NOTE: My Pro1 has the updated firmware which stops the screen freezing in continuous mode and from what I read below, improves focussing in low light dramatically. Some of the reviews here are probably for pre-update cameras. I think anyone used to a typical point-and-shoot will be impressed by the alacrity of the Pro1's focussing.

Like many people, my first couple of digital cameras piqued my interest in photography. But because they were fully automatic, there were times when I couldn't take the shot I wanted.
BETTER THAN AN SLR?
I fancied a digital SLR to get the flexibility I wanted, but bought the Pro1 instead in the end. Why? Mainly because I wanted a variable-angle LCD screen so I could frame shots in awkward places.
DISPLAYS:
The 2-inch vari-angle LCD monitor is very good in bright light, and at 235,000 pixels, probably the highest resolution LCD available on a camera. You notice the extra resolution. The viewing angle is more critical than I would like though, made slightly worse because it snaps into certain preset positions which make tiny adjustments impossible at certain angles. I like the electronic viewfinder, which shows all the menu items and settings, shutter speed etc. and has dioptre adjustment. I wear glasses and there's no problem. It's the same resolution as the main LCD and almost always good enough.
There's also a top mounted LCD that's nicely illuminated in orange and shows all the camera settings.
BATTERY:
You might think that the battery life would suffer on a camera with three LCDs, a myriad of blinking LEDs, a heavy lens with continuous focus and a long zoom... but I've found the battery life excellent. You can turn off continuous focus to make the power last a bit longer, but then the screen freezes while focussing.
LENS:
I suppose the outstanding feature of the Pro 1 is the lens. At 28-200mm equivalent, this is a very flexible zoom. And because the widest aperture at full telephoto is still f3.5, it's pretty usable handheld if the light's good.
An unusual feature is that you turn the ring on the lens barrel to zoom, or to focus in manual mode. I quite like this, but to me, it turns the wrong way, and I still haven't got the hang of it! That may just be me though.
There is noticeable purple fringing at wide apertures, but overall, this is a splendid lens.
SPEED:
Not as responsive as an SLR, but pleasingly crisp in action. Low light focussing is the best I've experienced on a digital camera. At the wide angle end, it seems to be able to focus in near darkness with no trouble. Manual focus gives you an enlarged central area on the display and a distance reading. But I found it still wasn't easy to tell if the focus was right. But the camera can sharpen up your manual focus attempt, which is useful.
FEATURES:
As you'd expect from a camera at this level, it is bristling with features. I won't mention them all. The only one I would've liked that it doesn't have is a live histogram display. Movies are at 640 x 480 but sadly only 15fps and you can't zoom. You get a remote control.
ERGONOMICS:
Very important on a camera like this. The best bit is the jog wheel right next to the shutter release. It's perfectly placed and you can change shutter speed, aperture etc. You can also use it to scroll during playback. Most often used functions are on their own button, so you very rarely need to go into the menu system. It's very convenient to get back to record mode from playback mode: you just half press the shutter - great. I find I need two fingers to turn the mode dial. You can change the battery and CF card while it's on a tripod.
ANNOYANCES:
Very few. A non-tethered lens cap that I've resigned myself to losing one day, a strap that always seems to be in the way of the swivelling screen, a manual focus button that's too easy to press by mistake and a screen that freezes momentarily while the camera focuses, unless you're in continuous focus mode. Super Macro mode forces the camera into 4MP mode, though the results are still outstanding.
I've heard of quality-control issues with this camera. Indeed, I had to return my first example straightaway because of a CCD fault. I'm totally happy now, but I'd advise you to check yours very carefully when you get it.
CONCLUSION:
This is a very well built camera that's satisfyingly simple to use, feels good in the hand, and most importantly, has a great lens. The photos I've taken so far have impressed me enormously: they're sharp, with great colour, great subtlety and naturalness. With 8MP, you have all the flexibility you need to enlarge and crop. And with a feature set like this, and the option to add conversion lenses and filters, it's a camera you can grow into if you're moving up like I did.

Went back same day.
We bought it to make jewelry pictures on the photobox.
It is simply blind. Can not focus. Macro mode useless.
If you need to shoot rocks on a moon you can try.
Autofocus is bad.
Installed software version appiared older than
for G6 bought for replacement.
It seems a commercial trick.

This is a fantastic camera that takes excellent pictures! I highly recommend it, with one caveat: the auto-focus is *really* slow. (Much slower than Canon point-and-shoot digicams, and much slower than Canon 35mm film SLRs.)

SUMMARY:
+Great lens
+Fast
-Poor sensor
-8MP
-USB 1
-ISO Noise
-Dizzying Evt
-4:3 aspect ratio
-fixed 8MP, 4MP only

PREFACE: I've had great expectations from this camera, the best non-d-slr camera, top of the line Canon. I am not a professional photographer and my previous camera is a 3MP Sharp VE-CG30U (Canon G1 based, same lense, updated body, but no swivel lcd - very good entry level camera).

PROS: I love this Canon lens. Excellent range, wide angle, telephoto. It has a pretty wide diameter and a shallow focal pane - allowing for excellent pictures with small dept of field (blurry background). The zoom ring is an excellent solution. The camera's operation is very impresive, pretty fast power on, focus and save (on CF) times.

CONS: The CCD sensor caused lots of trouble for me - has to return my first two, I had bad light spots on the ccd on low shutter speeds (and sometimes visible at 1/60 flash shots). My Nikon 5400 (similar Sony CCD) also had to be replaced for this.

8MP is an overkill, I knew that upfront, but I considered it as an additional zoom - you can crop half of the image and still have enough resolution to print 8x10 ! What I did not realize, is that it creates an overhead of storing larger image files. plus my 2GHZ P4 machine struggles with the 3MB files just when I try to browse through the directory. The camera is equipped with a USB 1 (!!!) collection, so expect to wait quite a bit to download your pics (a card reader is mandatory). After examining the pictures, I don't think that you can print a great shot, if you crop the most center of the image - you are much better off getting closer and reframing. While the camera produces great pictures with a lot of detail, I don't see much advantage of this high resolution.

In addition, the ISO setting on the pro1 is a joke - cannot use anything over 100 ! My cheapo old digital camera did not have as much noise on ISO 400 ! Why did they include ISO 200/400 with this much noise ? It is unfair marketing.

I get dizzy from the evf - it is a great idea, but a nightmare using - flashes and freezes while focusing - even after the latest firmware, unless you use the battery-draining continous focus operation.

Note to Canon: I believe all the above problems are related to the Sony produced CCD. This camera would give equally great pictures with a 5MP sensor - maybe then you could use higher ISO's.

Software: While the label suggest professionalism, the camera does not have more settings/customizations than the S1 IS (which also has advanced-mechanical Image Stabiization full 30fp VGA video) ! I was especially diappointed the limited choise of picture size settings. 8MP or 4MP or 2MP or VGA ! All 4:3 modes ! When you print 4x6, all your pics will be cropped at the center. My old Sharp had 3:2 aspect ratio - just like film, it is very good. Then your full frame (as you pictured it) fits on 4x6 paper ! The Nikon 5400 also has a 3:2 mode - on the lcd it has a blank band on the top and bottom - great solution. Canon EOS Digitals have a 3:2 sensor. I cannot believe Canon could not include a similar option !

This is by far the best sub-SLR digital camera out there in my opinion, but it still isn't perfect. The image quality beats the pants off of what any of my previous Sony's could do. The color accuracy is much better, and overall exposure is much more balanced. However, the Pro 1 suffers from grainyness in all images - even ones taken in bright sunlight. Shadowed areas look pretty awful when you zoom in on them. But, since we're talking 8+ megapixels, that grain is usually not noticable at all at viewing sizes. It's only when you zoom in that you can see a large amount of grain, but even bright blue skies look like sandpaper when you start to zoom in.

The only other problem I can report is an apparent dead-pixel problem with their CCD's. I bought my Pro 1 and a few days later I noticed that all of my shots had a spattering of red pixels in areas of the images. Ends up there were quite a few 5+ dead pixels on the CCD, so I returned it to the store and exchanged it for another one. Two weeks later I noticed a single (but very large) dead pixel on the CCD. I haven't dealt with that yet since I need the camera right now, but if that dead pixel continues to bug me I'll probably complain. So, since I got two separate Pro 1's and *both* had bad pixels on the CCD, I'd encourage you to test your Pro 1 as soon as you get it and look for bad pixels.

Canon make great cameras and their optics are second to none, but when are they going to make a camera that can focus quickly? This is my third digital Canon and I won't but another. It can take up to a second and a half to focus on the subject and it starts at macro and moves out to the focus area, which can make it take longer. The purpose of a still camera is to capture a moment in time, not several seconds after the moment.
This camera takes wonderful pictures but is absolutely useless except for landscape.
Try using it for just 20 minutes and you'll see how impractical a camera this is.

I bought this camera at its highest price when it first came out(around $1200.00 USD) and booooooooooooy let me tell you... I am happy with the "STILL" shots that I took with it BUT totally UPHAPPY with the speed of the shutter!!!!!!!!! If you are looking for this camera to take any type of action shots... wildlife....sports...any type of movement... FORGET IT! As one Review puts it: "...autofocus too slow for wildlife or sports..." That is exactly what I mean too!

Perhaps I am missing something with this camera???? Someone tell me now! ?? Okay, I am being sarcastic here, but, it was a huge disappointment for me when I took this camera on vacation (when I have a few others that works just as well or perhaps better),and decided to take some fun shots of the fireworks and late night shots.... DANG, I was so angry! The view-finder detects NADA at night and when you think you are going to get that perfect shot.... it takes the shot seconds later!!! Most of the time I ended up with a black picture or a picture with the top of someones head in motion!

I used to love this camera until now... My rating went down from a 5 to a 3....

I have owned the camera for just 6 months, and took good care of it. The lens stopped working and Canon will not give it warranty service, even though I registered the product, because I have lost the original receipt.

They claim registration is only for software updates and prodcut recalls. However, I was never informed of the camera's firmware upgrade and had to find it myself on their website.

I would not recommend any Canon camera. I have several cameras, includung digital that are much older and have received rough treatment in the wilds of Alaska. I have never owned a camera as fragile as the Powershot Pro1 and am severly disappointed in Canon's failure to stand behind their products.

I recently bought the Pro1 with the idea of using it as an improvement over my good and reliable Powershot G2 for macro photography of (very small) wild flowers. The main problem with the G2 is that the digital zoom gives excellent magnification but causes much noise, making images grainy. In this regard the Pro 1 seemed perfect because it boasts much larger macro capabilities than the G2. But I found it very hard to focus at any range with either the macro or the super macro functions, and the images although much better in terms of color, were much worse in overall zoom-related quality and sharpness. Plus the super macro won't work at the 8 megapixel resolution, so what good is it to have it then? To make things worse, the super macro function needs to be set up digging in a menu, not by pressing a button, and if you do just about anything (short of pointing and clicking perhaps) it will need to be set up again. I thought, well then I will use the manually configured buttons in which you can store your preferred settings. But guess what, the supermacro function cannot be set up in those buttons. To make a long story short, I am in the process of returning this cumbersome camera and start over the process of finding a replacement for my G2.

The reviews for this camera have generally been favorable with a few complaints here and there. I struggled with the decision to purchase this camera as a backup to my 20D I use for weddings, and for use as a nice point and shoot for home use. We are upgrading from an Elan7, a Rebel 2000, and a Sony DSC-S75 digital. My wife and I both are EXTREMELY dissappointed in how this camera functions. Every time you hold the button down half way to focus, the image freezes momentarily (both on the LCD or in the viewfinder). By the time the image starts moving again, your subject has moved and you have missed the shot! Many reviews commented on the new firmware upgrade fixing their problems with the camera. I confirmed that my camera HAS the latest firmware upgrade. I thought my Sony DSC-S75 digital camera had to be slow by today's standards, even though it does not have the resolution the Pro1 has, or the great lens the Pro1 has, it still functions FAR SUPERIOR to the Pro1.

The Canon PowerShot Pro1 is a terrible dissappointment unless EVERYTHING you shot is sitting perfectly still. Please spend your money on ANY other camera besides this one.

I have read all the reviews on this camera and after getting this I would have to say that most of the reviews are wrong about certain aspects of this camera. First off the autofocus lag has improved significantly since the new firmware was installed. While it is still not the fastest it is still very good for most shooting conditions.

Most reviews rated its battery life as a disappointment. With the new firmware the battery life is great. I got this camera back in June and I have only had to recharge it 3 times. I have filled my 512mb card about 5-6 times in the period and I use the screen and flash on about 75% of shots.

The USM zoom works better too. It is very responsive, and at first I thought that I might not like having a ring zoom but I like it now because it allows you to steady the camera with another hand and it lets you be more precise with zoom.

Overall I really like this camera, I tried out the Sony V3, the G7 and the Pro 1. In the end all of these cameras are great but this one had a good feel to it and a lot of great features. I would highly suggest this camera, not to mention the great price.

I bought this camera and it is everything I was looking for in a camera. I don't think anyone will be sorry for buying this camera. I also own a Canon G5 (5 Meg) and there is a remarkable difference in quality between the two. Excellent product for the money.

I bought this camera to replace a sony 2Mb digital camera after my first daughter was born. I thought I would be able to get amazing photos. The only good photos I could get were taken outdoors. Focusing in low light is impossible, so don't bother. The automatic flash washes out all photos regardless of settings. The autofocus is so slow you'll miss all good shots if taking photos of children. The macro focus capability is useless and can't focus at all on macro settings. All in all, don't waste your money on this Canon camera, try Canon's other brands which are far superior, ie SD550 or better still upgrade to a digital SLR like the 20D. I can't believe Canon has not recalled this camera! totally useless.

I was not happy with the autofocus, but the firmware update I downloaded fixed the constant refocusing plus other things. Everything else is great except maybe the Auto White Balance doesn't do too good where there is a mixture of light colors. The manual setting and recalibration of "white" handles those situations. Also I use a 1GB fast memory card and it seems to get sluggish when storing images after I have a hundred or so images on it; I think this is the file management.
One big bummer: when recording videos, you cannot change zoom after you start the recording.

First of all, I have had the camera about 10 months.
I am an amateur photographer and have always used Canon cameras. The camera before this was a Canon Rebel SLR and I loved it, but I wanted to see what I was shooting while I was shooting it. (Nice to know at weddings you got the shot.) This is my first digital camera, and I am overall pleased. The quality of the images is amazing. I do notice the flash washing out images if I am taking candid shots. The red eye is always there regardless of red-eye reduction. I have yet to see a camera that actually reduces red-eye. The feel of the camera is good to me. The battery life is pretty good. What I am not pleased with is having to take the battery out of the camera to charge. I work full-time doing something other than photography and have a 1 year old to chase. There have been times when I am getting everything together for a shoot in my home and the battery is dead. It takes an hour to charge completely (although 5 minutes will get you through the shoot.) Also - the battery light flashes when you have about 2 minutes of life left. There's no "halfway gone" or anything in between. It shows either full or dead.

Other things I have liked are the tripod mount being close to center of the lens, the software that downloads your pictures is awesome, the flip LCD screen, and the many different shooting modes (vivid, sepia, b&w, etc.) This camera has been well worth the money, and bottom line is the quality of the picture, which has been fantastic.

Great camera which produces superb quality digital imaging. You will find a few of the images it has produced so far in the neighbouring site.
I have a couple of gripes with the design of the lens hood/filter adapter area of this camera.
The filter adapter is made of fairly flimsy black plastic. Any filter screwed on to it - and I tried both a 58mm UV and a 58mm polarizing filter - jams on the adapter. (No, I did not cross the threading!)
Once the filter and adapter are clicked on to the lens, it is no longer possible to attach the petal shaped lens hood. Using any other off-the-shelf lens hood, for instance a circular one, intrudes on the image.
On all my cameras I use a UV filter to protect the lens from scratching - it is cheaper to replace a UV filter than an expensive lens - but in the case of the Powershot Pro, attaching the filter and adapter, mean that without the lens hood being able to be attached in their presence, any backlit images are compromised by unwanted light hitting the lens.

Canon Design team: Go to the bottom of the class for this poor design feature.
It has let down an otherwise excellent little camera. With the one adapter supplied jammed on to one filter, an adapter for each filter I use, may be the solution, but it does not solve the lack of attachment point for the lens hood, when a filter is in use...I have complained to Canon USA about the adapter quality and they must be aware of the lens hood issue.
They need to tackle these issues.

This camera is used for taking pictures of lab experiments, conference photos, and office activities. We are very satisfied with all uses.

For like 2-300 more $ you can get the EOS Digital Rebel, This is also 8 mp-

NO LENSES ONLY 1 SUPER LENSE
This camera does not allow you to attach any lenses to increase quality or view! It has one built in lense that does enough though, if you are not going pro then this lense should do the trick, it does macro shots fine for me, and it does long distance shots decently.

SLOW
This is the slowest Camera I have ever used in my life, I have tried the EOS digital rebel and have seen a few others. This takes like 5-7 seconds to auto focus. I take photography at a hockey game for a local team, I am now forced to upgrade cameras because I CANNOT take good actions shots with this, I would have to know where they will be, start autofocusing on the ground hoping that it will focus intime, then finish pressing the button whent he hockey players came around... problem is, if I move, it messes up the focus, plus sometimes even just trying to focus on the ice will throw it out of focus.

OVERALL
overall its a great camera for amatuer nature shots, its a bit heavy but you dont need to carry and cant add lenses to it so in overall equipment weight you save yourself loads of pounds I guess. It does macro fine for me, it does great for still photos, or actions shots that will not move out of your view. When you turn up the ISO the shots will get VERY grainy VERY quick, it only goes up to 400, which should give sufficient light anywhere but it will ruin the quality of the picture...

Upgrade people... please, now I have a powershot pro1 that I really cannot use and is near impossible to sell for the amount of money I need... and I need 800 and something bucks to get the eos digital rebel...

Tyler

I bought this camera slightly used on ebay for $499.00, and I love it!!!!
I still have a Fuji 3.1 Mega Pixel camera - my wife has 2 digital Kodak cameras and the pictures on this Cannon are unbelievable! I bought this Cannon camera, because I already own a Canon XL1, GL1 & GL2 camcorders (I do wedding videography), & the settings are very similar.
Once annoyance is the lack of a lens cap string.
Battery life is excellent.

i've been shooting for close to 30 years, had several great dependable cameras and this one has lived up to almost all my expectations. true it does have several minor quirks, but the range of performance has exceeded my demanding standards. the quality of the optics, the compact size and versatility of function have made it a great 'street shooting' machine. if your looking for serious low light or killer speed it might not serve your needs, but i wished i had bought two for i have had nothing but great days in all weather conditions, putting this little gem through it's paces on the streets of new york! two years of consistent performance!

This is a great camera for anyone that realy wants to take a very good, high resolution pix. The zoon lens is also a very good item.
I am a realtor and I take a lot of picture. With the zoom lens it is usually not necessary for me to get out of the car to take a professional picture.
I would also recomed that you purchase an additional battery for the camera. The reason being is that is is very convenent to have an additional battery to replace the one in the camera once it is low on charge.

I have used several digital camera's in the past including more expensive Digital SLR's but this is by far the easiest to use to obtain fantastic results WITH the ease of point and shoot.

I think the reviewers that were having problems with the camera's have not updated their camera's firmware and they also have not taken the time to read on how to best take a low light photograph or an action photo. If you want to get fancy with extra lenses and such this is NOT the camera to use. For the other 90% of the popluation, I don't think you'll be disappointed in the Powershot Pro 1.

I'm an investigator and use this camera on an almost daily basis in criminal cases where we use the pics for evidence and ultimately trial. At 8mp, the best quality photographs can be enlarged to poster size proportions with little degredation of the quality. It's battery life is fantastic and it has handled the daily wear and tear from frequent use quite nicely.

I bought this camera used at a consignment shop over a year ago, my second digital camera after losing my Samsung in Mexico. Battery life is great, and the battery charger was with it. The only bad thing I could find was lens cap had no string, and not USB 2.0. Canon's software package was it's usuall fantastic set. Took hundreds of pics with this camera, and resolution was just awesome.

Ran over the camera with my 1965 Mustang, and still take pictures with it. Beat that with any other camera!!! I will only buy Canon, also have a PowerShot A520 and A530. Love them all.

I've used this camera pretty heavily for about a year, mostly for travelling. I've used it for candids, landscapes, action, and wildlife. Previously, my photo experience has been with Canon point and shoot digicams and Nikon film slrs. It's a bit unfair reviewing this now that it's almost 3-yr old technology, but I noticed that people are still selling this camera for over $1000 on this site.

For a "pro" camera, it has a large number of critical flaws (listed in order of how much they bug me):

1) slow focusing esp in low light. This renders the camera almost useless for action, and difficult to use for wildlife and even candids, where capturing the moment is everything. The focusing may be faster in continous mode, but then its always focusing and you have to keep the subject centered-- I like to not be looking in the viewfinder unless I'm about to take a picture. I don't own a canon accesory flash so I don't know if their focusing aids help. The manual focusing on the EVF display is too slow and cumbersome to use routinely.

2) slow shutter lag. Even on manual focus, with problem 1 taken out of the picture, there is a bit too much delay to consistently capture the shot I'm looking for.

3) Dust gets _inside_ the lens. I have read that this is a problem with this camera. Canon was good enough to rectify this when I sent it in, and they even said they sealed the lens to prevent the problem from happening. My brother has the same camera and this happened within 2 weeks of a trip to Europe-- not especially dusty. Unfortunately his is out of warranty so I don't know if they will do the same.

4)) hi noise at ISO 200 or 400. I think with commercially available noise reduction software this is a bit repairable. To be fair, the grain of most 400 speed color film can be as unattractive as the noise of this sensor at ISO 400. Since digital SLR's with less grain at ISO 1600 are now available, I don't think anyone should be selling this camera for $1000.

5) bayonet mount on front of lens scratches filters when used with included 58mm adapter. My $50 polarizer is now dedicated to use with this camera since with other lenses the scratches are in the optical axis.

6) built in flash pics are harsh. This is a problem with any built-in flash on any camera. Again I have no canon accessory flash to compare, so I can't really comment on this as a negative for a pro camera.

On the plus side, the camera does some things amazingly well:
1) super macro is quite impressive, even though 8mp or raw isn't possible.
2) the regular macro works pretty well.
3) it's a pretty compact solution for a 28-200 lens equivalent. The equivalent SLR is a lot bigger, though maybe not much heavier. I don't know how the lens quality of the pro 1 "L" lens compares to the non-L SLR lenses. You definitely won't find an affordable f2.8 SLR zoom lens for an attractive price (not a Canon at least). The lens is pretty good-- little distortion except at 28mm and little chromatic aberration. A hint of vignetting at 28mm as well.
4) It's ultra quiet. When I mute all the sounds, it makes only barely perceptible aperature noises.
5) the rotating lcd allows for true WYSIWYG composition from different angles, allowing for some stealthy shots and also good for macro stuff.
6) really great depth of field (I haven't objectively tested this so I don't know if the 7.2mm objective actually has better depth of field than an effective 28mm on an slr)

Taking into account it's strengths and weaknesses, I use the camera for travelling and taking landscapes when I don't want to carry around a big slr for the super wides. It's smaller and quieter than an slr and better for the surreptious candids, esp with the rotatable LCD. It'd probably be a good macro-specific camera but I haven't used the macro flash. For most uses, it can't possibly be worth it if fast-handling, low noise SLR with equivalent lens is available for the same cost or cheaper. I got it as a gift before lightweight travelling so it was great for that, but I'm looking to buy an SLR now.

Owning this camera, and enduring Canon's atrocious customer care, was one of the worst consumer experiences of my life. They knew when it shipped that it has firmware issues: and I sent it in repeatedly for repairs. I paid $1000 for this piece of crap: and after fifty phone calls (some in tears), begging for a functional camera, and two attempts at repairing it, they finally sent a replacement to me. But it was a refurbished piece of you-know-what, too, and the upshot is that I never owned a working $1000 camera. The replacement is a lemon with the same issues: it can't focus in dim lighting (which my PowerShot G1 did admirably), and the macro doesn't work half the time.

After enthusiastically recommending Canons for YEARS, I switched to Nikon. Good move, Ms. Vice President of Customer Service, you evil Borg. I will never buy another Canon again, and don't recommend them to anyone, unless you are a card-carrying masochist who loves to be tortured with unresponsive customer service. They are the ultimate in Corporate Evil. BOYCOTT!!!!

Recently, I inherited this camera at my job, to use for conferences and job fairs, and I've been forced to use my personal $250 Nikon to get decent pictures. The only good news is that I didn't pay for this Canon. Not having image stabilization really hurts this camera when used in low light situations - all shots are blurry. Fiddling with aperture and other settings helps only slightly. I've studied the manual cover to cover, fiddled with more settings, and no go. Of course no one believes me - that a camera that costs this much could take such terrible pictures, (it must be Operator Error!), so I let others snap some shots - then they see the light. Don't buy this camera!!

To start, I would like to note that I had purchased this camera in 2004 and took over 70,000 images so far with it. Back those days nothing better existed on the market. Still no one beats the unique combination of features this camera provides: small and light-weight, L-lens with 7x zoom (and as the result - amazing quality of images), video recording, flipping Life-view screen, durable aluminum body, top LCD, etc. It took Canon over 4 years to integrate some (but not all) of the Pro1 features into the latest DSLR. Sure, this camera is useless for night-photography but other then that - this single unique device can satisfy any and all needs as a walk-around camera delivering uncompromising image quality, something you can get only by investing at least 3-5K in to DSLR.

After having about 35 years of accumulated Canon (film) equipment taken from my truck I had a choice: stay with film, or go digital. I started with a digital Canon because I'm familiar with the way they think a camera should work, I'm sure a Nikon would have been as good a choice, but I started with Canon. And worked my way up through a series of cameras to the Pro 1. If you have never used their `L' series glass, you will be astonished at how fast, crisp, clean, and clear it is. The 28-200 zoom is nice. You will get a lot from this camera, but pushing 8 megapixels to a large `professional' sized print is difficult. Everything everyone has said is pretty much true.

The:

** Good: L series glass, OPTICAL zoom, good range in zoom, STRONG flash, exceptionally nice smaller prints. Will take long - tripod needed -shots in the multiple seconds range. can be used point and shoot or full manual.

** Average: Battery life is average so have a spare (or two), and I've been told many, many times that I DO need to stick with Canon Batteries by people I respect - so ditch the 10 for $100 non Canon batteries and stick with Canon. I've been given many reasons when I have my yearly cleaning and tune up of my cameras and lenses (only because I treat them rough and use them in hostile environments (like the Great Basins and Ranges in the Summer heat and dust and the Winter cold and grit and wet). The best reason I've been given is that non-canon batteries may 1) lose their re-charge life significantly faster because they are often made of re-cycled materials that have not been cleaned up very well, and probably most important, they tend to leak if left too long without use or charge. This will destroy your camera right then and there - and I have noticed that one bunch of `money saving' batteries DID start to leak (first sign is the copper beginning to turn a greenish brown, before the green really shows up) after only about 3 weeks of charge-discharge cycles. Didn't save much on those batteries, AND I needed to carry 5 or 6 with one in the charger all the time to do a full day shoot. So now I cowboy up for name brand batteries. I don't like it, but people who know say I need to stay with Canon batteries, and all they do is repair optical equipment, they sell ONLY service on things from microscopes to cameras, no tangible products of any kind, and that's about as neutral as you'll get. It doesn't seem it would matter, but it does.

** Bad: slow to boot up, hard or impossible to auto-focus in low light, WILL freeze sometimes in low light or low battery, if you accidentally remove the card while it's on, you'll erase the entire card, poor quality large prints, flash often TOO powerful and I have to `bounce' it off a home-made white card double bounce contraption and it almost always needs to `bounce' for inside diffusion and even distribution of light. But a simple 3x5 card will do that nicely, but side angle bounce flash is nearly impossible -- sometimes you can use a bent 3x5 card, but it's very awkward and often the card will show up in the frame unless you pay very close attention to it, and focusing and holding a card is ALMOST impossible. Might as well forget wild-life photography, by the time you pull up your camera, turn it on, wait for it to boot, and then get a focus, that Osprey is now on the other side of the canyon, or that deer is most likely behind a tree or rock or has taken it's four bounds and is now just a dot in the zoom lens. And that Bald Eagle on the fence post about 50 feet away is now in Utah or Oregon at 20,000 feet. The way you counter this problem is to keep the camera on and not let it go to sleep -- draining your batteries every second. Count birds out, large mammals as maybes, and landscapes as certainties. Portraits are as good as you are in normal light. I don't shoot portraits, so this is a neutral point for me.

** EXCEPTIONAL!!!! I got distracted by my dogs while shooting a sunset scene of a Nevada Mountain Range and had it mounted by one of those `spider' pods to the brush guard on my old Toyota Land Cruiser. I got in and drove away and at about 40-45 MPH hit a small pot hole on the dirt road and heard a funny sound and looked out my passenger-side mirror and saw the black box of the camera rolling across the dirt. Dang!

When I got back to the camera there was a very small roundish crack in the top where it had first hit hard pan, then bounced across some gravel and into some sand where it came to rest in an old bitter brush bush. IF I'd sealed it right away it would have stayed, but I didn't and in about a month the place where it had cracked fell off, showing some of the electrical parts inside, and I sealed this with some plastic and glue. When I sent it off for it's cleaning a bit early - they said other than the normal amount of grit and dust they'd normally find, there was no other damage to the camera, lens or focusing mechanism. Wow. Well built is an understatement.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
1)....I AM ASTOUNDED AT HOW WELL BUILT AND SOLID THIS CAMERA IS!
2)....If you want to REALLY learn photography, this is the camera to buy. It'll let you be lazy and use it as a point and shoot, but you can also move to manual settings, AND it has a macro setting so you get close-up and personal -- and with the L series glass you the best of both worlds: point-and-shoot to almost-true-pro with super fast glass (this means you can hand-hold in lower light and not need a flash). Every shot is free until you print it. So take the shot, the only way to learn is to take the shot -- the worst that will happen is you'll throw it away. And I have to admit that seeing your image captured right away will improve your ability as a photographer faster than any film camera will, I probably learned as much in the first month of owning this camera as I had in the previous 35 years - but I also read the manual. AND, this camera will teach you all of the little things you need to know so you can `trick' the brain of digital cameras in general.

3)....I've just bought a Canon 5D with a set of lenses and while I have now learned my way through the beginnings of digital photography starting with simple and moving to the top of the `amateur' cameras, I can now move to a mid-real pro camera and know what I need and what I don't. But I would not hesitate to carry this as a `backup' or use it in places that I'd not want to take my several thousand dollar camera and lenses or lug 5-10-25 pounds of glass. AND only if I wanted prints that were smaller than 11x17. At 11x17" you are pushing the camera to, and maybe just a tad beyond it's maximum resolution limit.

*****FINAL SCORE: 4.70 STARS*****