Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS (Digital IXUS 80 IS)

Opinion: I've had this camera well over a year and got it as a carry-everywhere alternative to
the DLSR I mostly use. I've been puzzled to see the large number of positive
reviews of this camera: it's my third Canon point-and-shoot, and by far the worst.

The biggest problem, by a mile, is the picture quality: I really struggle to get good
pictures with this camera. They're usually, noisy and far from sharp. This is hard
to reconcile with the majority view here, so I guess it's possible I got a dud. My
feeling is it's a combination of too many pixels for the sensor size combined with a
poor-quality lens, but that's just a guess really.

I'm also disappointed with how little manual control there is. This is the first time I
didn't make that a major selection criteria, so perhaps it's more normal than I
realise, but I was quite shocked at how little you can control with this Ixus.
Obviously, this won't bother some people.

Opinion: Got this to use instead of a DSLR to use at a school camp. Results greatly exceeded my expectations. Lovely images that respond well to some post processing. Battery life was great - shot 350 images and camera was still showing max battery. I didn't use the LCD screen much but did use some flash. Very impressed. I have used a lot of small cameras but this is certainly my favourite. Spectacular value (I paid about US$120 new) Highly recommended.

Opinion: This is the 5th camera I have had and I won’t go back to any other. I’ve gone through Nikon, Olympus, and cannon. So far for being just a simple quick-pick, pocket camera cannon has it. The SD1100 is has been one of the best cameras I have used for under 300 dollars. I had bought this camera for my girlfriend about 2 years ago and it has survived some of the toughest punishment I have ever seen a camera go through. Needless to say she is not very nice with toys. But overall I recommend this camera to all who want the best bang for there buck and some of the finest pictures and videos. For instance new years of 08 we went to Seattle for the space needle and took video and the fireworks cam through clearly there was almost no blurring from the light at all. And again on the 4th of July she took a bunch of stills of the fireworks as they went off in the air. You could see every color clearly and even though to flash of the fireworks were bright there were no light streaks and no blur. This little camera is amazing for any and all types of photography

Opinion: Purchased as a quick still and video documentation camera for design grad school and it's turned out to be my number #1 camera in terms of use. Most impressive: the battery life and video quality (for such a small camera). I recently completed a two-week bicycle touring trip and a 10-day sailing trip, shot hundreds of photos and over 30 minutes of video and I still had the confidence to leave the charger at home. Low on immediate feature bloat so super fast and easy to use, but has enough manual features built in when I need them (rarely).

Opinion: Great little camera... got it as an upgrade from my SD 450, which I still love!!!
Crisp clean photos from what I call a knock-about camera. I mainly use it in the Manual mode for more control over my photos. Add the Canon Slave Flash & night-time/low light photos are beautiful, no noise.
Fast & Reliable!

Opinion: I wanted a small, easy and high quality cam

After deep searching I finally got the IXUS 80 and I am really happy with my choice

Pros

- Very good image qualtiy
- colours are great
- Battery life is just prefect
- the size is ideal to take it anywhere wth you
- pre-defined modes are handy in most of the condtions

Cons

- not always take great shot in Automatic mode, you have to twik manualy to get the best pic

Opinion: Yesterday i made a big mistake and got NIkon coolpix S550.
It took me 10 indoor and 10 outdoor pictures to realize i got the wrong camera, so first thing in the morning i rushed back to the store and exchanged it for Canon SD1100is.
What can i say..the image quality and the speed with which camera reacts are excellent !!!
Display is very bright and works in the direct sun light.
Image stabilizer works perfectly.

Opinion: Of all the point and shoots out there, this one yields images with the least noise. I
have compared it to point and shoots with many more mega pixels and it still gives a
output. The colors are also more realistic, some cameras of this type make the picture
look fake.

If you are interested in seeing some results, check out my website:
Vent5.com All the photos were taken with this camera.

Opinion: Value for money: this is what this little camera is all about.

The IXUS 80 IS is small, light, very well built, has a nice look, a quick response, a decent amount of features (for a cheap compact) and delivers nice, crisp images.

For the 150 euros it sells for now, you really can't go wrong: many other cameras in the same priceline really can't compete with this one.

Pictures are usable for regular prints up to ISO 400 (at monitor size up to 800), detail is very good and dynamic range is ok for a sensor this tiny crammed with so many megapixels. ISO dedicated button is very welcome as well as the possibility to customize the unuseful direct-print button for WB, while the many options for colour, exposure type etc. give a decent amount of freedom. Of course there is not aperture or shutter priority mode, nor in-depth settings, but you don't really expect anything like that if you are buying a 150$ compact.

My only complaint with this very nice camera is the lens range, which starts a little on the long side with its 38mm "not-so-wide" angle. This means you can't really shoot large groups, wide landscapes or interior pictures, and is quite limiting. But then again, compact cameras with real wideangles really don't sell for this cheap: as far as I know, there's only a sub-150$ model with 28mm lens, and it is the Fujifilm F480, which I owned for a couple of days just to return it back to the shop because of its very bad image quality.

Overall, I think this is a perfect choice for young beginners or amateurs who are looking for a cheap and small camera that still can offer good results.