My trusty companion

This is my first camera and was chosen on the basis of its price and the good reviews I had read.

I am no expert, just a beginner, but the Canon A80 and I get on very well. As a person of mature years all the knobs and buttons were daunting - I cannot actually set a video recorder to record. However the auto setting does everything for a beginner and I am now well into macro mode, storing custom settings. I even read the user manual the other day! I also like the weight, size, appearance and balance of the camera.

The swivel LCD is a godsend for someone with creaky joints who cannot always contort to look through the viewfinder. The images are clear, sharp and the colour appears to my eyes very accurate. I do not use the video mode so no comment but the macro mode is the camera's star feature for me giving beautiful close-ups - time after time.

After two years I do have a few niggles - who wouldn't. The flash cannot be permanently turned off and it is a nuisance to try and fail to remember this; especially in museums were flash is not permitted. It is OK if you leave the camera on but resets the flash when turned off which I tend to do to prolong battery life and protect the lens. The inability to use a remote control shutter device with the A80 is more of an inconvenience as the timer can be used to trigger the shutter when on a tripod. A hot-shoe [I think this is the term] would have been useful so external flashes could be used. Finally any advance on the x3 zoom would have been great I don't really want to carry extra lenses and have to keep swapping them over - yes I am a real amateur ;-).

Lovely camera and I we will be together for many years to come.