Canon PowerShot SX150 IS 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD (Red) (OLD MODEL)

I purchased my first digital camera in 2007 for a vacation and have been very pleased with it's performance. However, the past couple of vacations I've taken had me wanting a new camera with a few more features, especially for video and zoom. After spending a lot of time looking at cameras on a variety of websites, I chose the Canon PowerShot SX150 IS to replace my older Canon. While the comments about battery life originally had me a little nervous, now that I've used the camera for a couple of months (purchased in Nov) I'm VERY pleased with it's performance.Here's the trick regarding the batteries - go for a QUALITY rechargeable battery. Rechargeable Energizers, Duracell's, etc are nice, but won't cut for extended periods of time with this camera. I purchased Eneloop rechargeable's for my old camera (had actually purchased more this past summer for general use), and they work great in the new camera. When I first got the camera and I put in 'fresh' batteries (ones I thought were charged), the low-battery light immediately came on, so I popped them into my old camera. Sure enough, the low-battery light came on for the old camera as well. After that (which was November), I put in what I knew were freshly charged batteries, and I haven't had to change the batteries yet. So I've used the same batteries for 3 months, taken several hundred photos and videos, as well as having turned it on and off throughout all the photo-taking numerous times.So far my only complaint about the camera is that to use some of the more advanced/fun features I have to do some additional reading of the manual. Not that this is a problem, I just have to find the time to read & play before my next vacation.

Alright, where to begin! I bought this camera on Dec. 18, 2011 so I have had a lot of time to work with it!To start with, the FIRST thing I would purchase are good batteries - not a typical retail brand such as Duracell or Energizer Rechargeable, as they don't hold up, but a Camera Quality AA! I bought the 4 pack OPTEX 2500 mAh NiMH Rechargeable.The 4 pk is great as when you are out in the field, the spare can be a life saver! I tested the Energizers mAh NiMH Rechargeable first and out in the cold in the middle of winter they were flat dead within about 1 1/2 hours. The OPTEX were strong for about 3+ hours and then after I took about 80+ photos came home, plugged the camera into the TV and then spent roughly 45 minutes viewing them - still no low battery. When the "low battery" light does finally come on in the SX150 camera, you still end up with a decent amount of time before the batteries are actually dead.The SECOND thing is a good SD Card. I purchased the "PATRIOT LX Series" 16 GB / Class 10 SDHC Card. It's Fast, Reliable and GREAT with the 720p Video Recording!Now onto the CANON POWERSHOT SX150 IS ...I upgraded to this from my Canon Powershot A590 and WOW what a difference! The first thing I did notice between the two is the scrolling wheel on the SX150 made everything feel smooth. The second thing I noticed is that with the A590, using the 'AUTO' setting was pretty much 'Good Enough.' With the SX150 it is NOT, as I found that it generally shot with a higher then necessary ISO (usually 400-800) leading to grainy photos. That meant I had to learn how to use the 'MANUAL' setting. For that reason, I am actually glad as now I have learned a great deal with the Shutter and the Aperture, and whatever else.The 'Special Screen Mode' and 'Creative Filter Mode' in this camera such as the Fisheye effect, Miniature effect, Toy Camera, Poster effect, Color swap, Super vivid are also great additions to the Powershot series!I've been using the SX150 a lot for Outdoor and Animal shots. I've gotten some impressive bird shots that were bright, clean and clear, especially as 80 ISO.VIDEO was the other thing that impressed me a great deal in comparing to the A590. First, it shoots in 720p rather than the standard def which is nice! I compared the two by recording at a Metal Concert and there is basically no comparison! With the A590 the quality was basic and the sound was brutal when the Bass Guitar was being played. The SX150 was smooth, clear and rather still as it seemed not to shake when I was cheering along with the rest of the fans.With this camera, I have now had 10+ photos appear on TV via The Weather Network and have been printed in a couple different Local Papers.I honestly think that once you've mastered this camera, your next one should be a SLR.One other note:A lot of people have been comparing the SX150 to the SX40. A friend of mine has the SX40 and when you look at the quality between the two, they are almost identical! The only big difference I notice is that the SX40 has a 35x Optical Zoom as the SX150 has a 12x Optical Zoom. To me that was not worth an additional $200.All The Best!

The new Canon SX 150 camera should probably be subtitled, "Possibly The Best All-Around, Point-And-Shoot, Off-Road-Adventure Camera - Affordable - for the Average Person Today."I recently bought this camera, the SX 150 HS, and I also have owned/used the earlier models in this same line for several years now - the SX 110, SX 120, and SX 130 - so I have several years experience with it, all of it very positive. Yes, it runs on AA batteries, but that is the GOOD NEWS! If you don't like that, then buy one of the 100 other cameras available that don't use them. Use some form of proprietary lithium-ion battery instead which will set you back $25 to $75 apiece for each spare battery, and it will not even last two functioning years. You will also need several of those batteries for any extended trip, and when you buy your next camera they won't fit it, so you can then just throw away that extra $100 to $200 in useless, expensive, non-interchangeable batteries.Now if you are an average person who doesn't HAVE an extra $100 to $200 to throw away every couple of years on proprietary batteries that only fit one camera, then please read on.This is the LAST REMAINING, top quality, 2-AA battery, point-and-shoot camera left on the market, people. There are some very good economical reasons to PREFER that choice. Anywhere you travel, you can ALWAYS buy - or borrow - AA batteries to keep it going. The AA batteries are about as universal an item as exists on the planet, so you can still keep shooting this camera almost anywhere you go. But you absolutely should use rechargeable AAs whenever you can to save money - a LOT of money. And they last much longer on each charge. I get about 350 large JPEG photos per charged set, and since I sometimes shoot a lot of photos in one place, I always carry at least two pairs of backup batteries to swap out.&&&&&&&UPDATE EDIT: In Dec. 2011, I bought my first few sets of Sanyo eneloop AA rechargeable batteries. Since then I have used them very, very successfully in this camera. On a recent field trip to the local mountains near Monterey, CA, I set out with a fully-charged pair of eneloop AA batteries in the SX150, and I carried a backup pair of eneloop AAs just in case. I did a full day of shooting with 425 full-sized JPEGs and 8 minutes of HD video, and I used a lot of zoom and frequently turned the camera off and on too. That is a LOT of battery use for one set of AA batteries. The batteries finally ran out early the next day as I was testing some of the features on the camera. It is my understanding that it costs less than 1 cent apiece in household current to recharge them each time, and that they are guaranteed to recharge at least 1500 times. And they are also supposed to hold about 70% of their full charge even after three years just sitting on a shelf! (Unlike the older style of rechargeable AA batteries that lost their charge fairly quickly.) Since they last at least 2 to 3 times as long as standard alkaline batteries on each charge, that would represent a total savings of at least $1500 (fifteen hundred dollars) over the cost of buying 3000 alkaline batteries on sale at only 50 cents apiece FOR EACH PAIR OF AA ENELOOP BATTERIES that you would use on any other household devices in your own home. Don't think of them as just being for use in a camera. They work in everything requiring AA batteries. Flashlights, computer mice, remotes (they make them in AAA too), children's toys, shop tools, wall clocks or anything else you might use them for in your home. They sell for about $20 on Amazon for an 8-pack of them. That represents a savings of about $6000 over the 1500 cycle lifetime of each 8-pack of eneloop batteries you buy and use instead of regular alkaline batteries. Do the math yourself and you will be astounded by how many thousands of dollars they can save you around your home over a period of 5, 10 or even 20 years.BTW - As a special note. The "low battery" light comes on in the SX150 camera long before the batteries are actually dead. That is because the SX150 is calibrated for 1.5 volt alkaline AA batteries. The Sanyo eneloop AA rechargeable batteries only recharge to about 1.2 volts or 1.3 volts at most. The camera "thinks" they are low because it looks for a low voltage to decide that. Some cameras do have a menu item to change the battery check away from alkaline batteries (at 1.5 volts) to rechargeable batteries (at 1.2 or 1.3 volts), but I don't think the SX150 gives you that option. Just keep using them until they actually do run out and you will be surprised at how long they really do last.Best wishes to all, - John&&&&&&&&Regular alkaline batteries don't last long, and are obviously WAY too expensive to use in any AA battery camera for more than very occasional shooting. That is printed right in the instruction manual. Honestly, you are just supposed to know that fact ahead of time.You only use alkaline batteries in emergencies when you simply run out of the extra recharged ones you are carrying with you and you find yourself in a tight spot. Later on when you buy your next camera, you can transfer those same AA batteries to it without spending a dime buying a single new, proprietary lithium-ion battery in the whole process. Rechargeable AA batteries are unbelievably cheaper in the long run - and much better for the environment - if you add up all of the costs and waste involved in going through one new set of proprietary lithium-ion batteries after another as the years go by.That is probably this camera's best, preferred, long-term feature, but by no means its only good feature. It is also very light weight and compact. It will not fit in your shirt pocket, but it is not supposed to. Your shirt pocket is where your cell phone goes with its own built-in camera. The slightly larger and heavier (and much better image quality) Canon SX 130 or SX 150 will fit easily into your coat pocket, travel bag, or purse, which is where it belongs, anyway.Should you buy the new SX 150 if you already have an SX 130? That depends on you, but especially on whether you want a backup camera with you when you go out on a photo shoot. On my most recent trip I took my older SX 120 camera with me as a backup. I don't want to be out in the wilderness with no backup camera, and the best backup camera is the one closest to my current camera as possible. On my next trip I will take my SX 150 and my SX 130 will become my new backup camera.Now I will sell my older SX 120, which still works fine after three years, to somebody else who understands the reliable and cost-effective value of having a good 2-AA point-and-shoot camera. That has been my experience with the whole Canon SX 100+ Power Shot line over the last several years now, and it has all been very positive. I hope this review may help others who may not have seen some of this economical, common sense information discussed in this way before. Best wishes and good photo results to all.UPDATE: There is at least one other important option with the SX 150 that I have not really described here in my original post, but since it is a generally affordable one it deserves some serious consideration. It is the option my wife and I personally chose and have used with wonderful success together through the SX120, SX130 and now the SX150 model cameras. You can buy 2 - Canon SX150s, for the price of 1 - Canon SX40. (We do actually own an SX40, too, but we have found we rarely use it except for super-long 35X telephoto shots. It is just too cumbersome for us to carry around with us most of the time in it's separate camera bag.) My wife carries one SX150 with her, I carry the other. (She chose a black one, I wanted a red one!) At least one of us ALWAYS has at least one of those two SX150 cameras with us at all times. Together we get more good shots that way and under a wider variety of circumstances than either of us would separately. And we teach each other new techniques with the camera. If I figure out a new manual setting, I teach it to her. She may discover a new camera angle that had not occurred to me to try. We have found that when we shoot the very same field trip together we shoot different things because we zero in on different things. We complement each other's photography, and that has been an even more fulfilling experience for us personally to share together.Again best wishes, John

This camera takes pretty descent pictures but I don't find it very user friendly for example I wanted to take a short video the other day and turned the dial to the picture with the video camera and it took a picture instead of video. Not sure what is up with that but I guess I will have to sit down with the manual and get acquainted.My other complaint is that it doesn't come with a memory card so make sure you pick one up at the same time you purchase the camera if you don't already have one. Okay one more complaint before I get to what I liked. The batteries don't last long at all so you need to get rechargeables or it's too expensive to take photos.Now to what I liked which is the zoom. It goes a long, long way which is why we wanted it. You better have a steady hand or tripod for extreme zooming though. All in all I am happy I have a decent camera that didn't break the bank but wish it was simpler to use.

Love this camera. Takes wonderful crisp and color accurate photos. But, somehow, dust has found it's way into the inside of the lens (although the camera is handled carefully and kept in a case when not in use). Contacted Canon to find out if the camera can be sent in for cleaning and was told that they don't do that. Canon will be happy to give me a certain amount of credit for an upgrade to a better camera, but they don't find it cost effective to take the time to clean the insides of this model. It infuriates me to think of how wasteful this company is because here I am now stuck with a perfectly functional camera that I love to use and cannot use because it's not "worth" it to them to clean it. Absolutely ridiculous!!! I'm pretty handy, but viewing the online video of how to take this camera apart for service is waaaaaay too complicated even for me. Besides, taking a piece of optical equipment apart in anything but a totally dust free environment would only make the problem worse. It needs professional service and that service is unavailable.