Canon PowerShot ELPH 170 IS (Black)

A very nice and small point and shoot camera. We took this to Alaska two weeks ago and used it extensively to photograph animals in Denali Park. The zoom feature worked very well. The only limitation using the zoom is that the image on the viewfinder is so small that I did not know if I got the images I wanted until we got back to the lodge and I loaded the memory card into my laptop. Then we could see the full image magnified and could edit or delete those we did not want to keep. I have other, larger cameras and chose not to take them as they are bulky. This little camera fits in a pocket. I gave my big digital SLR camera to my daughter as it was a pain to carry on a trip. Others with us in the park had elaborate equipment and several commented favorably on my images when seeing them on the laptop. It is a good choice forma trip unless you want superzoom capability and are willing to put up with the equipment. The battery life is also excellent. I have taken trips in the past with teenagers who were always having to recharge batteries. I did not recharge this one at all.

This camera is compact and has been very reliable. It doesn't produce professional quality pictures and videos, but is quick and easy to use, and gives imagery that is comparable to my mobile phone camera. The fact that it has an optical zoom means it outperforms my phone's camera on long shots. The main drawback is that it has a proprietary battery, so you have to buy a charger and either buy multiple batteries or risk the camera going dead when you most need it.

This little camera is truly amazing! We recently went on a two trip to Europe. I was looking for a small camera which could take good quality pictures and was more convenient than lugging around my DSLR. Boy, did I find it! Quality of images is superb. Color reproduction couldn't be better. The camera's ability to handle difficult lighting situations is phenomenal. It focuses quickly in any lighting situation in which I used it, including low light. Because of its small size and versatility I was able to capture many great images on the fly that I would not have been able to get with my larger camera. I could not be more pleased and highly recommend this camera to anyone!

It's a good camera for the price! Set it to program mode and ISO 100 for the cleanest results. Image quality is very good when there is enough light, and since it has a flash, it will do better than a smart phone in most low-light situations. This has a real flash that will outperform the LED on your smartphone any day. I have always loved night time people-photos from my Canon PowerShot cameras. The zoom range is very big, but is best for daytime or flash. It's a great simple camera to keep in your pocket. I would recommend it for this price range. The first photo is about 11mm, the second is wide angle at 4.5mm and the third is not quite the full optical zoom at 31mm.

Takes great photos and is very lightweight and small. Very good videos also

Just received this camera and haven't used it yet. However, it did not come with a memory card and did not mention that in the product specifications, comments, etc. also, very little documentation. mostly saying how to charge the battery and installing it, thanks!The first part of the instructions tell you to go to their web site to download the electronic manual. I have searched and searched on the canon site, but it appears there is no manual. the only reference to this camera is the product features. i understand not including a full manual, but if one doesn't exist, they should not tell me to download it. BUT, they should have a manual available! Two stars because it may actually take decent pictures.Just notice a side compartment where I can plug in a cable to download to a pc (thought i would have to remove memory card which makes it a pain if you have an ipad or device with doesn't have a sd card reader (which tablet does?). Anyway, not mention about the cable you need or where to buy it, etc. Stupid. maybe should downgrade to a one star.maybe a good camera, but defintely not user friendly.

I bought the ELPH 170 IS to replace an old Powershot A470 that started having some issues.The positives: It's small & easy to carry. It's easy to use, especially if you've owned a Canon camera previously. The LCD screen is adequate (the exact same size as the one on my old A470). It's not overly complicated to use if you're not a camera expert, just put it on AUTO, point & shoot. Maximum resolution pictures so far seem to be OK quality wise but take up a fair amount of space so buy an adequate SD card. No flash images are much better quality than my old A470. The flash is better as well, it has a longer range than my old camera.The negatives: It doesn't come with any onboard storage for images. It doesn't come with a user guide. A manual is downloadable from Canon but that's up there with kissing your sister. It uses an uncommon battery (in the sense that you can't go into a convenience store & by batteries if yours fails). One strong point of my old A470 was that it uses AA batteries that you can get everywhere. Because it uses a special battery I had to buy an extra to always have a charged battery available. Not supplying onboard memory and using a special battery adds to the cost of the camera.Conclusion: The camera is easy to use, does a good job. When you guy an SD card don't go too large unless you're going to take a LOT of pictures or do a lot of video. I had a spare 16GB SD card in desk and it's got space for literally thousands of max resolutions images. A 2GB card would probably be plenty for most people. If you're looking for an easy to use camera that takes good pictures this one will probably do you just fine. If you're a professional photographer and want to control every aspect of the shooting experience this likely isn't the camera for you.