PowerShot SX280 12MP Digital Camera with 20x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3-Inch LCD (Red) (Old Model)

Like many other reviewers, I knew this camera might have major issues before purchasing it, and I bought it anyway. I have a Nikon D3100 DSLR that I absolutely love, and a Canon SX20IS that I always carry along in my backpack for those instances when there's no time to change lenses to catch that perfect shot of something too close/far away.I love both of these cameras, but there are times I shrug off the thought of bringing either one of them because they're just too clunky. Sometimes all you care about is capturing those perfect family moments. Other times you feel like you're missing out on LIVING those perfect family moments because you're lugging around your own weight in gear.Last month my husband and I went to a museum, a dog park, and an arboretum, and all three times I left the camera bag at home (gasp!). It was freeeeeeeing! But it was also painful, because people without cameras use cell phones to take pictures. Acccck.We're expecting our first baby in five months, so I know the decision between Capturing Moments and Living Moments is going to get even more difficult. I bought this camera to compromise. I wanted something small enough to fit in my pocket but that would still take decent photos. Other features I cared about (in order or priority) were zoom, the ability to take short (5 minute) videos, manual options, and RAW capabilities.I narrowed my choices to the Canon SX280 and the Fugifilm F7770EXR. Both have 20x zoom and manual settings, and they're about the same size. The Canon has a bigger shutter speed range on both sides of the spectrum (1/3200 to 15 seconds vs 1/2000 to 8 seconds), better video options (60fps vs 30fps), and better image stabilization (lens vs. sensor shift). However, the Canon does NOT shoot RAW photos and the sensor is a tiny bit smaller.Ultimately I turned to reviews and decided that IF I could get the firmware to fix the battery issue on the Canon, this camera would be a better choice. It seems like the Fugi has a lot more complaints regarding video quality, and even though shooting RAW is important to me, it's one of those features that's probably best left to my DSLR anyway.So I bought the camera, checked the serial number, and verified that I needed the update to fix the battery issue. You can check the serial number by looking on the bottom of the camera, and if the 6th digit from the left is 2, 1, or 0, you need the update!The update and instructions can be found here:[...]A couple of tips about updating the firmware:*It's suggested that you have a 32MB SSD card. This card does NOT come with the camera! You'll need one anyway to take pictures.*You will also need a computer that can read and write to your SSD card, or an external adapter that plugs into your computer.*Formatting your SSD card is different than simply erasing everything on it. The instructions explain how to format; this step is super important!*After formatting the SSD card and copying over the new firmware, I waited almost an hour before popping the battery and the SSD card back in the camera. This was because I was charging the battery to 100% (per instructions), but others have mentioned a "20-minute rule."Before the firmware update, the red low-battery icon would start flashing immediately after hitting the video record button, and the camera would turn itself completely off after about 15 seconds.After the firmware update, I was able to take the following videos on a single battery charge:One 1:30 (one minute, 30 second) video with extensive zooming in and out (this was just a quick test to see if the firmware update had worked at all, which it obviously had!).One 26:00 video. During this time I didn't use the zoom at all. The red low-battery icon light started flashing at 23:00, giving me a full three-minute warning before the recording stopped. The camera didn't turn off all the way, it just stopped recording video.One 23:30 video. After the 26:00 video caused the video recording to stop, I turned the camera off and back on again, then started filming a third video. This time the red low-light icon started flashing at 1:30, but the camera kept recording for 22 more minutes.So long story short, there's definitely still something wonky with the camera after the firmware update, but being able to shoot over 50 minutes of video on a single battery charge is more than adequate for what I need. If you're wanting more than that, I'd probably suggest looking into pocket camcorders like the Samsung W300 or the Kodak PlaySport.Other notes about the camera:I don't like the location of the flash but I'll get used to it. I think it would be a lot better if they'd put it in the middle of the camera instead of where your finger sits.It's really difficult to open the battery / SSD slot. Maybe it's just me? It seems like I really have to push, and half the time I end up powering the camera on because of the way you have to grip the camera. This could end up being a fatal flaw considering how often I expect to change batteries.Battery life sucks. It doesn't suck any more than other Canons I've owned though. Again, if you're taking a ton of video, you'll probably want to invest in a compact camcorder that's designed to last longer. The batteries are removable at least, so you can charge up a spare or two to take along.I really love the build of this camera. It's made out of metal instead of cheap flimsy plastic, and all the seams line up really nicely. This isn't a camera that's going to fit in my pocket like my cell phone does, but it's small enough to fit in my husband's pants pockets, cargo pants pockets, or a small purse, and I have no worries about it getting injured.The pictures are really sharp. I have a brindle-colored dog and a black cat - these guys are my test subjects because the dog always turns out flat-looking (like a paper cutout) and the cat just looks like a big black blob if you're using a crappy camera. With the SX280, both animals looked great, I could identify individual hairs and everything! Obviously not as good as a DSLR, but a worthy compromise for sure.The auto-focus with the video is pretty impressive, even when zooming in on something in a dark room. Zooming above 10x got a little slow, but still better than I expected. I've always thought it was completely ridiculous to depend on a camera to take video (photo snob!), but with a baby on the way it's suddenly super important to have as many methods of capturing moments as possible. This is way better than I anticipated!The time it takes to power on the camera, focus, and snap a picture is fast. Like, 2-seconds-or-less fast.I've already purchased two spare batteries, a car charger, a case, and a screen protector, so this guy's a keeper! I look forward to all the backpack-free adventures ahead of us! :-)

This is my first, what I would consider good quality camera, that I actually did alot of research on the web for. I did not want to break the bank but wanted to spend enough money to get good quality photos. This camera is great. It is definately worth taking the time to read the PDF document that is available when you install the software that comes on the CD. When I got the camera I spent an hour taking pics and they looked good but once I actually read the manual and knew what I was doing and what the different features/settings/etc were the pictures looked super. The main reason I got this camera was because it got high marks for low light pictures and it definately does do great shooting in low light, I have been impressed with the shots in low light both with the flash and without. The built in effects are fun too (fisheye, toy, monochrome), I really like the toy camera effect it makes the pictures look pretty cool. So far everything is as I expected, the pictures look really, really, good, the zoom is amazing, the stabile feature works perfect, and the slow motion video is fun. The flash location does take time to get used to since my finger wants to be in that spot but it really is not an issue once you know where the flash is going to pop up from. I had to read the instructions a few times to get the facebook and wifi setup (probably my fault since I was multitasking) but once I got the wifi setup, the cannon app on my droid phone, and the facebook app configured it was definately awesome. I can't tell you how convenient it is to be able to view the pictures stored on your camera from your phone (using wifi and the canon app) and being able to upload to facebook (there is a twitter option as well as a cannon service but I am just using facebook since that is the only social media I really use for pictures). I really like this camera and think it was a good choice for me, and for you if you are looking for a fun camera that takes super quality photos. I spent some time researching megapixels as my first thought was to get the highest number megapixel camera I could afford, the truth is you don't really need anything greater than 12 unless you are going to print posters or crop tiny areas and blow them up (i do neither). What I read is that the higher the megapixel the more noise you can get in the picture which would affect quality, I'm no expert but I do know that the pictures I get with this camera are amazing! Not sure my wife enjoys me zooming in on her face, you can see every pore and every little wrinkle or fine hair.....its amazing!!! Whatever you choose make sure you research online at a few different sites and pay attention to the pros and cons. Most of the cons for this camera had to do with an old firmware which affected the battery indicator, the cameras released now have the latest software so that is not an issue. Another con was that this camera could not be managed via wifi like some other phones (remote shoot and such) I just needed to be able to view photos and upload them so this was not an issue for me. Another con was no touchscreen but since none of my cameras have ever had a touchscreen this was not something I would miss and not an issue. Below is a compilation of what I found after looking at reviews on about 20 different sites.Good pointsSlightly superior image quality to peer groupBroad 20x optical zoom covers every situation in pocket body1080p video with zooming, stereo sound and continuous AFBuilt-in GPS and WifiFast continuous shooting up to 14fpsBad pointsNo touch-screenNo ability to move the single AF area modeNo remote control over Wifi, only image transferCan't recharge battery over USB. Need to use mains charger