Отзывы о Фотоаппарат Canon PowerShot SX260 HS

I received my SX260 last Wednesday and have taken about 700 shots and a few quick 5 minute video. Without writing a novel, here are the high/low points of this unit. In addition to this unit, I also purchased a couple of aftermarket batteries (and after market A/C adapters for about $5.00 each) for about $5.00 each and the batteries work fine. With the battery (original and aftermarket) I was able to get over 300 shots (50% flash) with zooming and playback and the battery meter still showed about 25% charge remaining.Pro'sZoom - very long for a subcompact camera 20x optical, total 81x combined (yes 81 times!)Image Stabilizer - Excellent (far superior than the DSC-HX9V); Even at 81x the picture did not come out of focus, but of course not as sharp. I think it's still acceptableScenes - A few scenes; I think the portrait, sepia, B/W works real well (the Portrait+ suppose to blur the picture a bit, but it's not to my liking) It has a few effects (fish eye, toy, miniature) that's very effective and can be fun for creative shots.Auto Mode - was able to pick the correct type of scene almost all the time; it has an easy mode, and smart auto. Not sure why they have an easy mode, but the smart auto works greatSize/Weight - very compact and weigh's 8.2 oz. I would have prefer if the lens was flushed with the unit, but at 20x it may not have been possibleUniformity - the unit does not feel cheap, and beautifully curved; no sharp jagged cornersGrip - the right side of the camera has a nice plastic strip for easier gripControls - Dial extremely easy to use with one hand. The other buttons, if you're a previous Canon user, it's a no brainer; the menu and setup are practically the same across all their models.Screen - 3 inch TFT LCD screen very beautiful; nuff saidProcessor - Didn't notice that much difference between the DIGIC 4/DIGIC 5, but compared to the DSC-HX9V, this camera is like a Ferrari.GPS - Camera has it, but I never used it and probably won't; at least for the time being. Am more interested in a camera that takes excellent pictureCon'sVideo - compared to the Sony DSC-HX9V this Canon comes in a distant second; if you plan on using this primarily as a video recorder, look elsewhere. I think Sony has excellent lens on their camera but their processing technology is clumsy, painfully slow and unacceptable; whereas with taking videos, the Sony does not do any processing (not to mention it captures at 60fps compared to Canon's 24/25 fps) This is one thing I will miss dearly.Flash - not sure if there is a good place but I had to change my grip as the flash is on the top left corner. Couple of times, I had my left index finger on the flash and the camera gave some flash error message and had to power off and power on the camera to reset the flash.If you're a casual or intermittent photographer (or a professional wanting an everyday point and shoot camera without carrying a luggage everywhere) that is interested in looking for a well refined point and shoot camera, yet has manual controls usually found on higher end DSLR (or higher end point and shoot camera), this is it!UPDATE 04/14/2012 - I paid $349 and today I noticed it's selling for $299, a 15% price drop in less than a month! I thought cars depreciate quick ...UPDATE 04/18/2012 - The Live Mode works great! For those hard shots (for example, taking indoor picture with fluorescent lighting and without a flash), you can view the screen and make the adjustment right then and there. You look at what you plan to take, compare it to the SX260 LCD screen and press the shutter button.

I would characterize myself as a mid-level amateur photographer - I'm picky about good image quality and not satisfied with cell phone pictures or a basic point and shoot. On the other hand, I don't want to carry a lot of bulky equipment and I don't know enough about photography to mess with things like aperture settings. Between 2005 and 2009 I went through four or five digital cameras as the technology evolved trying to find one that fit my needs. In May of 2009, I got the first camera in this series, the SX 200, and felt that I finally had the camera for me. It just takes fabulous pictures, is so easy to use, and easy to carry around. It has 12 X optical zoom, which was unbeatable in a compact point and shoot at that time.I've kept my eye on the newer models coming out and haven't been tempted to upgrade until I saw that the SX 260 had a 20 X optical zoom. I was concerned that some of the modes I used regularly on the SX 200 (indoor lighting, landscape) didn't seem to exist anymore, and another mode that I used frequently (portrait) still existed but wasn't accessible through the dial, you have to go through the menu.After a few days of trying this camera, I am just blown away by the image quality. I experimented with different scene modes, but there's really very little need to use anything but auto. The camera just figures out what you want to do. I've gotten a number of incredibly beautiful flower pictures without ever leaving auto mode. If you want macro, you just zoom in on what you want and there it is. If you want pictures of people, it figures that out and adjusts accordingly. The 20 X zoom is phenomenal and, as others have stated, the image stabilization is flawless. I can take pictures one-handed while holding my two dogs' leashes in the other hand as they pull and tug to keep walking, and there's no blur or lack of focus whatsoever in the pictures (I will say this was also true of the SX 200).I've uploaded a couple of images if you want to look at them.Regarding video, I'm of the school that if you want video, use a video camera. I do have a video camera, but I don't use it very often. Generally I prefer still photographs. So, I would use the video in limited situations where something came up that I wanted to capture and I didn't have my video camera with me. I did a little testing of the video and did not hear the whirring and clicking that others reported. The video quality is very good. I did notice that the playback was atrocious using VLC media player - there was a very loud hiss and the images would pixelate and freeze during playback. However, when using Windows media player for playback, the hiss was only slightly audible and significantly reduced, and the video playback was flawless. For the limited occasions that I expect to use the camera for video, it's perfectly adequate for my needs.I've been so happy with the Canon SX 200 that I really hesitated a lot before purchasing the upgrade. Finally I decided to give it a try, knowing that Amazon would take it back if I wasn't happy with it. I'm so happy that I did - I'm extremely pleased with this camera.Oh, I got red, not black, and it's a little more pinkish than I would like, a darker red wold be nicer :) But who cares, a fun color is nice but what really counts is how it performs.

Bought this for a recent trip to Paris hoping that the zoom would help me get lots of memorable pictures, and I was not disappointed! From the Eiffel Tower I was able to zoom in and capture the spires of Sacre Coeur with perfect clarity. I was very pleased. Also got some beautiful images at Notre Dame with the zoom. Some of the reviews said it wasn't good in low light, but I was able to get some spectacular pictures of the interior of Notre Dame in very low light. The video works equally well, and didn't drain the battery as much as I had expected. My kids love playing around with the slow motion video. It was easy to stash in my purse while on the Metro...nice plus.

ALL OF THE 5 STARS REVIEWS HAVE TOLD EVERYTHING ALREADY.It took me months to research and find the perfect camera, and this was the winner. Luckily It was even more better than what I was expecting.This was what I wanted:-A camera than took pictures closely to the quality to a professional, without being one!-Good night picture quality, no grainy or blurry pictures.-Long and quality Zoom!-Colorful pictures (without needing to edit the color each time)-Quality focal pictures......I got even more than this! you'll be amazed with the quality of all pictures, specially the night ones.It's hard to find a digital camera than takes pictures this good at night! Even caught ups fireworks, glow stick , Christmas trees amazingly well! (look at my tree in the customers pictures). The zoom is my other favorite! you can be in the last seat, way up in a huge stadium at a concert, and still get a really sharp and super close up to you favorite artist!..ill definitely recommend this camera to any one.Is the best small digital camera I've own up to this point.The cons:Just like many 4 stars say.. the flash location!BE AWARE OF THIS.. I WAS AWARE BEFORE BUYING IT, SINCE A LOT OF REVIEW TELL THIS.Everyone will definitely have a problem with the flash location, In my case I don't really care because I've gotten used to putting my finger somewhere else while taking a picture, but it does bother when you give it to somewhere else and they put the finger in there and the flash won't come up.You just ALWAYS have to remember to tell them not do that before taking it, or just like I do it, I quickly turn off the camera & randomly take a picture (to the floor, anywhere) before giving the camera to someone and the flash will stay out for a while for the next picture (or until you turn it off). People will see the flash is there and that makes them not to touch it.I can't really give this camera 4 stars just because of this, because In my opinion all of the amazing pro's that it has are worth it! If they ever make the a newer model with the flash in the middle, or somewhere it will absolutely be 100% perfect. For now i'll give it a 99% :)

So as to not repeat many other reviews, I would refer you to the review by E. Tam on March 20, 2012. This review is a good review and assessment of the SX260.As a long time user of Olympus point and shoots, I just wasn't convinced the last one I purchased was up to reasonable expectations. So, after searching, I settled on the SX260. I had considered its predessor the SX230 but just didn't want to pay another $100 over the Olympus I purchased instead at that time. I have never regretted the higher price for the SX260. It's worth every penny more.After 2 weeks in Europe as my first big camera outing with the SX260, I'm totally pleased. For the amateur, this camera has an excellent Auto Mode. Beyond that, it has myriad of features you can work with. It's all about how involved you want to get.E. Tam listed Video as a con. I would tell you that I am pleased with it. I've actually had other cameras which did annoying things like only zoom during video in the digital zoom mode or no audio when zooming. The SX260 does it all...optical zoom and audio. For a still camera taking videos, it does well.Low light/no Flash mode: This is absolutely terrific. I've always been frustrated with the poor quality of low light/no flash pictures of other cameras. Set to this mode, this camera takes 4 quick shots of varying exposures with one push of the shutter and then the internal software overlaps the exposures to create one amazing picture. You just have to remember to hold the camera very still because it is a slower shutter speed. No tripod needed. Many times at night the picture was better than what you could see with the naked eye. This feature alone makes this camera totally worth it to me.While the camera does a good job of not eating battery life, if you have the power save setting on, you should get another battery or two, especially if you think you are going to use the GPS feature. Set to on, it will drain batteries pretty quick. Amazon has some inexpensive generic batteries that work well.This camera does not come with a printed User Manual, only a disk if you want to print it off. Because the manual is 245 pages long, I opted to order one from "manualsink.com". It was worth the $15.If you want to protect your camera when you carry it around but don't like the bulk of a camera case, I bought a camera "wrap." Amazon and Ebay sell them. Search for "Pedco Wrap-up". It attaches to the tripod socket, wraps arount the camera and secures with a velcro flap. Once you get the hang of it, it's very convenient, quick to open/close, and will fit in your pocket.

I had an older Canon 'Powershot' camera for years and absolutely loved it. Then several years back I ordered a newer 'Powershot' camera because my wife wanted to upgrade a bit. That camera was not a great one though, and we have struggled over the past few years with getting quality pictures from it. We are not amateur photographers, and we only want something that can be taken to a child's school event and can take QUICK, EASY, and FOCUSED photographs without having to change the settings on it every time we use it. This camera does exactly that, and was very affordable, and is compact, yet solid. I read a lot of the other reviews on this camera before buying it, and I figured that if a camera had over 1000 reviews on it, and the average rating for it afterwards was a 4.8 star rating, it had to be a pretty darn good camera for the price! Well, they were correct in their rating of it, and I'm very glad that I purchased this camera. We will have it for several years to come.

The pictures are good. I bought because of the high optical zoom. For a simple to use and good pic easy vacation camera, this is a good one for the price and you'll like the pics.Major design flaw - the way you hold the camera, i.e., naturally, like about 95% of the population, your index finger will be over top of flash, which is supposed to pop up when needed, meaning you're blocking it. Dunno why Canon couldn't have just built it in like their eos models, but this is just dumb, i always think I'll end up breaking it, or someone I lend to use and take a pic.Could be a little more solid like the eso model, which, when travelling, it's kind of important.If you're 'easy' on electronics and just want a simple but good quality pic camera, for the price, this is a good bet.

This camera claims to be able to take great pictures under low light environments, but after use I see that the pictures lose a lot of focus and sharpness. When taking video it is even worse, I've had galaxy cellphones take better quality video under low light conditions.The zoom is very good however and there are many settings to get a good shot, keep in mind however that some settings require time for the camera to take a clear shot (slow frame shutter) and can result in out of focus images if you take fast action.

A little background: I have owned several film SLRs (Olympus OM1, Minolta XD11) as well as point and shoot (P+S) film cameras (Nikon, Minolta) and over the last few years, several P+S digital cameras (Canon, Panasonic). One of the most important things I have found is the need for a decent wide angle lens. For a P+S camera, I make sure it goes to at least (the equivalent of) 25mm at the widest angle. Otherwise, if I am standing close to a large object, I am unable to frame it properly. The lack of a 25mm wide angle is what prevented me from buying the earlier model of this camera, the SX230HS.The SX260HS addresses this issue by having a 20x zoom lens that goes from 25mm to 200mm. This covers a very useable range in terms of wide angle to telephoto. The quality of the pictures is excellent. The only issue, as others have noted, is that in low light, the auto focus isn't that great - it can take some time to focus. A minor inconvenience is that the pop up flash has been placed on the left side, where I am used to grasping the camera. This does take some adjustment and I wish they had placed the flash in the middle rather on the left side. However, like most P+S cameras, the flash is fairly anemic (doesn't go beyond 10-15 feet), so most of the time I end up turning off the flash anyway and just shooting using available light. Another thing to note is that, like many other P+S cameras, the battery is not very big, so it pays to buy 1-2 extra battery packs.This is the first camera in a long time that has got me passionate about photography again. The relatively small size allows it to be easily carried, while the very versatile 20x zoom lens allows for excellent closeups as well as wide angle shots. Another thing to note is that, using the publicly available CHDK software, the stock firmware can be temporarily bypassed, allowing for longer (e.g., 1 hour) videos, shooting in RAW mode, etc.All in all, the SX260HS is an excellent P+S camera that is small but versatile. Like any P+S, there are some design tradeoffs, and so the camera is not without its minor flaws, but all things considered, if you are in the market for a P+S camera, the SX260HS is worth checking out, especially considering Canon aggressively discounts the SX260HS compared to comparable cameras from Sony (DSC-HX20V, DSC-HX30V) and Nikon (S9300).

I researched and researched trying to find that 'ideal' camera....one that had great zoom, clear pictures, small compact size, fast shutter speed, movie capabilities, easy function and use. You know, the 'urban legend' of cameras. I decided on the SX260. From what I read, an improvement over the older model SX230. From a very novice photographer and in basic layman's terms, here's what I have liked, and not liked.Pros:Great pictures with flash, especially outside and in good lighting. Phenomenal ability to get real clear, real close up photos. Easy to use buttons and functions. Each option on the function wheel tells you on the screen what it does. There is a 'beginner' mode that does all the thinking for you. The lens is really impressive. Surprisingly large for such a small camera. The camera is responsive, but does have a small window of time on multiple shots, that the flash needs to recharge. When zooming in, the stabilizing feature turns on, to help still the shot. It is larger than our past compacts, but still small enough to fit in your pocket or handbag. The display is large (no view finder). It comes in cool colors. We got the green, which is more teal in person. No mistaking it with another.Cons:The shutter speed isn't super quick, but the camera can be placed on a mode that prioritizes that over all other functions. The battery, so far, has been the biggest disappointment. We are using the one that came with the camera, but it seemed like we got about a 100 pictures, and a few minutes of video out of it. We are recharging it again, for a longer period of time to see if that helps. I also read that turning off the GPS feature and limiting the brightness of the display will help the battery life. We'll see. The flash position is supposedly an improvement. I still find that it pops up under my fingers when taking a photo. Its probably just a matter of getting used to it and holding the camera differently. The camera's weak point is indoors in low light. The photos were a bit grainy.Bottom line:We wanted a portable camera that took both quality video and good photos. So far, we aren't disappointed. But as far as being that 'ultimate' camera...not sure if Canon's SX260 is it, but it comes pretty close. amazon.com has the best price around.

I did a lot of research before purchasing the Canon SX260-HS. I have a Canon 20D SLR that usually sits in the hotel room on trips because it is too big and heavy to carry on wander abouts. This camera slips very easily into a front pocket of my pants, so it is there when I want it. It has more bells and whistles than the 20D, which cost $2k in 2005. That's a sobering thought...Here are some LIKe and DISLIKE ramblings...DISLIKE: No viewfinder, but I knew that when I bought it--just didn't realize how much I would miss it. Small cameras generally cannot have both a viewfinder and a large LCD screen.LIKE: The white balance for various settings like bright sun, cloudy, tungsten etc. seem very accurate.DISLIKE: No printed manual--It's 246 pages, and you most likely will need to read it to understand half of what the camera can do.LIKE: Fast. Takes about 2 seconds to turn on and extend the lens. Less, to re-extend the lens from sleep mode.DISLIKE: Internal stabilization. I no longer put any faith in this and recommend getting a small, malleable tripod. Except in very bright sunlight, a picture taken one-handed will show jitter, and some two-handed shots will also show jitter. Brace the camera against a wall or lamp post where possible.LIKE: Pretty good video, but I can faintly hear the servo whine in the background in quiet settings. Using the telephoto in video mode without a tripod/brace will exacerbate movement.DISLIKE: Naturally, it won't react as fast as a dSLR, especially in lower light settings. For action shots, take bursts of multiple shots and keep the best ones.DISLIKE: No RAW.I believe that if I had the time to truly read the manual, I would be better able to understand the camera's logic and thereby possibly circumvent permutations I inadvertently may create.I'm a Canon camera devotee. I compared a lot of cameras on the CU website, and then read a lot of reviews on Amazon. I narrowed my choices down to the S95 and the SX260. I ended up choosing this one for the 20X optical zoom over the S95's potentially better low light capabilities. Now, if I did it over again, I might opt for the S95. Tough choice.If you purchase this camera, I recommend a fast card like the SanDisk 32 GB SDHC Class 10. With the least compression, it will hold over 5500 pictures. I also recommend you buy at least one other battery as they average between 230 and 260 shots per battery. I was able to buy a genuine Canon battery in retail packaging with hologram through Amazon--not one of their market place sellers.

About my need and what I do with my camera: I am an average Joe photographer. 90% of my pics and videos are of my 2 years old daughter. I don't/can't go in explicit technical details of a shot, all I can tell about a picture is weather I like it or not!I bought this camera due to my prior very good experience with other Canon Cameras. I had developed almost blind faith in Canon quality. I have/had Canon SD1100IS, SD1300IS, and SX200IS. I have been most happy with SX200IS with very good picture/ Video quality and it being a mega zoom camera.I thought, and had hoped for, that SX260HS would be equal or better than SX200IS. At least, all the technical specs are better. However, I think Canon tried to bite too much this time, got ahead of theirselves. They didn't need to try besting theirselves if technology couldn't support it. I am unhappy with this camera from day one, and honestly, can't wait to go back and get another SX200IS. (my daughter smashed it :( ) Here are the reasons why:1. Slow response time, at least compare to SX200IS. I can't give you exact details, but I can't seem to capture quick moments of my 2 years old daughter that I was able to with SX200IS.2. Distorted, wavey pictures often. (it is called Barrel effect I think.) Faces and objects look distorted as you go away from the center.3. HD Video zoom - didn't keep the focus while changing zoom. I got blurry, lost focus, videos often, to the point where I don't use zoom at all during video. Just a second or two of blurry focus makes the whole clip pain to watch for the rest of your life.3. HD Video - 1080P videos look choppy. Not sure if 24FPS has anything to do with it or not, bu I have hours of 720P HD video from SX200IS and it is buttry smooth. I think 720P is good for SX260HS too, but upgraded specs of 1080P aren't good for me.4. I am finding more and more blurry, lost focused pictures. I took about 10 pics outside in low lights, and 8 of them turned out to be blurry. I am Mad. I am done with this camera. I will also seriously consider buying locally to so that I can return POS like this easily, even if it costs a little bit more.There might be other reasons, but just the fact that I am not anxious to take pictures with this camera like other Canon camera's I had before makes me rate this 1 Star.edit 11/13/12: Added #4, and corrected a couple of typos.

I have been using this camera now for a while. I come from the SLR film days and needed something that would provide full manual (just enough) controls that would allow me to tweak settings if I wished. This camera is a 90% fit for me in this regard. No use having all of the bells and whistles and not be able to grab it and carry it along and end up missing the shot. There are compromises, notably some quality, for the convenience. If all you end up printing on is letter sized photo paper, you'll be fine. I use a Canon Pixma 980 and the results are as good as my SLR stuff from 25 years ago, all instantly, compared to those days. Take the time and go through the manual (it's a pity that it only comes in pdf format) it is really worth it. That being said, it's a lot to digest in one go, so give yourself some time to work through the features (and there are many). Seems that each setting has some gems buried in sub-layers of settings. Unless you clearly understand the basics and what the terms mean, it can get quite intimidating. The auto modes do work well though, and if you understand the impact of high ISO, various shutter speeds and aperture values, you can always tweak things yourself. The bottom line is that it does a fine job of both auto and manual shots. The wide to superzoom is really great, and combined with some really good low/natural light capabilities, this camera is lots of fun. The most confusing thing for me when I first held it was "where do I hold it?" It's so small, that I really do not know where to place my fingers at times, but the metal feel is sturdy. The flash can be a bit annoying sometimes, but I've worked that out by mainly shooting in "auto" and setting "no flash" until I do really need it. The GPS feature is handy, but I would not use it unless travelling around. Get lots of spare batteries, you'll need them, as battery life is not too good. Also get a good case, as the lens can be easily damaged. There is lots more that I can say about this camera, nearly all good; but I'll leave it here for now. P.S. Do not be afraid of the digital zoom, this one can actually get a really far off shot if necessary, and the blur is understandable, but tolerable.July 17th 2012 Update:Still loving this camera. Pay attention to all of the features and experiment with P settings. Keep ISO at around 200 and you will get the sharpest pics, although the high ISOs in low light on Auto does do a pretty good job. The camera has what it takes if you care to take the time and learn how to use its many features. Sometimes a bit daunting for the point and shoot person, but nice to know that manual settings are there when you feel to push your photography skills a bit further.October 3rd 2012:It has been six months now, and this camera does not disappoint ....period. Want a solid point and shoot with great quality? Buy this!

I bought this for general photo and non-critical vacation shots; the 20X zoom is great for critters, birds, sunsets and so forth. The only drawback to this camera is that the mode wheel moves occasionally when you put into or take it out of a pocket or bag and you then take photos in the wrong mode or not at all. Be aware that trying to hold a camera steady and compose at 20x is very difficult.

This isn't the model to buy if you want the wi-fi and instant posting capabilities. Also, the one that I ordered did not have a booklet/manual so that was odd. It has a lot of cool features mentioned on the Amazon board, but I was not able to easily work through it without the manual. Gives crisp photos and is compact so it is easy to take around (though, not sleek, its a bit stocky).

The ability to take this camera anywhere and obtain great pictures is amazing.The zoom and wide angle features assist in obtaining the shot you want.I carry it with me all the time . Far superior pictures compared to the I Phones.This is my second SX260 as the first got water logged on a ocean kayaking venture .

I purchased this camera a full month before it was released on Amazon for an upcoming trip to southeast asia. As luck would have it, it arrived the day before my flight took off. I've had good luck with Canon cameras in the past and their picture quality is among the best. The SX260 caught my interest mainly because of the 20x zoom. There are already a couple of reviews going into detail about all of the features so I won't be redundant. Just let me say that there are more features than you will probably use. I will play around with the myriad of shooting modes from time to time, but mostly I will do 99% of my shooting in P mode, tweaking settings as I desire on the fly. I love the GPS feature; I will keep it permanently on so that all of my pics are geo-tagged. The Canon imagebrowser software that comes with the camera will show you the exact location on Google earth where the pic was taken. Pretty cool! I used the movie digest feature during my trip and like it very much. The camera will record three second snippets of video before each pic is taken then stitch them all together into one video. Again, pretty cool! The battery life was a major complaint on the previous model SX230. I did not have any battery life issues with this camera, but then again, I only take about 50 to 60 pictures in a day. I spent several days exploring the Khmer temples in Cambodia, taking my 50 to 60 pictures and at the end of the day the battery level indicator was at half. If you take a lot of pics then you may want an extra battery. With my shooting style, the battery life is fine. The picture quality is excellent. The somewhat slow lens gave me a little pause when I was making a purchasing decision, but it turns out that the CMOS sensor coupled with the HS system more than makes up for it. Turns out this camera is the best low-light performer I have had. I love the zoom. 20x optical plus 4x digital means a full 80x. I took a lot of pics at 80x during my trip and was pleased with the results. Even at 80x, the image stabilization was able to give me a clear pic in full sunlight. I found that I needed to steady myself in lower light to get a clear shot which is to be expected. The camera feels sturdy and has a nice "heft" for its size. I did drop it twice onto solid concrete (not like me at all) during my trip with no ill effects, thank God. So I guess it is solidly built inside as well. My only gripe with this camera is the very annoying location of the flash. It pops up where you naturally want to put your finger. Many times, my finger was in the way when it tried to pop up and it "jammed" causing an error message that said to turn the camera off and then back on. That always corrected it but I was afraid I would eventually cause it to break. I considered downgrading the rating to four stars because of this but eventually I trained myself to place my finger behind where the flash pops up and no longer do I have any issues with this.

I had a Canon 780 IS and I love Canon cameras. I wanted similar but with a super-zoom and still pocketable. I am a total amateur but when I go to a concert I want to zoom into the band and get some good closeups. I just took this to Black Sabbath concert and got amazing pictures! I love this camera. I don't want to think when I point & shoot, I just want good easy pictures. This is the camera I will use for several years. I don't buy cameras very often, maybe once every 8-10 years. thank you canon. I also seriously looked at Nikon 9500 but I did not want to learn a new system if you know what I mean. I was already familiar with Canon's interface. BTW I chose black this time. My other Canon is a cool red but frankly after several years it is scratched up. I figured this black (boring) color won't look so bad after all the abuse I plan to put it thru over the next several years.Update: I wanted to add that I bought this instead of the 280 for a few reasons. The 280 has some problems from reading a lot of blogs. Also, this one is a lot cheaper. And I don't need the added features of the 280 such as wifi. Not needed plus I read it is not user friendly and hogs the battery. The 260 has everything I need.

Prior to this camera I had a SX200 that I loved. It unfortunately started having internal issues most likely due me taking too many mountain bike rides with it. The SX260 has all the features I loved about the SX200 plus it is much thinner, lighter and now sports a 20X optical zoom with IS. It's a tough combination to beat! I have a DSLR and the SX200 is a nice complement to it when the DSLR is just to bulky to bring along.

Pros:1. Compared to compact superzooms that I have personally experimented with (Panasonic ZS19, Sony Cybershot DSC WX300, HX20V and HX9V, Samsung WB750, Nikon Coolpix S9100, Casio Exilim EX ZR100) Canon does better at the basics of taking photos and videos than the others.2. The optical image stabilization works well and photos come out nice even with 20x optical zoom fully extended.3. It feels thinner and lighter than most compact superzooms (though Panasonic ZS series models are technically the most compact as the Canon's lens assembly is not flush with the body).4. There is reasonable amount of space to rest your fingers behind the pop-up flash.5. The 'Live' mode is an interesting novelty as it allows you to adjust colors before you take a photo (though the default setting results in the most natural colors).6. My daylight videos turned out just fine even though many reviewers believe Canon to be behind competition in this department.7. Comes with an external charging unit which doesn't require the USB cord and allows the camera to be used with another battery while the first one is being charged.8. The context sensitive menus are easy to navigate.Cons:1. The biggest disappointment was lack of in camera Panorama mode. Canon instead has a stich assist mode which allows you to align multiple snaps and use supplied software to manually put together a panoramic image on your computer. I'd suggest Canon incorporate Casio style in-camera panorama mode, the best implementation of panorama that I have seen so far.2. Flash pops up automatically and you can't push it back down with your finger. I like the design choice of Panasonic, Casio and Samsung compact superzooms where the flash isn't pop up and of Nikon S9100 where it's a manual pop-up and can be pushed back down.3. Even with the pop up flash there were way too many white spots in nighttime photos.4. Lacks the ability to take 3D pictures and email pics using WiFIBottomline is if you are not used to current generation features like panorama mode, 3D pics, WiFi etc. you will like this camera.

I just got back from a safari in Tanzania. People have been very complementary about the pictures I took with my SX260 - they say they look like professional pictures. I'm very please with how well it did. I really expected I would have to get a bunch of pictures from my brother-in-law, who has an SLR with a big zoom lens, but in fact my SX260 pictures are just fine.

Inspite of all the negative reviews ....which by the way are accurate, specially regarding the flash possition, the quality of the pictures, the lense, and the camera size are definetely worth the buy. my family and I love it. anyone can use it and get a geat image. I totally recommend it!

This review is for the Canon PowerShot SX260 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 20x Image...This camera has been all over the world with me. I only learned how to do the basic functions, but all of the pictures are photo book quality.I'm so pleased that I bought a camera with a 20x zoom, and the green color is wonderful.

Our old Kodak camera was out dated. Have looked for months for a new one and bought this one just before we left on vacation. My husband loves it. Took 400 pictures more than he has ever taken. They are all just great. Even from a distance the zoom worked great. Fits nicely in his pocket.