I love my camera as I found it simple to use to take excellent pictures and get close up shots as I am a beginner (amateur photographer) for my own personal use. This is my first digital camera and i was not overwhelmed trying to learn how to use it!

I love my camera as I found it simple to use to take excellent pictures and get close up shots as I am a beginner (amateur photographer) for my own personal use. This is my first digital camera and i was not overwhelmed trying to learn how to use it!

I love my camera as I found it simple to use to take excellent pictures and get close up shots as I am a beginner (amateur photographer) for my own personal use. This is my first digital camera and i was not overwhelmed trying to learn how to use it!

I to have an issuse with the pop up flash. When I called the Tech he gave me a choice of sending it in for repairs at a cost of $150.00 or buying a refurbish one at between $150.00 and $300.00 dollars. Canon should do a recall to resolve this matter. Buyer beware!!!

Second Canon Powershot (different models) I have owned; both had issues with the pop-up flash mechanism sticking in closed position; this one has turned to "purple imaging" - a known fault due to defective Sony CCD chips and listed on their website as a free repair - which I thought was appropriate and ethical corporate behavior (and wrote them as such) - wrong...

Turns out they get your camera in the service center and charge you a flat rate for "unspecified repairs" to the tune of a hundred dollars. (I should point out that although I called techhical support to inquire about the repair charges, they could not tell me what they needed to fix for my hundred and fifty dollars.)

Have to agree with the other reviewers that although the camera takes decent pictures, it's far too expensive to be fiddling around with constant repair issues, sticking flashes, etc. I do NOT consider digital cameras "disposable" items - and think we should expect them to last as long as SLRs do if well cared for.

Fool me twice...shame on me...there are plenty of cameras out there which both take decent pictures AND last more than a few years...won't buy a Canon product again

I have had my S1IS for about 3 years now. With the exception of the viewfinder, which is very dim and makes composing pictures difficult, it has been a good camera. The pics are very sharp and clear even with only 3.2 mp's. The camera has been trouble free. I am thinking about upgrading to the S5IS.

I sent my camera in 3 months ago to be repaired when it would not power on. They charged me 97.50 to fix that problem and 2 months after it was supposedly repaired, it started giving me trouble again!! I hate this camera and I have been frustrated with it in the last year. I paid a little over 400.00 for it new at Best Buy and only got 1 good year out of it and in the last year it has not worked properly. I will NOT buy Canon camera again. I now have almost 600.00 tied up in this camera from 2 repairs I had to pay for, that worked only 1 year. You would think you would get a camera that would last longer than a year for 400.00 dollars. Boy was I suckered into this very bad product.

Camera worked well for a good while. Sent it back for repair when it wouldn't power up. Got it back after $125 only to find it would not focus. Sent it back again but wasn't charged again. The camera now works but I'm unable to macro focus on very close objects. (needed for work)
Back and forth w/Canon took six months. 3.2 mpixels is now ancient technology. I won't spend any more $$ on this one. It works and I'll put it on EBay before it dies again.

I found this camara to be very average. Certainly for use outdoors, or used with the flash, as long as you stay within a reasonable zoom distance it's ok. Beyond that I found focusing to be a real issue. You get close to 10X or try to do any special lighting shots and it's hard not to come away with blurred pictures. I tend to have a slight tremor, which was the reason I chose the camara, since I was lead to believe it had the best stabalizing capability. It doesn't, and I have since handed the equipment to my sister and now use a small Sony for most everyday and vacation shots. The reliable 30 year old Canon AE1 with film still gives me the more professional pics when needed. I don't feel the camara, due to the above mentions, and the size is worth the money.

I couldn't as for a better camera. The auto focus is great. Very good on close ups. A friend has an S3 and my S1 does a better job. This camera should still be on the market.

I love this thing, my only problem being: how to interpret the owner's manual... I'm pretty savvy, but I've found all the options (and how to use them) a little difficult. Wish there were directions in a simpler, user-friendly format.

One of the pins in the compact flash reader broke. The average cost to fix it is $124.00. After reading all the negative remarks about this camera it is not worth fixing.
Bought a Kodak Easy Share, Love it, much easier to use and it has a large window to view the pictures. I never did figure out all the un-necessary bells and whistles on the Canon.

this camera has a lot of good features: the optical stablizer is really good. i have taken some low light photos at low exposures with the OIS and the shake was greatly reduced (1/8 sec). the telephoto is very fast for a zoom camera: F3.2, while most of the field has 3.7. the camera feels solid in your hands. the flip and twist monitor can be very handy at times.

however, the S1 IS has some quirks: no battery indicator: the camera tells you it is powering down because the batteries are depleted (no advanced warning). the manual focus has a small pop up screen with a coarse, grainy image, making it difficult to focus properly in low light. the focus has to be sharpened all of the time with processing software. the images always look brighter in the camera than on the computer. there is no live histogram: you have to make a test photo and go back to view it to see the histogram (to check the exposure)

overall, i enjoyed using the S1 IS. however, the manual focus and lack of a battery indicator was major concerns for me. so, after doing more research, i decided to trade it in for a Sony H2.

I've had my S1 for almost 2 1/2 years, and haven't had any issues with any aspect of it except a loose lens cap.

This camera came recommended and what a recommendation it was! This camera takes excellent photos. I take tons of pictures and I am almost never disappointed with the pictures I have come home with. Very easy to upload, zoom is excellent and the ergonomics are terrific.
I do not use regular batteries, I bought a couple sets of the Energizer rechargeable batteries and one set lasts for hours. I rarely need to use my back up set. I have printed many 8 1/2 x 11 photos on my own printer and they look terrific.
I am very satisified with this camera and I have recommended it on several occasions.
Good luck!

I bought it because I had a great experience with canon cameras, but this one was a real bad apple. Flash Jams, blurry pictures, batteries heats up and what not.

I give up on Canon.

I've had this little gem for two years now, and I don't know whether I was just one of the lucky ones, but it's been a CHARM since day one! Have never had a single problem with it to date, the zoom works beautifully, perfect results every time! I am not a technologically proficient photographer, bust am simply thrilled with this camera.

Initially I thought this camera was the king of the hill, then I started using it more. The auto focus will only work in very bright light and the video mode "hunts" constantly in anything else. I put the camera on my office shelf for 6 months and now I turn it on and the CCD is bad? I can't think of a worse investment.

Right after purchasing our camera in July, 2004, our first attempt to download pictures did not work, and we received the message "memory card error". Apparently, the pins were bent. We had to send our new camera off for repairs. Canon claims that they should have charged us for the repairs, because it was not a default, but we could not have caused the damage. The camera has worked fine until now. All of sudden, we are receiving the message "memory card error" again. I guess the pins are bent again. After speaking with a individual who works with digital cameras, he said that his is unfortunately a common problems. When the memory card has been taken out and back in several times (which is needed to get pictures printed) the pins get bent. It is because the card was inproperly placed in the camera? No. We never had a problem putting the memory card in. The pins get wore out. Of course, Canon will not admit this, and they expect us to pay for repairs. We spent $500 on what we thought was a qualtiy camera, and in two years we have had the same major problem, and once again, we are unable to use this expensive camera. Our son's has a digital camera that cost less than a $100, and not only has it taken great pictures, but he has not had any problems. I will not purchase another Canon product. The "pins" are a definite default in the camera. They should have been made to withstand several years of use.

I had also read really good reviews on this camera.. but I am incredibly disappointed with what I purchased. The camera has a very tough time focusing in low light. The only time I can really get away with taking a picture without the flash is outside when the sun is very bright.

My lcd viewer stopped working approximately a year after I bought it.. Camera was not in any way worth the 600$ I paid for it.

If I was to go back, I would have bought a smaller camera with more megapixels. Clearly, the 3MP was not enough.

My experience has been that this camera, on any of the automatic settings, ALWAYS overexposes. The only way to use this camera is to always use manual settings, or to always use the exposure framing with 2 EV range and use only the -2 EV for the keeper. Also, color is always a bit washed out. I no longer use this camera for anything I might really want a picture of, it is simply unrealiable. It is just a frustrating toy.

I bought this camera one year ago, it was working well but not even the photos are not great compared to my other Kodak camera. After one year the camera did not function, Canon service said the optical unit need to be replaced, and as the warranty was expired one month ago, the repair cost they asked for was 375 Australian $, almost the same price as new one. I wont repair sure. I do not recommend this camera at all, very fragile and unreliable, and terrible auto focus, almost impossible to focus at night time. My advise if your camera is still working, get red of it as soon as possible because it will break soon.

I love my s2, great images, great zoom, amazing movie mode. with 2500mah batteries, i've recorded almost 40 mins on a 1gb card. great sound, easy to use. i just wish it shot in raw. other than that, perfect.

I have had this camera for 2 years.. I have taken great pictures. However recently the viewfinder and the LED display shows a scambled picture like TV channel with bad reception. I can take a picture flash works but on download the picture is just gray..
I have had problem with all my digital camera, Snoy was the last one that didn't last

love the feel,love the tools hate the service and the indifference to my problems. The usb connection fails me all the time. I know it is not a computer problem. No computer will recognize the device. I already spent 300 to have it fixed and it took them 6 months to get it back to me. Now it is not working again. I am so angry and I to spread the word about how I feel ripped off for my money. Between Canon and the ex I dont know who makes me more angry. Any body have any suggestions

Pop-up flash has died for a 2nd time. The first time was under warranty.

The photos are nice in natural light and at a distance, but the focus can be slightly off for indoor photos. About half the photos will be respectable, but not great. A lower cost Kodak digital camera I have is about the same for 3x zoom and under.

The camera is great , looks nice , is compact , feels good in ones hand and takes great , co lourfull pictures . The bads are : Almost no focus at end of zoom but acceptable a bit lower , also trouble in low lighting , fringing doa es appear and can be sometimes disturbing ... That's all , i give it a 80% mark in comparison with the new cameras ...

I never felt so ripped off as a consumer as the experience of owning this camera has created. 8 months since I spent very hard earned cash on this thing it has failed me at 3 crucial events (weddings, graduations, etc.) and I've spent hundreds sending it back, only to have Canon not be able to repair the problem and offering me no assistance in trade in, etc. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER CANON product and go out of my way to explain to others just how HORRID the company and this product are. There needs to be a category worse than terrible because this company, their service department, and the product are as deficient and disappointing as they come.

Loved the camera until it just up and stopped working. I got the E18 message as well, and am very dissapointed.

This is our first real experience with a "serious" digital camera. We were filled with sweet anticipation until the flash stopped working during our first Holiday Season with it. Ugh! We poured over the manual believing it was our own lack of expertise but to no avail. Then our daughter-in-law finds this site which gives us the distinct impression it is a problem very common to this camera. We are not happy about sending it in when we are scheduled to go Forida in just 10 days. Also, the reviews regarding other problems with it developing in just a few short months are not comforting since we were planning on using it in Europe in a few months. I was already considering buying another film camera (which, of course would be a step backward??) and this may push me over the edge. I don't think Cannon does itself any favor with letting customers stubble through such issues. We registered with them on-line when we bought the camera. I think a little pro-active work from them regarding such possible problems would benefit them in the long run. If this does not resolve quickly and fairly satisfactory, I will bail to another brand and be fairly verbal about it . . . of course, this is a sample of dissatisfaction that will be widely shared. I guess I feel like the "Grinch" Cannon stole Christmas when we had such great plans for the new camera this Holiday season. When I arrive home this afternoon from work our house will be filled with children and other friends who I think I will just video with our old movie reliable SONY movie camera . . . because Cannon can't "get the picture" with its alleged "Powershot."

Have enjoyed this camera very much. I have taken several pictures with this camera and some video and have not had any problem other then user error. I took it on vacation with us and I had some of the most beautiful pictures come out of this camera..very clear and great color. Night picture of full moon and clouds turned out better then most I see professionally done. Love my camera thank you Cannon.

I have had my S1 for a little over a month and a half now. I already knew about the pop-up flash quitting prematurely months before I bought it, but I was set on getting me an S1, so if it happened to me, I would be prepared for it. Sure enough today, it happened. My flash is partially opened and it sounds like the latch is not releasing. It clicks, and the flash goes off but it is caught and won't come up. Oh well, that's what warranty is for ... of it goes.
Also, I have experienced that the cam doesn't do good in low light conditions, especially when trying to go full telephoto. Every once in a while I run into that because I shoot in the woods alot where its dim. So to overcome that, I have had to just pull back a little and it finally gets the green box. Other than those two things, I absolutely love the camera ... although it will be going to service for the flash. I just ordered me a Digital Rebel so once I get that, I will send off the S1 to get fixed so I won't be without a camera. Don't you just love technology?

I bought this a year back and had great time with it clicking innumerable photos. But just over an year and it died completely, flash does not work, camera will not open up/start batteries dying down as soon as loaded. Very unhappy about the large sum of money taht we paid for this without knowing at all that its lifespan is really short.

The flash on my S1 is jammed. When I called the store they advised me to send it in but said they had 3 other cameras with the same problem. Apparently a screw is inserted backwards. When I asked if there was a recall, I was told no. I'm glad that I used my Mastercard to have an extended warranty!

I have owned this Camera over 18 months and am very pleased. It take some time to learn the features, but is well worth the time. I do most of my shooting in some type of manual mode while my wife uses the automatic modes. Great pictures in both cases. The camera can be a little slow between shots. This is only a problem if you are shooting a series of pictures.

Pros:
- Great pics and amazing zoom have got some of the best pics
Cons:
- takes up too much battery forgot my rechargeable at home & ended up spending a ton on batteries during the trip.
- pics at night were pretty bad
- After 30 days or so, the flash shutter got jammed and flash stopped working. returned the camera.
Recommendations:
Buy it from Dell. they were kind enough to refund my money even though 30 days had expired.

I was going to buy this camera until someone told me...yeah, it's an amazing camera, but is that what you are going to carry around in your purse and take too partys? How often will you use the zoom? Will it fit in your purse?

2 weeks ago I read all these great reviews and the S1 IS sounded like the camera I had been looking for. I took a bunch of pictures with it and I am NOT impressed. I was really excited about the image stabilization, but at full zoom both my hands and my subject had to be perfectly still after the camera focused in order to get a good picture. It's also quite slow to focus too. Frankly, it seems like a OK camera, but not any better than most of the other cameras out there, and not what I was looking for. Disappointing - I am returning the camera.

Ya. Another famous E18 errors victim here. Thanks yo easy overheat IS system. Way to go!! Canon QC!!

I gave great sharp crystal clear pictures till July 4th. Took some pictures of fireworks with Auto focus. Pictures came bad and the Camera stopped working since then. It wouldn't switch on what ever you try to do. Sent it to the service centre, came back with another problem, in full zoom it wouldn't take pictures. hmmm... Just thinking what to do with it... try again sending to service center?

This camera does all I want and more. I've added wide angle and telephoto lenses AND a slave flash to help enhance dark pictures. I also appreciate the compact flash card since it's relatively inexpensive compared to other media cards. As I learn more of the S1's features, I am continually more impressed. Videos are a breeze and easily emailed (I would prefer mpeg format over avi, but it still works).

I have had zero mechanical problems and the pictures are great!

I purchased the camera for outdoor bird, animal, and flower photos and have had great results. I carry 2 sets of 2300ma AA batteries and get through a 1Gb CF card every time. The camera has almost replaced my 35MM SLR.

It is not a point and shoot digital camera. I had a point and shoot (Canon Powershot 20) - good camera. the S1 is awesome. You don't pick it up and start shooting good flicks, yoiu have to read the bood. But after a couple of hours of reading and shooting...and shooting and reading, you can figure it out, I took a vacation to New York City and studied the instruction book on the airplane. When I got off the plane, I was shooting good flicks. 2 days later, I was shooting flicks in different modes, damn near professional looking photos

Poor focus in low light, including indoors with normal lighting. Slow focus lock. Less than 100 shots with 2000 mAh batteries.

So I have had my Canon A70 Power Shot for about 2 years now, and it has always been great! Great pics all the time, however I recently came home from a vacation and it was working perfectly there, until I came home and went to upload my pictures, unfortuanetely my camera just would not turn on. So I re charged my batteries completely, put them back in the camera and it refused to work again. I then tried different batteries and the lens just opened and froze like that! Now I cannot turn it on, nor shut the lens and I have no idea what the matter is with it, because I know for a fact it never got water on it nor did was it dropped, damaged etc. I don't know what to do!

The S1IS camera is plagued with E18 errors. After owning it a short time and sending it back for repair, they refused to repair saying it was water damaged. They admit that corrosion could be due to humidity and the grinding noise in the lens mechanism sounds more like mechanical than electrical however, they refuse to honor their warranty. Buyer beware.

bought this for my holidays as a treat.. the image stabilizer worked then stopped.. I called Canon while on holidays and they told me to remove the batteries to discharge.. Did this and it worked for 1 shot then not again.. I returned the unit for another one, the newer one's stabilizer did not work at all and the focus was all over the place while trying to focus on one of my dogs who happen to be sleeping.. Not very happy.. am going back today to the dealer to see if he will upgrade me to something other than canon.. two strikes and your out.. sorry.., can't wait for trike three. all other functions are perfect and awsome.. (lots of toys and nice to use).

I bought this camera for the 10X optical zoom, and the image stabilization. This camera ceases to amaze me. I have taken pictures of races, sporting events, and nature. The clarity and detail are outstanding!

I purchased the s1 as a replacement for a Olympus e100-rs which I shoot My daughters softball team with. The shutter delay was horrible, I missed most shots. The focus lock was poor, even the image stabilizer doesn't seem as good as olympus or my wife's Panasonic z1. If the camera was on manual, and you turned off the auto focus, set a high f for deep of field, relatively slow shutter the IS couldn't handle it. I took the camera back to Walmart.

The good-The canon powershot S1 IS has a great 10x optical zoom prefect for nature photos.
The bad- I sometimes found that the zoom could be out of focus(had trouble with it)
The ugly-the 3.2 megapixles deliver poor image quality.

A beautiful digital with IS that sharpens most shots. Only owned a short time but I am happy, so far. The dealer "Beach Camera" was strangely rude and I will never use them again.

75% very good, 25% poor. The 10 x optical zoom is sufficient; the zoom control takes practice. The zoom has the annoying quality of too rapidly moving to either extreme or too slowly adjusting to intermediate ranges. The lens and image stabilization feature are sufficiently fast to stop the action in most indoor lighting at ISO 400, with maximum aperture in the aperture priority mode. Auto focus struggles unpredictably at times. At best, the delay takes two seconds; at worst, focus takes 30 seconds or more. Shutter delays occasionally last several seconds. If the first frame of a series of images lacks focus, all of the subsequent images also lack focus. With a 1 G memory card and some practice with the controls, you can compensate for the camera's problems. Suggestions: 1) Wait for the focus, 2) anticipate the action event by several seconds, 3) delete the extra images as you first review the download on your computer, 4) carry two sets of charged NiMH 2300, mAh batteries.

Have used other digital cams at school and office; this is first digital I have owned. Selected for 10x zoom and Canon reputation, but am amazed at image quality at all settings - for the price. Sensors better than others I've used, and image stabilizer saves many zoom shots.

This is my first big zoom and I couldn't be happier with the IS abilities. I don't have blurred distance shots. The picture quality is wonderful. As many have mentioned, the lens cap is a joke and hopefully the S2 IS will improve that. The camera is very easy to use and the option for manual control is nice. Personally I can't wait for the S2 IS with the new macro features, stronger zoom, larger LCD and the additional internal features. That should make this camera nearly perfect! You can't go wrong with this camera. I love my S1 and will really love the S2 when I get it in July.

I spent several months looking for the right camera. We had much success with the Canon A70 so I put Canon at the top of my want list. After evaluating numerous brands and styles, I decided on the S1 IS and have not been disappointed. It takes great pictures and the video mode is amazing. At the highest resolution, it compares with some digital vidcams. I really love that you can still zoom in video mode (couldn't on the A70)and there is no time limit on the video (except size of card). My one complaint is that there isn't a good macro feature on the camera. I have tried different ways of accomplishing this but have had very poor success. Oh well, if that is all there is, I guess I am OK. I do wish they would have made a better lens covering, but that is just nitpicking. Overall, I love this camera and would recommend it to anyone...in fact, I bought one for my daughter and her family. (They have a camcorder but seldom use it now cause this is easier).

I did see that Canon is coming out with the S2 IS with 5 megapixels. Many new features but not enough to ditch this lovely little dream.

excellent camera except focusing problem in low lite( this is common problem for auto focus)

Everything about the camera was great. I strongly recommend this for photographers, or people who want to become one.

I have had this camera for 2 months now, I have really put it to the test in all lighting situations...I haven't had any problems yet!!! Always perfect pictures!!! I will finally get rid of my favorite 35mm!! I bought energizer NiMH 2500 rechargeable batteries...I have never needed my back-up batteries even when I am taking all flash photos. It feels like a much more expensive camera. It would be great if it was a 5.0 MB but I can still print out fairly decent 8 x 10's...I highly recommend this camera

Had 3 other cameras before the S1. Bad shots were cut in half with this camera. Great for shooting you kids on stage or the Marching Band on the football field. I can shoot the moon and show you the craters.
With this camera I get shots no one else can. With a monopod, I raise it up 9 feet high, put it on a 10 sec. timer and tilt the screen down to catch the picture.

Would not focus consistently. Most pics were blurred when it said it was focused. Tried all settings & it still had a problem. Battery eater. Returned it. My A70 was a great camera till it malfunctioned. That was why I had to buy a new one.

I cant believe how simple and effective this camera is, I have the accessory zoom lens and some of the pics I have been taking are nothing short of amazing

The camera appears to be constructed well, and the pictures, when set up are crisp and vivid. After only a month my flash would not pop up and the camera has a hard time focusing while using the zoom. Image stabilization is great, even at the full optical zoom. lack of a power meter means that spare batteries are a necessity all the time, although I can fill a 512 meg card between changes. Action photos can be a challenge to get in focus, and are impossible at automatic mode.