great camera for a pro
597116
I spent a lot of time getting up to speed on this camera.  Although it takes extremely good pictures and would be great for a pro, it is not for me.  You have to use both hands for most pics. The zoom feature is on the left side of the bulky lens, for instance, while the shutter release is on the r/h front side of the camera, making zooming in and focusing a tiresome task.  It has too many features that you pay for, but which are not easy to learn to use. In fact, most of them  you would probably never even use if you were a family man just taking pictures of family activities.  I took it back after owning it for a week & exchanged it. However, If you are a true camera nut or a pro, stick to the DSC- F717.  It really is great, it has a great many pro features not found on less expensive cameras.
4823289
I am a photo enthusiast and almost exclusively use DSLR's and an SLT. I bought this camera knowing its limitations and so far have not been disappointed. I have not experienced any of the problems that other users mentioned but in fairness I don't use it a lot. It would be nice to have RAW capability and PSAM settings but that's not what this camera was designed for. Sometimes it's nice to sit back and let the camera do the work and it does that very nicely especially in lower light situations.
2161197
Even at four years old this camera takes great pictures. Yet it still has all the functions a pro photog needs. I'm really happy with the purchase.
4042427
I have to be honest about this. I really took about a week or so, if not more, to surf the net and read reviews about a plethora of cameras that fit my profile, a point and shoot type of camera that can take professional like photos. I finally made my decision to buy this camera fater I talked to a friend of my father-in-law who really is a camera afficionado. In a nutshell, I can say the following about this camera

Pros: Great size, great pictures, excellent functions, fast switching between different shooting modes. Great camera to learn to take great pictures. The IS function is great!!

Cons: The price tends to be a bit steep for point and shoot camera. The size is a bit big for my pocket (and I have big pockets). The battery meter is a must, but one can do without it once you know the camera and how it runs the battery.

Bottomline: if you have the money available, don't think about it twice. I do recommend buying a proper carrying case for this and suitable SD (I bought a Sandisk Ultra II 2 GB card).
2404585
I did a lot of research on pro review sites and ended up choosing this model. I'm not going to review the camera (since there are a number of pro sites that do this much better than I ever could). I'd just say that after having the camera for 2.5 years, I'm still happy with my decision and love the camera.

I owned 2 Sony cameras prior to this, but I had seen my friends' Canons perform much better than mine, so I had made a pact with myself that my next camera will be a Canon (vs. Sony) no matter what. That was to keep myself from falling for some sexy new Sony design or technology.
1238977
THIS CAMERA IS GOOD FOR THE PERSON WHO IS NOT A PRO BUT WANT TO LOOK AND FEEL LIKE ONE. IT TAKE GREAT PICTURES AND THE ZOOM IS TOTALLY AWESOME. i ESPECIALLY LIKE THE BEAUTY FEATURE THAT IT HAS AND. FOR ALL THE EXTRAS LIKE THE TRIPOD,8GB MEMORY CARD,CLEANING KIT AND THE CARRY CASE 199.00 IS A GREAT PRICE
3069121
I'm not a pro of any sort, just like taking pics of my kids, family and anything worth while. The pics I get from using this camera is so good I only crop and tone the photo if need. Heads up it will take some getting use to, but like anything else if it is easy it might not be worth it 16mp APS-C like a pro enjoy
3925004
I am a professional photographer ([...]). I was using the 5D for years and invested in this as a replacement camera. I love it.
Pros: Amazing quality
-excellent focus system
-Superior jpegs -I used to shoot raw mode the whole time on the 5d because I was unhappy with the jpeg exposures and quality. This has changed.
-excellent inbuilt metering system
-excellent  exposures when using a speedlight flash
-incredible high speed mode.

Cons- it has a magnification factor of 1.6 (I believe). This means it is difficult to do wide angle shots
-not a full-frame sensor (however the quality looks amazing to me)
908459
I really like this camera.  It is a replacement for my Digital Rebel which has gotten pretty long in the tooth.  I use it for both personal and business use and was initially attracted by the physical package, which is much smaller than it's predecessor.  It was also recommended by a professional photographer who uses it for much of his day to day work.  It was relatively easy to learn the important functions, although I would have appreciated a better printed manual than comes with the camera.  Online resources are good, but I find it difficult to find answers there when I have a specific question.  In actual use, I think I have been most impressed by how fast the autofocus works.  It is extremely quick.  I take quite a few aerial pictures and often don't get much composition time.  My only question is how durable it will be.  I carry the camera around in my coat pocket, it lays on the seat of my pickup etc. So far I have had no issues and the quality of the pictures it takes is first rate.
4463534
I upgraded from a simple point and shoot. Really like this camera. I do a lot of photography at races, air shows and some astrophotography. Found this camera meets all those demands. Battery life is great as well. I can easily make it through day long events, taking thousands of photos on a single charge. Great quality!
4888277
I am a professional photographer. I have been in the industry since 1996 and have gleefully watched the transition from film to digital and been able to play with many cameras along the way. 3 years ago the studios I was managing began using these cameras.

Previous, in studio and in personal use I was a die-hard Cannon girl. After using this camera and the D300 (yes, this one is BETTER than the D300; and dozens of other professionals I know say the same), I have converted to being a Nikon girl!!

I personally use this camera for up to 100 clients per week. If we had more need for higher mega pixels that would be my biggest complaint (I wish it was 15++). My only other concern is that when dropped (even from a very short height) or was knocked over (which, after 3 years, has happened a couple times) the lens doesn't seem to hold up as well as my Cannon lenses do. That being said, the body itself has been perfect.

Overall, I love it. It's responsive, easy to use, and produces good results. We regularly print 20x30s for our clients and they think the quality is great too!
3955098
I love this camera. It is a great compromise between a novice and a pro camera. I do baby portraits and young children will not look at you if your face is behind the camera so I find the movable touch screen to be a must have feature so I can see what the camera is seeing while being a distance away from the camera
2431545
I love his camera for the price. This camera is great for an Amateur photographer. This would not be for a experienced photographer. If this purchase is for a family camera anyone can use this camera. A more advanced shooter than an aim and shoot to using manual settings for a more advance Aim and shoot features. You must read the manual play with the settings to take pictures to get to know this camera. The way you change your ISO settings in the camera for a particular shot does take great pictures. My husband does not get into picture taking and I can set it to the automatic setting for him and he can take great pictures with it. I am more advanced than Aim and shoot photographer for enjoying leisure photos of places I go. Love this camera for the size and not bulky  or heavy. Fits in small hands well. The best part I love is have great zoom capabilities and no camera lenses to lug around. This camera has a setting that you set for the 3 different types of batteries you can use in this camera. You can use an expensive photo battery, 4 Lithium batteries or 4 Alkaline batteries in this camera. I found the most affordable and easy accessible batteries and last a long time is Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries in this camera. When set the type of battery you have in the camera makes the camera have excellent battery life. Most cameras I have seen don't have that feature and battery usage is a very important feature in a camera. That is why I chose this camera over Cannon was the battery life reviews. This camera has excellent reviews on battery life. I am very pleased with this camera and have no regrets with this purchase. To get the best quality pictures with this camera you must take pictures play with the camera to learn all that it can do. You will not be happy if you just use the basic features to get the best potential and great snapshots with this camera. It took me a few times out to find a great setting for exposure, shutter settings etc. in the camera for my own liking. Make sure you play with the camera and you will be an excellent picture taker and pleased with this camera and what it can do in a compact camera all in one. Make sure you fill out the registration card with Fugi for excellent warranty experience. And lastly this camera does not have WiFi uploading to facebook technology. Which actually you can do just as well uploading to your special website using the USB card reader for easy transfer of photos to save them to your special hard drive or special online storage of your photos. Why do you need a special camera to do Wifi when most people have cell phones to do that? Better security when you have more control how you upload your photos. I would rather spent less money for a camera that takes great photos than paying for a feature to do Wifi technology. Simpler the better for a camera that takes great pictures. One thing with this camera it would not be good for the beach getting sand in it. Highly recommend getting a small affordable water camera for the beach snapshots.
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.
500923
My wife is a beginner of SLR camera and she really likes it. This camera is perfect for beginner and even for professionals... Easy to deal with and back lcd shows every imformation for your picture.. it is really good.
3833258
It's semi pro camera that could make anyone look more like a professional then he ever thought he would for me the modes that came set and ready are amazing... When it comes to taking pictures in day this one of the best cameras out there... The only downside is the low light pictures.
609881
I'm thrilled with this purchase. I bought another one for my parents too. Its easy use for a camera novice and works great for a professional. Battery lasts very long. Picture quality is awesome. It also has many modes and settings for better optimization. My only complaint is that it doesn't capture moving objects too well, but that's not what its meant for anyway. I would highly recommend this product.