Customer Rating: 
Summary: bang for your buck
Comment: I researched digital cameras extensively before making my purchase, and I could not be more pleased with my new Canon S70! I was interested in a high megapixel count, a good zoom, but a price under $450.
This Canon S70 has less zoom than I want, but you can always crop later, since you have the nice Megapixel count, and I plan to buy the optional teleconverter lens. Having played with my new camera for a few days now, I believe its worth every penny and more, and I don't think you can find a camera this good, with so many options, for a similar price. Trust me, I've looked!
This is so much more than a point and shoot. If what you really want is a dSLR (like I did) but can't afford on (like I can't), you will be oh-so-pleased by this camera. It offers a wealth of creative options, but also has some quick "cheater" pre-fixed modes, like portrait, landscape, night shots, and fast shutter. The only thing really missing is a hotshoe for an external flash and a good manual focus (it has one operated by a button).
But come on...the auto focus is really good, and the red eye is much less than I thought, and you can always edit that out. And I am willing to sacrifice those things for the incredibly small size! It feels dense and solid--like it can take a good fall--but is not too heavy, considering what it is packing. It is very comfortable to hold, intuitive to operate, and the controls are logically placed. And my goodness, is it one good looking camera!
I chose this Canon over the similarly priced/packaged Nikon, Sony, and Panasonic Lumix largely because of picture quality, reliability, and size. SOny has high reliability, but I hate the coloring of most Sonys. The Nikon felt cheap in my hands, and the Panasonic Zs felt very tippy and too large (which you have to have for a zoom that size (though it became my second choice.) I looked on line at a website where a reviewer takes the same picture with different digital camera, and I was consistently favoring the Canon's--maybe its a personal preferrence. I felt coloring (especially skin tone) looked most natural, contrast was better, and details were considerably sharper--even over higher MP cameras.
And the picture quality of my camera has lived up to my expectations. Don't let people tell you 7.1 MP is not much better than 5 MP! It is. (Though if you just want to make small pictures and email them, you don't need all that MP) The coloring is dead on, the pictures are crisp, and you have options to saturate or soften the colors or change the white balance. But the pictures are so good--even with everything on auto--that I can hardly believe I'm the one who took the picture! Even when you take lower resolution pictures, they are wonderful (and save room on the way too small Compact Flash)
So do I still wish I had an dSLR? Yeah, I have to admit. I wanted the Canon EOS or PowerShot Pro 1, which is, by the way, a very comfortable, lovely camera (and not as big as you'd think, but bigger than the S70). But I also want a Porche. Besides, I'm not "Pro" enough to deserve a Pro 1...so I'll learn and practice on my Canon S70, have amazing photos, and then maybe one day--If I still feel the need for it--maybe I'll get a Pro 1.
But if you can't afford a top quality dSLR, you are better off getting a S70 than a lesser quality brand's dSLR. You won't regret it.
However, you should count into your budget the purchase of a real memory card, as the one that comes with the camera is puny, but thats true for a lot of high MP digital cameras. ANd when I have the money, I'll buy the teleconverter lens. But even after you buy accessories, you are still getting the most for your money in terms of options, quality, reliability, and happiness.
Customer Rating:
Summary: POOR LENS!
Comment: I purchased this tele converter lens as an add on to my Canon PowerShot S60. Boy was I disappointed. Let me first say that you first have to purchase an adapter to use this lens with my model (S60). Not a big deal since the adapter wasn't too expensive. The bad news is that the lens and adapter do not feel secure. As far as performance....the lens does what is says (brings in the shot 2X). However the images taken with the lens are terrible. The lens feels bulky and leaves a dark spot in the lower right hand corner of all images taken with the lens on. Do not purchase this lens. Stick with the built in digital zoom instead and don't waste your money.
Summary: bang for your buck
Comment: I researched digital cameras extensively before making my purchase, and I could not be more pleased with my new Canon S70! I was interested in a high megapixel count, a good zoom, but a price under $450.
This Canon S70 has less zoom than I want, but you can always crop later, since you have the nice Megapixel count, and I plan to buy the optional teleconverter lens. Having played with my new camera for a few days now, I believe its worth every penny and more, and I don't think you can find a camera this good, with so many options, for a similar price. Trust me, I've looked!
This is so much more than a point and shoot. If what you really want is a dSLR (like I did) but can't afford on (like I can't), you will be oh-so-pleased by this camera. It offers a wealth of creative options, but also has some quick "cheater" pre-fixed modes, like portrait, landscape, night shots, and fast shutter. The only thing really missing is a hotshoe for an external flash and a good manual focus (it has one operated by a button).
But come on...the auto focus is really good, and the red eye is much less than I thought, and you can always edit that out. And I am willing to sacrifice those things for the incredibly small size! It feels dense and solid--like it can take a good fall--but is not too heavy, considering what it is packing. It is very comfortable to hold, intuitive to operate, and the controls are logically placed. And my goodness, is it one good looking camera!
I chose this Canon over the similarly priced/packaged Nikon, Sony, and Panasonic Lumix largely because of picture quality, reliability, and size. SOny has high reliability, but I hate the coloring of most Sonys. The Nikon felt cheap in my hands, and the Panasonic Zs felt very tippy and too large (which you have to have for a zoom that size (though it became my second choice.) I looked on line at a website where a reviewer takes the same picture with different digital camera, and I was consistently favoring the Canon's--maybe its a personal preferrence. I felt coloring (especially skin tone) looked most natural, contrast was better, and details were considerably sharper--even over higher MP cameras.
And the picture quality of my camera has lived up to my expectations. Don't let people tell you 7.1 MP is not much better than 5 MP! It is. (Though if you just want to make small pictures and email them, you don't need all that MP) The coloring is dead on, the pictures are crisp, and you have options to saturate or soften the colors or change the white balance. But the pictures are so good--even with everything on auto--that I can hardly believe I'm the one who took the picture! Even when you take lower resolution pictures, they are wonderful (and save room on the way too small Compact Flash)
So do I still wish I had an dSLR? Yeah, I have to admit. I wanted the Canon EOS or PowerShot Pro 1, which is, by the way, a very comfortable, lovely camera (and not as big as you'd think, but bigger than the S70). But I also want a Porche. Besides, I'm not "Pro" enough to deserve a Pro 1...so I'll learn and practice on my Canon S70, have amazing photos, and then maybe one day--If I still feel the need for it--maybe I'll get a Pro 1.
But if you can't afford a top quality dSLR, you are better off getting a S70 than a lesser quality brand's dSLR. You won't regret it.
However, you should count into your budget the purchase of a real memory card, as the one that comes with the camera is puny, but thats true for a lot of high MP digital cameras. ANd when I have the money, I'll buy the teleconverter lens. But even after you buy accessories, you are still getting the most for your money in terms of options, quality, reliability, and happiness.
Customer Rating:
Summary: POOR LENS!
Comment: I purchased this tele converter lens as an add on to my Canon PowerShot S60. Boy was I disappointed. Let me first say that you first have to purchase an adapter to use this lens with my model (S60). Not a big deal since the adapter wasn't too expensive. The bad news is that the lens and adapter do not feel secure. As far as performance....the lens does what is says (brings in the shot 2X). However the images taken with the lens are terrible. The lens feels bulky and leaves a dark spot in the lower right hand corner of all images taken with the lens on. Do not purchase this lens. Stick with the built in digital zoom instead and don't waste your money.