Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a very fun compact camera. I don't believe they upgraded the sensor from previous Powershot cameras so the picture quality isn't a miracle or anything. What is really cool about the sx 210 is the zoom lens. I get shots with this camera that just wouldn't have been possible with my old Elf. There is such a huge difference between using the true optical zoom on this or the digital zoom of my old camera. In that way, there is sort of an increase in picture quality because I can get in close on my subject and not have to crop my pictures and lose resolution later. The video function is also a plus. The sound from the stereo mic is decent and, again, the zoom lens really comes into play in terms of the shots you can get. I've shot videos of my kids on stage, clear across a large hall, and really come up with some nice clips. I haven't used the manual settings on this camera as much as I thought I would. I've found it difficult to focus accurately or quickly enough with the little wheel. I play with it sometimes for macro shots and such but, primarily, I've used the automatic function to good effect. Someone who wants to spend the time and play with the various functions and gimmicks will probably enjoy this quite a bit. I tend to have my hands full these days and it has been very useful as a point and shoot, enhanced significantly by the ability to zoom in close. The pop-up flash takes some getting used to but over time I've come to like that feature. There are a lot of times I don't want the flash to fire and it's nice to be able to just snap it shut or hold it shut as you turn on the camera. It becomes second nature eventually.