Image quality; lens quality, lens as wide and long as most SLR systems; light and compact; rotating rear screen; many options.

Video viewfinder makes action shots very difficult. Hopefully experience will solve much of this problem.

Designing this camera involved functional compromises. The basic camera is an 8 megapixel sensor and an L quality lens that zooms from 28mm to 200mm, a big step up from Canon's G series cameras I liked so much in the past. Images are excellent. Snapshots are noticeably sharper and more brillant than other point and shoot cameras and even most 35mm SLRs. Enlargements hold up well. I have done 11x14 prints that surpass anything I could get from a 35mm slide. The small size makes it convenient to take on trips without sacrificing much in image quality or versatility. The rotating image screen is identical to those on Canon's G series and makes it easy to take shots in almost any position, including some that would be too awkward for a SLR. The biggest compromise was eliminating a separate viewfinder. I assume it just wouldn't work with a lens this large. People were complaining about the lens on the G5 blocking part of the viewfinder. The Proshot lens is much wider and longer. So what you see in the Proshot viewfinder is the same video image that normally appears on the rear screen. That often freezes while the camera prepares to fire. That is OK if you are shooting a still subject but it makes the camera almost useless for shooting anything moving. This is not a camera to record children growing up or action shots. Use a G5 or a SLR for that. I also miss a leather case. There is a case but it is larger and not attached to the camera. The camera comes with a lens shade which is nice but it can't be reversed on the lens when not in use. This camera serves some needs very well (travelers who want good shots but don't want to haul a SLR and multiple lenses around) but others less well (parents doing candid shots of kids or shooting sports). Consider your needs before choosing this camera.

Customer Service

The camera needed cleaning after being dropped in sand. The camera continued to work fine but the lens was full of sand. It took 3 weeks for Canon service and it was not inexpensive.

Similar Products Used:

G1, G2, 60D, 1Ds, EOS 1v.