Canon PowerShot A80 4MP Digital Camera w/3x Optical Zoom

Rating:
Summary: Great camera!
Review: I love this camera. I bought it for myself about six months ago. It takes fantastic pictures, great video with sound. I'm a (very) amateur photographer, but this camera has encouraged me to learn more. It has so many features, and is virtually idiot-proof. I love the optical zoom, the flip-out LCD screen. Everyone I've used this camera around always asks to see it. Both my brothers bought one after seeing the pictures I took of their kids after our last family gathering. I give this camera my highest rating!

Rating:
Summary: Best camera I have ever used.
Review: This is by far the best digital camera I have ever used. I also bought the underwater housing. This camera is great for underwater pictures and the quality is excelent.

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic buy
Review: From an amateur who has never had a digital camera before, I LOVE the A80! I purchased the camera to simply take pictures of our new baby and easily email them to family and friends.

Initially, I appreciated the auto-focus feature, swivel LCD screen and 4 mega pixels to print great large-size photos (up to 11x14" photo quality).

After owning the camera for 5 months, I've discovered many more features worth using -- portrait mode, night scene shooting, short videos (a few minutes long with memory card upgrade), black and white, and even manual exposure shooting. The cons of this camera are few (see below).

PROS
* Easy to use for an amateur, but has additional features for more advanced photographers
* Lightweight, extremely portable and feels solid
* Great swivel LCD screen changes the angles of the shot without moving the camera itself
* Can turn flash and red-eye mode on and off quickly
* Has a "one touch" close-up focus mode
* Has a self-timer mode (2 and 10 seconds)
* USB hook-up to download your photos to your PC is simple (even for computer-challenged folks)
* The bundled software is decent enough for the average person's purposes

CONS
* You will need to upgrade the low-space 32MB memory card to 256MB CompactFlash card (budget approx. $50-$70 for this)
* The pause between shots (called "recycle time") seems long when trying to capture several shots quickly
* Does seem to eat regular batteries quickly (needs 4 AAs). I advise buying rechargeables.
* Does not come with a camera case

I did a lot of research and recieved glowing recommendations from several friends when buying this camera. I would definitely purchase this camera again.