Customer Rating: 
Summary: A Mistake
Comment: This is my third digital camera, I bought it after my tot dunked my previous camera under water. I did a lot of research before I bought this and it was highly rated in Consumer Reports.
After a few months of ok pictures (the macro setting is not very good though) the lens cover started sticking but I learned to live with it. I would manually open up the lens cover each time. Then the lens cover got stuck in the open position and I was learning to live with that. But now the camera is almost completely dead. It will not power up properly and sometimes it beeps.
My camera was under warranty so I sent it in and Canon claimed that I did not send a reciept or address with the camera. It took several months but finally Cannon repaired my camers and sent it back to me camera came back with the reciept and paper work that they said I did not send???! Less then a month later the lens cover sticks open again.. :(
They should have replaced the camera with a non-defective model!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Value..Until the lens locks up
Comment: I'm getting ready to purchase my third powershot and feeling like a glutton for punishment. My first, the A510 was awesome, took great pictures and never gave me a problem, then it got stolen. I immediately tried to replace it, but could only find the A520. All went well at first, the same ease of use (although the night shots/redeye seemed a lot worse). The lens cover would sometimes get snagged and remain open, but I was always able to help it along with a finger. I was still happy enough to buy into a proprietary option like the underwater housing($150), but then the lens mechanism froze up completely and would not extend, and the display seems frozen on the canon splash logo.
From reading all the negative posts about this, I can see that they obviously had some kind of design flaw. Due to the low purchase price vs. potential repair, the kids and I dissected it for fun but still didn't get it working (doesn't seem to be mechanical flaw). Unfortunately for me, I use it underwater a lot and the cost of a closeout A520 is still cheaper than getting another brand of camera and a new underwater housing...so it looks Canon will get me for another $100.
Customer Rating:
Summary: could be better
Comment: the cover over the lense broke/small lcd screen/ pictures are pritty good/battery life is pritty good/some images can come out a bit blurry if theres no flash and your hands arnt that steady/takes nice portaits/ easy to use/ has a veiw-finder.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Worthless
Comment: I bought this camera on the recommendation of a store technician over another HP digital. The camera has spent as much time in the repair shop as it has being used. The delay between pictures is incredibly long. The lens/shutter doesn't open properly. (Two other family members who own Powershot A520's are having the same problems.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good and Bad
Comment: I have been a 35mm film person for the past 30 years. I bought this camera in Oct '05 as I have family members in Iraq and Kuwait this year and wanted to be able to email them pictures asap. I found picture color to be accurate and the flash coverage good, even for a recent church wedding. The size is nice -- big enough to have a firm, safe grip on the camera yet small enough to want to take everywhere. But....most pictures have red eye, even when red eye reduction is on. The sharpness of the pictures is so-so. They just don't seem to have the absolutely sharp, in-focus look to them that I am used to with my film pictures. I have not had the lens sticking problem I have read about in other reviews but, due to picture quality, I only use this camera for those need-to-send-now pictures. If you want an inexpensive camera/are new to photography this is an ok camera. If sharp pictures and minimal red eye are important to you keep looking elsewhere.
Summary: A Mistake
Comment: This is my third digital camera, I bought it after my tot dunked my previous camera under water. I did a lot of research before I bought this and it was highly rated in Consumer Reports.
After a few months of ok pictures (the macro setting is not very good though) the lens cover started sticking but I learned to live with it. I would manually open up the lens cover each time. Then the lens cover got stuck in the open position and I was learning to live with that. But now the camera is almost completely dead. It will not power up properly and sometimes it beeps.
My camera was under warranty so I sent it in and Canon claimed that I did not send a reciept or address with the camera. It took several months but finally Cannon repaired my camers and sent it back to me camera came back with the reciept and paper work that they said I did not send???! Less then a month later the lens cover sticks open again.. :(
They should have replaced the camera with a non-defective model!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Value..Until the lens locks up
Comment: I'm getting ready to purchase my third powershot and feeling like a glutton for punishment. My first, the A510 was awesome, took great pictures and never gave me a problem, then it got stolen. I immediately tried to replace it, but could only find the A520. All went well at first, the same ease of use (although the night shots/redeye seemed a lot worse). The lens cover would sometimes get snagged and remain open, but I was always able to help it along with a finger. I was still happy enough to buy into a proprietary option like the underwater housing($150), but then the lens mechanism froze up completely and would not extend, and the display seems frozen on the canon splash logo.
From reading all the negative posts about this, I can see that they obviously had some kind of design flaw. Due to the low purchase price vs. potential repair, the kids and I dissected it for fun but still didn't get it working (doesn't seem to be mechanical flaw). Unfortunately for me, I use it underwater a lot and the cost of a closeout A520 is still cheaper than getting another brand of camera and a new underwater housing...so it looks Canon will get me for another $100.
Customer Rating:
Summary: could be better
Comment: the cover over the lense broke/small lcd screen/ pictures are pritty good/battery life is pritty good/some images can come out a bit blurry if theres no flash and your hands arnt that steady/takes nice portaits/ easy to use/ has a veiw-finder.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Worthless
Comment: I bought this camera on the recommendation of a store technician over another HP digital. The camera has spent as much time in the repair shop as it has being used. The delay between pictures is incredibly long. The lens/shutter doesn't open properly. (Two other family members who own Powershot A520's are having the same problems.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good and Bad
Comment: I have been a 35mm film person for the past 30 years. I bought this camera in Oct '05 as I have family members in Iraq and Kuwait this year and wanted to be able to email them pictures asap. I found picture color to be accurate and the flash coverage good, even for a recent church wedding. The size is nice -- big enough to have a firm, safe grip on the camera yet small enough to want to take everywhere. But....most pictures have red eye, even when red eye reduction is on. The sharpness of the pictures is so-so. They just don't seem to have the absolutely sharp, in-focus look to them that I am used to with my film pictures. I have not had the lens sticking problem I have read about in other reviews but, due to picture quality, I only use this camera for those need-to-send-now pictures. If you want an inexpensive camera/are new to photography this is an ok camera. If sharp pictures and minimal red eye are important to you keep looking elsewhere.