Canon PowerShot A95

In 2 years I have not dropped my A95 and have not abused it in any way that I know of. Cotton wool treatment all the way. But earlier this year, after the warranty had expired, it stopped working for no apparent reason. The repair bill was horrific - over 2/3 of the purchase price. Long phone calls to Canon but to no avail. The whole lens assembly needed to be replaced. So I looked around to see if I could replace it with equivalent quality and features for the cost of repairs and there was nothing that matched it. So I had it repaired. Then followed a dismal period of out of focus pictures, with some brilliant ones. Much research on the Internet on focusing revealed that I had misunderstood how to focus. (It was my first real camera.) I got caught up in major dissatisfaction and lusted after the new Canon 400D but couldn't afford it. In the meantime people started saying what great photos I was taking (sometimes). I checked out lots of other A95 photos from the Internet and learnt two things. First, when I get the focus and light right the quality is exceptional and better than some of the review example photos. Second, that until I can take reliably good, focused, well lit shots with my A95 there is no point getting another camera. Check out http://www.pbase.com/eddyb/a95 for some fantastic examples of what can be done. So, now I love my A95 again and am fortunate not to have moved on to something bigger and better that would have prevented me from all the learning, especially over the past 6 months.