Canon PowerShot SD940IS 12.1MP Digital Camera (Black)

I've had the camera for 3 months now. The IS works very well, both for pictures and video. My only disappointment is the video format: they are saved only in .mov (QuickTime). Compared to the more common .avi or .mp4, the .mov files are large and will not play on a Windows computer unless QuickTime is installed.

The only thing little about this camera is its outside dimensions. It takes high resolution photos and videos, it is packed with features. Has a huge viewing screen. It's so simple to use, all three of my children (7yrs to 12 yrs) and wife immediately took to it.

I bought this camera for a family member, but I borrowed it for about 500 pictures on a recent trip to Nicaragua. I have an older Canon SD870 which I dearly love, but I thought I would like the smaller size of SD940 and it has HD video. The picture quality is up to normal Canon standards... no complaints there. Time-to-start-up, battery life are all excellent. But I have two complaints: (1) Even though I think I have normal size hands, the buttons (particularly the power and shutter release on the top) are just too far recessed to be accessed easily, and without looking. On the flip side, my Canon SD870 is just the opposite - it's too easy to accidentally power on the camera. And (2) Canon replaced one of the dedicated thumb wheel selectors... the shooting mode. I like to easily be able to select Continuous Mode. When you need it, you need it right away, and you don't have time to plow thru menus. For that reason alone this camera will not be replacing my SD870. If that's not important to you then you'll love this camera.

I bought this to replace a 3 year old SD1000 with the hopes that another generation of DIGIC processors would improve upon the excellent SD1000. Boy was I wrong. I should have listened to others who have said that Canon has lost it's way. This camera is very difficult to work with to get a good exposure - like a difficult to use SLR, you need to be aware of the lighting conditions and the limitations and quirks of the camera to take a good picture, you can't just point and shoot and feel confident that you've captured the moment. I found myself shooting a large number of photos and fiddling between the fully auto and the manual mode to understand when to use each. The fully auto mode is able to take some very interesting pictures that I was unable to reproduce in manual mode, for example taking a picture from inside a room of the view outside a window - in auto mode it is actually able to expose both the indoor and outdoor elements. However when outdoors the auto mode consistently produces overexposed and washed out photos. Perhaps the most telling sign is that I actually lost the camera during a trip overseas and did not mourn the loss at all - in fact a felt a sense of relief that I wouldn't have to live with it.

Other annoyances, the black paint chips fairly easily, the power button is hard to find, and it is nearly impossible to hold this camera without partially blocking the flash, which results in large dark areas in indoor photos.

Like a rookie QB with a great arm, this camera had flashes of greatness, but also demonstrated spectacular failures in simple situations and overall was a lot of work to live with. After 8 years of faithfully using Canon Elph digital cameras I'll be looking to other manufacturers now - it was nice knowing you Canon. Buyers be warned - STAY AWAY!

I did a lot of research and purchased, and returned, two other camera before I found the SD940 IS to be the one. I am extremely nearsighted and the 2.7" screen was better than the 3" widescreen on the SD980 IS. This camera is perfect in every way. It embodies just the right stuff!! Other camera, more expensive and some not, had too much unnecessary features. I wanted a camer that had some weight to it, took great pictures, great video and was compact. This camera fit the bill and was perfect for me. I recommend this camera to those who want a great digital camera with simplicity, yet a lot of camera.