The reason for this is because the thing is cheaply painted. I took this camera to Prom and had it in a padded pouch in my tux pocket when I wasn’t using it except for once when I dropped it, but it was still in the padded pouch. When I got home I discovered that it had at least four places where the paint had been chipped off the camera. Why? I had no idea until I held it in my hand and realized that even touching it some paint was coming off! This would not have been so bad if it was the only problem with the camera, but it isn’t.

Other things wrong with this camera:

The Iso: As one reviewer pointed out, the Iso on the default setting of this thing is very high. That is an understatement. the Iso is through the roof! the only way to take decent photos with this thing inside and out, is to go to programming mode and set the Iso differently for every different situation you are in. Not very convenient.

The shooting speed: When taking a picture, it takes almost two seconds to process and display the picture you are taking. that is very slow compared to some cameras half the price of this one. it also becomes a huge problem when you are taking pictures of a fast moving object, like an animal or car.

Blur: Any time you take a picture of someone with this camera, you have to have your subject completely still! any sudden movements will cause a blur that will ruin the whole shot. For instance, when I took a picture of one of my friends dancing, the image was completely blurred!

Rotating a picture: Canon is well known for allowing the user to rotate a picture by rotating the camera. On this model, when you rotate the camera, the picture either doesn’t rotate or it rotates very late.

Menus: The menus are very confusing. For instance, when I was looking for the Iso setting in the programing mode, I actually had to do alot of guess work before I found it. Even then the function was not named “Iso Setting” but something different. I can understand needing to read most of the instructions for a more advanced camera. but this is supposed to be a simple Point and Shoot. you should be able figure out at least the basic functions without them.

Zoom: When you zoom in on your subject you are very limited on the distance you can zoom in. You either have very wide view, midrange view, or very close view. there is almost no in between. the same goes for when you are browsing pictures in playback mode.

I hate to be so negative, but these are my true experiences with camera and I want to warn other buyers before they throw away almost $200 on this product. I have heard many good things about Canon’s quality, but bottom line is this camera does not contain any of it. hope you find this review helpful. As for me, I am about to go buy a Nikon Coolpix S3000. hopefully will have better luck with it.

Rating: 1 / 5