I used this camera before upgrading to Nikon D40.
Pros:
Great Image Stabilisation and 48x zoom(12x optical, 4x Digital) helped me shoot more of MOON
Swivel display useful for above-head shots.
More manual controls of Focus and Exposure.
Zoom while shooting video.
Stereo sound recording capability(sound is less in camera playback, good in Computer playback)
Less red-eye issues because of High rise flash.
Capable of single hand held shots. though, it is bigger, it is POSSIBLE
Auto Focus works fine.
Digic processor is Zippy.
With all this merits, I would not recommend this camera because of the below IMPORTANT Cons:
Cons:( most PROs will notice this)
Smaller sensor+ Bigger MegaPixels - Result - Noisy Images( Canon S3IS is better than this cam)
Chromatic abberation and fringing in daylight shots.
As it is heavy, not suitable for Shaky hands(i have two)
Useless Low Battery Warning.
Intervalometer stripped.
My comments:
Though heavy, the camera was easy to navigate and handle.
Though the images were sharp and detailed, personally, I hated the Image noise it produced. mainly in low light shots. Out there, you have similar cameras without these deficiencies.
Battery warning comes out only when you have charge enough to take another 5 shots.
Sample:(please refer pages from 3)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/madhavakannan/
Believe me, CA and Distortion affects this camera’s image quality.
Alternatives:
Sony - H Series - Poor contrast and color - Poor button layout
Nikon P80 - Reviews are good.
Olympus - SP UZ series - Good cameras. Have a look at’em.
Panasonics - More noisier images.
Now, more zooms(26x optical zoom) are available in the market. If 12x zoom is sufficient for you, search for Canon S3 IS. It has same set of features. But has BETTER image quality for its smaller MP.
Hope this helps.
~ Madhav