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| Date Reviewed: 12/24/2003 |
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Strengths: Great photos and videos with sound. CF slot is cheapest kind of memory, and AA-batteries means you aren't locked into a pricey proprietary battery.
Weaknesses: Perhaps I'm clutzy, but I've dropped it several times, and caused damage. A shoulder/neck strap would be better than the wrist strap which I don't use. This is a problem with all small cameras though.
Summary: This is probably the best digital camera for the money and will be for a while. It also avoids the hidden costs of expensive types of memory and proprietary batteries. That's huge. You can pick up a 256MB Compact Flash card relatively cheaply and be hard-pressed to fill it up with pictures between transfers.
I sent mine in once for warranty service after dropping it on hard concrete. (My fault!) Canon fixed it up quickly and shipped it on back.
You'll love this camera!
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| Date Reviewed: 08/22/2003 |
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 Had two of these purchased at the same time, 5-5-0 ... Strengths: With experience, you can get great photos with the camera.
Weaknesses: Plastic doors, rubber usb plugin cover, LCD scratches very easy, just in and out of a Canon Case will do it. Can't use CF11 memory cards(not a big deal), but most of all is defective nature, see below
Summary: 2003-12-18 09:24:53 Had two of these purchased at the same time, 5-5-03 and both had problems prior to three months. Dealer stated they needed to be sent to Canon Factory service. Called Factory service in Illinois. Called them and followed instructions to the letter. They stated the turn around time was 10-14 days. Three weeks after sending them in, I get a service dept letter wanting $110.78 to fix just one with a defective mode switch. They didn't send me anything on the other camera yet. This camera was in perfect condition except for the mode switch didn't work. The other A70's shutter botton failed to operate, and I was unable to take photos. Canon refused to fix the A70 until they received the $110.78 on a camera purchased 3 months prior to failure and being sent to factory service. Called them on this and after a long list of menu options on the phone they hung up on me before talking to the service department. I called again and went through the same long menu on the phone and made contact this time with tech service. Informed them of the letter they sent on a warranty A70 repair, and got the run around, maybe it was abused or damaged that caused the switch to fail. I told them to look at the camera, it's in perfect condition, the switch is internal, and only the lever is on the outside, with no damage to it. They looked at it and stated the tech that did it was out. After some delays with their computer malfuctions I was told the repair would be changed to warranty. Sorry Help.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/16/2003 |
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 I bought this camera based on the rave reviews it ... Strengths: Compact
Weaknesses: Poor workmanship, poor reliability, poor service, poor picture quality
Summary: I bought this camera based on the rave reviews it was receiving and the strength of the Canon name. Three weeks after the purchase we experienced problems with the zoom. We sent it off for warrantied repairs but did not have use of the camera for most of the summer. When we received it back, the focus still is not sharp...certainly nothing like what it should be. All in all, a very disappointing purchase.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/11/2003 |
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Strengths: Versatility, resolution, sound video, ease of use.
Weaknesses: The included photo studio software is confusing and complicated.
Summary: After two weeks of on-line research and soul searching, I chose the A-70 over the Nikon Coolpix 4300 because of the sound video capability (I am a singer). Pluses: The settings are sensible enough so that I used it right out of the box for my birthday party with fine results, even when the waiter took the photos. Photos of the lunar eclipse were superb, as were shots I took while driving upstate after I edited out the windshield. And the jack-o-lanterns in the dark were incredible! Sunsets, too, had true-to-life color. Simple photos of fall colors and flowers (fine without a macro attachment) showed wonderful color reproduction and resolution; and people (indoors and out) in groups and candid shots had no red-eye. I have taken several short videos with sound; the first one was of a friend's singing lesson, and the sound was good with no overload for her operatic soprano voice. The camera manual is well written and laid-out. Minuses: The ArcSoft editing software is complicated and confusing. My comments are based on my NOT doing an ArcSoft tutorial or reading the manual for an hour and figuring it out. That said, there seem to be too many steps and too many choices. I have been using Image Expert (from Dell) for a couple of years; it's logical and easy-to-use. Image Expert can do a "quick fix" with a click of the mouse to correct color balance and brightness; I couldn't figure out how to do it with ArcSoft.
100% of People (8/8) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 04/10/2005 |
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 I got the E18 error message. I have yet to contact ... Strengths: Soild, performer with multiple shooting options and the size of the camera is nice.
Weaknesses: none that would really become bothersome
Summary: I got the E18 error message. I have yet to contact canon to find out what it will cost to fix. As of right now I am stuck with a camera that has a lens that wont retract back into the camera. This may be the end of this canon camera!
100% of People (6/6) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 08/27/2003 |
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Strengths: SMALL. LIGHT. Intuitive.
Weaknesses: Compact flash cover. Battery insertion confusing
Summary: As a mechanical engineer: The battery cover may be plastic, but its rugged enough. The compact flash cover is scary, as it is difficult to get open and it is plastic. As a user...i found the battery insertion orientation to be...uhh...weird. I hope I never mess it up. MAJOR PLUS. Got the waterproof case...it is *NICE*...very well designed, fits the camera like a glove (just wish it had a lens cap)....going near water, i recommend it.
100% of People (3/3) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 02/06/2005 |
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It has broken twice. Its too expensive to fix now ...
Strengths: good pictures... When it works
Weaknesses: inherent flaw with camera that causes it to break without warning. E18 error kills camera. expensive to fix.
Summary: It has broken twice. Its too expensive to fix now.
Don't take my word on it. Do a Google search on "canon E18 error". You will be blown away by the number of people who have had this problem. Its unfortunate that Canon does not own up to this. I will not own another canon camera.
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| Date Reviewed: 07/20/2005 |
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Strengths: Great Photo Quality, Cheap CF Memory used as compared to other types, pretty decent videos, USB connectivity, Good battry life.
Weaknesses: None as yet.
Summary: This was one of the best in its times. Although A95 and others now match this one for price and you get higher MPs. But even then this A70 rocks.
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| Date Reviewed: 04/23/2005 |
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Camara just started falling apart. Canan wants mor ...
Strengths: Takes good pictures. Can use normal "AA" rechargable batteries.
Weaknesses: It is falling apart! The zoom has fallen off, the camara doesn't always turn on, sometime turns off within 3 seconds of turning it on, and stopped focusing.
Summary: Camara just started falling apart. Canan wants more for a couple replacable parts then it would cast to buy a new camara. Tech service was not friendly or help full. I would not buy this camara again!
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| Date Reviewed: 02/25/2005 |
- becky1975
from WI
- Member Since:
Feb 2005
View Member's:
Reviews
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the only reason i was so dissatissfied with this c ...
Strengths: the camera takes very clear pictures at first.has alot of features.liked the zoom and video modes.
Weaknesses: none really.
Summary: the only reason i was so dissatissfied with this camera is because it froze up three monthes after we had it. sure they fixed it for free after we shipped it to them. and now nine monthes later it froze up again and there is no warrenty left and i have to choose another camera.
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| Date Reviewed: 11/03/2004 |
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Strengths: easy to use-great quality pictures-great price w/rebate from gateway
Weaknesses: none
Summary: This is my first digital camera & I love it! It's easy to use-get more memory right away-and a batterry charger with rechargable batteries-it's well worth it!
I've only had to recharge the batteries once. The pics are high quality-I haven't messed with the movie mode-
but it's great not to have to buy film & pay for processing. Good software with this camera also, which makes loading photos from the camera to the PC easy!
I'd reccomend it to anyone!
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| Date Reviewed: 04/07/2003 |
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Strengths: Great all around camera so far.
Weaknesses: None specific to this camera.
Summary: This camera has impressed me from the moment i picked it up. While not as compact as the elph cameras, the a70 is smaller than most cameras in its class with advanced controls. The battery life is much better than i had hoped for in a digital camera, and the features are intuitive and flexible. Put the camera on auto and let it do all the work, or choose from quick settings such as fast shutter or small aperture. If you are feeling creative you can use shutter or aperture priority, and let the camera decide the other setting, or put the camera on manual and choose everything yourself - when you depress the shutter button halfway it will tell you if the shot will be over or underexposed. The lcd is bright and easy to use, and the camera is easy to hold on to for one-handed shots. There are plenty of autofocus, white balance, exposure and other settings to master as well. Obviously you will want a larger compactflash card, but once again this is true of any camera you will buy. The movie mode is impressive, and so is the response time. Startup is quick, as is autofocus, and once the camera is focused shutter lag is not noticeable. The bottom line is I am very impressed with this camera. The automatic controls have worked very well, and in those rare instances where they come up short, there are plenty of settings to choose from to take exactly the shot you want.
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| Date Reviewed: 01/16/2004 |
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Strengths: after 1 month:
movie mode with sound, great zoom, lots of functions yet easy to use, small, excellent picture quality
after 1 year:
I still love the camera, same strengths++
Weaknesses: after 1 month:
compact flash cover is a bit flimsy
after 1 year:
might get blurry images without flash, but i compared it to other cameras and i figured it's doing a better job than others..
Summary: 2004-11-15 08:03:14 after 1 month
powershot a70 is MUCH better than nikon coolpix 3100.
the software that comes with the canon is superb. especially when creating panoramas. the software is also better than that of nikon's.
it has a long battery life, but i recommend rechargeables.
although the standard 16mb card is good for about 50 pics (good quality @ 1024*768), a 64 mb card would be a good idea.
after 1 year
canon has the a85 and a80 series now and they are getting pretty cheap, although a 70 will do the job, you might want to try the 80s they have an extra mode and a larger lcd screen.
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| Date Reviewed: 02/10/2004 |
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I bought this camera after months of research. We ...
Strengths: Great Manual functions. Battery life is excellent, especially with NiMH. Movie mode is decent. AF alluminator is a nice feature!
Weaknesses: Soft focus. Very dissapointing when trying to take a pic. when you want everything in focus. Takes too long to focus. Poor covers for memory and A/V out
Summary: I bought this camera after months of research. We had a 2 meg. camera Fuji A205 and loved it. Almost every picture came out effortlessly. So I expected the same from Canon and reading all the reviews from the A70 I felt like I would be an idiot not to purchase it. I bought it and returned it because nearly all the pictures were blurry (found out it was a default and we exchanged it for the another Canon A70.) When is comes down to it, the A70 takes awesome outdoor pictures, but indoor is a nightmare trying to get it to focus and then lighting. All my shots are either under or over exposed, but most severly underexposed. With my Fuji I never had that problem. Also the Canon A70 shots are always "soft." and while the average person would think they are decent shots, I expect more from Canon and am very dissapointed. The customer service you get from Canon is a joke! You can never get assistance. If you drop this camera good luck, you might as well go and buy another digital camera. The body is very flimsy and that bothers me.
Every now and then I take a picture that I love, but it's not my favorite camera to date. I will be looking for a new digital camera soon.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/28/2003 |
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Strengths: Outdoor/indoor shots, action shots, movie mode, battery life
Weaknesses: Night shots, software (OS X)
Summary: This camera takes excellent indoor and outdoor shots even in low lightining (within the flash range). It does have problems with night shots, unless your using a tripod (as with most cameras). It also does excellent with action shots. The movie mode is great. If you have a good size CF card (128MB+), you will definitly enjoy the 640x480 movie mode w/ sound. The battery life is amazing for a digital camera. Using my camera daily on vacation, one set of batteries lasted almost 5 full days! I recommend purchasing a set of NiMH rechargable batteries (1800+ mA).
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