Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Received my Canon D30 on 04/25/2014. These will be my impressions after about 3 months of weekend use. I have taken the camera underwater on many occasions, and had the camera underwater for several hours in saltwater while snorkeling and on various trips to the beach. No issues. The seals seem to perform very well. Just remember to rinse the camera off in fresh water after being in salt water. If you forget to do so, the buttons will have a "Crusty" feel at your next use. I started a Flickr Group for photos taken with this camera- Go to Flickr --> Groups --> Search Groups --> Canon PowerShot D30. (Amazon will not allow me to post the link??) I posted some photos of the camera itself, as well as a demonstration of the "Sunlight LCD Mode" Scroll all the way to the bottom of the group to see these. Impression is 4-Star. It is impossible to compare this camera to a DSLR/SLT, so I will evaluate it on what it is- a point and shoot that you can take into the water, and can take a little punishment. The build quality is very good, and the camera feels solid in my hand. The body is made of a nice composite material, and the rubber grips seem tacky enough to hold on to in cold/wet conditions. The buttons are well positioned, and the menus are intuitive. The power up is lightning fast. It takes about one second from pushing the power button until you can take a shot. "Turnaround" time between shots is rather slow, in my opinion, however, I improved this slightly by turning OFF the preview function. High ISO performance is typical of a point and shoot with a lot of noise. Shooting underwater is a ton of fun. The shots are fun to look at, but it is more luck than skill as to whether you will get a keeper shot or not, particularly with kids swimming, etc. It is difficult to frame a shot underwater without the use of a snorkel mask or goggles. Make sure to switch the camera over to the underwater modes, or else the camera may struggle to find an apropriate shooting mode. I've taken several underwater videos with good results. There is an intermittent "clicking" noise as the focus adjusts. The mic is OK. On the plus side, the buffering at the end of a 3.5 minute video only takes about 2 seconds. Battery life is good. I have taken 250 still shots, about 5 minutes of video, kept the camera on for quite a while between shots, reviewed a lot of photos, and the indicator finally dropped to 2/3 charge. I typically keep the GPS off, but I have noticed that the battery drains significantly faster with the GPS enabled. The reason I waited for, and paid more for this camera than the competition or the D20 was the "Sunlight LCD Mode" We live in Florida, and I do a lot of shooting at the beach/pool, and in heavy sun. I have never had an LCD screen that can be clearly seen in the sun. The Sunlight LCD Mode must be activated in the settings menu- It is not turned on from the factory. Once activated, it remains on the next time you power the camera up. In my opinion, this camera performs 25% better than most LCD's in the sunlight. Not perfect, not ideal, but noticeably better than anything I have experienced to date. I found the LCD to be readable and viewable in strong sun, with sunglasses on, so I will say that it is a true "Pro" of this camera. Overall, this is a fun camera to take to the beach, pool, or snorkeling. The image quality will never compete with a DSLR or even most "Point and shoots" due to the lens cover. The features are more akin to what you would find on a smart phone app than a "real" camera, but good luck taking any of those things into the water with you!!! Take Care...TJ