I was looking for a high resolution camera with good optical zoom. After my survey to many camera stores, I was left with 3 choices. Sony H1, Lumix FZ5 and Canon S2 IS. Believe me all these 3 cameras have almost same specs and one has to narrow the choice base on his practical needs.
I settled down to Canon S2 IS for my own reasons. Though the body is plastic, strong enough to face the insults of family members when you are on a picnic. 12X Zoom lens with optical stabilization is fantastic and the pics are close to realistic.
Swivel LCD is very innovative. Flash is strong but u have the freedom of having an external one(First feature I liked). Supports SD card - flexibility of using any card reader and use with any other digicam (second feature I liked). Easy to handle and use. My colors feature is very creative and I liked it. USB 2.2 compatibility for fast transfer of 1GB movies.
I rate this camera 4 star because of hopeless lens cap design, small LCD (sony H1 LCD is superb). Lumix has Leica lens but canon lens is at par.
In my opinion using camera should be a fun but not like attending an algebra class.
Overall, very reliable camera with all the features that a DSLR provides. I recommend this camera to any hobbyist who can afford.