I've had my A80 since November of 2003 and I'm still happy about my choice. There are so many positive things about this camera that I don't know where to start. The colors are extremely vivid, the macro is crisp, the flip out screen is an added bonus plus the camera gives you so many choices for every picture taking senario that it makes for a great picture no matter what. The digital zoom doesn't pixel out like most so it's great for closeups. It's one of the only cameras out there in it's price range that has the option of a lens upgrade. I've read most of the reviews and as for the negative ones: Read the manual. Study the camera. It's been over a year and I'm still learning. If you're looking for a basic point and shoot this isn't exactly the camera you should choose. The salepeople will tell you it's a great camera for a newbie but it isn't. The construction is better than some of the reviews. Mine has been dropped probably 50 times and I haven't had one thing go wrong. I've found that it works best with a Canon printer as well.

After 10 months use, I noticed the top cap was coming loose.I sent the camera back to Canon to get it fixed before something went really bad. Canon said I dropped the camera on it's top left which made the cap loose. After our confrontation on the phone and they wanted $155.00 dollars to fix it ,I said don't fix it send it back. After I received it back from Canon, I noticed I had a dent on the bottom left of the camera, then after I started taking pictures again , the button you push to take the pictures fell off .I wouldn't buy another Canon they don't stand behind their product. Luckly the store I bought it from will let me trade it in for a Kodak!!!

Great pictures, many features, overall easy to use. The flip out screen was very convenient on vacation when having to shoot pictures over the heads of people in front of me. I just flipped it out and tilted it. Great camera! The Powershot A95 is the more recent upgrade so you might want to look into this model as well. Only drawback-- it is a little heavier than some other models since you use 4 AA batteries. The perk to that would be that these batteries can be found anywhere (even out in the middle of no where) which can be a plus when on a long trip. Love it!

I have been using this camera for 10 months now. It has given me no trouble at all. Batteries last well. There is enough sophistication built in if you want to be more professional. But it is also very user-friendly for the novices. The quality of photos is exceptional. The reversable LCD is good because a) it conserves battery, b) it protects the screen, and c) it allows you to take selfportraits without the guesswork.

The ability to take 3 minute movies with sound has proved invaluable for documenting classic moments at Madonna dance parties.

The camera is light, and not too big. Sure, there are smaller ones, but for the price and the feautres, I for one could not ask for more.

All in all, a great camera.

My one tiny gripe is that I wish I could make the flash less bright. At times, the flas can wash out an image, but I find that if I use the high speed setting without flash, I can get a great picture 80% of the time.

I have owned this camera for over six months now and I am very impressed. There are a ton of features to customize nearly every aspect of your shot composition. However, there is a very easy to use point-and-shoot mode as well that functions well.

This four megapixel camera produces images that are beautiful. They are of such quality that enlargement prints of 8 x 10 or even 11 x 14 are possible with no image degredation.

This camera does pack a lot of features into a fairly compact package. I really like the fact that this camera uses AA batteries. I purchased some rechargeable NiMH batteries and a quick charger and I have been VERY impressed so far as to the battery life of the A80. I have taken well over 100 shots most with flash and the LCD display illuminated and the batteries still had juice.

A wonderful feature on this camera is the flip out LCD display. This may be the most underrated feature on the camera. The display is capable of flipping out, rotating and pivoting so you can hold the camera in all sorts of creative positions but have the display adjusted so you can see it.

The image quality that this camera produces never fails to impress. Nearly every time I am showing someone some shots I took with the A80, they make comments like, "How come my camera doesn't take pictures that good?". Colors are rich and the contrast is very good.

There are only a couple of negative points about the A80 that I have discovered. There is a slight delay between the time you press the shutter button (button to take the picture) and the time the camera actually snaps that picture. It's probably less than 1/2 second, but occasionally when I have wanted to snap a quick shot of something moving, it was unable to capture it in time. Not a huge problem, but if you plan to shoot a lot of action pictures, this may be a consideration.

Overall, I would definately recommend this camera. Comparing features, picture quality and price, the Canon A80 is a fantastic value and should be considered by anyone interested in a low-mid range digital camera.

I've been very happy with my purchase of this camera. This is my first digital, which I researched before buying. I used to own a Minolta film SLR, which was also a nice camera. But, this Canon for "normal" prints (5x7 or so) is about as good as that Minolta was. And because it's digital, I'm saving $$ over a film camera.
I expect this to be my "bread and butter" camera. The everyday, pictures of the nephew and niece camera. When I can afford it, I'll get a digital rebel.
Also when I can afford it, I'll get a Canon printer. Maybe two: one for the desktop, and a second portable one. Seems to me that a portable printer with this camera is about as close to a Polaroid as the digital world has to offer.
It will take you some practice to learn how to hold the camera steady. Two tricks I've discovered. 1 - buy a little tripod. For about $10 you can get an 8" or so tripod which is great for estting the camera up on a table or car or whatever. 2 - use the 2 second delay so that pressing the button does not interfere with the shutter's movement. I'm not at all sure this "problem" is unique to this camera, I suspect it's true with most digital point-and-shoots.
This camera is not very big, in fact it's smaller than many film point and shoot cameras I've seen, but I've found that some people prefer something smaller. I'd suspect the Elf would make most people happy.

I bought this camera over a year ago and I have taken some totally awesome shots with it. So far I have shot about 5000 pictures, and it still works like brand new. Everybody in my family wants a new camera so they can take pictures as good as this camera. Canon has been in the photography business for years, and they know what they are doing. As long as you choose a Canon, you will be in good shape. The rest is up to features.

I have used the movie feature to record my cousin's play. They say you can't use the zoom while you are recording, but if you zoom before you start recording it will stay zoomed.

I very seldom use the fully auto setting, instead I use the Program AE and keep the ISO set at 50 with the flash off. Make sure you always set your white balance before shooting pictures. If you do this, your pictures will look as lifelike as possible.

The only drawback about the camera for me is the small maximum aperature size. When zoomed out all the way it's fine, but when I zoom in I have lost shots because I couldn't use a flash and keep the same look to the pictures.

Lifelon Canon customer (I have had an EOS SLR for about 10 years now with no complaints). This camera is absolutely wonderful, but I'm concerned about the quality. I've had it about a year, and it's been great up until recently when the lens got buggy. The memory card door and battery doors are now loose, and the lens has trouble sometimes closing. At this point in the digital camera game, I'm ready to upgrade to a digital SLR, but I'm ready to look at brands other than Canon.

This camera takes terrific shots and is easy to operate. The memory cards are affordable and the feature set is robust enough even for advanced photographers. The swivel screen is a nice addition and I have used it more than I thought I would. The only thing I would change would be to increase the display size to that of the competition (this kept me from giving it 5 stars).

This camera is almost perfect. I have owned this camera for almost 2 years and it performs as promosed so far. It is a little heavier than other models, but the use of AA batteries is one of the best features! So no complaints.

However, the image quality is a little weak when using with the flash. But I suppose you can't really ask that much at this price range and it seems to be a weakness for most digital cameras anyway. The flaxible viewing window is also excellent and Ii is clearly visible outdoors. Although the viewing LCD is a little smaller, but it also helps on the battery life, so again, no complaints. The image quality is in general pretty good under normal light conditions. The only drawback is that the nine-piont focus cannot be manually adjuested.

Overall, this is an excellent and durable camera.

We love our A80, so when the LCD screen cracked after a fall, we were bummed. We decided to send it in to Canon through their online repair service system. It was GREAT! They charge a flat rate of $108 no matter what the problem is. They replaced the screen, and I just got it back today ... about 1 week after they received it. I wish I hadn't waited a few months to do it.

this error does indeed exist for those you that still doubt. i purchased this camera in july of last year and just last week, the camera lens stopped retracting and the screen displayed the dreaded "e18" code. approximately 2 months after the one year warranty ran out...so just about right on schedule so that canon won't fix it nor acknowledge the seemingly widespread existence of it. cameras shoudln't break this easily with normal use.

The camera took good pictures in various lighting conditions. Color balance good as reported by various reviews. Shutter lag is annoyingly slow as reported by others. But the biggest complaint is the camera stopped working right before a big vacaction. The camera was only two years old with less than 500 pictures taken. The camera simply stopped taking pictures as if the shutter was stuck in the close position. The camera does seem fragile. I would think twice now before purchasing another Canon.

I have had this camera for two years. It was a very good camera until recently. It began to intermittantly show only black through the camera and only take black pictures. Now, the camera will not work at all. Canon thinks it is a harware problem and it will be expensive and time consuming to fix. The camera has been well treated and never dropped or exposed to harsh conditions. I expected more from Canon. You can bet that my next camera will not be a Canon!

I have always brought Canon products because I find them to be good quality products for the money. This camera is no exception it take superb pics (it is just awesome) and it is worth the money paid. Need a great digital camera try canon, you won't be disappointed.

We had our PowerShot A80 less than 2 years and the internal hardware failed so the camera could no longer take pictures....despite the fact that we took excellent care of it. Same problem as others have reported -- the image sensor apparently failed because the camera would only take totally BLACK IMAGES. You could only see a black blackground through the LCD viewfinder when the power was on.

We paid several hundred dollars for this camera and it didn't even last 2 years! Canon does NOT stand behind their cameras when they fail after one year so their tech support line told us that we would have to pay the shipping and repair costs which are quite expensive. We will NOT pay Canon another penny in the future when we buy cameras, photo printers, etc.

Save yourself a lot of frustration and expense -- buy another brand of camera!

We used this camera for taking general purpose family pictures. Nice design and good feature set. At 2yr mark it completely stopped saving pictures to CF card. I can't find any information on canon site. Bummer, I was really hoping to upgrade to a EOS this year. Probably no more Canons for me.

I have used this phone for about 3 years (i've taken close to 1500 photos and about 30 video clips) and its still the best phone I've ever owned! Durable and utilitarian, it satisfies all amateur photographic needs (takes zoom, panorama, night shots, b/w, sepia, self-timed.) The video function though limited & grainy is useful for short recordings. The screen is small, but that's a minor disadvantage. It's a little bulky, but still small enough to fit in your pocket (a big pocket), though it is heavy. The price is very reasonable. Battery life is only adequate (4 AA).

Two absolute additional accessories and add-ins- the Samsonite camera case (see my other reviews) and a larger memory card (at least 512 MB). The 32 MB card that comes with the phone is useless.

Highly recommended....

I have used this phone for about 3 years (i've taken close to 1500 photos and about 30 video clips) and its still the best phone I've ever owned! Durable and utilitarian, it satisfies all amateur photographic needs (takes zoom, panorama, night shots, b/w, sepia, self-timed.) The video function though limited & grainy is useful for short recordings. The screen is small, but that's a minor disadvantage. It's a little bulky, but still small enough to fit in your pocket (a big pocket), though it is heavy. The price is very reasonable. Battery life is only adequate (4 AA).

Two absolute additional accessories and add-ins- the Samsonite camera case (see my other reviews) and a larger memory card (at least 512 MB). The 32 MB card that comes with the phone is useless.

Highly recommended....

I have taken countless pictures of 6 grandchildren for over 3 years without a single problem! 6 yr old granddaughter loves to run around taking lots of pictures with it and have to say this is NOT a fragile camera. Want to find another to give to an 8 year old for Christmas. LOVE this camera... especially like the vari-angle LCD monitor. It really helps to keep the monitor from being damaged.

Like many other reviewers, I loved this camera until it recently stopped working. It keeps telling me to change the battery pack and turns off after a few seconds. This is after I put in new batteries. The support center told me that it would be over $100 to fix and that if I send it in, I will be offered an upgrade to a reconditioned A530 for only $125.00. I checked the Amazon price and the A530 sells new for $119.00!! I guess I'll discard the A80 and try another brand.

I was given a Canon A80 as a gift 2+ years ago. I actually used it happily for that time. Then, when I had been using the camera and downloading photos from the camera, suddenly I received a warning that there was "no memory card" in the camera. I had not removed the memory card. I wrote to Canon Customer Service, followed their detailed instructions for fixing the problem, but their directions were completely flawed and could not fix the problem. I see from others' comments that this camera only lasts several years--I believe Canon should build a product that lasts and doesn't have to be replaced so frequently.

I got this thinking it would be substitute for SLR. I needed to decrease bulk and weight on trip to Europe. It was successful for that but it lacks in ability to capture special shots. It is ok for occassional user. Operations not much different than SLR. Close up and telephoto add on lens are a joke. You can buy smaller cameras to accomplish decreased size, but go with SLR if want flexibility.

I bought this camera new in 2006 based on reviews at the time. Since then I have a much more accurate review to submit.

-Metal case is sturdy and looks great. This is true. I dropped the camera and the only thing that broke was the plastic, zoom thingy which snapped like a twig.

-Takes wonderful, clear pictures. Yes, if you can get it to turn on. Mine comes on about 75% of the time. The rest of the time the lens extends and that's it. No display and no pictures. I wrote to Canon because a lot of reviewers have had the same problem and Canon said that they had never heard of that problem. There are now lots of reviews of people that have bought this camera and it wouldn't turn on. Don't miss a photo moment because your stupid camera won't turn on!! I missed a picture of a bear because of it.

Right now my on-screen display won't work. You should be able to choose between view standard settings, view detailed settings or off but mine doesn't work at all which means you don't have any idea of your settings, can't change your settings or use any of the functions.

After about a year the zoom, set, menu, func. disp., and camera/play buttons became very hard to move or push. I have a chunk missing out of my thumbnail right now because I took the camera on a project and had to switch between camera and play a lot.

For the money, you can buy a much more reliable camera.

I've had this camera for around four years now. It's been taking excellent photos the entire time. The reason I got this camera is because the PowerShot series was (and maybe still is) the only series of low-mid-range cameras that actually have manual focus abilities. In fact, this camera has a full range of manual settings: ISO, aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and of course focus. All of these work well, and are reasonably easy to access. It also has automatic settings, of course! The only annoying thing about it is the fact that the videos are limited to about 2min 30sec.

Over all I think this is a pretty good camera, I got it in the beginning of 2004 and have used it and dropped it many times... it didn't stop working until earlier this year when I dropped it on a concrete floor and it has since refused to turn on... I was very abusive to it, so I expected it to one day just die and it did... over all I took very good photos with it, it was a bit slow after taking the picture, but over all pretty good... top of the line for 2003/2004... now a days I just got a better and faster one for 1/2 the amount I brought this one for...

I purchased this camera back in 2004 for $350 from Best Buy. It has served me well through the years, and while it still works I am now in the market for something smaller & newer and am having trouble finding something that I think will live up to its standards.

One of my best friends liked this camera so much she bought a newer almost identical looking version of a Canon in 05, unfortunatly her lens shutter was broken by her kids a few months ago, but she too really liked the camera and will be inheriting mine if I ever can replace it!

Pros:
I love the flip out screen, this is not a feature you can find often on newer cameras, probably bc it requires a larger camera size. Its really handy if you are someone like myself who doesnt like to ask strangers @ Disney World to take my picture.

It runs on AA batteries! New cameras seem to only run on the rechargeable lithium ion batteries (again to make the camera more compact), which normally I would prefer, but I am about to go to Europe for a month and I hear that finding a reliable power converter is difficult, so most likely I will have to take the Canon with me there.

It has a viewfinder!! I hate that new digital cameras that arent SLRs dont have a viewfinder! I may not be a photographer, but I dont wanna just use the screen either!

Easy to use, although there are a LOT of features on it which I have never even tried to mess with.

Cons:
Battery life. This I think is due to the age of the camera, bc I dont recall having such issue with it in the past as I do recently.

Start up time. It always seemed a little slow to start in picture viewing mode but now the camera is older it also is slow in picture taking mode & to view pictures takes almost a minute.

Size, but for the time period when it was made, it was considered small then.

It uses Compact Flash cards not SD. Poor Canon made the wise choice back then to go with CF not SD for it's memory, this has since changed, but it sucks for people stuck with their older cameras to have to pay more money to get outdated technology.