Canon PowerShot Pro70

Opinion: An extremely well-made camera in this market of plastic consumer models. The image quality is extraordinary, and proves that you don't need more pixels to get a better photo. This may be because it uses 10-bit color encoding and some other proprietary Canon processing. The colors are completely natural and not exaggerated (like the Kodak DC series) and incredibly sharp. I've owned one for 3 months after having owned a Sony Mavica, Oly D400z, Kodak DC260, and DC265 (in that order). THe Pro-70 has come the closest to being the perfect camera, but it just misses the mark (see "problems"). Still, in these days of 2+ mega pixel cameras, it still shines and provides better photos than all the other P&S cameras. A close tie with the Nikon 950, but the Pro-70 just looks and feels better overall. The quality of construction and the quality of the optics (lenses) makes this camera worth it's price (easily!). Add DUAL CF slots (one is Type II!) and you have a package that is an incredible value.

Opinion: Great image quality; small JPEGs that can easily be doubled in
size. Unfortunately, this camera is only useful for static objects.
Shutter lag is way too long – up to 3 seconds with flash!

Opinion: Derek hit on most of the pros and cons of the Pro-70 in his review, so I won't repeat those. I too feel this camera screams for the ability to add a good 2x extender (or more). Image quality is so good that except for the inability to "reach out" for an image with a long lens, I'd hang up my 35mm for good. I also find myself envious of CP-950 owners for the great macro shots they get.

So long as you are happy with shots in the focal range this camera will give, the Pro-70 is hard to beat.

Opinion: the best camera i've seen until today (9/17/99) in my opinion the better choice, instead of 2MP cameras like the olympus c2000n the nikon 950 (no real 2mp too) or the sony, that only works with that sony typical "memory sticks " (urghhh)