I bought this camera about 15 days back. I have used it a couple of times indoors, outdoors and indoors with low-light conditions.
Used correctly, this camera does a great job of taking good quality images. I had to play with the camera for about 15-20 mins to get familiar with it so I could take the best pictures possible. My sister owned a Powershot A530 before this one and i had the same experience with that too.
This camera fits nicely in your jeans pocket and is quite light.
You will need a tripod to take good low-light shots. I have a cat and a rabbit and a 3 yr old nephew - The kids and pets setting really works well to take pictures of them. Generally the few manual settings it does have are good enough for a serious amateur photographer.
One gripe I do have is that with regular AA alkaline batteries the flash recycle time can go up to 8 seconds and the camera is blank and unusable during this time. This of course is a problem with most canon Powershots. The solution I have found is to use batteries made specifically for taking pictures (Duracell makes some) or just use rechargeable NiMH batteries. This works great. Almost down to 1 sec between shots with that.
Overall I'd definitely recommend this camera to anyone. But you have to be a little patient and get used to it first - I think this is true for any good camera out there though.

This camera takes excellent pictures. I particularly like the Optical Image Stabalization, Motion sensor, and face recognition. I only make 4 X 6 prints. So far no problems. The pet/children mode does a good job of stopping action.
I've used the optical viewfinder a couple of times. It doesn't show 100% of the picture, but it sure makes a difference in extreme sunlight.
Sometimes it is necessary indoors to increase the ISO in order to increase the flash distance (easily done with a button). I still get great pictures. I know some reviewers blow the pictures up and indicate the noise in the picture. It's just not evident in normal picture prints. I'm sure there would be obvious noise if I was using high ISOs. Battery life is great also. I use Lithium AAs. They last so long there is no need to use recharageable batteries.
The only thing I definately miss is a button to delete "ALL" pictures. There's a button for individual deleting, but you have to use the menu to detete all. I guess you could look at it as a safety feature, making it hard to accidentially delete all your pictures.
There is a lack of manaul controls, but I never used the manual controls in my prior cameras.
The camera size will fit into a pocket, even though I prefer using a case that fits on my belt. I would highly recommend this camera to others.

I got this camera a few weeks ago to replace a previous Canon digital camera (the A540) that I absolutely loved. So far I've been very happy with this one, with one glaring exception - not specifically about the camera itself, but rather the software that comes with it.

I'm an amateur photographer and find that this type of point-and-shoot works well for me - especially since it has a 4x optical zoom which gives clearer, more vivid photos. I really like how easy the Canon cameras are to use and the range of features - and this one doesn't disappoint. I also like the 2.5" LCD and the fact that this camera is small enough to easily fit in a pocket or purse. It's really very versatile and I love that about it.

The only things that I really can complain about are that I do somewhat miss the chunky handgrip on my previous Canon, but that's not a huge deal. What IS a huge deal, for me anyway, is their 'updated' version of the Camera Window software that comes with this camera. This is the software that you run to download photos from the camera - and I can't believe how horrible this particular version is. The previous version that I used with my other Canon camera was great - it was windows-based and you could select any photos on your card then download, print or delete them as you wished. However, in this new version - it's got a black interface, no text by the icons to tell you what they do - and there is no way to delete the photos from your card. I e-mailed Canon to double-check and was told that yes, this is the case - you have to use Windows Explorer to delete your photos. Why I would want to use two different programs when before I could easily use just one is beyond me... I'm going to re-install the old version that I have and hope that it will work with this camera, because I am incredibly annoyed with the new version right now.

Other than the software issue, I love this camera and think that it's a very good choice for someone who wants a camera that takes a great quality photo and is easy to use and carry around. I only hope that Canon will re-think the Camera Window decision - I'm a loyal Canon enthusiast, but am very disappointed in them right now.

Unfortunately not many point-and-shoot cameras have optical viewfinders anymore and that's a shame. This camera DOES have an optical viewfinder and that helps it to stand above the crowd. It also has an LED screen but such screens are nearly impossible to see in bright sunlight. Holding a camera at arm's length to compose a picture on a screen can introduce shake and cause blurry photos. Therefore, for many, using an optical viewfinder is a much better option.

Since this camera has an optical viewfinder, image stabilization, face recognition and a 10 megapixel sensor an amateur photographer who is using this camera can take superior photographs in good light that will yield sharp 8 1/2 X 11 prints. Although I usually use a digital SLR, I must say that I'm impressed with the quality of the images that this camera delivers...especially considering its low price, small size and 7-ounce weight. With rechargeable or lithium AA cells, battery life is excellent and recycle times are short.

The July 2009 issue of Consumer Reports features a cover photo of this camera and ranks it just below a $450 camera in its "compact camera" ratings. On their recommendation and after doing considerable comparison shopping and reading other reviews, I bought this camera for my stepson. However, before I gave it to him, I took many photos under varied conditions to ensure that it would be adequate for his needs. I was so impressed that I'll probably get one for myself.

The fact that I could favorably compare the photos from this camera with those from my much more expensive digital SLR was remarkable, but there are inevitable limitations. There are no manual settings for exposure or focus. The 4X optical zoom may not give as much range as some photographers need and the effective flash distance is limited. The sensor has excellent dynamic range, but introduces noise in the pictures when they're taken in low light with ISO settings above 100.

A couple of AA batteries are included with the camera, but you'll soon need more and better ones. A small 32MB SD card is included but a much bigger SD card or cards will be needed if you want to store more than seven or eight full-resolution photos. Therefore, your initial investment will need to be larger than the base price of the camera for it to perform up to expectations. Nonetheless, when considering the price, small size and very good image quality I believe this camera will meet or exceed the expectations of all but the most demanding amateur photographers.

Camera was purchased for my wife who reluctently agreed to enter the digital age. Wanted a point and shoot camera that was compact and fairly simple to use but she still wanted occasional creative control. She takes many photos in bright sunlight so a optical viewfinder(not too many point and shoot digitals have them) was a must since many LCD screens are difficult to see in bright light. So far the camera has met or exceeded her expectations. She took a whole series of photos outdoors in bright sunlight and photos taken at the Thanksgiving Dinner table and sent to the local Walgreens for processing were very good. Took a short video with a 4GB HC card just for fun and it actually looks pretty good on playback! All in all so far the camera is performing very well.

I've had this camera for only a week, but I already love it! Takes amazing pictures, nice and small, and very user friendly! I didn't think I would use the red-eye fixing feature on the camera, but I do and it's cool and easy to do..works great. I really like how when you are viewing pictures - if you turn the camera vertically, it turns the photo..very cool. Too much to list that I do like and can't find any cons so far!

This is an excellent camera for the price, but I was a little disappointed about one thing and pleasantly surprised about another thing.

I was disappointed that I couldn't manually focus as I could do with the Canon a510 that I purchased 3 1/2 years ago. This is especially helpful in low light situations. It's also nice to be able to check whether or not the auto-focus has focused properly...You can set the A1000 to "macro", "normal" and "infinity", but from there you have to hope that the auto-focus worked properly.

I was pleasantly surprised that the aperture automatically adjusted to the changing light conditions in the movie mode. You can also lighten or darken the light reading in the movie mode, but if you do this, the aperture won't adjust to changing light conditions as you make a video.

The camera is small enough to fit in a small case or pocket or pocketbook.

....I've owned the camera for almost a year now...I still miss being able to manual focus as I could with the a510. I was just out trying to take a picture of a spider's web. I couldn't focus on it with the a1000. With manual focus I would have been able set the focus on around 1 foot...Then an airliner went overhead. I tried taking a picture of that on 4x zoom and the camera would focus on it. If I had manual focus, I could have set it on infinity...Also, when it come to taking movies with this camera, I think that the a510 had a better microphone than the a1000.

This is the first point in shoot camera I have bought in over 5 years so when I decided it was time to upgrade my old digital camera I was surprised to discover that I could get a 10MP digital camera for half the price of what I paid for my old 4MP digital camera.

This camera is simple to use but delivers great photos. The main reasons I picked this camera is because of size and price and its performance which I have read about here and various camera websites. This camera is small enough for me to take with me anywhere I wish to go and its not a cumbersome burden like my old camera, since I have taken up hiking and rock climbing in the last year this is extremely important to me and so far it has been great to take along! The pictures it takes are awesome! I was really impressed with the quality of photos this thing takes when it is utilizing the digital zoom, it can really get out there and deliver quality of photos leaps and bounds over the digital zoom capabilities of my old camera!

Overall its a compact camera that is simple to use and delivers amazing photos! Doesn't take a pro to use this camera and get profesional results.

Thumbwheel w/icons on top are easier for my big fingers, instead of "thumbnailing" small buttons to scroll the LCD menu. Note the optiical stabilization (preferred over digital) and the 4x over usual 3x. I like the idea of AA batteries, being in the woods or on a roadtrip, you can pop in two spares, or buy them most anywhere. What if you left your charger at home? ...And where is the nearest outlet? Consumer Reports, 12/8, top-rated ENERGIZER Ultimate batteries, and the Sanyo LSD eneloop battery & charger kit (at amazon, about $34.00) look interesting. OR,..you could just carry a spare compact-type battery used in most other rechargeable point-and-shoots.

I bought this Canon Powershot just before leaving on a family trip and had just a few hours to familiarize myself with it before putting it to work. Given my lack of familiarity with any digital cameras, I have little with which to make a comparison, however, I found the camera easy to use and was very satisfied with the resulting pictures.
I was warned by my sister that the capacity of the memory card supplied with the camera would be too small, so I immediately bought another card. If I hadn't been forewarned, I certainly would have been disappointed on my trip.
Finally, in the course of two weeks I took about 300 photographs and ran through three sets of batteries. The 2x batteries are inexpensive and easy to find, but I don't know if that rate of use is par for the course.
Overall, I was pleased with the ease of use and the quality of the pictures.