumalbern, dann kommt das nur auf Video rüber. Wenn man in der Innenstadt Breakdancer sieht, ist es nett, wenn man das einfach mal aufnehmen kann. Es gibt tausende von Situationen, in denen so eine Videofunktion gelegen kommen kann, und dieses niederschmetternde Argument, „dafür gibts doch DV camcorder", zieht bei mir deshalb nicht, weil so ein Ding 5 mal so groß ist wie eine digicam, und es ein zweites Gerät wäre, dass man mit sich rumschleppen muss. Da hier also eine Tolle Auflösung vorliegt ist die Videofunktion ein tolles Feature, das oft nach Einsatzmöglichkeiten sucht. jedenfalls dann, wenn man die Kamera eben nur Hobbymäßig dabei hat, wie z.B. Im Urlaub oder auf Ausflügen. Ich glaube bis jetzt hat keine Digicam eine höhere Auflösung bei Videoaufnahmen, demnach ein super feature. Die Qualität ist verhältnismäßig gut, also, für die Auflösung und dafür, dass es nur ne digicam ist, eigentlich tadellos. Einziges Manko hierbei: Sie nimmt nur mit 15 Bildern pro Sekunde auf. Ein normales Video läuft gewöhnlich mit 25 B/S, sodass es bei den 15 Bildern etwas stockend aussieht. Dies fällt auf, wenn man die Kamera bei der Aufnahme schnell schwenkt. Wenn man konstant in eine Richtung filmt und sich dort z.B. nur ein Mensch bewegt, ist es nicht so auffällig. Ich bin mit der Videofunktion also absolut zufrieden, und das heißt schon was, da ich hobbymäßig gerne Filme, und da mir das Feature wichtig war.

+ Betriebsdauer: Ich hae seit 2 Wochen die mitgelieferten batterien drin, habe bereits etwa 100 Fotos und dutzend Videos gemacht. Die Batterien sind noch nicht leer, was soll ich mehr sagen?

-Die Belichtungszeit ist tatsächlich lang, 1-2 Sekunden teilweise. es passiert zwar keinesfalls leicht, dass man bei der langen Belichtungszeit verschwommene Bilder bekommt, aber es stört (ein wenig) bei Schnappschüssen. Mir machts aber nichts aus

ergo: Diese Kamera ist absolut zu empfehlen. Die Bildqualität ist im vergleich zu anderen 3 MP cams super, Die Videofunktion findet durch die hohe Auflösung öfter mal Anwendungsbereiche, Die Größe ist okay, jedenfalls definitiv nicht zu groß für eine "kleine". Lange Laufzeit mit einem Batterie/Akkusatz, außerdem sieht sie schön aus. Für den Preis kann man wirklich nichts Besseres finden. Zahlen wie die Megapixel-Angabe täuschen einen leicht, es gibt genug cams mit mehr MP, die aber dennoch in punkto Qualität den Kürzeren ziehen. Überleg nicht lange!

Die Kamera ist jeden zu empfehlen der Fotos im Urlaub und zum Hausgebrauch machen will.Prima Farben,sehr gute Bedienung und übersichtliche Menüführung.

Die Kamera selbst macht einen ganz guten Eindruck, nur leider ist sie in Verbindung mit einem Win98SE Rechner (entgegen der Herstellerangaben) zu absolut nichts zu gebrauchen.
Beim der Installation der Software stürzt der Rechner ab, Win98 erkennt die an den USB-Anschluss angeschlossene Kamera nicht. Auch eine manuell eingeleitete Hardware-Suche ist ohne Erfolg. Somit ist kein Datentransfer von der Kamera auf den Rechner möglich.
Ob es mit anderen Betriebssystemen funktioniert, kann ich nicht sagen.

I thought I would be the exception from experiencing the Black Screen problem. However, I wasn't. 13 months after I bought it my camera occasionally had blurry purple come up on the LCD screen and that's exactly how the picture looked. I literally bang it against my hand and then the screen comes up clear. However, since I'm past the warranty, I don't feel like getting it repaired. I'm tempted to look into other Canons like the SD400, but I'm reading how that has a LCD cracking problem. If someone has a good suggestion for a $300 digital, I'm all ears.

I really thought I was the only one. I really loved this camera, felt it was my best purchase in a while, thought it was value for money, but alas! I got the purple haze and now black screen. I won't even contact Cannon cause my warrranty is up. But really, what's up with that purple haze black screen? I thought it was my batteries, went to buy new ones. then figured it was the memory card...was about to change that too, till I came here and saw that most people had that same problem. So Cannon taking us for a ride?

I've had this camera for 20 months and just now I am getting the Balck Screen problem. I called Canon and they can repair this "rare occuance" problen on my dime. This is not a rare occurance as you have seen by these other reviews. I've learned my lesson. I will never buy a Canon camera or other product again.

I've had this camera for a little over a year. Initially, i thought it was a great camera. It worked fine and even though it was only 3.2 megapixels, the picture were great for what i used it for.

However, currently my camera is in a repair shop. When you turn it on, all you get is a black fuzzy screen. After reading several of these posts, i understand this is a common problem. In fact around the same time this happened to my camera, one of my colleagues had the same exact problem with his canon. His camera is also at the repair shop.

Unfortunately, my experience with this camera impacts my decision on other products, and i would probably never consider buying anything canon makes ever again, be it cameras or printers etc.

I happened to see all of the "not so good reviews" on the Canon A70 and thought I needed to send in my bad luck story also. I'm in Iraq right now and my wife was using our camera the other day taking pictures of the kids and it stopped working. After going through all the troubleshooting, she still can't get it to work (won't turn on at all). My initial thought is that it will cost well over $100 to fix and the camera really isn't worth much more than that now. The camera is about two and a half years old and I figured for what I paid for it it should have lasted a lot longer. So, I went from having a great camera to not having one at all. My next thought is my next camera probably won't be a Canon. Sorry Canon, but after all the recent reviews here you might want to look into this.

After One year and 3 weeks of use the dreaded E18 error.
Canon Customer Support is non-exsistant. And they act like they know nothing about this problem. Wanting to sell me a refurbished A75 as a replacement for $99.00 or fix it for $150.00.. NOT

I have owned this camera for more than 2 years. It is one of 4 digital cameras I have owned. It has been trouble free, and I have used it a lot. It is one of the best all around cameras you can buy. You can even make very good (VGA) movies with this camera. It is easy on the rechargeable batteries. Professional grade.

I got this camera in 2003. It was my first digital camera, so I dont have much to compare it to, but it seemd somewhat troubled from the beginning--for instance, within a few months after I bought it the tiny memory card that it came with got corrupted and destroyed all the pictures that were on it. I also found the flash to be too bright--if you used it, the pictures were too bright and washed out. However, the real problem was that a few months ago (spring 2005) the camera died. For a few weeks it would still take pictures but they were completely distorted, and then it stopped altogether. Of course, the warranty was expired by the time this happened. I have had previous, non-digital cameras for years and years, so it seems ridiculous that such an expensive camera would die so fast. I will not buy another digital camera from Canon.

Once I got the hang of taking pictures with this camera, I loved it. It took great pictures with amazing quality. A few months back though the camera started blacking out or it would have purple lines. I thought it might be the LCD screen but it wasn't. My pictures were coming out black or with these lines. I would hit it a couple of times and that would do the trick and the pictures would be fine. Now the camera gets hit so hard my hand would start hurting. I gave up and moved on to a Minolta. Apparently Canon cameras, according the negative reviews has this type of problem with their cameras. It's sad because the pictures came out awesome.

i've had a powershot a70 for two years, and in that time have taken thousands of pictures and hours worth of video clips. this thing hasn't left my side since i bought it- it's become almost an extra appendage.

unfortunately, i've lost two of these cameras to the dreaded "purple haze" now. my first camera broke six months after i bought it, but i don't think this was any fault of canon's. i was so hard on that thing. i carried it around in a bag without a case everywhere i went, dropped it multiple times, and pretty much did everything with it that you shouldn't do with a camera. and contrary to what others have been saying about canon customer service, i thought they were great. i sent in my camera, and despite the fact that it was dented and scratched and clearly mistreated, they sent me a refurbished one, no questions asked.

i've been a lot more careful with my second camera, but it's still been through a lot of wear and tear over the past year and a half. up until it broke, it did everything i asked of it, and then some. i realized about a month ago that it was about to go, and decided that it was fine with me, because i've more than got my money's worth in the time that i've had it. my only regret is not buying the extended warrenty when i bought my camera originally, because i would love to get another identical refurbished camera from canon.

this is a great camera for casual photographers. it doesn't take professional quality images, so don't expect to be blown away, but the pictures still look great. the video mode is pretty decent, and it's one of the features that i've come to love most about my camera. and as for battery life, i have yet to find a camera with batteries that last as long. the four double a's make the camera kind of heavy, but they last for weeks at a time. my only complaint is that the camera has troubles in low light, but that's to be expected with any digital camera in this price range. the flash tends to be too bright and washes pictures out, but without the flash, the image will blur unless you keep the camera perfectly still. this problem can be solved by buying a tripod, however.

overall, this is a great camera. my dad, sister, and boyfriend all bought similar powershots because they liked mine so much. despite the fact that my camera is broken, i would say it had a good run, and would suggest it to any casual photographer in the market for a new digital camera

I'll make this short, but this is a good first camera. I've probably taken over 1,000 pictures with this camera and we have some good memories already, in only just over a year. Good camera for the price.

However, I will hopefully be upgrading soon. I want something with a more generous zoom and a camera that takes the pictures faster. There is a pretty big delay in the way the camera takes the pictures. It's good for portrait stills, but it's hard to capture action shots.

Overall, good camera.

Ich war eigentlich zufrieden mit der Kamera - sie hätte nur etwas schneller sein können. Nach knapp zwei Jahren ist allerdings ein Softwarefehler E18 aufgetreten und das Objektiv ließ sich nicht mehr ein- oder ausfahren. Im Fotogeschäft hat man mir gesagt, eine Reparatur lohne sich nicht mehr.

I based my purchase decision largely on reviews I read on this site. Just about everone was THRILLED with their new camera - so I purchased.

I, too, was thrilled - for about 1 year. Then the camera began producing pictures with black lines through them - or red hues. I thought perhaps I got the camera wet - as I also have the underwater housing and take it scuba diving.

I surfed the web looking for a repair store in my area - and found many blogs where COUNTLESS people complained of the exact same issues with their PowerShot A70. I contacted Canon, as given sheer number of people who complained, I concluded there must be a design defect. Canon did not stand by their product at all.

My conclusion? The camera was not built to last. A good starter digital camera, to be sure. But you should only expect it to work for about 1 year.

My sister and I both have A70's, and in one year, they've started to exhibit the purple-black hazy line problem. Giving the cameras a couple slaps seems to solve the problem at the moment, but it keeps on coming back, and sometimes the slaps don't work. This is a well-documented problem online. it takes great pictures, but the body & doors are rather flimsy, and it's useless once you get the lines problem. too bad.

I have two of these cameras, the A60 and the A70. Each of them worked for about 6 months. Then the screen got all fuzzy and had lines through it, and woukdnt take pictures. After a while it just turned black and stopped working. I sent it in to be fixed under warranty and they fixed it. A few months later it broke again and of course my warranty was up by then.
I find it ridiculous that I spent almost $200 on each camera and now all I have to show for it is two broken cameras. I will NEVER buy a Canon again!

This was the first digital camera I bought and did so after a good amount of research and playing with a variety of other ones through my friends. I've owned it almost two years now and it has served me pretty well. The batteries don't drain too quickly, even when shooting video and the picture quality is good enough for almost anything you need to do. Most of my pictures end up on-line and this camera serves that purpose well. The features are standard, nothing too out of the ordinary now. It's a little larger than I would have liked, but it's not a pain to fit in most places. Overall, for the price I think it's a good deal and worth it if you are just looking for a recreational camera.

I haven't tallied up exactly how many of the reviews here are complaining of the same problem - after about a year camera quits working (I got the purple/black screen problem). It seems to me that there is definitely some defective components in this camera. Since Canon doesn't want to stand behind their product when there is an obvious defect issue, I'm wondering if we should all band together and file a class action law suit against them. Email me at canona70sucks@yahoo.com

I agree with everyone else - this camera is awesome. the only thing i have to add is that if you are clumsy like me, and drop it with the lens open, it will break. (i'm sure this is the case with any digital camera....) the lens will turn slightly enough so it doesnt open/close properly...it kinda slowly malfunctions... it wont focus etc. if you have a canon warranty they will fix it. this has happened to me, my father and another family member that had the camera. just dont be clumsy and youre all set!

like i said... AWESOME camera. quality is amazing, and 3.2 megapixels is plenty.

If you want to spend the money for a great 1-year camera, the Canon PowerShot A70 is the one for you.

I agree with all the great reviews of the A70 digital camera. It takes wonderful pictures and is easy to use. I have used the video function numerous times and it works great. When I bought the camera, Consumer Reports recommended this camera.

HOWEVER, this camera is apparently designed to "fail" between 1 and 2 years of use, depending on how often you use it. After exactly 2 years of use (4,217 pictures), my camera also now gives me the black/purple screen that numerous other consumers have complained about. When the camera decides to be operational, the majority of the pictures now come out blurry. This camera has turned from the best camera I have ever used to an unreliable piece of junk.

I bought three Canon A70s. All are now broken. This camera obviously has some design or quality issue. I am not sure if I can trust Canon now.

I have have this Camera for about 3+ years and it was been worked very well for what I wanted it for. Mostly pictures for my website and to print some for shareing with friends.

I just recently started having problems with my camera not working all the time because of the screen, but now my lens is stock about half way out and will not right it's self. I did some searching and found that cannon has a service notice on this camera that will repair it even if it is out of warranty. I will be sending my camera in to see if I can get it fixed. To bad to because I just got a new camera for my birthday.

I've found this easy to use and produces great pictures.
To augment it I've bought a 1 gig memory card for $50 dollars and rechargable batteries.
This allows one to take lots of pictures and even movies without worrying about battery power overmuch.

Best digital camera I've had, good quality for the price. Biggest problem is it's a little too slow. I click the button, but by the time it takes the photo the action is over! Also, for some reason the video only goes to 30 seconds now, but it used to do 3 minutes worth. Great camera, though.

I had purchased this camera for my job. I like the camers so much that when I changed jobs, I purchased one for my personal use.

All PowerShot A70 owners who've seen problems with the camera sensor (CCD) failing to function or exhibiting excess noise or other image distortion should take advantage of a recall. Canon will repair this widely seen CCD defect for free even if your camera is out of warranty.

See the A70 support page on Canon's website or search for "PowerShot A70 CCD failure".
http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=PgComSmModDisplayAct&keycode=2112&fcategoryid=221&modelid=8776

Unfortunately, Canon isn't making this offer conspicuous on its website and is not contacting customers proactively. I only learned of it on an independent camera review website.

I had contacted Canon Support about terrible noise problems in photos I'd taken (often discovered only later, when reviewing photos on the computer), and at first they failed to reply, let alone inform me of the free repair program. After discovering the recall notice, I contacted them again to request free repair, and they've agreed to repair my camera.

In other respects, I've been very happy with the PowerShot A70's features and performance, but not very impressed with some design defects and this CCD problem. The only mitigating factor with the CCD defect is that several other manufacturers' cameras have been affected by the same problem, though they've dealt with their customers better in addressing it. Olympus offers to repair cameras with CCDs that may be defective, regardless of whether the camera is currently exhibiting problems.

This issue, combined with a Canon camcorder that is now unreliable due to a widely-seen recorder section problem, severely undermines Canon's reputation for quality. This is especially disappointing for me because I believe Canon's products are often functionally superior, and I previously had Canon film cameras that were bulletproof.

I bought this camera in the summer of 2004 and have really enjoyed it. It was my first digital camera. I have used it on a number of trips and it has made some fantastic photos. It is small, convenient, and easy to use...just point and shoot.

I did buy myself a 256k memory card, which is plenty for my purposes. Downloading pics to your computer is a snap and is very easy to use.

On the downside, it is only a 3.2 megapixel camera. This was great for downloading photos to my computer, using them in slide shows as screensavers, etc. until.........I made the photo of all photos. Yup, I got lucky and made the best photo I had ever made in my life. Unfortunately, due to the 3.2 limitation, I am unable to have this shot blown up to a large size. For this reason alone, it won't happen with my next digital purchase.

Also, this camera will do tons more than I am able to make it do. I consider a downside to be that it is a little complex to use unless you are doing the simple point and shoot kind of thing. Anything more advanced is......well, advanced. I always have to stop and look at the manual which is just not convenient when taking a shot on vacation. So, I'm left with just "pointing and shooting". Seriously, this is not one of those cameras you can just pick up and "figure out" as you go. It is a little more complicated than that when you want to try some of its bells and whistles.

All in all though, it is a good camera for the average homeowner who is not a camera enthusiast.

Generally very disappointing. It does have numerous little gadgets, but acts more of a toy than a real camera. Photo quality just isn't up to other digital cameras in the same price range. The ccd has serious problems reading images, as I say it is more of a toy than a camera, but fine for people who are not serious about photography.

I bought this camera 2 years ago and it is just awesome. It was my first digital camera, and I couldn't have asked for a better equipment. Easy to use, high picture quality, many options. My friends always complain about why my pictures are always a lot better than theirs, and it's all the camera's fault! I never had any problem with it!

I have been using my A70 almost nonstop since i bought it, and have had no problems, I take it snowboarding, hiking, climbing, etc and I am not gentle with it. The aluminum case is very strong. I have dropped it from ~5' onto concrete and the only thing that broke was the CF card cover, which is no big deal since the camera still works.

Recently the CCD failed on one of the cameras (not the one I abuse), I saw the post about the recall (thanks!) so I called their tech support, I hope to hear back from them soon.

... They were very nice on the phone and it sounds to them like a CCD issue, they will send me a UPS label via email for RMA. w00t!

I've had this camera now for a little more than 2 years and I am ready to throw it out the window. I take flower and plant closeups as a hobby and the focus zones for the lens are unpredictable and uncontrollable even in manual mode. About 60-70 percent of the closeups I take come out Completely Useless because the camera has chosen to focus on an element in the frame that I did not want to emphasize. For example, a leaf to the side will come out sharp, while the flower itself is an utter blur, even on "macro" mode, although the frame was composed with the flower at dead center. What's worse, when the image is previewed on the screen on the camera back, it appears to be fine!

It does an adequate job with meta-pictures (whole scenes) but try to zoom in on an interesting insect or a tender bloom and you will soon go bald as a rock with frustration over the results. I used to take film pictures and got quite practiced at it, so this camera really annoys me because it refuses to behave like a standardized photographic instrument -- that is, when you point the lens at something and have it dead center in the frame, the lens is supposed to look for edges on that dead-center object and calculate focus accordingly.

This piece of "equipment," however, has a mind of its own, so you wind up with lovely background foliage and a muddy blur of color in the middle where a sharp image of a bloom should be.

In short, if your photography makes any sort of technical demands and requires a sharp instrument to assist, Buy Something Else.

If all you're looking for is a good snappy camera to take pictures of groups of friends or wide vistas, this camera will probably be fine.

I had purchased the camera on Amazon to give to my daughter as her first digital camera. It was used, and had only a 64MB CF card as its only acessory, no cables or software. On the second day, all I could get on the display while pointing at a light was a slightly purple screen. I went online to Canon, checked under the model number, and found a few things out. Some of the ccd's were made by a third party company, and they were sensitive to heat and humidity. On the A70 page, it said to contact them, and they will check it out and replace the ccd for free if it had not been damaged by dropping it. They sent me, by email, a shipping label for free shipping. After one week, they emailed me and told me it would be a free repair and would take 7-10 working days. I just yesterday received the camera, and WOW, what a surprise!! Canon had replaced my older A70 with a BRAND NEW IN THE BOX WITH ALL ACESSORIES POWERSHOT A520!!!!!

That is customer service you can't beat. Just another of the resaons I will only buy Canon cameras and printers.

I think this is a great camera for the reasons stated by many reviewers.

However, after several years of continuous use, the LCD viewer stopped displaying images and, when I took photos, the images did not appear on the memory card.

Because I couldn't find anything in the camera manual or on Canon's web site that addressed this problem, I called Canon technical support. The Canon technical support representative I spoke to told me the problem was a defective image sensor, which he said Canon would replace for free (even though the camera was way outside the warranty period). He even said Canon would pay for shipping the camera to their factory service center.

I haven't completed this process, but assuming Canon follows through (and I have no reason to think they won't), I thought this was extraordinary customer service -- yet another reason for purchasing this camera.

Zuerst muss ich sagen, dass die A70 für die damaligen Verhältnisse sehr gut war/ist. Die 3,2 Megapixel reichen aus, um davon normale (10x15 cm) Bilder entwickeln zu lassen. Sie bietet unter anderem sehr viele Einstellungsmöglichkeiten und Aufnahme-Modi, die über ein praktisches Wahlrad ausgewählt werden können.

Ich empfinde es als sehr praktisch, dass normale Mignon-Batterien (oder Akkus) verwendet werden können. Bei den aktuellen Akkus ist dies aber nicht mehr wirklich notwendig und vergrößert die Kamera nur unnötig und auch das Gewicht wird nicht gerade reduziert (4 Mignons). An CF-Speicherkarten hat sie bisher alles akzeptiert und auch die PictBridge-Funktion wird von Ihr unterstützt.

Kurz nach der Garantiezeit hatte Sie einen mechanisch/steuerungstechischen Objektivfehler, den es wohl in einigen Modellen der Serie A zu geben scheint. Dabei wurde mir aber gleich die neueste Firmware aufgespielt und bisher macht sie keine Probleme mehr.

Im Automatik-Modus ist die Auslösezeit im vergleich zu aktuellen Geräten sehr lange, da sie die unterschiedlichsten Messungen und Anpassung durchführt, bis sie dann letztendlich auslöst. So sind leider oft die Momente schon vorbei, die man eigentlich festhalten wollte.

I bought this camera back in July of 2004 and i have been a happy user of this product for over two years. One of the things that i loved about canon powershot A70 is the battery life. I use 4 Monster NiMH rechargeable batteries on this camera and they work awesome, over 100+ pics. The picture quality is nice, and the camera is easy to use.
However now that 2007 is around the corner, I'm starting to think of upgrading, one thing that I don't like about this camera is that it is pretty bulky when carrying it in your pocket. This camera is bigger than the newer cameras of its class, and at 3.2MP its starting to show its age.
Overall, nice camera.

I bought my camera about 2 years ago. The camera worked beautiful. I started getting error messages about a year ago. I thought it was the memory card so I continued to use the camera. The problem worsened and the camera would get stuck and wouldn't take pictures. I took my memory card to have pictures developed. The memory card was empty. I lost all my pictures. I went to get a new memory card and took a sample picture. I was able to view the picture and then tried to take a second picture. The camera said memory card error. That's when it was confirmed that this camera is defective. If you want a camera to buy, DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA. Defects need to be handled. Canon need to give people refund on this camera.

I've had the camera just about a year - and a great camera it was for the first year. Then..... Almost to the day, I started getting the E18 Error message (the lens is stuck and won't move in or out - takes 15 minutes every time I turn it on to be able to use it - then it just stops working completely!) So, I checked for reviews on line and, surprise, surprise - HUNDREDS of people are reporting this problem but Canon doesn't seem to be doing anything about it.

So, no. I won't be buying another Canon product. Not if this is what they're like. Stay away from this one or you will regret purchasing it.

My camera is about 3 years old. It is my first digital camera. About 1 year ago the LCD screen began to fade and soon I could no longer see what I was taking a photo of AND when the screen was dark, the photo did not turn out. I would need to turn the camera off/on for it to clear. I called Canon support and like the other person who wrote a review, I was told the the LCD screen was defective and that they would pay for me to send it back to be fixed and return to me at their cost as well. They were very nice about it. About 4 weeks later I had my camera. While I am happy with the photos that it takes, I still have issues with the LCD screen. Every once in awhile the screen will go dark and I need to hit the "display" button once or twice before it clears up again. Very annoying. I will need to call Canon service again but I don't know what else can be done. I just had it "fixed this past summer.

W.Kohorst, Silver Spring, MD

I bought this camera after several relatives bought it and said great things. I thought the bright light pictures were good, but low light pics always blurred.

I had some LCD trouble in November, but was able to turn on/off the camera and get some pictures from it. On Christmas Eve I took pictures without any of the previous trouble. On Christmas Day - trying to take pictures of my kids opening presents - my A70 DIED. No pictures for 2006!

The camera was less than 3 years old. I've owned Canon cameras for over 20 years and this is the first time I've gotten a defective product from them. Looks like others are having same trouble.

I don't recommend buying the Canon A70 camera. My aunt's camera died also.

I bought it in June 2004 and took (only) near 3800 shots. The recent photos have distorted colors. Some experts told me that the CCD is dying.

It was a great camera with great pictures. I only wish it could last longer. I hate to buy a DC every 2 or 3 years though it is the trend for consumer electronics.

We bought our Canon Powershot A70 for a small camera to take on trips, etc. We've already sent it back to the factory twice and although Canon upgraded us to a new camera with more megapixels, this new one is broken, less than 6 months later. Don't waste your money. We will be shopping for a non-Canon product next time.

work okay for a little less than 2 years. it was always slow when you pushed the button but other than that it was fine. then all of sudden all the pics had white lines. I'm assuming the CCD needs replacing (at what cost??). My recommendation - look elsewhere.

I bought this camera in 2003 and it worked GREAT. I have changed the batteries a total of 3 times since I've had it and have taken hundreds of pix. I have just purchased the Canon Powershot A570IS, because my A70 has just 'broken' down as of October 31, 2007 (no Halloween pix). I won't bother to repair it, since its not worth it, however it did a great job for the past 4 years, and I hope the new one does a better job, if that's possible. I would recommend Cannon to my friends. Its a great product and does what its made to do.

I've had this camera for 6 years and it still works perfectly! However, I gave it to a cousin of mine who is in grade school, because I wanted something with more pixels.

This camera takes good pictures and it's easy to operate. It is well worth it's price. However, there are some problems.

1. The CCD has known issues. It is highly susceptible to moisture and will develop problems. The images will have horizontal lines in them and the color balance will be wrong. Canon fixes this problem at no charge and even pays for shipping. However, in two years of owning this camera, I've had to return it twice for this repair.

2. The LCD display is rather small and hard to see. It is even more difficult to see in bright light.

Other than those two things, the camera works great. It's easy to operate and use the camera's functions, and the results are very good. Color balance is good for all white balance settings, especially incandescent when shooing in incandescent light. Pictures are sharp and free from image artifacts.

One minor annoyance is that the zoom is electronic. It is difficult to get the exact zoom you want, especially for normal (the human eye's perspective). Another annoyance is the camera's widest aperature. It is not wide enough to make things n the background go out of focus. However, with a little skill with Photoshop, you can mask the subject and perform blurring.

Connecting and downloading images to your computer is easy and painless. The supplied software is adequate but not stellar.

A nice featuer is that the camera uses AA sized batteries. Get yourself rechargable 2500ma batteries and an inexpensive charger and you'll get a lot of photos out of one set of batteries.

One very recommended accessory is the lens adapter, the LAH-DC20. Even f you don't attach an auxilary lens, this provides some protection for the lens in case you drop the camera while it's powered up, and it provides a means to attach 52 mm close up diopters, filters, and any lens hood.

For it's price, the camera is exceptional.

I know this camera is old. However, it is similar to the newer models. Don't buy this camera. I bought it quit after 5 years of use with great care in handling it. The reason I bought it was because it took 4, AA batteries. This seemed like a good feature at first with not having to recharge the battery all the time, but it also made the camera have a delay while taking pictures. The delay was long enough for me to miss many great shots. The batteries just aren't strong enough for a fast flash.

My next camera will probably be a Pentax Optio M50. It is great for casual shots like when the family gets together. It is also only around $200 at the time of this review. Canon has good cameras, but this series is not one of them, and I give the A70, 2 stars for working 5 years. And all things considered 2 stars is generous.