Canon PowerShot SX260 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 20x Image Stabilized Zoom 25mm Wide-Angle Optical Lens and 1080p HD Video (Black)

Canon SX260 HS: I'm happy to say that I was one of the first people to buy this camera. I bought it from one of the sellers on Amazon Marketplace, before it was officially released (it wasn't even available on amazon.com itself when I bought it).It's a good camera & quality clear pictures, with a clear & sharp LCD screen.The camera has the option of changing the aspect ratio for the pictures; you could choose from 16:9, 4:3, 3:2 & 1:1. You could also change the amount of recording pixels from L, M1, M2 & S. In auto mode, it has many predefined scenes. The camera could also be set to various scene modes, including portrait, Smooth skin, smart shutter, High-speed Burst HQ, Handheld night scene, low light, underwater, snow, fireworks, discreet & stitch assist. It does not have the scene modes for Kids & pets, foliage or beach, which other Canon powershot cameras have, but I don't think that would make a big difference, as it takes great pictures anyway. It also has creative filters which I haven't yet used, including fish-eye effect, miniature effect, toy camera effect, soft focus, monochrome, super vivid, poster effect, color accent & color swap. It has the movie digest feature & face ID. It also features continuous shooting.In manual mode, there are many different options, including setting the ISO speed (speeds available: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 & 3200), flash output, changing the compression between fine & superfine (superfine is not available in Auto mode, but is available in P mode), white balance (settings available: auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H, underwater & custom), my colors (including: vivid, neutral, sepia, B/W, film, lighter & darker skin tone, vivid blue, vivid green, vivid red & custom) & light metering. Manual mode has the option to have the flash forced on (forced flash is not available in auto mode, but is available in P mode). You can also set the shutter speed anywhere between 1/3200 of a second & 15 seconds (with speeds slower than 1.3 seconds, ISO speed is set at 100). Aperture value could be set anywhere between f/3.5 & f/8.0, but it also depends on the zoom position (with maximum zoom, aperture value could be set either at f/6.8 or at f/8.0).There is also a P mode, where various functions can be set. (Many of the options available in manaual mode are available in P mode also, including forced flash). I'm not here to describe every detail of the camera, as there are many more functions available as well (including setting the focus & exposure, plus some more that I haven't yet figured out), but for those that would like to know everything prior to buying the camera, they could go to Canon's website - [...] (find the camera, click on brochures & manuals) & download the complete user guide.Movies: Good quality with very clear sound. Optical zoom could be used for movies (& the sound of the zoom during the movie is extremely faint, not like some of the previous canon powershots). Options available are: Full HD (1920 x 1080, 24 fps), HD (1280 x 720, 30 fps) & VGA (640 x 480, 30 fps). Maximum clip length is approx 30 minutes for Full HD & HD, & approx an hour for VGA (or until the memory card is full). Movie format is .MOV. It also has iFrame (1280 x 720), & super slow motion (640 x 480, 120 fps, or 320 x 240, 240 fps). Please note since the primary function of this camera is for stills (as this is not a camcorder), therefore when you shoot a movie, it uses quite a lot of memory & the files will be very big. On an 8GB memory card: Full HD will be approx 30 minutes, HD - approx 42 minutes & VGA - approx 1 hour & 28 minutes, whereas on a camcorder, for the same amount of memory, the shooting time could be much longer, even in HD. But for shooting small clips here & there, it's very good.Zoom: zoom is very good - 20x zoom. It zooms quickly. Wide angle is 25mm which is very good & for some pictures you might want to zoom in a bit; otherwise it might be a bit too wide. In full maximum zoom, you may want to use a tripod; otherwise it might take some time to focus (but you could get good pictures even without a tripod). I found that in full maximum zoom (indoors), auto mode might not get the right ISO speeds etc. & you might need to use some manual settings, but that shouldn't be a big problem (plus you don't have to always use the full maximum zoom).Playback: It has some cool features for playback, including giving you various transitions between pictures (fade, slide or scroll), or watch them in a slide show on the camera. Erasing pictures is very easy; you do not need to go into the menu to erase pictures. You could also organize pictures in categories, or set-up a photo book. It has red-eye correction in shooting mode & in playback. You can also trim pictures or resize them in playback.Camera body: I find that the camera is very solid; the door for the memory card & battery compartment is sturdy, though the cover for the (AV & HDMI) terminals is flexible. The tripod socket is metal. The feel of the camera is smooth & it has a rubber grip on the front. In the USA, this camera is available in three colors; black, red & green. In other countries it's also available in dark silver; I don't know why this color is not available in the US.GPS: I have not yet used the GPS, so I can't give any info on that. In other countries, Canon also makes the "Powershot SX240 HS". The difference between the SX240 & the SX260 is that the SX240 does not have the GPS feature, whereas the SX260 has the GPS feature. The SX240 HS is not available in the USA.Flash: The flash is a pop-up flash. Some people might think this is not convenient. However it's ok & it's more convenient than the previous model, the SX230 HS. In the SX230, the flash takes up the entire depth of the camera; therefore there's almost nowhere to place your left finger. In this model however, the flash only takes up half the depth of the camera, enabling one to place their left finger behind the flash. The flash does not pop up automatically every time you turn on the camera. It pops up (in Auto-flash) when it determines that it needs to use the flash, or when you set the flash to (forced) on. If your finger is stopping the flash from popping up properly, it might tell you to power-off the camera & then to power-on, in order to be able to pop-up completely. After a while of using the camera, you should get used to the pop-up flash.Software: I have not yet used the software on my computer, so I can't say anything about it. But you can still connect the camera to a computer (via the USB cable) even without installing the software.Included in the box are: The camera SX260 HS, Battery NB-6L, Battery charger CB-2LY, Wrist Strap WS-DC11, USB Interface Cable IFC-400PCU & the Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM.The camera comes with a printed version of the "Getting Started" guide. The complete "User Guide" is to be found on the disk that comes with the camera (together with the software), or it could be downloaded from[...] . If you would like to get product updates from canon, you could register your camera on usa.canon.com .For those who are aware of differences in other Canon models between being made in Japan or in China, the camera that I purchased was made in Japan, & the battery & battery charger were made in China.Memory Card: The memory card of a camera is like the processor of a computer. The faster the memory card, the faster the camera. Canon recommends a "Class 6 or Higher Memory Card". I got the SanDisk Ultra Class 10 Memory Card 16GB Sandisk SDSDU-016G-A11 16GB Ultra SDHC UHS-I Card 30MB/s (Class 10). It's also available in 32GB & 64GB (The 64GB is SDXC, not SDHC). Please note: if your memory card is SDHC or SDXC, make sure you have a card reader that could read those types of cards, as some card readers only read SD cards, but not SDHC & SDXC (or it might not support a certain class speed). (You might be interested in the SanDisk USB 3.0 card reader that I purchased SanDisk ImageMate All-in-One USB 3.0 Flash Memory Card Reader (SDDR289A20)). But even if you don't have such a reader, you can still connect the camera to a computer via the USB cable (even without installing the software).Camera Case: Personally I prefer a case with a flap opening (as opposed to a zipper opening) together with a shoulder strap. The Canon cases do not have a shoulder strap. For my previous model, I had the Lowepro rezo 10. For the size of this camera, the Lowepro cases that were big enough have zipper openings. So I searched for a case. Eventually I came across the Tamrac cases. First I tried the Tamrac 3819 Case, but it was extremely tight. So I got the next size - the Tamrac 3821 Tamrac 3821 Neo's Digital 21 Camera Bag (Black), & it fits perfectly. (It's available in 4 colors; black, red, green & rust). It has a Velcro opening, small pocket (but make sure nothing falls out) a belt loop & an extendable shoulder strap.

I am stunned that this camera has such high ranking feedback. I assume the picture quality is very good (I've yet to download and see my photos.) The issue is--TAKING THE PHOTOS! Good luck. There's multiple huge issues: The mechanical FLASH is placed exactly where most people hold the camera with their left hand. The shutter release button is right next to the Power on/off switch on the right side top of the camera. AGAIN? After All These Years!? How long have digital cameras been around now? I remember having this crazy-making issue (accidentally shutting the camera off rather than snapping the photo) on cameras years and years ago. After inadvertenly shutting the camera off, now you have the ten second restart cycle and the picture is gone. WHY HAS CANON NOT LEARNED THIS? (Yes, the power button is shaped differently. So what? When taking a picture, one's left and right brain are most likely occupied with the subject and the picture.) I'll tell you why the on/off button is next to the shutter--because the engineers put it there and do not care about what the consumers/users want or need. It's a classic example of "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity"--This is a book written over ten years ago and available here on Amazon. BTW, I am an engineer with an MSEE---I know when I see tech decisions that totally ignore common street smarts. (I owned a Ford Explorer where the change holder was immediately next to the CD player cartridge door. Coins would fall into the player and destroy it. Ford's solution---they placed a sticker on the CD player which read: DO NOT DROP COINS INTO THE CD PLAYER--making it YOUR PROBLEM.) 'pretty bad, but it really gets worse. The brilliant, crack engineering team put the flash unit (which mechanically rises out of the camera) on the exact opposite (top left) side of the camera, where most everybody (symmetrically) holds the camera. Your right hand/finger are on the right at the shutter/power button, and your left hand/finger are now on the left side, covering the flash unit. SHAME ON YOU! So what happens? You're trying to get a picture off---you're lucky enough not to shut the camera off with the power button, then the flash struggles to pop up through your finger...then it jams. Not only is the picture lost---but it gets user-unfriendly WORSE from here. The camera's software now goes into an error mode. The flash can no longer be used with the camera. An ERROR MESSAGE comes up on the screen telling you that you must restart the camera before the FLASH can be used again. WOW!! I'm writing this from the floor. Really? Imagine if airline software or even automobile software was written this way. You'd have to pull off the road and restart the car because you didn't get your seatbelt on right. WHY can't the software itself reboot without your attention? BTW: Canon's solution to this: MAKE IT YOUR PROBLEM: In the instruction manual they tell you how you should hold the camera---palm down under the bottom. Really? Good thing Canon does not (re)design forks or knives. We'd be holding them in some foreign way. So now, again, you are in a power-recycle mode trying to get a picture taken. FRUSTRATING frustrating FRuStRaTiNg! We want to take pictures of our ACTIVE five year old. The reason I bought this specific camera after hours of research was because its response time was supposedly quick. We completely miss the shots with all this nonsense---and guess what? Its response time is miserable anyway---pathetic---even if you manage to get your fingers in all of the right places. Lastly (in the physically ridiculous department) the battery goes in MORE EASILY backwards. One needs to struggle to get it in correctly. It's easier to "plop" it in backwards. You only then know it's backwards because it will not seat the remaining 5% of the way down. YIKES again! I am so disappointed with this design-disaster. I believe the optical/electronic engineers did their job, but the interface engineers were out to lunch. Shameful---after years and years of people using cameras, they ignore how people use cameras and the booby traps that they so easily fall into. I want to cry or smack a designer after all of the time and trouble I put into choosing this camera FOR MY WIFE for Christmas. Rather than showing her how easy it is to use, I have to show her the many things to avoid, watch out for, and how to RECOVER from the problem once engaged. Sad.