All-around great camera!
920526
Easy-to-use, light-weight and always dependable, this great camera takes perfect pictures.

So simple --- just click --- whether in bright sun or in low light (with or without flash), under almost any conditions.  What a delight!

Our Sony DSC-S70 has proven itself time and again, so --- even though we have two excellent Canon digital SLRs and all sorts of lenses --- we keep it with us virtually everywhere we go, both for backup shots and as our primary camera when we need a comfortable carry.  It's a real winner!
4335319
I highly recommend this camera! It's awesome. Paired with a Class 10 16gb SD card, it's wicked fast and will store a ton of hi-res pics or video.

I bought this for my wife, we have a Canon G11 (which I LOVE) but she doesn't dig it so much. I'm all about playing with settings but she just wanted something smaller that fit in her purse easier (or back pocket) that had a great auto feature that could adjust quickly and effortlessly. We hit the nail on the head with this camera. I must have gotten it when it was on a deep deal or something though, bought it a few weeks before Mother's day 2012 and just a few weeks later, it's up like another $135, not sure what that's all about. I had read several review of people saying they had this camera, bought 320 and returned it because they liked this 310 better. I haven't had the 320 but this 310 is incredible. We had a SD600 Canon prior from back in 2003 or something like that and the two aren't even comparable.

Anyhow, enough rambling, I love this camera! I'm thinking about getting a second one (not in purple though, haha) for my usage.
1350864
I am beyond happy with my D5000. I got this camera when I was what you'd call a "pre-professional" and it produced amazing shots for me. Also, the functionality and ease of settings is great. I love the option of having live-view on the display, and the swivel-out feature is also very helpful. I used this camera to shoot several weddings (not with the kit lens), and got fantastic results. I can't recommend this camera highly enough!
3353809
I've been using this camera as a replacement for my D70s and couldn't be happier. The image quality is superb, the camera is lighter (yet doesn't feel cheap) than my D70s, and is very easy to use.

My only quibbles are:

-The area autofocus likes to grab the least interesting thing in the picture and use that as its focus point. Is that a dead tree 75 feet away? Perfect! Some random dude in a crowd behind your family? Excellent! You can change this in most modes, but in auto the setting doesn't seem persistent? It's a function I need to play with more, but once you're aware of the camera's habit, it's easy to correct for.

-Image stabilization in video mode. How did they justify cheaping out and not including this feature? The video quality is great, but lack of stabilization really hurts. Also, you tend to cover the microphone with your camera strap if you're not careful, adding some noise. Use a tripod, brace yourself, do something, otherwise you'll shoot some really shaky video.

-Buy a screen protector. I scratched mine within a week of having the camera. It would have been nice if the screen was recessed slightly to add a touch of protection, but that certainly would have cost it size.
4926916
I am actually very glad I have finally gone digital in the camera world. This camera has surprised me over and over with its excellent quality shots and capabilities.  I have used it for nighttime and low-light shots with great results.  For static shots and portability, this camera is wonderful.  With the USB adapter and the provided software, hooking it up to the computer was simple.  With a photo quality printer, I've already started cranking out pictures for distribution to friends and family.  I could go on about how happy and pleased I have been with the quality and facilities of my DC3400, but that would take too much space. There are a few downsides though.  As with any camera, film or digital, that does automatic focusing and exposure settings, there is a bit of a lag when you try to take a shot, so response time can be a little slow for those "surprise" shots.  The time between photos, several seconds at least, is sometimes a bit annoying.  Also, it does tend to eat alkaline batteries.  Rechargable batteries (NiMH) work very well, except of course for the classic rechargable problem of draining when not in use (left out for several days).  My advice is to get a few sets of rechargables and make sure they are all charged up before you head out each day. High points: easy to use, high-quality photos, hook-up with the computer was a breeze (usb), low-light capable. Low points: eats batteries, lag between pictures and when you want to take 'quick' shots, minor difference between viewfinder and actual picture (correctable by either experience or use of capture mode)
3972584
I have owned this camera for about 15 months; I am just a typical amateur photographer - no special skills. This camera is great. I have probably taken between 1000-1500 pictures with it so far. Here are my impressions:

PROS:
1. Great zoom lens - the 12x optical zoom (48x with digital zoom) is fantastic. Even at 48x, the photo comes out sharp and not grainy. I attended a pro football game recently, and was sitting at the 2nd highest row in the stadium, yet I took some photos with the zoom that amazed people I showed them to - so much so that they became interested in the camera. Even action shots came out very clear, at a high zoom level. And although I haven't used it much for this purpose yet, except at the zoo - the zoom would be great for wildlife photography too.
2. Auto image stabilization - closely related to no. 1 in importance. If the camera did not have this feature, it would be tough to take a clear shot at a high zoom level. With this feature, even 48x photos can be taken clearly without a tripod, as long as you are sitting or bracing against something to hold the camera steady.
3. Long battery life - the longest life comes from rechargeable Canon batteries (between 400-500 shots, I think). The ability to accept regular AA batteries is also a plus in my opinion; you can find them anywhere.
4. Excellent sharpness and color on photos - again I am not a professional, but to me the pics look awesome, whether they are super macros or long-range zoom photos.
5. Nice continuous shooting feature - this camera shoots approx. 2.4 frames/second - a nice feature! At the football game I would focus prior to the snap, then hold the shutter down thru-out the play and I got some amazing shots -- the ball in mid-air after being snapped, and after being thrown by the QB.
6. Enough megapixels. Like you probably have, I've read articles saying that for photo quality results with larger than 8x10 photos, you need much more than 5 megapixels. Don't believe it. I printed an 11x14 from this camera, and it came out wonderfully. Then I got curious to see what a 16x20 would look like -- and it looks fantastic too!! I honestly cannot see any degradation in quality at the 16x20 size - this even surprised me! I liked that size so much that I have now gotten others printed for myself and family members.
7. Enough features/options for probably any amateur enthusiast - many of which I haven't even used yet!
8. Versatility (lens-wise) - to get the same versatility in an SLR, you'd probably have to pay well over $1,000. (probably $2,000 or more for multiple lenses to match what the S2 can do, from super close macros to extra long zoom range..)

CONS:
1. A little bulky/heavy. But this is a small price to pay for all of the features of this camera.
2. I am running out of wall space from all the photos I've printed and framed!

Summary - a great camera. If I were in the market now, I'd probably buy the S3IS, just because it has 1 more megapixel and a few additional features, for only a little more money. But if that extra megapixel and few extra features don't matter to you, I'd say buy the S2 - what a deal! I think you will be very pleased with it.
4034073
I got this camera to replace my wife's old Canon Elph SD-300 (4 MP, 3x zoom), which we really liked for its balance between tiny size and decent picture quality.  Well, Canon has really raised the bar with the 310 HS!  12.1 MP is plenty of resolution for our needs, the 8x zoom lens lets you go from wide angle to tight shots, the image stabilization helps minimize blurry pictures, and the full auto mode is pretty darn smart.  It would be nice if battery life was a bit longer, but that can be worked around by getting a second battery.

Right after we got this camera, we took it on a 9-day whirlwind tour of Scotland with my son's fiddle group.  We took tons of pictures and a bunch of video clips, and this camera was a champ!  The pictures and videos were consistently well exposed and detailed, and it's dead-nuts easy to use.  It even did well in low light situations, which we ran into a lot on the trip.

Overall, I'm really happy with this camera!
3243317
I bought this Christmas '07 and have been loving it ever since. The picture quality is crisp and clear, and I simply  adore the features like face detection, color accent (let's you take creative shots by choosing the dominant color you like and making everything else black and white), macro mode (I felt like a professional, zooming in on various objects), and you can combine them to take pictures in macro mode plus color accent! I've never had experience with photography and this camera made me feel like a pro. I took off one star, because it still could not lessen the effects of camera shakes and whatnot (but that could have been just my pretty unstable hand!).

The downside is I lost this camera a few weeks ago, and now just ordered another one! I love it so much I'm willing to shed another $150+ for it! Don't hesitate to buy this sleek, powerful camera!
610088
I did a LOT of research before deciding on this camera. I'm a professional photographer who wanted a quality, feature-rich camera that was small enough to take in my pocket anywhere. The buttons are easy to use, it takes great photos, and has very intuitive and easy to use menus. It handles all kinds of lighting and shooting situations very well, and the large LCD screen makes it easy to shoot photos even in bright daylight. What more could you want?
4936247
I've had the camera about 1 week now and love it.  So many features /and controls you've got to read the manual to use/understand them all! I doubt anyone will use them all but it's nice to know they are there.  The camera is very easy to personalize if you like.  Takes GREAT pictures (digital zoom is basically worthless although it is on most cameras).  Most liked features: Small size, large 2"sreen, very versital.  Dislikes: only one so far... it is too easy to "format" your memory card by accident(which erases all pictures on the card even if they are protected).  It should require more than one push of a button to do this.  I wrote to Casio suggesting a prompt "Are You Sure?". This has happened twice... once by me learning the camera and once by someone familar with digitals checking out the camera.  So be careful!  Oh and it should come with a case!  Not having movie capability was not important to me.  Only improvement I'd like to see is ability to direct connect to TV for viewing of pictures on-screen (my daughters Olympus has that feature!)
2361596
I love this camera!  Bought it to replace my DSLR-like Panasonic DMC-FZ10.  The pictures it takes BLOWS away my old Panny and not because of 10 megapixel vs 4, but because of the USABLE ISO settings!  I took indoor shots at Christmas this year using no flash what-so-ever and using ISO 1600.  With my old camera, the images would've been so dark and grainy that they wouldn't have been usable.  With this camera, the pictures are great, crisp and have just a little motion blur in them, not to mention a GREAT DOF!  The kit lens isn't the greatest (I'm saving up to buy a lens with a similar focal length but with built-in image stabilization), but it's a good start.  Get this camera, use the kit lens for a while until you can afford to buy some really nice glass and you will have one AWESOME setup! :D
3635582
I've had this a few days and absolutely love it!! I had a Sony CyberShot and was never happy with it. It was compact but the zoom was ok at best and the video was terrible. I was never happy with it, and when I had the opportunity to get this Canon I jumped at it.
Wow! I work in a seaside town, so in the middle of August we have some beautiful photo opportunities, and my Sony was never up to the challenge.
I took pictures from straight into the bright clouds (on bright setting), boats on the waterfront (landscape setting), flowers (choosing one color) etc and they all came out just as I was expecting.
I got the hang of where everything was very quickly, and was able to quickly shift between settings, so do not feel I'll miss out on any photo opportunities for that reason. It was heavier than I've been used to, but is a good feel and size for holding while setting up a good shot, the weight translates to a quality feel. The zoom is just incredible, beautiful amount of detail!
I got the NiMH batteries right off the bat, as that seemed to be the only drawback for people. I'm not a huge fan of that, the Sony did have a battery pack that could be removed, but the rest of the features are so awesome I can live with it.
With this camera I really feel like I can capture how it feels to be there at events etc, which I haven't felt for awhile. I look forward to using it at family events etc this year.

Updated Sept 29 - Love this camera more every day! I have taken shots with little effort that I could never get before! Every day I see something in a different way because I have a camera that will get the details. Have been very successful with pics of active kittens, gorgeous sunset with rays of light, unbelievable shot of the moon and more! Thrilled every day I got this one and learning more every day
4960047
I love this camera! I've been meaning to go digital for awhile now, but have heasitated because most digital cameras don't have the right combination of features for my uses.
I got this specifially for a recent trip to Wales & I've not had a second I've regretted it. Especially useful is the continuous shot mode which allows you to rapidly take several pictures in sequence. Since I was watching auto racing this allowed me to get multiple shots of each car as they passed by.
I'm still getting to know all the features on this camera, but even at the begining I've had no problems with getting good pictures. This camera is highly flexible & I recommend it especially to anyone who wants a camera that can function as point & shoot but that also has high-end features to allow greater control over images when desired. Of note are its zoom(if you're shopping around, beware the "digital zoom") capability and the fact that it can take traditional lenses(it comes with an adapter if you want to use filters, telephoto lenses, etc)
This camera is lightweight and seems sturdy (its lived through a lot of hiking through welsh forests with me so far). Its also smaller than you'd think a camera of these features should be.
My only complaint: I wish the lens cap screwed on (Mine keeps falling off).
1978055
This camera is very well made, easy to use, performs great in almost every area, and more importantly -- the wife likes it too!

Highlights I find very useful:

1) Natural Light mode -- this bumps up the ISO for indoor shots which a) allows you to not have to use the flash, and b) provides great focus in low light which is normally impossible. This is a very unique feature I have not seen any other small camera provide.  Fuji can do this due to the supper CCD and the high megapixels -- a great feature indeed.

2) Very long battery life.  Very, very long.  The thing is huge!

3) Large bright LCD

4) Very powerful flash when you need it.

Stuff I didn't like:

1) No viewfinder.  Sometimes you really need one.

2) Dumb adapter for charging battery and downloading pics via USB.  So dumb, it will force you to go out and buy an xD USB reader and an external battery charger.  These are all pretty inexpensive though.

Overall, this is a great point-n-shoot.  You can do some manual stuff, but serious photographers would normally look elsewhere. Also, I don't understand why people complain so much about xD cards.  What's the big deal.  Perhaps they are a few bucks more expensive -- so what.  They are very small and do the job -- it's just a memory card.

My second choice was the Canon SD450. This is also a great camera, but more pricey, shorter battery life, and no Natural Light mode which really makes the F10 unique.

With my luck, Fuji will soon be comming out with an F15 model that addresses my only two complaints above!
4725291
I lost my digital camera and bought this one as a replacement, mainly because of the price, about 2 months ago. I completely love it. This is a great camera if you are someone like me: while I like to take pictures, I don't take tons of them, and I'm basically interested in snapshot and keepsake pictures--I'm not trying to take "artsy" photographs most of the time. To me, the picture quality is wonderful--while I'm sure there's better out there, it's far better than average. It's a very fast camera, is small and easy to use, and has good battery life. So far no complaints at all!
2273002
I love this camera. This is the first "decent" camera I have ever bought. All my other cameras take horrible pictures...slow shutter speed, slow recording times, blurry pictures. This camera made me look like a pro photographer the first day of use and I don't know anything about taking pics! Very user friendly. Very fast to boot and take pics. Stunning clarity in pictures. Image stabilization is great. The camera is pretty heavy for its size and the lcd could be larger, but that aside... I LOVE IT!
1818140
My wife and I purchased this camera as we both loved our current 5MP point and shoot Nikon but wanted a BIG ZOOOOM so we could expand into nature and bird photography.  We didn't want or have a lot of money to spend for a DSLR body and THEN even more for one of those big zoom lenses.  This camera have an unbelievable zoom and the stabilization feature at full zoom is remarkable!

I'm my opinion this camera fits the niche between point and shoot and DSLR perfectly and ESPECIALLY great considering the price point--less than $300!  We couldn't find a DSLR body for that price, and to find an 18x zoom lens...well we laughed ourselves right off the website when we saw the prices!

We were very impressed by the quality feel/construction.  It is very easy to use right out of the box--and the auto picture setting selects the perfect exposure 9 out of 10 times.  We have taken thousands of pictures--the burst mode is phenomenal and there are many of manual options/controls for when/if you want to take the next step.

Another nice feature is this camera can accept filters (46mm) which expands its versatility and reduces the need for excess photo-editing afterwards.

I also really like the fact that the camera can take pictures in RAW format as well as RAW + JPEG which means you get a picture in both formats...just fantastic really and a feature we did not find available in competitors.

I would highly recommend getting the biggest memory card you can afford as well as a couple of extra batteries - for those all day photo safaris/excursions.

This camera does not disappoint!