Compact & Light-Weight

None

Actually this camera was my 2nd choice. My 1st choice was the Minolta Freedom 150, but the store didn't have them in stock. So, I went ahead and tried the Canon Sure Shot Classic 120 since I had 30 days to decide if I like the camera or not. I have a Nikon SLR that took great pictures, but now that I have a daughter it's become very heavy to carry around. This past weekend I used both cameras at a birthday party and the pictures from the Canon were just as good as the SLR.

Similar Products Used:

None

Excellent quality even when in full zoom. Motor wind excellent for capturing the dance team my wife runs on film. Also I do work with young people who are into adventure and extreme sport, this is a great camera for taking out and about, with a serious enough lense to include the results in proffesional publications.

Non-retractable side mounted flash, it's non-retractable! The noise of the auto rewind going of just when you don't want it to. [Those cameras that wind the whole film in first are on to a good thing.]

The camara rocks. Its small with great retro styling. The zoom is the best I've used on a camera of this kind. While you can't paak the flash you have great control over how you use it. Any the spot focusing makes it idea for more studied compositions. In short, the Zoom 120 is a camera that works great as a point and shoot or as a serious piece of photographic equipment.

Customer Service

The sales-person was not all that bright, due to his error, I got the Camera for GB£40 less than the GB£179 RRP, so in a funny way I guess that is good service, as I would never have bought it for what they were asking!

Similar Products Used:

Various Olympus and "cheap-option" cameras.

I bought this camera after reading great reviews on this site and others. I returned it for one reason only and wanted to alert others who may have the same problem as me. I am left eye dominant, meaning I look through the viewfinder with my left eye. The eyepiece for this camera is in the middle and the zoom adjustment just to the right of it. I found when I looked through the viewfinder I was poking my right eye with the knuckle of my right thumb trying to adjust the zoom. At first I thought it didn't matter but it did get to be annoying after a few pictures. Guess this is one of the few things Canon could look at improving as their product development goes on.

easy to use dial
cool style
nice feel

flash
battery cover
zoom buttons are a little hard to access

after reading the reviews on this website (and i hope all of you are actual users of this camera and not canon sales reps!) i had to check out this camera. The rep at the store i went to was very knowledgeable and recommended this camera highly as well. I was also looking at the pentax espio 120mi and the espio 135. I decided on the classic 120 based on research on the web, the advice of the sales ppl and reading reviews in magazines.
After i purchased it i took 12 shots in the different modes and different situations and was pleased with the results.

As far as value goes it think it was a good deal compared to the other cameras .....my overall goes down a little cuz of the darn flash and battery cover.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

pentax 90wr

Small, but not tiny
Solid construction
Great lens for a P&S
Dial type program mode selector
Beautiful photos, rivals my SLR.

Yep... the stupid left side, always out flash.
Zoom buttons aren't in a great location.
Tiny buttons for advanced functions

My toddler son recently destroyed my Nikkor zoom lens. For a lot less than the replacement cost, I thought I'd try a quality P&S. Having 2 small children means lot of photo ops. It also means you have to carry far too much on outings already. I must admit, not having to lug the SLR around is really nice.
The camera has great styling and a solid feel. The 'Best Shot' dial is a wonderful interface. The advanced features however require you to mess with little fiddly buttons under a door. Having the flash pop out of the left side whenever the camera is on, is just plain silly. It also makes it a bit akward to hold with your left hand. The zoom buttons are at the top rear, right side. When I'm composing a shot, they are a little tough to get to. The zoom range is quite useable for the cameras intended purpose. Having easy access to the programmed modes is a real plus. The servo autofocus in sports mode is great for capturing Saturday soccer games etc. The ability to save a custom setup mode is a nice touch.
The prints look wonderful. Colors with 400 speed film have been very vivid and saturated, but not over the top. The lens appears to have a quality coating.
Overall, one of the best bang for the buck photo purchases I've made.

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None

1. Good Build.
2. Decent zoom lens.
3. Sharp Images.
4. Good Value!
5. Very little shutter lag.
6. Good AutoFocus.

1. Cannot get a sharp image through viewfinder.
2.Annoying flash location.
3.Battery Cover

This camera produces images as sharp as my Leica Minilux. This camera is probably one of the best P/S cameras. When I don't feel like taking the Nikon F100 and a several prime lens I grab this one. This camera probably has one of the best AF of any P/S camera I have ever used - much better than the Leica Minilux. Canon hit a homerun with this camera !

Customer Service

Never used.

Similar Products Used:

Leica Minilux
Olympic Epic
Nikon Zoom 800

Great camera. I was originally looking to buy a Olympus Epic Stylus or a Yashica T4. These two cameras are really hard to find in stores. I had read about the canon sureshot 120 in various forums ... I love its retro styling. I just got a roll back from the developer. Camera produces some wonderfull pictures (sharp, contrasty).

I wish the back side of the camera was also in aluminum ... instead it is made out of cheap plastic. I also hate the "flap" that covers the override buttons. The override buttons themselves are hard to press. The position of the flash (sticking out the camera on the side), takes a bit of getting used to. When I handled the camera intially, my fingers would usually end up obscuring the flash.

Apart from the override buttons and the flash placement, I love this camera. Excellent buy ... quite a bit pricier than a Olympus epic stylus, but I think I like this better.

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None

-Excellent optics.
-Consistent results.
-Easy to use.
-solid feel and construction.
-incredible price considering the quality.
-very little red-eye even without red-eye reduction.
-auto focus is incredible; really works.
-cool portrait mode with smart zooming feature.
-great styling!

-buttons under switch cover are miserable to work with. Worried they will fail.
-EV compensation should be on its own button, not with flash selector.
-zoom buttons not in the best location location.
-setting the date is an exercise in frustration, again due to poor button design.
-while autofocus is great, I have had a few times when auto-focus did not keep up as it should in fast-action, continuous shooting mode.
-wish it had a landscape or infintiy mode.

Okay, I put a lot of weaknesses up there, but if you weigh them against the strengths, there is no getting around the fact that this is one great camera. My second choice was an Olympus Zoom 80 (I own a Stylus Epic fixed lens and I am keeping it, as I still think it is a great camera, as well) and while I liked the Olympus, especially in terms of it being a bit lighter, the Canon, in my opinion of my own shot-for-shot comparisons just delivered better results; sharper images, and better auto focus.
Never before, even with the Stylus Epic, have I been so pleased with the pictures I have gotten back from the lab. Some of these shots even rival my Minolta SLR, and I use some very good, older MD lenses, which have very good optics.
The flash is wonderful, and, being far off the lens axis, it is low in red-eye. I have no problem with the flash popping out the side; wish it would come out the top like the Zoom 135, but it is easy to navigate around. I like the Canon approach to red-eye reduction (I've used it only once though), but it seems a bit blinding if used too long in composing a shot. As I said, red-eye is not really a problem with this camera.
The motor drive and zoom servos all seem quiet enough and solid enough; My Epic has a rather asthematic sounding wheeze to it, actually. As I said above, the only thing that has me worried are those horrible, rubbery, hit-and-miss buttons. Too small for your fingers, hard to push, have to re-push several times to get what you want. Fortunately, unless you want to change flash parameters or use the EV compensation (which is nice), you won't need to mess with these very much. I never use the caption or date imprinting (the caption model was the only one I could find at the time), but if you plan on using it, be prepared for an exercise in frustration in using those buttons, which are laid out in the worst possible place for the function it is to perform (hard to see the screen while you're using a little plastic pin-like thing on the strap to try and activate the buttons, even smaller than those that operate the flash). But if you are looking for a point and shoot that will deliver great pictures most every time, at an incredible price considering build quality and style, then this is the camera you want. I use it as my primary camera right now (I'm just an amateur), easy to take along with good results. I don't think you'll be sorry with this one. I can see why it gets such good reviews.

Customer Service

Can't say yet.

Similar Products Used:

Olympus Stylus Epic
Olympus Stylus Zoom 80
Minolta X-700

Diese Kamera macht Bilder in einer Schärfe und Abbildungsqualität, die ich von einer Kleinbildkamera nicht kannte.

An den seitlich ausfahrenden Blitz muss man sich erst gewöhnen.

Ich hatte eigentlich schon die Hoffnung aufgegeben, eine kleine kompakte Zoomkamera zu finden die gute Bilder macht. Aufgrund der vielen positiven Berichte in diesem Forum habe ich mir dann auch diese kamera zugelegt.
Als ich den ersten Film vom Entwickeln holte, war ich freudig überrascht !
Alle Bilder knackig scharf, tolle Kontraste, kein einziges unbefriedigendes Ergebnis.
Meine Freunde fragten mich, mich welcher Kamera ich diese Bilder gemacht habe und waren überrascht als ich Ihnen die Canon zeigte. Die meisten haben jetzt auch eine.
Auch das SLR-verwöhnte Auge muss die hervorragende Bildqualität anerkennen !!!
Hier ist Canon ein wirklich großer Wurf gelungen.
Diese Kamera muss man haben, damit kann jeder exzellente Bilder schießen und sich auch noch nach Jahren über die Ergebnisse freuen.

Customer Service

noch nicht benötigt

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Minox 35 ml
Leica C2
Pentax ME super
viele Kompakte probiert und wieder umgetauscht

compact, lots of features, sharp lens

too complex, flash system design is awkward, dependability

Took the 120 and the 1984 Sure Shot Zoom to the beach for some family photos. Took a roll of 36 color, and 24 B&W with the 120. While the B&W was in the camera, the 120 froze up repeatedly. When I turned the wheel from off to auto, the flash wouldn't extend, and the lens cover wouldn't open. After doing this over and over, it would eventually operate correctly.

When it came time to shut the camera off, I had the same problem, flash and lens would remain out and open. Again, after constantly switching from auto to off, it would eventually retract. Changed the battteries, that didn't solve the problem. No sand or water from the beach came close to the camera, so I can rule that out too.

Lost tons of pictures this way.

Interestingly enough, the '84 Sure Shot has never caused me a lick of trouble. While the pictures from the 120 were marginally better (those I took before it crapped out), I'm by no means sure it's worth spending the money to use it over the '84 version (which, by the way, has a spot meter).

Instead of buying another 120, I got a Konica Lexio 70. Haven't used it yet, though. I'll report when I do, as others seems to give it good marks.

Customer Service

Never tried

Similar Products Used:

Canon Sure Shot Zoom (1984)