[I'm an amateur photographer. I mostly use my camera for photos of my toddler and when hiking. I may not know the correct photographic terms, but it doesn't mean that I don't appreciate a nice, clear, well-composed photo]
My Ixus 220HS (http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_ixus220hs) just died (stuck aperture blades) and my 2004 300D is getting a bit old (CFII memory cards!), so I ended up being rushed into buying a new camera. The SX710 seemed like a decent camera -- high zoom, solid feel to the body, comparatively big lens, and as it is a PowerShot model rather than an Ixus one, there's room for experimentation with the settings.
After a couple of days of usage I'm not terribly impressed. I've been using the camera outdoors, and invariably the camera decides to dial down the ISO to the point where the shutter is set to 1/30 s, which has been leading to a lot of blurry photos even without zoom. Sure, it's been mostly overcast, but this is Australia, so overcast is still pretty bright.
I reckon this is because the photos are very noisy at higher ISO settings, but I'd rather have noisy than blurry. I also would have expected the larger lens to be a lot brighter than it is.
The shortcomings of the camera become even clearer when taking portraits. The Ixus 220HS gave pretty decent photos, where the iris is nice and radiant. The SX710 produces dull irises, which on zooming in look like they are Monet paintings i.e. it's not a matter of pixelation.
The photos are simply not terribly enjoyable to look at in terms of quality, and I would recommend against this particular model.