Canon PowerShot S80 8.0 Megapixel

Pros: Small for a digicam with such an extensive feature set, Full manual control options, extra wide lens, Superior Resolution at 8 Megapixels, 2.5" Color Screen, Great Battery Life, Durable Body & Above Average Build Quality, High quality video capture, DIGIC II Image Processing makes this camera ultra fast and responsive, fast start-up time and very little shutter lag, Fast Auto Focus, Intuitive Menus, All controls are accessible through buttons in addition to menus, Powerful Flash (User adjustable) Fast Lens (in Wide Angle Settings).
Cons: May be too bulky for those who want a tiny pocket digicam, No RAW capture option, Takes SD memory cards, instead of Compact Flash Type I and Type II microdrives, Lens is not that fast when using telephoto (compared to other digicams in this class)
My search for a portable pocket-able digital camera ended when the Canon Powershot S80 came on the market a few months ago. I wanted a truly portable high quality digicam that had full manual and automatic settings. Having the extra wide-angle lens capability was also a desirable feature for landscape and general photography requirements. Although Canon switched from an all aluminum casing body (on the Powershot S70) to one that is both aluminum and high impact plastic in a move I suspect to shave even more weight off the camera it still feels durable and has a nice heft to it. The image quality is several notches above the average 5-7 megapixel digicam in the $300-500 digicam class which I atttribute to the excellent lens and the DIGIC II Image Processing Engine. You can also crop and enlarge to a greater degree since the 8 megapixel resolution CCD provides sharper pictures. 11" x 14" will come outrazor sharp even after moderate crops. The wide angle lens will provide at least 15% more coverage than the competing point and shoot cameras so if you are shooting building interior and exteriors or landscapes, the added wide angle coverage will come in handy.
Bottom Line:
You will not find a better compact 8 Megapixel Digital Camera for the money. If you are looking for a portable digital camera that won't weigh you down like the typical DSLR, the Canon Powershot S80 cannot be beat.

I recently purchased a Canon S80 as a back-up to my Digital Rebel, and to reduce the load of lenses, filters and accessories that I am carrying. This is the third camera of it's type that I've purchased and it by far is the best!

What's to Like: Right size to carry - not too large or small. Has a wide angle lens. Fast startup time. When shooting in continuous mode, it has a decent enough shot to shot time. Many of the same controls as my Digital Rebel. Overall picture quality is OK. Makes a great suplemental camera to a digital SLR. Has a very good dynamic exposure range for a digital camera - better than the Digital Rebel.

What's Not to Like: In normal, single shot mode, slow shot to shot time; even worse with flash. Picture quality, especially sharpness, not as good as digital SLR even though it's 8 megapixels vs. 6 on Digital Rebel - especially when the SLR has a decent lens on it. Lack of dynamic stabilization.

Overall, the S80 has plenty of pluses as a supplement to a Digital SLR, and makes an excellent choice for casual photography.

This camera is incredible...it's everything I was looking for in a simple point and shoot digital camera with a wide angle view. It's compact, easy to use, creates wonderfully detailed prints and has features you would find in a SLR camera. I highly recommend this exceptional camera.

I bought a Powershot s80 from Ebay 5 months ago. Great camera. Clear crisp pictures, Wide angle lens, easy to operate. They had one at work and I liked it so much I went out and bought my own after my Ricoh R2 bit the dust. Been looking for a solid reliable decent compact camera for a while now and until last week I believed I had found it in the s80.

While in its pouch, the lenz cover opened and the lenz extended- but was blocked by the pouch material. Rather than sense this obstruction and automatically retract the lenz, the whole thing locked up and will no longer fuction. On the display is E18 error.

Calling Canon service, they quoted me more than what I paid for it ($250) to get it fixed. Investigating 'S80 E18 error' with Google brought to light many complaints about canon lenses locking up after similar lens obstructions, the mildest of knocks, or sometimes no reason at all. Canon are not claiming responsibility even though it is apparently mentioned in their own service manual this is a design flaw. The E18 error also occurs with other canon powershot series cameras. But dont believe my word for it... Google 'powershot e18 error' or read up
http://www.e18error.com/

Generally, Compact digital cameras arnt built to last. The technology outdates extremely quickly and they go places where their sophisticated microelectronics and plastic innards are at risk from harsh elements.
The S80- while solid looking and feeling, modern with great picture quality- is NOT an exception. Dont be fooled into thinking you are buying reliable quality with this camera.

I like the size, it's small but not to small for my big hands. The menus are easy to get to and the picture quality is great.

The camera is four years old and very good. I like the optical view for real sunny days at the beach and the option to make manual adjustments on aperture and speed, features the new cameras do not have.o
Sometimes newer is not necessarily better.

Enjoy the AEV bracketing features; huge range of custom and manual functions; excellent image quality; pseudo-wide angle lens; could be considered a basic SLR in a compact, point-and-shoot package.

I bought this camera to replace an identical model which I loved until I'd broken it. This one was sold used, as-is, with a representation that it "worked." However, I discovered that the auto-focus system does not work, or works intermittantly, such at about half the photos are out of focus. I suspect the seller did not realize this or would have mentioned it. He certainly should have and I certainly wouldn't have purchased it or even bid on it.

This particular camera is otherwise in good working order.

The shipment was quickly received (very well packaged) after I send out my payment.
The item received is as descripted on eBay, and this is working fine.

Great Seller. RECOMMEND !