Canon PowerShot A2000 IS

I think this camera deserves four stars. I have used at least 10 digital cameras in the past 10 years, not counting the SLRs. At this price, $249, I think what this camera offers is as good as you can get from a pocket camera. There are some pros and cons but the pros far outweigh the cons. I like the A2000's solid feel and weight, unlike the flimsy feel of the most other recent A series, such as my A570is. The pictures are as good as, if not better than, any pocket camera at this price. There are complaints about noise, but again find me better pictures from the same class of cameras.

The features, however, are what please me. I am not going to repeat them since it's on the product description, but the use of AA batteries and 6x zoom are must haves for me. For better pictures quality, I use my SLR, but for pocket convenience, I'll just enjoy this for the time being, until the technology catches up with our unquenchable taste.

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After using it for a while, I couldn't understand how anyone would rate this camera lower than 3 stars without good reasons. Try http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2008/09/19/Canon-PowerShot-A2000-IS for a fair review.

I bought this new Canon A2000IS camera right after it was issued (September 2008)for my China trip. It replaced my old Canon A470, which got wet on Iguassu Falls, Brazil and as a result got a problem with full opening lens.
First of all, new camera has perfect 6X zoom and of cause very convenient big 3" screen. It works just great even compare with higher class and much more expensive cameras by another brands. A few people of our tour group made pictures at the same conditions (for example on acrobats show) using different type of cameras. My photos were the best, even without flush and far from the stage.
Yes, you have to wait a few seconds to recharge the flush, but it compensates with using just 2 AA batteries (you always have spare).
By the way, I am using Sony rechargeable battery (thanks for one of Amazon reviewer)and it works perfect for quite long time and hundreds of pictures made even in the night.
So if you are not so picky and not professional, but average user,like me, it is a really great camera for universal purposes. I am very satisfied with my purchase.

This is an excellent compact digital camera. After my Fuji MX600ZOOM finally called it quits after 10 years, I chose the Canon A2000-IS after a pretty extensive search. Pictures are excellent, macro works incredibly well, video is clear and smooth as my video camera, and it's so nice to have a 6X optical camera that will easily fit in my shirt pocket.

Some complained about poor write speeds, and I can tell you at max resolution, max picture size, it takes just about 2 seconds for mine to write. The reason is, I didn't skimp on the SD card. I bought Sandisk's 20 MB/s SDHC in 8 GB size. ($47, but $20 rebate) I almost went for their 30 MB/s card ($67) but I figureed 20 was fast enough for me. Now if you stick a $12 Walmart special in, then yea, it will take a while to write the photo to it.

In closing, i your looking for a high quality compact digital camera, you won't go wrong with this one as long as you don't feed it crappy SD cards.

The camera takes great pictures and videos, but it has one big problem: It takes around 5 seconds to load the picture you just took, making it a slow camera.
With the cameras outhere nowadays, this sort of thing shouldn't happen.

It is definitely disappointing to have to wait so long to see the picture you just took, and to have to wait so long to actually take another picture. This happens only using the flash, so at least you won't have this problem during the day.

The other minor problem is that it is way too big.. it is not a pocket camera that's for sure. If you're looking for a small camera don't buy this one.

Aside from those problems, the camera is very good, your typical cannon camera.

Amazon was great! Said "shipment" in 1-4 weeks (plus delivery time); actually, it was "delivered" in 9 days (using free saver shipping). Plus, their price was $10 less than the featured vendor.

Got this camera after much research, to complement my "big" ultra-zoom. Needed something that used AA batts, SD cards, decent zoom, enuf program functions/features, yet small to fit in my shirt pocket. The Canon A2000 is perfect. The size/weight and wedge shape are right for one-handed usage (the smaller ones are harder to hold). And, I like the solid feel and construction.

Would have prefered an EVP viewfinder in addition to the 3" LCD, but since Canon only has an optical VF (on the A1000), it didn't bother me to lose it. Yes, it's a little hard to see the LCD at angles, but enuf of the image is visible to know what you're framing, and between the IS and sensors, the exposure/focus is fine. Bright sunlight is also an issue with the LCD, but again, enuf is visible. This is not a $300+ camera; given it's $160 price, it's awesome!

Regarding the delay time, I have not experienced any problem (using rechargeable 2650 mha batts). Non-flash shots are virtually 1 sec delay; continuous mode shots are about 1/2 sec apart, flash shots are about 3 sec delay. Often, the only problem is that you need to adjust many of the default settings - reduce image to 6MB & Fine, IS to "shoot" not "continuous", reduce the review time, etc. Oh, and I'm using just a "standard" SD card.

The quik-use functions (ISO, flash, drive mode) are very easily accessible. The Macro/Landscape quik-access is very handy to have. The AEL and AFL are very handy and easy to use (after you read the manual to find out how), and I programed the print button to use WB.