Canon PowerShot SD940IS 12.1MP Digital Camera (Black)

I got this camera for my mom for her bday. She loves it. Its a great camera. Takes guality pictures, small and slim. The black looks good. I recommend this camera for anyone.

I got this camera just a few weeks ago and I shot a few movies in 720p and a few hundred pictures. It's the third Canon SD camera I have so I am quite used with the series. The first one died after almost 6 years, the second is still in use after 3 years.
The camera looks small even if it's the same size as the other 2 - it's because the rounded corners. The buttons are OK, the menu has a huge selection of modes, but not a manual one, the image quality is very good for a camera with lenses and sensor that small.
Recording video is easy and the quality is good, but there are 2 serious problems: 1. the length is limited not to the space on the card but to some limits Canon imposed with no evident logic behind it and 2. the video is recorded as H264 (great) in a .MOV container (very bad). Editing the video with popular tools like VirtualDub is almost impossible because of the poor choice of the container - AVI is far more popular.
One strange problem with the camera is that opening the door to the card compartment shuts down the camera even if the lens is out. I understand why to shut down (it is possible to extract the battery) but no idea why it does not retract the lens.

funny to read reviews on amazon; same item, some people love it, others hate it.

am surprised about the negative reviews for this camera; i've had three other canon's, this is my fave. great pictures, good options. i use it more for "art" shots, (see? i put that it quotes to NOT be obnoxious), so am using Vivid color, center-focusing (instead of face), and iContrast. i NEVER use the flash.

am really pleased with the pictures i am taking, and the video is great too (when i use it, which is rare).
great ergonomics, great size. the black version is unobtrusive. am carrying this everywhere.
will enjoy this for as long as it lasts (or until a newer camera insists on being bought...)

I have loved my Canon cameras, all the way back to my FTb (now you know I'm no kid). I thought I would replace my battle-scarred SD870 with the tiny SD940, after all it has about the same optical specs and more MP. I really like the small size, the black matte finish, and the overall high-quality construction - just like all the Canons I have owned. However, the image quality just doesn't cut it. I'm not sure why that is, I thought it was just the fact that I was taking a lot of indoor photos in natural light. But after I tested it in full sun, shooting landscapes, they were very soft as well. There is no excuse for that type of performance in a $250 camera in today's world. For me, image quality is most important because I do books and some large prints, and the SD940 has noticeably poorer image quality than the 3-year old SD870. I had to sell it, now I'm looking for a replacement.

Most of my photography revolves around my daughter. After noticing that out of the thousands of photos I have taken of my daughter, I didn't have very many with me and her. Carrying a DSLR around everywhere is inconvenient and I wanted something better than my iPhone so I started looking for something I could put in just about any pocket. I read reviews for about two weeks before deciding on this camera. The picture quality is decent enough and it takes 720p video. Its also very easy to hold out at arms length to take a photo of myself and my daughter when we're out and about. it's a great camera to photograph our adventures without getting in the way of the fun. It's also great for photographing places I want to return to later with my DSLR. Overall I'm very happy with it. The only criticism I really have is the battery life.