This Canon is awsome. 8mp and 6x optical zoom make differences.

I have also Canon a570is, but this camera is better.

It has an optical stabilizer and works great.

Buy it.

I bought this camera for my wife to use because our old s110 was getting outdated.
I went to Lawrence Photo in Springfield, MO to talk to them about the Nikon D40 and Canon Xti.....
I wasn't ready to buy a DSLR yet but had some questions to get prepared.

I was looking and drooling over there selections and was telling Jerry that I was looking for something that my wife could take pictures and video of her son when he was playing the drums.... She was wanting something that would take more than the 15 seconds the s110 did.
Anyway he recommended Canon's new a720.....WOW

I am very impressed with this camera......I am not sure she will get to use it much at least until the new has warn off...

I love this little Big Camaera.....it has so many features of the larger camera's.
It has apeture priority, shutter priority, manual, program and of course auto....
I have had fun just playing with the settings and taking pictures in different modes....this camera is amazing....shutter speeds from 15seconds to 1/2000....

This camera is ready to shoot as soon as you turn it on.....just push the button and by the time you get your finger on the shutter button it is ready to take pictures..

So far I cannot say enough good about this Camera.

I have had it 2 days and it is better than expected.

I am looking forward to many pictures and video's

I hope you find this helpful.

This camera is an interesting beast as it doesn't seem to be particularly special in any regard. It takes pleasant pictures with good clarity and color, and the rich feature-set will satisfy both novice and experienced photographers. However, the final impression that I'm left with is that this camera is only satisfying--It's sold as a mainstream point-and-shoot with some advanced features--and the A720IS delivers in a rather dispassionate and sterile way. It's not as small or sleek as Canon's Digital ELPH series (SD Series), nor does it have the power of the G series. It can't compete in terms of absolute zoom capabilities of the S series. It might be a stretch of the imagination, but if you could roll up Canon's entire consumer camera lineup (minus the SLRs) into a single camera, the A720 would be it. This camera isn't anything exceptional, but it is very functional.

With that said, this is one of the better budget cameras I've used. With various scene modes and full manual controls, it can grow with you as your skills improve, assuming you spend the time to learn how to use it. This camera works as an acceptable point-and-shoot in the program mode, but when you start playing with the manual controls, great low light and macro shots become possible. Some noteworthy elements of this camera are its excellent video mode (30fps 640x480 resolution), 6x optical zoom, and use of standard AA batteries.

Digital Noise has been getting better throughout the years and with the new A720, you can pretty much use up to ISO200 without having to worry about noise. Although the camera supports higher ISO settings, anything above 200 will start to become very noticeably grainy.

In my opinion, the built-in image stabilization woks, but it isn't terribly effective. Observing the proper shooting posture and holding your breath is must more effective - many digital camera users extend both arms to hold the camera, which is an inherently unstable position. It's much more stable to hold the camera in front of your face! There are many settings you can tweak to fight blur in addition to the image stabilization, including zooming out a little, setting the ISO higher, increasing the shutter speed, and opening up the aperture.

The camera feels lightweight but sturdy, and is small enough to fit inside a large pocket. Although it is bulkier than the Digital ELPH series, with the A720, I can grip it firmly with both hands for steadier shooting.

I didn't have too many complaints about this camera except that it's sluggish at times, but power-on to first shot times are respectable. In the end, this is a great camera and you get a lot for the money.

I bought this camera because I wanted a user-friendly camera with a better than average zoom and the ability to take better than average pictures. This Powershot A720 IS was a very nice surprise! I got it for $199 (just before it went up to $250) and I expected far less than what I got! The picture quality is fantastic; the zoom is expansive (24x combined), and the movie quality is definitely nothing to sneeze at. Overall, I would highly recommend this camera to anybody interested in listening to me blabber on about it!

I had canon a75 which served well for almost 3 years before retiring.
I knew canon digital cameras are best but I still did lot of research.
Things do tend to change a lot in this field, and next generation best cameras can come from any company. I looked at Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic among the main contenders. Among Nikon L11 and L12, and similar models in others. This camera beats all others including its own cousins, the canon a570is and a710is.

Between a570is and a710is, it is a tough choice because while a570is has a DIGIC III, it has 4x zoom while a710is has DIGIC II but 6x zoom. This camera combines the best of a570is and a710is: 8MP, DIGIC III, 6x zoom, Image Stabilization, ISO 1600, and oh, face detection! What it does lose over a710is is the special scene modes: color accent and color swap. I just do not understand why - while retaining hundreds of other features, canon had to remove those features in the a720is. Otherwise, anything that you can find in either of its cousins, you can find the better of the two in the a720is. And boy, it is fast to be ready for the shot!

Of course, the a570is is much cheaper, as are most cameras in this class from competing brands. But short of a dSLR, this is the most complete camera for a photography enthusiast.

The A720 IS for the most part is a good camera but the Kids & Pets (action) and Landscape programs are defective. The action program in bright sunlight programmed 80 ISO and gave 1/100 and f 5.6. The landscape program gave ISO 80 and gave 1/250 at f 4.0. I have an A75 and a Rebel Xt both give high shutter speeds for action and smaller apertures for landscape. I checked with my dealer and he checked his other cameras with DIGIC III and they all did the same thing. I have called Canon and the techs try to be helpful but are clueless to the problem. The dealer has called Canon several times with nothing but a run around. The sales rep visited and he was not aware of the problem. If they come up with a properly programmed processor I'll send it in for repair.

I was so excited to get this camera with image stabilization and face recognition, because on my old camera speed shots would occasionally be blurry, and I didn't like the recharge speed. Unfortunately, this camera is worse than my 6-year-old Canon subcompact. After pressing the shutter down, I wait a full second or more... enough so that I'm tempted to press the shutter and THEN say "one, two, three." And then I have to wait at least 6-8 seconds (unfortunately I'm not exaggerating; persists even with different batteries and memory cards) before I can take another shot--long enough for the cute moments to be long-since finished, so there's no way I can get a second shot of the same cute moment :(

The inability to take a "second chance" picture is an even bigger problem because about one out of 3 pictures is crazy-blurry... enough so that you can't recognize my daughter even though she's just 5-8 feet away and the only person in the picture. I also tried turning off the IS since it told me to use a tripod with EVERY shot (just in the house, doing things like taking pictures of her Halloween costume, with pretty good daylight coming in through the window)... but as a mom of a 3-year old and a 4-month old, it's ludicrous to think I'd be carting a tripod around with me just to take pictures of my kids! Plus the facial recognition is silly, and focuses in on things like my daughter's collar (between her chin and her chest) rather than her face, so I'm tempted to turn that off as well. I wonder if the camera is actually trying to do too much, since I'll point it at her face, and watch the colors shift, and focus zoom in and out (settling on blurry, and frequently picking a spot on the wall behind her as the focus). I've tried "auto" mode and "kids and pets" mode and "landscape" mode (there's no "sports" mode), and the "multiple shots" mode and tweaked the ISO setting, but all the problems persist regardless.

The manual does make the camera seem pretty cool, and you can configure things a million ways and sideways... but I really just want a point and shoot that will quickly take pictures in focus, and this doesn't do it.

The A720 IS for the most part is a good camera but the Kids & Pets (action) and Landscape programs are defective. The action program in bright sunlight programmed 80 ISO and gave 1/100 and f 5.6. The landscape program gave ISO 80 and gave 1/250 at f 4.0. I have an A75 and a Rebel Xt both give high shutter speeds for action and smaller apertures for landscape. I checked with my dealer and he checked his other cameras with DIGIC III and they all did the same thing. I have called Canon and the techs try to be helpful but are clueless to the problem. The dealer has called Canon several times with nothing but a run around. The sales rep visited and he was not aware of the problem. If they come up with a properly programmed processor I'll send it in for repair.

Since writing this my dealer after many calls got an engineer at Canon. He stated that the "Kids and Pets" program was not intended as an action program but was designed to reduce delay time so to capture pictures faster. The camera does not have an action program. He was unable to explain the large aperture on the Landscape program. So the processor is not defective but in my and my dealer's opinion poorly designed in these areas. For a work around I use Program with HI ISO. This gives a fairly good action program. For landscape I use AV with AUTO ISO and f 8.0. This camera was to replace an older Canon Power Shot A75. Even with these problems the improvement is so great I am going to keep it.

I recently purchased a Canon A720 IS camera via the internet and returned it to the dealer because the viewfinder was extremely blurry and unusable. They replaced the camera but the viewfinder in the new one isn't much better but I can live with it. Other brands are crystal clear so don't know why Canon cant furnish a better quality one. As far as the camera itself is concerned, it is great. I love the features and functions.

I have owned, or given as gifts, the Canon A520 and A540 PowerShot cameras, similar but older. When I needed a replacement, I decided on the A720is, a like camera. I was thoroughly satisfied as to price, features and quality. It is so confusing to figure out if Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Fuji, Olympus, etc. is better, so I bought a familiar, but improved product. Don't regret it, either! One caveat: Whatever you buy, be sure that you get a rangefinder window, however big the LCD. Why? Because when a bright sun is behind you, the image in the LCD becomes washed out and invisible, and you will desperately need that rangefinder window to figure out how your photo will appear, and what will be cut off.

I purchased this camera couple days ago because of the reviews it has on other site, and i can tell you they were'nt lieing. Canon A720is lives up to the its name. I took shots in a pitch black room and am suprise at the quality,along with red eye reduction,shutter adjustments,full manual control of every thing, this is a great buy. It also has DOF which is great if you want to be creative. I actualy killed the batteries the first day i got it so invest in some rechargables. There's video playback at 30fps at good quality and a setting for every moment in you life.

Pros: really darn good camera and its suprisingly small

cons: you don't have one so go get it.

I've had the Canon PowerShot A720 IS for about a month now and took a few hundred pictures in various conditions. So I feel ready to write a detailed review of this (great) camera. I'm an engineer by profession and am starting out in amateur photography. I wanted something with enough manual controls so that I can apply what I've learned in photography theory. But I wasn't willing to spend too much on a full dSLR + lenses (yet). Plus I like the portability of a compact camera. I've read a lot of published online reviews on this camera & a few others in its class at the time of purchase. Here are some of my thoughts on each area of this camera that other reviewers may not have covered.

Size & Looks:
Not as small as the ultra-compacts, but it's very hard to find one smaller with all the manual controls that Canon A series P&S cameras offer. Having aperture and shutter priority modes and a wide enough ISO range (80-1600) is a must for more creative shooting. If all you shoot is in auto mode (& occasional scene mode), then there are other cameras that are sleeker & smaller (such as the SD series). I personally prefer a darker color, silver on an obviously plastic body is a pet peeve of mine in all electronics these days. Just a matter of personal taste. I wished the camera was slightly lighter & smaller. The main weight should just be a high quality glass lens, everything else can be electronics & plastic. A lot of pros like the Canon G series because of the solid metal frames. But that's mainly because in the dSLR world, everything weighs a lot more. In a portable camera I want portability. Unlike shrinking cellphones & MP3 players these days, the big lens (& preferably bigger sensor size) should be the limiting factor for cameras. I want lenses big enough to let in enough light at the largest zoom and also not suffer from barrel distortion & other abnormalities. Another reason why I didn't go with ultra-compacts that have prizm-folding optics.

8 Megapixels:
This is on the low end for currently introduced new cameras. But it's more than I (or most people) need. 8MP is enough for all but poster-sized enlargements. Higher megapixels have problems such as denser sensors that have more noise and less dynamic range, and requiring more memory/disk space for storage. More camera buyers should be informed that high megapixels does not mean better image quality, and actually introduces new problems.

Zoom:
This camera has 6x Optical zoom. I was tempted to get the new SX100 with 10x optical zoom. But I would have to sacrifice the A720's optical viewfinder and slightly smaller size. Also from an earlier Kodak Z712 (12x optical zoom) I owned and sold, the higher zoom was not as appealing as it seemed at first due to a number of reasons such as hand shake (even with IS), slightly less optical sharpness at all zoom levels, and the added bulk. 6x optical zoom is good enough for 90% of the shooting I do without sacrificing size and image quality.

Optical Image Stabilization:
A very important feature in cameras these days, especially with a small lens that could always use more light. I can take hand-held pictures about 2-3 stops slower than without, which means the shutter speed can go as low as 1/10 sec in wide angle without blurring the pictures (while keeping ISO low for less noise). IS is even more important when zoomed in at 6x in all but the sunniest outdoor conditiions, again this is limited by the small optical lens. The more zoomed in, the smaller the aperture, and less light hitting the sensor, so the camera needs a slower shutter speed to expose the picture properly (which means steady hands or tripod), this is compounded by the higher sensitivity to hand shake when zoomed in.

Optical Viewfinder:
Optical viewfinders are rare among cameras in this class from other brands. Kudos to Canon for including it. The benefits of a viewfinder include being able frame & shoot in sunny conditions that would wash out the LCD display. Also once I have the settings set, I can just turn off the LCD & shoot through the viewfinder for framing to conserve battery power (up to 4x as many pictures taken per set of batteries, 900+ on NiMH) The viewfinder is about 80% of the full image frame, so there's enough buffer for framing error so you can crop digitally later on a computer. The viewfinder is slightly offset from the sensor so it's less reliable for close shooting and definitely not recommended for macro shooting. The A720 IS doesn't have a swivel LCD display, but I prefer it since it only adds cost & bulk to a camera. LCDs today have enough wide angle viewing so they're still usable if I want to shoot from way above or below eye level.

AA Batteries:
This was a very important factor in my decision when shopping for a digital camera. I preferred standard batteries because I can find them when I'm traveling at any convenient store. The A720 also takes rechargeable NiMH AA cells for everyday use (more environmental, and also more capacity than AA alkalines). The CIPA rating for battery use is about 140 pictures on alkalines and 400 with NiMH. You may get more if you don't use flash & zoom every other shot. I seem to get a lot more shots since I shoot using just the optical viewfinder often, and not much flash. Some cameras (such as my former Kodak Z712 IS) may imply on paper that it can use AA alkaline & NiMH batteries, but they weren't really designed to conserve power. Faster performance usually means having motors and electronics that run at higher power, thus depleting batteries quicker. The A720 actually can use AA alkalines efficiently.

Macro:
The A720 is way ahead of the competition in that you can focus on objects as close as 1cm (that's less than half an inch in front of the lens!). Also one of the few benefits of having a smaller CCD sensor is that you get more Depth of View (DOF) for macro subjects compared to dSLRs.)

Fine tuning:
Custom white balance for odd indoor lighting conditions. In-camera adjustment to contrast, sharpness, and noise reduction. I prefer to keep these settings at a minimum so that the original image is captured with the most detail (in-camera contrast & sharpness boosting actually destroys detail). If need to, I can always adjust the image on a computer afterwards, but the more detail I can capture in the beginning, the more I have to work with in post-processing.


Some of the issues with this camera that I didn't like are:

Small sensor & noise:
This is probably the biggest shortcoming that I see in the Canon A720 IS. But the only other viable option is to go the dSLR route and that means spending at least 3x as much (not including additional lenses and associated equipment.) The CCD sensor is only 1/2.5 inch diagonal, this is a very small area for 8 Megapixels. Basically at this point in digital sensor technology, cramming more megapixels into a small area results in less dynamic range (difference between lightest and darkest colors), and noise at anything higher than ISO 200 (which is needed for low-light shooting). I would've preferred a 1/1.8 inch sensor or larger. I get around it by shooting ISO 1600 when I absolutely need to (very dim scenes where flash washes out the background, or the subjects are beyond the reach of flash) and using computer software to reduce the noise afterwards. The results are usable for small prints. Also noteworthy is Canon uses little on-camera noise reduction compared to other manufacturers (a user-selectable setting would be nicer). Which is good, because noise-reduction is a fine delicate process that must balance reducing noise at the expense of reducing clarity too. A process that I would much prefer to do on a full computer with more processing power & updated software than the one included in a camera that has less processing power and is not easily updated.

Flash recycle times:
Some other people have complained about how long it takes for the flash to recycle after use (it's about 4-6 secs). The main problem I see here is that the LCD goes blank during this time, and I would've preferred that the the LCD be in review mode or something useful so it doesn't SEEM as long. From a technical point of view, I can see how this could be due to using alkaline batteries that provide low power, and to charge the flash safely without depleting the battery too fast with high current. Think of sipping water through a small straw versus a fat pipe. My previous Kodak Z712 had fast recharge time, but it ate batteries like crazy. So I prefer Canon's approach, with some slight tweaking.

Actually a better workaround to this is to use off-camera flash. On camera flash is bad because it dulls & flattens pictures, produces red-eye, and makes the background too dim. I ordered a cheap wireless optically triggered slave flash (around $20). (Canon makes a more expensive one that's more compatible in auto modes). Basically it's a wireless flash that fires when another camera flashes in the vicinity. One caveat is that most slave flashes (unless specifically stated) will trigger with digital camera's auto exposure & red-eye pre-flashes. These flashes confuse the slave flashes to fire prematurely. The A720's manual mode comes to the rescue again. In manual mode, I can turn down the on-camera flash and the pre-flash off, relying on one or more off-camera flashes to light the subject and give depth to my pictures. So for me the on-camera flash gets very little use.

Histogram not live:
The histogram (and flashing blown highlights) is a very important feature for setting the proper exposure manually in the digital world. It allows consistent picture to picture exposure. Otherwise the exposure is set automatically depending on whether the camera scene has a bright spot or not (e.g. noticeable when you shoot with the sky in one frame and another without.) The A720 displays a histogram in review mode and when holding the shutter button in single-shot mode. But a live histogram would've been better so that I can adjust aperture/shutter/ISO and see how it affects the scene. Apparently a live histogram is possible with the CHDK firmware mod on older DIGIC II based cameras (A720 uses DIGIC III, so no mod is available currently).

Other minor gripes:

Video (up to 640x480 30fps) does not use the modern MPEG4 compression algorithm, so only allows up to 60 mins worth of video with 4GB of memory. Also the optical zoom is disabled when shooting video (supposedly to prevent the motor noise being picked up). I would've preferred the camera allowing this and I can either process it out of the video later with software rather than having to stop recording, zoom to a new angle, and then resume recording. I haven't recorded a lot of video, but one option would be to set the optical zoom to a close enough distance, and then while recording, use the digital zoom for better composition. But zooming in digitally seems to just blow up the pixels instead of increasing resolution. If video performance is important, then I would look elsewhere, or get a dedicated video camera that has a lot more zoom & recording time. What is nice is the continuous image stabilization of the A720 while recording video, it makes everything look like it was shot professionally on a hollywood movie camera cart.

No adjustment for LCD brightness. Even though I shoot with optical viewfinder mostly, sometimes I have to use the LCD and would prefer to set the brightness to low or high depending on need for battery conservation or in bright environments.

Some minor color fringing at the corners in contrasty scenes when zoomed in maximum. Not much worse than other digital cameras though.

As you can see, I'm starting to get very picky about the camera. Overall it takes great pictures and at a great price. I did a lot of research and the longer I use the camera, the more I'm pleased with how much I got for the money. It's more of a camera for those who like to play with settings so their pictures stand out. If you rely on auto modes, then another camera may serve you better (I can't speak much for it since I don't use auto often except at social events when I hand it to someone else to take a snapshot while I'm in the picture.) Relying too much on auto modes can give unpredictable results (usually the case when pictures are blurry, or too dark/bright), but I blame that on the auto mode computer, and partially the user, not the overall camera.

The Canon Powershot has so far lived up to my hopes. The stabilization seems to work fairly well even when I zoom in far as the 6X optical allows. Delay between shots is less than with my previous. I'm looking forward to albums full of happy gran'baby snapshots.

Overall, this camera holds true to Canon's high level of quality. The shots are crisp and clear, and the image stabilization is a great feature if you take a lot of shots without flash but don't have the steadiest hands (like me). The zoom is pretty rad, at 6X (we all know that digital zooms aren't what you look for, right? it's all about OPTICAL, baby).

My main gripe is the lag time between photos. I hate to say it, but it's ridiculously slow. I should count sometime, but it's gotta be about five seconds. There might be a mode where you can click click click away like a fashion photographer -- but in general, it's too lethargic for my tastes.

It's not overly compact, either. So if you're not looking for a pocket cam (this is about the size of a pack and a half of smokes), and you don't mind a bit of a lag time, you'll get good-quality shots, a fab zoom, and lots of modes to play around with. All around, i recommend this for amateur photographers.

Perfect first digital camera. Does everything well. Make sure you get an extra SD card with 512MB or 1GB - I got a Transcend 1MB for about $15 bucks (don't buy from a camera shop, you'll pay too much). The cameras don't come with a card that holds much.

Downloading to the computer using one program, then editing with another, could be a more streamlined process, but it's not bad once you know what to do.

Great camera...small, easy to use. Indoor pictures sometimes grainy, but it's probably just me not setting something right. Pretty much blown away by a lot of the photos taken outdoors. Trying to decide whether or not to get rid of my Nikon Coolpics 5700--I love my Nikon...it never has grainy pictures, and at 5mp, it takes just as good pictures as the 8mp Canon. I think I'll keep both.

Great for taking pictures in multiple lighting conditions, and also for troublesome shots like pets / kids (that setting is great). Only minor complaint is that the default flash card is so small that we could barely test it out of the box. Definitely recommend a 1GB+ card to go with this purchase.

I love this camera. I have a canon 30D with 6 lenses as well and I use this camera to take pictures where lugging the gear is not an attractive option. Frankly in good conditions the pictures are just as good. Where it not up to the challenge I use the other camera. One of the reasons that I chose this over the G9 is that it runs on AA batteries. I don't want to miss pictures in some remote location because I didn't bring the right adapter.

Overall this is a good camera, both for beginners and advanced amateurs. The pictures are great and can be made both in total automatic mode and various manual modes. The only drawback I have is that it has a very slow flash recycle time and sometimes you get ghost circles indoors with flash. It seems to be sturdy and I expect to keep it for a long time. The 6x lens is wonderful and the movies are clear. Make sure you get a 1 gig memory card.

Great camera. I was looking for a camera that is not too big, have good optical zoom and allows manual set up. Canon A720IS has it all. Love it.

This is my second canon digital camera. You can't go wrong with a Canon- great lens great design and great features. I got this camera since I wanted a camera with a little better zoom than the normal 3X. This is 6 times and the only thing I wish this camera had was still a little better zoom at the same size. I love that it takes regular batteries - I use the rechargables. It also uses a the most common media which is an SD card. It has manual controls that I use a lot and the pictures are crisp and clear thanks to the great canon lens. The screen is large enough and clear. In addition its light weight and easy to handle. The second only thing I would change about this if it was slightly smaller. Overall it's a fantastic camera and easy to use would not buy anything other than a camera.

I purchased the Canon A720is for my wife's parents. It met all the criteria... Easy to use, good zoom, price.
The zoom is one of the more powerful of the cameras in it's class. The Stablizer is a great feature. It uses AA as well as rechargeable batteries. The camera/playback switch is a nice feature. It's easy/straightforward, you don't have to spin the mode selector... then spin it back to wherever it may have been. Shutter lag also seems to be better than many in it's class. It's only been a few weeks. No pictures have been downloaded yet, but they were using it within minutes of opening the box. Had to, of course buy a larger SD card, the 16MB card that comes with the camera is all but useless. Don't know why they don't just put a 1GB card in the camera. Would recommend.

Are old digital Canon was dropped and unworkable. We purchased the a720is and couldn't beleave how this camera has advanced in a few years. The big screen is much nicer to review the pictures. This camera takes AA batteries is so convienent. The dial turns so much easier than the old camera. Many picture taking modes with a turn of the dial. The buttons are simple and easy to use. And the quality of the pictures is great.

I am not a camera savvy kind of person. But I really like this one since it is very easy to use and take beautiful pictures. The only thing I don't like is that it is a bit bulky (Compare with other cameras of course) ... Other than that, I truly like it

I was looking for a compact and good quality digital camera after a curious kid literally opened up my previous digital. A720IS, so far, looks to be a perfect replacement. Not quite entry level, but still very easy to use, lots of features and great results (pictures even in very low light came out very nice). IMO, Canon has definitely improved over their previous PowerShot models.

We've had the camera for about a month; we're novice camera users but here are our thoughts so far:

pros: very easy to use right out of the box (auto option is pretty much point and shoot), is lightweight, has a nicely sized viewing screen with good clarity
con: the timeframe between pictures is quite slow

Overall it's a nice camera for the money, but if I were to do it over I'd choose one that transitioned quicker between pictures.

Our son bought one of these and we were so impressed with the pictures that we bought the same one. I'm not a professional photographer but the options and features are fantastic for home use. It'll take awhile to get to know them all as well as our son has, but it puts our old film cameras to shame. It helps to have a laptop if you're going to travel and shoot pictures. Get some rechargeable batteries and charger and you're all set to go.

I had a terrible experience with Sony MP8 digital last September due to lens problem as I mentioned before.(Now I gave it to a friend's kid as a toy).
Then some professional photographer recommended this one. I used it for my last trip with my children and grandkids to Orlando in this past Thanksgiving. Wonderful, wonderful. I found more wonderful feathers than I expected for $215.00 I paid for.
Image stablizer, 6x (v.s. 3x as in the majority),movie play, night scene,
firework,...etc. It is so easy for a grandma to us, and the result is excellent.

It is easy to use and takes good pictures. The only complaint I would have is the delay in how long the camera takes to get ready to take another picture. That may be a function of all digital cameras though (as this is my first digital camera)

Works great as a point and shoot, but has all the power features of an entry level SLR. Still getting used to it, but so far love the camera for general purposes. Selected this after researching many photog websites and seeing all the positive ratings on good quality of image, etc.

This camera is being used by one of the foremen in my company. It is perfect for documenting work, accidents, job conditions, etc. The 6X optical zoom is ideal for our work environment. The camera is simple to operate for men who are not savy with digital cameras. Highly recommended.

This is a great camera. I still havent had time to read the manual to utilize all the features, but so far so good. I am extremely happy!!

I bought the A720 to replace our A520 which we lost. I am very happy with the quality of photos and the speed of being able to take repeat shots compared to the A520. We just returned from Kauai and the trip is well-recorded with quality photos.

Okay, I have no idea what I am doing with digital photograhy. I am new. Saying that, I am having a good time with this camera. It is compact and fun. I like the movie feature. I have enjoyed taking short clips of my kid being a kid. I like the "creative features" too. I have no idea what they really do BUT I am looking forward to learning and playing.

I bought this camera 1 month ago and I love it. I really enjoy the 6x zoom, which is definitely an upgrade from the 3x zoom on my last camera. It takes really clear pictures and is easy to use! I am extremely satisifed with this purchase!

I'm a very experienced photographer who does a lot of tabletop product shots and portraits my studio for my graphic design work, PLUS a lot of artsy personal photo projects. I've used many different cameras, especially in the prosumer range. I got an A710IS several months ago as my small, light, take-everywhere-everyday, pocket-or-pack camera. It's an excellent camera for my needs, easier to hold steady than a Canon SD-series (I've used my daughter's SD-630), and the Image Stabilization is wonderful in low light (I can handhold 1/10 sec shutter speed), and 6x zoom is convenient.

Recently I was shopping for a not-too-expensive digicam for college-going son, and decided I'd "upgrade" to a A720IS, and give him my A710IS. For awhile I had both cameras here. There is a reason the msrp on the 720 is less $$ and it weighs 1/2 oz less -- the 720 is made in China and feels more plastic and less solid. The 710 is made in Japan, has a more sturdy body, better fit and finish. In fact, my 720 grip panel wiggled a little and squeaked until I added a tiny tad of Gorilla Glue in a strategic spot.

Performance is very good, essentially the same for both cameras. Easy to use, takes fantastic photos, in-camera menus easy to use (I like Canon software logic). Flash recycle time may be a tad faster on the 720, but still pretty slow. Goes for 400-700 shots on a pair of AA batteries. (Use Lithiums or, better yet, rechargeable NiMH Hybrids. They rock!) I highly recommend this camera, either the more-solid 710 or the less-expensive 720. Size and performance are essentially the same. 7.1mp vs 8mp...no big deal. Digix II vs III...no big deal (II might even be better, and there are hacks available to allow you to shoot RAW and add other features) Get a 2GB or 4GB SD card, a small case for the camera, and take it everywhere with you so you'll never miss another "kod*k" moment.

All in all a pretty good camera with nice features, however there are a couple of things that really bother me. One is the sensitivity to any subject area that has artificial lighting on it. I was shooting my family (not with a gun:-) in our family room. We have white paneled walls with tall plants in front of them. I was taking shots fairly close up with my subject filling about 50% of the frame, with the flash on, and the recessed ceiling lighting, that illuminates the white walls, was flaring the wall terribly (even through all the plants) on every shot. Although the flash illuminated the subject very nicely, the background looked terrible. So the camera is far too sensitive to all bounced light, except for that coming off the flash. I then switched to the camera's manual mode, with aperture priority, and kept clicking down until I was able to negate the background flare but then my subject started getting too dark, even though there was plenty of ambient light to illuminate the scene.

I also notice that when I try to shoot "product stills" with studio lighting (softbox diffusers on elevated stands) it is very difficult to control the flaring of the image (over exposure where the light source reflects off the object). It is too bad that digital cameras can not come close to delivering "what you see is what you get". At least with film, it delivers pretty much what your eye can detect through the view finder. But with digital, the subject may look just fine to the naked eye, but the camera sees it different, and when you take the shot, light sources of all kinds "burn out" the subject with overexposure on important surfaces of the subject matter, washing out color saturation. This does not usually happen when you are in flash mode but it is much more difficult to create "mood shots" with digital. And when you are in flash mode, you can't eliminate the very distracting hard shadows created on surfaces behind your subject, with the flash on.

The other thing that is troublesome, is that although the camera has image stabilization, I was very surprised to see so many shots that blurred, when the subject moved their head. I know that shutter speed is a critical element here but I have not yet figured out why so many of my shots are being thrown away as a result of trying to shoot without the flash in well lit rooms.

Another word of advice. Do not use regular AA batteries. I made the mistake of taking four spare AA batteries with me when I drove the kids around to see and photograph Christmas lights. I was shocked to see that after only a handful of shots, the camera demanded fresh batteries, and I burned through my first 2 plus the 4 spares after only about 10-15 photos. Be sure to buy the rechargeables with a rating of 2100 mAH or higher so that you can shoot a lot without disappointment and have backups with you at all times that can handle the high drain of the camera. I can't imagine buying a camera that has batteries that are not AA because that would get to be a very expensive problem. It is nice that Canon uses AA's but be sure you spend the money on the rechargeable AA's with the high mAH rating, which is essentially the amount of juice the battery will store for use before it needs recharging. You want to be close to or above 2000. It will say on the retail packaging what the rating is. If it is not on the outside of the package, try to see if you can see it on the side of the battery itself (usually is printed there).

I had an older Canon that worked great until one day the display went black and couldn't take pictures. I had such a great experience with Cannon so I decided to look at just Canon's. I wanted one that I could use AA rechargeable batteries so that's why we chose this one after much research. This camera takes great pictures BUT the recycle time is soooo loooong that I miss out on great photo opportunities. I never expected the recycle time to be longer than my old camera because it has newer technology. I'm not sure I'd buy this camera again knowing that.

We bought this to take to Disney World in Fla. for Christmas 2007. We would be used it in conjunction with our Canon Digital Rebel and various lenses. The Powershot A720 is very good camera overall. It is small enough to be useful at places, like Disney, where carrying large camera bags can be a hindrance. Using the "normal" picture taking setting, it takes quality pictures. The biggest flaw I can find with this camera is the time it takes for the flash to recycle and be ready for the next picture. It certainly wasn't in minutes, but 10 secs would seem to be a good estimate. In the other "creative" zones for picture taking, we found the "aquarium" setting to be outstanding. It takes really good pictures in dark envirnoments without a flash. Our pics from WDW at the Finding Nemo exhibit as well as the one from the Coral Reef restaurant were amazing. We also took a ton of video and those came out quite nicely as well.

The camera is easily worth the investment IMO. I'd suggest (strongly) that you buy an upgraded memory card as the 16mb included card is virtually worthless unless you set the picture taking to the lowest settings. Battery life, especially with the LCD screen being used plus the flash, is average. We used 3 sets of Duracell Ultra Digital AA batteries in a week. Rechargeable batteries would be the way to go in hindsight.

Absolutely value for money product, if looking for an easy to use, amazing output, reliable camera, this satisfies all of it. Very god picture quality. I bought it mainly for the optical zoom and the simplicity. In all, i am happy with the performance.

One star less, just because when you get so much you start expecting more out of the camera, but have to be satisfied with so much only, since it is not an SLR :)

I am an avid amateur nature photographer who switched from a SLR to a DSLR three years ago, and loved it. I thought that a small digital camera that I could always have with me would be a great idea, so I purchased one and then another better one.

Although both cameras took good photos the lack of control over DOF and exposure really bugged me...enter the A720.

Unlike most cameras with the A720s feature set, the A720 does not look like a mini SLR, it looks like a heftier, beefed up version of most point and shoot cameras but - it fits in the same generic pouch that I used with my earlier P&S cameras (a feature that I find important, you may not).

The feature set is amazing, there are almost as many settings as my DSLR, but do not be afraid, this camera takes great P&S pics in auto or program mode.

The feature set is great, you have complete control (if you wish) over aperture and shutter speed, fast on to shoot time, it has a viewfinder, and many other features that are not usually found in this small of a package.

My only negitive thought concerns the time lost while the flash recharges - the camera locks up after taking a pic with flash - sometimes as long as 5 seconds. Other than this, I think the A720 is an excellent product.

Delivery, price, and setting up the camera and software was very easy. The ability to pick it up and take pictures without a lot of hassle was excellent.

The zoom feature is very good. Framing pics takes some practice after having used an SLR for 30 years; but not difficult. The transfer of the pics to the computer was a snap and the auto feature of improving the skin tones work flawlessly.

We choose this because of the larger memory and the zoom feature because as amateurs we travel a lot (motorcycle) and take pics on the fly.

I was looking for a "mom" camera to replace the not-cutting-it 7YO HP. Before I purchased, I did major research and my price cap was $200. I narrowed down to the Sony DSC80 and this Canon. I got both for comparison at a store with generous return policy (FYI Best Buy charges a fee for open box returns and Sony puts Sony tamper-proof tape on boxes).

Aside from sales and special deals, Amazon did have the best price on most of the cameras I looked at.

I wanted to like the Sony, it was smaller, very cute, and came in pink. The Canon was boxy silver boring. However when I took the comparison pictures (auto settings on both cameras), there was no comparison. The image quality was sooo much better in the Canon, at least with my limited skills and HP computer/printer.

It does seem slow between shots, but I don't remember how fast the Sony was. The old HP camera is my only point of reference and this Canon is still way faster than that. With my 5YO son, dog and cat, it seems that they are either still/posed and you have plenty of time for a second chance, or they are in motion and the fastest camera in the world won't get you a second chance. Speed was not a top priority for me, I knew at my price range, some things would be compromised.

I like having a viewfinder, but I don't trust myself with that yet. Turning off the display might speed up shots? I like that it uses a regular SD card and AA batteries have their advantages. I was worried about the battery life because the old camera ate AA batteries--the main reason I was ditching it. Thus far, battery life on the Canon has not been an issue at all, newer cameras must be better about this.

Nice surprise #1: I wasn't expecting to care about zoom, but I am glad now that I have the 6X optical. I use it a lot more than I thought I would and it looks good.

Nice surprise #2: Didn't expect to ever use the video setting, but it is very good for a few minutes of "kid in a Christmas program" footage. The quality was a very pleasant surprise.

Negative thing--I don't know if this would be different on any camera in this class. Distant still shots of my son't class in a poorly lit gym with flash, zoom and red-eye reduction resulted in strange white cataract-looking spots on many but not all of the kids' eyes. I will try turning off the Red eye reduction next time, maybe that did it. Red eye is easy to get rid of with photo software, but these white spots are a pain. I opened the photos in a paint program and zoomed in to pixel-level to get rid of them (with no idea what I am doing--takes forever), and the pictures are now acceptable. **The video footage of the same event on this camera looks just fine, so I'm glad I had it!

Overall, I'm glad I bought this camera and would recommend it. It seems like the most bang you can get for your $200. So far, I haven't messed with any of the settings (and there are plenty to keep you busy), just the Auto mode.

Cons: It takes an eternity (around 8 seconds) to transfer a picture into the SD card after taking a picture. The pictures taken with any amount of zoom had "fisheyes" in them (both when reviewing the pictures on the camera and when downloaded on the PC).

Pro: None worth mentioning.

We returned it the same day we received it.

This is another great camera from canon powershot series. It offers good 6x optical zoom, has 2.5" LCD, runs on AA batteries and pretty compact & good looking. It has all waht I was looking for. Image Stabilization and couple of other features are bonus.

I got this camera about a month ago. This is one is terrific. I bought this to replace my old Nikon coolpix 995 which I have already 6 years.

Here I list good part of this product.
1. Good price.
2. Smart face detection feature.
3. A free 2GB SD card with purchase -- this saves me $15.
4. Digital III chip handles picture/video very quick.
5. more than 20 different languages included in Camera, especially Asian languages ( Chinese, Japanese and Korean)

6. I don't have to buy extra Li batteries. Two AA batteries are very convenient.
7. Pretty light, just simply put into any of my pocket to carry on.
8. 6X optical is fascinating for me, though 12x would be better, but price is about 50% more than this one.

9. AF and AE lock are unique features for Canon's Camera.

DSLR is expensive and may not be so useful for everyone.
Basic digital cameras have many limitations though are cheap.
I think the price of Canon A720IS is between DSLR and other basic digital cameras. And its function is closer to DSLR.

Love the camera. The flash delay is the only thing that I don't like. I'm going to try some photo AA batteries to see if that helps.

In Nov., I ordered a 720IS to replace a well-used 710IS to gain the new Digic III feature. The 720IS is nearly identical to the 710IS, but the 720IS lacks one useful feature: You can't edit videos in the camera to save memory. The internal date-setting feature in the 720IS did not work on set-up, and a new battery didn't help. I called Amazon's technical help line and was lucky to talk with someone who agreed that I had tried everything to make it work. I had ordered the camera to take on a trip to Thailand at the end of the month and didn't have time to return the flawed one and wait for a replacement. The Tech. person said he'd order a replacement right away, and it came in two days. I enjoyed using the new camera in Thailand, and it functioned flawlessly. I am very grateful to Amazon's technical staff for providing excellent service. I've ordered books, CDs, and camera equipment from Amazon for ten years. You guys are great. Thank you!

Overall I am very pleased with this camera - it takes nice clear shots - particularly out doors. I've misplaced the manual (which I need to read) but most of it I've worked out. My only gripe is that indoors I don't like it. Parties, dinners, etc...with flash I get a lot of red eye and without is pretty blurry...so this will simply be my out door camera - until I can work out if it's pilot error or just something that this camera's not good at! I do like the outdoor shots and stich assistant. It's taken some spectacular shots around Scotland and Loch Lomond so overall, as I say, I'm happy.

I received this camera for Xmas and have been using it for about one week. As much I have loved using my SD500 for the past few years, I wanted more manual controls. The A720 was the best fit for the options I wanted (manual settings, price, weight, form, quality). It's a good compromise as it's still fairly small and offers many functions.

Pros:
- great manual options
- adjustable flash settings
- preset function buttons so there's less sifting through menus
- awesome price for the technology

Cons:
I did some research prior to buying the camera and knew that there may be some issues with the flash lag but had no idea how noticeably annoying the wait would be. I am using NiMH 2000mah rechargeables in this camera and the power is just not enough. It's very frustrating when you're taking group photos and have to wait a good couple seconds before you can take the next photo.

In video mode, once you start recording, you cannot use the zoom. With my old camera, I could do this. It's difficult when filming moving objects such as animals and children because the distance can change quickly.

As with other cameras, I think there are times the automatic settings overexpose with natural light and wash out contrast on light-colored objects.

As times goes, I'll update if I learn anything new about the camera. Frankly, if you have the money and are willing to carry around two cameras, I suggest buying a subcompact such as an Elph model and a DSLR. That way you have the choice of convenience and quality.

I LOVE this camera!!! I really needed a camera with image stabilization and after having this camera for only about a month, I can honestly say that it's one of the best purchases I've ever made. My photos are turning better than ever and I love the features available on this model. It's easy to use and understand. I couldn't be happier!!
Kim M. Taylor, RVT

This camera has to be the best for the under $250 catagory. Does everything that you would ever need unless you are a professional. Great extras, easy to understand and work. No need to look at others, the Canon 720 is all you'll ever need.

The Canon Power Shot A720IS camera is a great camera. We have been amazed at the color, sharpness, night view, and all the other features on this camera. The pictures have been phenomenal, and other people have noticed the clarity of the pictures as well. We would reccomend this camera to anyone.Canon PowerShot A720IS 8MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

This is a good camera for photographers who want more control of camera settings. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a moderately priced small digital camera with manual control. Most new cameras do not allow completely independent control of aperture, focus, exposure time etc. This camera allows you to adjust settings independently as well as operate on full automatic control. It also has a longer exposure time up to 15 seconds than most of the competitors. It has steady shot and face recognition. Picture quality seems good, a little better than my other digital cameras. The one complaint is that recovery time seems slow, several seconds, so it would be easy to miss action shots. Honestly though, since the camera is new to me I have not fully explored how various settings influence the recovery time. An additional comment is that the camera drains batteries quickly so a charger and spare rechargable batteries is a good idea.

This is my first digital camera and I love it. Having never owned a digital camera before I wanted to make sure I could get something easy enough to use. But, sometimes I like to play with pics and learn new stuff. This camera allows me to do both. I havent figured out all the bells and whistles to this comfortable feeling camera but I can use it to take all the basic stuff. The lack of knowledge isnt due to difficulty of product but my lack of time. The quality of photo that pulls up on my computer is very good. However, I cant verify as of yet the quaility of printed photos as I havent had any printed yet. I expect that they will be very good.

I bought this camera after a long time (about a month)of reading comparisons and reviews both from owners and specialized sites, now that i've used it i know i've made a great choice. I love photography but never had a camera that could help me to become an amateur, now i can. this camera does not only provide great shots with preset modes (about 10) but also you can aproach to amateur photography overriding the camera in the manual mode, where you can control exposure (shutter speed and aperture, iso), white balance, focus, etc. zoom is amazing, battery life also (with ni-mh). it takes good shots in low light conditions without flash (thats great in churches and some museums)in manual mode. the cons i read were not a big deal to me except maybe the lag between shots (about 5 secs) with flash, but if you turn it off that's not a problem. i've taken arround 500 shots and nly needed flash in very few ones (20) it's not that bulky, it fits in your pocket. video quality is not superb, but you're not buying a video camera. the relation price quality is the best you can get.
if you want neat pictures with a point and camera, but also want an amateur camera, this is the one for you, go for it, worth the price buck by buck

It's a great camera. I had an A550 but this is even nicer. Image the stabilization, bigger screen, higher res. This is a good buy. Canon makes quality stuff. Get the 2GB memory card and you can take over 500 pics at the highest resolution.

I am very happy with camera. Picture quality is great with lots of options and features. I totally recommend to anyone. Video quality is also good, not great but good.

I researched a lot before deciding for this camera. I got it with sandisk 2gb extreme III and the case from Canon. This is my first Canon camera (I own a Nikon coolpix 2100, an also excellent camera) and this camera excedeed my highest expectations. I knew I was goin to get good quality pictures, but what I got is near-SLR quality. The pictures are fantastic. Sharp, well illuminated, great colors, low noise. Even with ISO 800, the noise is tolerable. I tooke some pics at a Benedictian Monastery last week at varius settings and the outcome was amazing. The interior is extremely dark, so it was a good test. The panoramic mode rocks, the video is aussum, Night pics are great. The IS works like a charm. I could get decent pics at 1 second exposure time. In one week I got used to the menus and now it is almost intuitive.
If anyone is in doubt, don't hesitate, this is an excellent camera. It is not a tiny one, but the quality of the pics compensate by far.

I bought this for my wife for Christmas. She knows nothing about photography and I wanted to get her an easy to use camera, but with enough manual settings so she can learn a little more and be able to take control of the shot. This camera is the perfect blend of "auto" and "manual." The pictures she took Christmas day are outstanding. She just turned it to Auto and let the camera do the rest. It's small enough to take with you and it has a decent optical zoom as well. The pictures are nicer than what I take with my Nikon CoolPix4600 and the reload time is so much faster with this Canon. With my Nikon you have to wait an eternity to take your next picture.

This camera was also priced right. Pop in a 2 gig sd card and you're ready to go!

I was a professional photographer for over 25 years using many different film camera formats. I no longer work as a photographer, but still like taking pictures. Especially on holiday or when flying my paraglider. About 4 years ago I bought my first digital camera. It was the Canon A70. I bought it because it did everything including most importantly shooting in manual mode and being able to have good control over the flash output. I also liked the shape of the camera as it had a good grip making it easy to shoot one handed. That was especially important to me when taking photos while flying.

Over the last couple years I was starting to think that I wanted a more far reaching lens and higher resolution. I didn't want to go over 10mp though as cameras of that or higher resolution caused colour fringeing. I looked at many cameras. But none except the Canon had all my requirements. I thought 8mp was perfect. Also the 6x optical zoom was exactly what I wanted along with full manual control. Also the movie mode is great. In essence I wanted a camera just like the A70 but better!

Having used the A70, the A720 was very easy to get to grips with. And with the auto mode anyone could start shooting pretty quickly. With a little time spent with the camera and reading the manual you will soon be using the camera intuitively.

I think the lens is very good and that's the most important part of any camera. But I find most of the shots will benefit from a very minor tweek in PhotoShop curves. This will allow a greater degree of contrast and colour saturation. I also like to sharpen them up just slightly with the unsharp mask. I try to set the camera up to do as little of the latter as possible as I like to have that control.

The movie mode is really fun. When I go out shooting I like to take a combination of stills and clips. Then instead of making prints to put in a box under the bed; I like to make little movies of say my flying holiday in the Alps by combining the stills and clips, adding music, fades and titles all done in imovie on my Mac. I then burn them to CD and mail them to family and friends. Much more impressive than a few prints I think. The fact that the A720 can shoot at 30fps over the 15fps of the A70 is a great bonus. I can see I'll need to get a DVD burner soon.

The other nice thing about this camera over the A70 is that it is a little lighter due mostly to the fact that it requires 2 batteries instead of four. I'd recommend the 2gb SD memory cards. I bought two of them. I think this will allow two weeks of holiday shooting stills and clips. For the A70 I had two 256mb cards and I generally used one per week. The A720's higher resolution I think will require the 2gb cards.

Hats off to Canon for supplying a very picky shopper with a small, light and highly specced digital camera.

I purchased this camera because I wanted a smaller camera that could fit in my pocket. It takes great pictures indoors and out. The only downside is that flash takes about 2-3 seconds to recharge between pictures. I knew about this before purchasing and as long as you anticipate it while taking photos, it's really not an issue. Grab a 1 or 2 GB card and some rechargeable batteries and you'll have a nice setup.

I had a difficult time deciding which of the many digital cameras out there to order, read tons of reviews on many websites and still had no clear idea which camera would be best to order. The A720IS seemed the best for the money so I finally just ordered it. It is a great camera which takes great pictures. I have not ventured beyond the point and shoot mode but with the quality of the pictures I've taken there really hasn't been a need to try the other functions. I had the camera shipped to my office so of course I had to a least check it out at lunch time. I didn't do much checking of the instructions other than the quick start guide and quickly took a couple of pictures. One of my co-workers looked at the shoots I took and immediately said "Oh, you've done all the research - tell me what to order so I can order one too". He did order his own which he took to a concert at which he was seated 16 rows back from the stage. The pictures taken at the concert were amazing even though he too has only used the automatic mode thus far. We have both heard many times "your camera takes pictures like that and it was less than $200".
The only complaint and it really hasn't been an issue is that it does not recycle quickly especially when using the flash. So if you take a lot of action shots this may not be the camera for you.

And is also highly rated by CNET and other on-line photography and tech sites. And I had read just about every review on this and other cameras I could find over the last few months before placing the Canon A720is on my Christmas list. So, my daughter gave me this camera for Christmas and and I am very satisfied with it. The photos are exceptional, the camera fits nicely in my hand, and it is just a joy to use. Some reviewers say there is too much shutter lag, but it seems the same as other digital cameras to me. Others say the flash cycle time is too long. With well charged batteries, the flash cycle time is about 2-3 seconds. As the batteries are used, flash cycle time increases, but show me a camera where this doesn't happen. Even with the low battery icon on, I found I could still take quite a number of flash and nonflash photos. I would estimate the batteries still had 1/3 of their power left when the icon came on, but flash cycling is about 8 or 9 seconds at that point. When the batteries finally do give out, the LCD monitor tells me to "change the batteries" and the camera shuts itself off. Change out the two AA batteries, push the start button, and it's ready to go again. As I stated earlier, I spent quite some time doing my research before deciding on this camera. The clincher was seeing this camera get higher ratings than more expensive Canons, Nikons, Panasonics, Sonys, and others. It even beat out many 'prosumer' models and some SLR's in overall ratings! Nothing is perfect though, and I have a couple minor complaints. First, the extended grip could use a little rubbery material to make it easier to grasp. Second, the tripod mount is plastic instead of metal! Cheap, cheap, cheap! The tripod mount is also off to one end of the camera, so the camera will not easily balance on a lightweight miniature table tripod. In spite of being very user friendly, some of the features can be quite technical if you are not already familiar with digital cameras, or photography in general (many aspects of film photography will carry over to digital photography). The instruction book (the English version) is about 1/2 inch thick with 200 pages. You also get the same book in Spanish, also a slightly thinner book of Direct Print User Guide (English and Spanish in one book), also a very informative Software Starter Guide (English and Spanish). With the included software loaded in your computer it is easy to download photos from the camera and even do some in-computer photo manipulation. Many photo printers can also print directly from this camera without a computer, check the printer documentation. If you are looking for a camera to use at family gatherings and birthday parties only, this camera is overkill. If you want an excellent do-all camera for parties, portraits, nature photos, even under water (with available waterproof case), or just about any other use, I highly recommend this one.

Amazing shipping time!!..I have selected super saver shipping method and got the product delivered at my house in five business days!!!
It would have been better if all included items in the pack are given clearly.

The camera is small, light, easy to use and takes good pictures. My only reservation is that it does not seem to focus very close in macro mode, although I may not have had it set up correctly when I tried this.

Once upon a time I purchased a Canon G2. My life was good.
Then I was enticed to buy a Samsung camera. My life was not good.
I have returned to Canon. I now believe that only traditional camera makers can be trusted to design great optical systems at a good price. I would recommend to anybody to be leery of electronic companies that move into cameras.

This camera takes great pictures and is user friendly. For most users, including myself, that's all I need.

Recommend this camera as a great value. Today when you buy technology it is expired 6 months latter so why spend tons of money on what will eventually become obsolete. This camera takes great pictues, has plenty of zoom, and reshoots quickly. Only con is use rechargable batteries since it eats AA's.

I have no complaint in regards to the product. It was all that I expected. The whole process was convenient and satisfactory.

I bought this camera as a gift for my son to take to Paris on his Honeymoon. They took hundreds of shots in all conditions. Every one was better than the one before. Day time, night time, inside and out were all great. The I.S. worked fantastically well. Zoom shots were great.
I recomend this product highly.

This camera is small enough to put in a pocket and simple enough to yield great pictures with no fuss whatsoever. It compares favorably to other, higher end cameras I've owned over the last few years, that were much bigger and more complicated. While it's a little too bulky for a pocket when in the Canon case I bought separately, it slips in easily without the case.

The only downsides are:
1) Optical viewfinder does not adequately reflect the actual shot, and it gives a view that is much smaller than the actual picture, which means the screen must still be used for adequate framing of a shot (which of course means that shots taken using the viewfinder will need after the fact editing), and
2) The screen is quite dark at night, impossible to use to frame shots, and therefore one has to rely on the optical viewfinder.

These limitations were disappointments, but the overall quality of the pictures and ease of use, combined with the size, make this a 5 star product nonetheless.

If you google "E18" and Canon, you will find that many of their cameras have lens errors that render the camera junk. However on the A570IS, it is called, "Lens Error: Restart Camera" error. My camera was quite noisy right out of the box, but never having owned a Canon, or a digital with a zoom, I thought maybe the clicks were normal. They're not. After playing with the zoom function a bit, it began to make a horrible grinding noise whenever opening or closing. This camera also had another defect. My battery light indicator would come on even after putting in freshly charged batteries. I realize from the reviews that I got a defective camera, but searching more extensively on the web, it sounds like getting a defective Canon is a lot easier than winning the lottery. Buy with caution and if the lens seems noisier to you than it should, or if you get even ONE malfunction with the lens upon the first few days of operating, return or exchange while you still can. I wish I would have trusted my gut, because now I'm overseas, and returning the camera is going to be a lot more work.

This is the second digital camera that we have and this is by far a lot better, great quality pictures even at night.

The only thing that we see it's the way to download pictures when you have installed in your computer different software for scanners and additional digital cameras. So, you need to follow a process in order to use Canon's software. Besides this it is a great product and higly recommended.

I don't take a lot of pictures but this camera is easy to use and although I have not used it much I am completely satisfied with the product.

This is a superb camera for people who want great shots of their kids, travels, etc., but don't want to deal with the size and expense of an SLR. The antishake and face recognition features work great, resulting in very few blurry or out-of-focus shots. The 6:1 zoom, combined with the antishake feature, lets you get great shots at distance, and the high resolution enabled me to get a decent cropped image of a distant toucan in the Amazon rainforest! (OK, it wasn't *that* distant; I was standing in the Amazon when I shot it, not in Seattle :) ).

My only complaint is that, because the camera uses just 2 AA batteries, battery life isn't great and time between flash pictures is long. You'll want top-quality (2900 mAh as of this writing) rechargeable batteries.

I'm still in the process of learning how to use this camera, but the first thing I noticed in the first few pictures I took was the lack of quality - there was some graininess and artifacts in them when viewed at actual size, especially in the dark areas of my photos. With this camera, I believe the trick to taking great pictures is to photograph bright, colorful subjects, such as a crowd of people, etc. I'm glad this wasn't more expensive, because then I'd feel kinda cheated. Overall, I give this camera an Average rating.