Canon PowerShot SD960IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with

Great camera!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Really easy to use! Great Pics! Beautiful color! (i don’t see much in the way of the purple fringing others have reported). I also have not had any problems with the Auto mode. It seems to nearly always pick the right mode.

Quick shutterspeed, Brilliant picture quality
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This camera does everything well. The picture quality and video quality are HD for sure. Also, the shutterspeed is nice and quick. Best of all, Amazon had by far the best price around. If it didn’t we would not have bought it here. But it did so we did.

Best camera we’ve ever owned
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Ok, granted, technology is improving every day but I can honestly say that this is the best camera we have ever owned. We are not photographers by any stretch of the imagination and my husband is always about a second behind the shot, however, today we got our money’s worth out of this camera! We went to a friend’s college graduation and my husband wanted to take pictures. I was nervous as we were representing her family and these would be the only pictures taken of the graduation. Every single picture came out clear, perfect outdoor color and she was in them – not just at the edge of the frame but really center of the pictures! I was so impressed that I came home and started searching for a bargin price for a second SD960 since I now know that I’ll never get the camera out of my husband’s hands. I also recommend the Zing Design accessory kit – not a bargin but a steal!!!!!

Awesome camera!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I was looking for a nice point and shoot camera and I believe I have found it. The pictures are amazing. They are extremely clear and the colors are vibrant– not like my old Sony Cybershot (though it was kind of old) where the picture colors were dull. I think everything about this camera makes it a really good quality point and shoot, but I’ve heard others say that it isn’t a “professional” camera, which is true. If you’re a family-photo taking person like me, you’ll love this. The only con about this camera is that I think the controls and menu take some getting used to– definitely not as user-friendly as my old Cybershot.

great camera, not good night shots or movement shots
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
the night shots are not very good. The video is good. the day shots are great

Awesome wide screen hd camera camcorder.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve owned Casio 750, Kodak v570 23mm, Panasonic Z3 28mm, Samsung 24hd 24mm, Kodak v1253 hd, Vado hd, Canon sd1100. All are great cameras with pluses, but still searching for a camera that takes excellent photos for a pocket size camera, decent wide angle lens, and takes excellent hd video.

Pros:

This thing is pretty good. Excellent photos, great video hd recording, and wide angle lens is actually almost as wide as competitors. Video recording is as good as Kodak v1253 with very good low light recording. The frame rate and stabilizing is actually much better than competitors.

Cons:

Does not optically zoom when video recording, not stereo recording like v1253, screen size not as big as v1253. Battery is at 760 mAh versus Casio’s 1300 mAh batteries. Samsung’s OLED screen does provide better contrast than 960is. Video HD recording is at 40 min at 8GB versus competitors 1.5 to 2 hour at 8GB.

All the cons are not exactly that important when image quality is very good so I can out weigh the quality for the cons.

In regards to previous cameras:

Casio 750 : great photo quality but start up time is slow,

Kodak v570 23mm : excellent wide angle, cool video stitching but photoQuality is horrible: badworkmanship,

Panasonic Z3 28mm : good camera but a little too bulky, great 10x zoom,

Samsung 24hd 24mm : good oled screen, good hd video stitching but poor picture quality,

Kodak v1253 hd : good photos, good video, 37mm lens not wide, glitchy camera software,

Vado hd : 29-30mm equivalent lens, good video, bad low light, good default 8GB,

Canon sd1100 : good photo quality.

Canon PowerShot SD960IS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am doing the review, but my wife is the primary user. I have also used it several times.

I like it. Not sure what else to say.

It takes good photos. Haven’t tried the video feature yet. Battery life is long.

Has some pretty cool features that I have not even tried to use. Just point and shot.

That is all, for now.

Very good purchase
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I did not buy this from amazon, but made the decision to buy the camera based on amazon reviews.

So far so good. I think it is a very good buy which suits all my purpose. HD Video, High resoloution images, decent zooming and a compact camera which i can carry.

Not as good as its predecessor
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I bought this camera as a replacement for my wife’s SD700 IS. Program mode consistently results in blurry pictures. The battery is also thinner and requires charging after a day of shooting, whereas the SD700 battery lasted about five times as long. It also takes about two times longer to autofocus than the SD700, so she misses quite of few shots of the kids. Scene select seems to work very well, and the macro abilities are outstanding.

problem with red eye
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
i love the camera, but even when using the red eye, i still seem to have red eye in the pics and can’t get rid of it. other than that, i love the camera

Very good, but Macro needs help.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I just upgraded from a SD630. The Macro on the SD630 would give a very detailed photo about 1 inch away. The SD960 needs about 3 inches. I use this underwater while on scuba and macro life underwater doesn’t give enough detail at 3 inches for very small stuff. I did discover that I could get nice results with the zoom in macro however. Overall it’s a great camera, but just has it’s own way of getting good results.

The video is also great. I did some wreck video in B&W and some large animals with HD set. The detail in the video is much better than the SD630. I would buy it again, if I was asked.

Great Camera!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I was looking for a camera for my trip to Germany in the spring. I wanted something that took great clear photos and this is it. The macro works so well! Most cameras tend to create blurry pictures when taking a macro shot. This is clear & has excellent quality. I’ve used the kid & pet shot the most since I’ve bought it & the picture turn out as well as they do on my mother’s camera (after hours of tedious editing on my computer that is). For some one that likes to have different settings and options for a camera, this one is great. I was originally thinking about the Powershot SD1200IS, but the lack of options for taking pictures made me a little worried. I’ve read a lot of reviews saying that the photos can become grainy, but I haven’t run into this problem in any setting. It will also take vivid pictures in pitch black dark with out the picture becoming grainy like I’ve seen other cameras do. Another great thing I’ve noticed is the lack of “laser kitty” shots with this camera. I’ve only had one or two turn out that way compared to my mother’s camera where every shot turned out that way.

I do suggest that who ever buys this tests out all the settings before using it to take pictures of something special. I am so very pleased with this camera. I can’t wait to use the panorama setting on my trip!

I’d recommend this camera to anyone.

Well done, Canon
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Flexible, easily adjustible, reasonably light and compact. I get very few blurs to erase, but if I do it’s incredibly easy. It’s no SLR, but I get tremendous images that transfer to websites and print well. I’m still learning to use the wheel and finding new options and abilities nearly daily. It fits in a front pant pocket and slides out ready to go when I want to capture an image. There are plenty of megapixtals for large blowups.

Good buy!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is my second Powershot!! love it!! easy to use, lots of features, takes really beautiful pictures.

Great little camera…
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a great little camera loaded with features. The pictures it takes are very clean and vivid. The size is perfect. My wife loves this camera (it was her gift). The battery capacity is great. I cannot think of a con maybe with the exception of the color (my wife loves pink). I personally will not borrow and use a pink camera. I will stick to my Canon Xsi. Otherwise a great buy.

Another great Canon product
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I have had this camera for almost a week. I bought this camera to replace a 2 1/2 year old Canon A560. This camera is great! It takes great pictures and great video. The video looks like you are actually there. It takes better video than my camcorder. The pictures are very crisp and the colors amazing. My only complaint is that you can’t zoom in and out when taking a video, so that is why I only gave it 4 stars. Buy this camera!! You won’t be disappointed.

Poor image quality for the Digic IV’s….
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I wish Canon would get a clue and stop fighting the Megapixel war with the other manufacturers….they are all trying to cram too many mexapixel onto the tiny sensor and it shows with image quality. I’m a professional photographer and I’ve had several Canon point and shoots…my SD 870IS broke so I thought I would buy a new P&S. I bought this and tried it for a week and returned it. Image quality is okay in decent light, but really poor in low light. Waay too much noise. If canon had a clue they would step back to an 8MP camera and focus on high ISO performance. Stop trying to cram a professional amount of pixels into a cheap point and shoot already Canon! After i returned this camera I went online and bought a used SD 870 IS which is their BEST point and shoot of all time. Something happened when they went to the Digic IV on the 880 IS…

If Canon would simply focus on image quality and high ISO with 6-8MP camera they would own the market. But instead, they’ll continue to crank up the megapixels that no one needs and ruin image quality….I have a Large format 60″ printer and I can take an 8MP image and blow it up poster size…who needs more? If you need more, then you’ll own a professional digital SLR…

I can’t believe how much my old SD 870IS performs compared to all these new ones I’ve tried.

Get a clue Canon…Shock the market and come out with an 8MP PS that performs instead of a 12-14 megapixel piece of trash!

easy to use
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
My mom, who knows nothing about cameras, finally decided she wanted her own digital camera instead of always borrowing my old one. After doing a little research, I recommended this one to her because it seems to be the latest version on my Canon SD800, which I really like. The SD960 is easy to operate, I had to teach her how to use it, but since then she has not had any problems using it, or accidentally changing the settings like she did with the camera she used to borrow from me. She was also happy to be able to get it in pink.

Love it!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Love this Cannon camera, able to use battery pack from my last camera I dropped and broke, (loved it too).

Outstanding camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Perfect for my wife, she loves the color and the compactness of the body and it takes awesome images. I have a full sized digital SLR that is getting out of date, this camera has shown my why I need to upgrade to the lastest photographic tools! Love it!

Got what I expected from SD960IS
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Great pictures as I expected going from 4mp to 12mp. Confusing to learn all the buttons, expecially for reviewing pictures. Video is ok, but not great. Love the wide screen and clarity of pictures, so I rated the camera well. Could have probably bought something cheaper since I won’t use the video portion much.

so far, so good
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I am very happy with this model, although it comes without a memory card. Automatic face recognition and image stabilization work nicely. Color rendition is good, although I often tinker with the photos later (cropping, adjust shadows or highlights).

Beware that in AUTO mode, a typical photo is 3 to 3.5 Mb, great for printing an 8×10, but not great for attaching in emails. I have a dedicated hard drive where I save originals, and for sharing, I optimize the jpegs with NXPowerLite. That software can greatly reduce the size (e.g., 3 Mb to 200 Kb) without visibly damaging photo quality. You may want to consider buying a couple of 8 Gb flash cards if you do not regularly transfer photos to a computer.

Note that the camera is so small that it lacks a view finder. To compose a shot, you must use the very sharp screen, which is on all the time and thus puts a larger demand on battery life. A lightweight and effective battery charger is included with the camera. If you travel overseas and do not want to tote the charger and a voltage converter, then consider buying an extra battery or two.

great camera!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
this camera is great so far! i have had it for a couple of months now. i wanted a very small camera with all of the features that could be crammed in. my previous 3 cameras were olympus. i checked product reviews for about 4 months before i decided. i do suggest going to canon’s website and checking the reviews there. i found another cannon that initially had a product feature of “underwater”, but when i went on cannon’s website, i found that that feature did not exist on the camera i was checking out. their features had initially listed it incorrectly and then corrected it on the cannon website.

Great Little Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I like it. It’s small, takes nice pictures, works well. The whole “shake to advance photo viewing” feature is fun to play with at first, but mostly useless in the long run. The camera is incredibly simple to use. It’s not for someone who wants to play with camera settings, but for a point’n'shoot its great.

New Camera – Same great stuff
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I upgraded from a SD1000 to this. Yes it was an upgrade…LOL. I drop tested my 1000. This camera is GREAT. HDMI feature works wonderfully. Everything works as advertised. I thought this was not supposed to zoom while taping video but it does. BONUS!

Exchanged an SD880IS for this camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This is a pretty nice camera, I had bought an SD880IS right before this camera came out. It seemed like it had all the same features + HD video and 16:9 still shots. The 16:9 still shots are nice because you can make your HD TV into a huge photo frame by playing these shots. The only reason I gave it 4 stars rather then 5 is because it did not come with the mini hdmi cable.

great little camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’ve had fun with it so far.

I haven’t figured out the video part on it yet. I can

video on it but don’t know how to replay it. Just need to read the manual…Found tho that it would be good to

have a extra memory card just for video. It uses alot

of the card up.

I really do like it…

Small Preview Screen
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I bought this particular model because I was looking for a wide angle lens and the SD880is is discontinued. It is very similar to other Canon cameras in this price range but be aware that it has a wide LCD preview screen. That’s great for HD videos, but still pictures use only a fraction of the screen. The preview image is closer to a 2.2-inch than a 2.8-inch size. That’s too small for me and was a major disappointment (I should have read the specs more carefully)

good overall
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is a good compact to keep on me at all times, and I am very satisfied with the picture quality this camera produces. Cameras this size have limitations when it comes down to taking pictures indoors or with low lighting. Therefore, expect some noise in your pictures or be ready to work around these limitations.

Overall, great vivid pictures from a tiny camera that records great HD movies. You will not find better quality of pictures from its direct competitors; in my opinion it beats the latest Sony T900 and nikons hands down.

960 vs. 970 vs. 780
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
My old tiny Casio Exilim 5 MP camera died- I loved that thing because it was so tiny and I took many more pictures because it fit in my pocket- and I had to get something for my trip to France. First bought the 970 thinking, ooh, 5x optical zoom. For someone used to ultracompact, that thing was huge and I didn’t notice much difference between the 5x and the 4x or 3x zoom. I returned it and got the 960, which I stuck with. It is much smaller than the 970 though bigger than my old camera (won’t fit in pants pocket too comfortably), but the wide-angle zoom makes a huge difference to the photos. I travelled with someone who had the 780, and we frequently traded the same shot with both cameras, and the picture quality was much better with the 960, though it is larger than the 780. The controls were easy to navigate, the viewscreen very wide/ large on the 960. The video quality is amazing. Aside from the size, the only downside was that it is a little slow to take repeat shots in action situations. However, the motion control is excellent and you can take shots while jogging without blurring. Sadly, I lost my new 960 at the airport (thankfully, I had downloaded the photos). I decided to replace it with the 780 because I’m not a photographer, thought having the very small camera would make up for the difference in picture quality. After 250 photos on the 960, and 2 days with the 780, I miss the wide-angle zoom and am considering getting another 960. It’s not that much bigger than the 780, and the picture quality difference is significant.

Strongly recommend this camera to anyone
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The pictures are bright and clear.

The 720p videos I’ve made so far are just amazing, especially from a tiny camera like this.

I initially wanted to purchase the Canon SD780 but decided on this model for several reasons:

1. Wide angle lens.

2. Bigger size. The SD780 was too small for me.

3. Controls are easy to use once you get used to them.

4. Widescreen LCD.

5. Battery life. I don’t know about the battery life on the SD780 but the battery life on this one is long. Easily lasts 3-4 days.

If you’re doing a lot of videos, I recommend getting a class 4 or class 6 16/32 GB SDHC card and a mini-HDMI cable. You’ll be amazed at how sharp and vivid the videos are on a 1080p TV or monitor.

For the ones who have bad things to say about this camera, please take into consideration the price of it and the features you’re getting.

fantastic digital Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Canon PowerShot SD960IS 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.8-inch LCD (Silver)

Purchased to replace a dropped/broken Canon PowerShot SD850IS. Delighted to say, the SD960IS is even better. I don’t miss the viewfinder at all and the slightly smaller size makes it pocket friendly.

This camera has many features not found on other digital cameras yet is easy to use. I love the picture stitching.

Don’t forget to use the wristband less you drop the camera!

Great Still Images, Excellent 720P for the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
The true market for this camera is someone who wants to have one device that is compact, shoots excellent quality pictures, and has the capability of capturing 720P HD movies.

It’s a Canon, so the image quality is a given. Tons of examples on Flickr if you simply search for “canon SD960″ or “IXUS 110″. Colors are true, not highly sharpened, low chromatic aberration, and rich with detail. Do not, however, mistake this power of the DIGIC IV processor to be perfect and free of noise at high zoom or ISO above 400. Compared to its class, however, the results are just great for the price point.

But the odds are you are looking at this camera not just for its stills ability, but the fact that it can also shoot HD movies.

So how does the HD perform. Here, the optical stabilization and optical zoom make this a far better choice than it’s nearest hybrid competitor, the Flip HD. The Flip is a fun, very easy to use device, but the lack of image stabilization in camera makes the output very choppy and prone to a “jello” wobbling effect. The Canon has a much smoother output. A strong performer in low light (but expect more noise) and a really excellent result in natural light. For samples, my best recommendation is to search Vimeo — they have the best HD streaming of uploaded videos, and looking at results on Youtube (even if “HD”) doesn’t do the camera justice.

In practice, Mac users will be happy to see that iPhoto can handle the whole offload process — stills and movies. Launch iPhoto, turn on camera and load what you’d like. The movie files are H.264, and can be quickly edited in iMovie or Final Cut.

One worthy note on shooting movie and zoom. You frame your shot and set focus with a half push of the shutter button. Press all the way to record. Once you start recording, you are set at your original zoom level and can not use the OPTICAL zoom to pull closer. Instead, the camera uses DIGITAL zoom to get closer. In practice, I found this did not produce a terribly degraded result, but it is worthy noting before you purchase the camera.

Mono mic on the camera, which pics up sound very well — even on the crowded/noisy streets of NYC.

The cheaper Canon SD780 is very nice also if you are looking to save $50. The newer jog wheel and extra zoom, however, was worth the upgrade (IMHO).

Budget for one of the 8G or 16G SDHC cards sold on Amazon for 50+ minutes of HD recording. And probably worth buying a 3rd party second battery to have on hand.

Just an Average point and shoot
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Background: I’m a loyal canon user and have owned many canon digital cameras, both powershots and SLR’s.

Review of Canon SD 960IS

Pros:

1. HD movies at 720p. Great movies with image stabilization.

2. Wide angle. Equivalent to 28mm. Great for taking pictures of yourself and friends/family as well as landscape shots.

3. Attractive design.

Cons:

1. Focus issues: You must press the shutter button halfway before each shot for properly focused pictures. This is no problem when the owner is shooting, but if you are asking a stranger to take your picture (when traveling this happens a lot), you will get blurry shots.

2. Button layout: Too easy to accidentely change the setting for flash, etc. without knowing it. I lent this camera to my parents who accidently turned off the flash and couldn’t take any nightime pics for the whole weekend. The old SD870is was better in this regard.

3. Movie modes: the time lapse movie mode is no longer available on this model. This was a fun mode that was available on previous models.

Conclusion:

Decent camera with HD movies and wide angle.

Just be aware of it’s drawbacks before you buy it.

Cannon Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Cannon PowerShot SD960IS is a great little camera. Having previously owned Cannon cameras I wouldn’t go with any other kind. As always, the take a great picture!

Very nice, but a few issues.
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this camera to replace my SD1100IS, simply because this model shoots video in HD. I’m sort of a video fanatic when I travel or visit friends (much to their dismay) and my SD1100IS has always shot great quality videos with amazing sound. This new model definitely shoots superior photos and video due to it’s 12.1 mega pixel capacity and I’m pleased with my purchase. However, a few things to note: 1. The SD960IS is slightly bigger and heavier then the SD1100IS. 2. The DS960IS shoots video in only .MOV format (quicktime), which I guess is necessary for HD quality (the camera comes with software that will allow you to export the .mov file to your computer to a .avi file, but you lose quality) 3. The DS960IS does NOT come with the midi HDMI cord and it must be purchased separately (about $45 for a genuine Canon cord) and 4. The only way to enjoy true HD video is to connect the camera to an HDTV via the HDMI cord (watching on your computer is not HD and unless you have a blu-ray burner on your computer, you’ll be storing videos on SD cards and using your camera as a player). My only complaint about all of the Canon ELPH cameras I’ve tried is light streaking; shooting video in bright sunlight, or at night, and you get streaks of lights from major light sources that show up as blue or purple lines in the video. All in all, I’m happy with the SD960IS, and for the price, the ability to shoot HD video is a plus. One last note, the “wide-angle” zoom is not like an SLR. The SD960IS starts at 28MM and zooms from there. A nice feature, but I was expecting the ability to wide-angle out from my shots.

perfect compact camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
This is my 6th generation of the “digital ixus”(II,III,4,5,850IS) from canon and it is awesome – makes great shots and videos as well and is the fastest compact I had so far. I wear it always with me on my belt and so I do not miss any photographic opportunity My decision was based on my previous experience with canon compacts as well as on the recomendation of [...]

Lens is wide and I like the 16:9 format – this way it fits perfectly on my TV and computer.

Great results even for a novice
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’m not a big expert when it comes to cameras. I buy a new one every 5-6 years, and in the past I haven’t been all that thrilled with the results from digital cameras. I love the convenience, but the picture quality hasn’t been great.

We were going to have a big family picnic this year, so I spent a full weekend reading every camera review I could track down. Given the maximum amount I was willing to spend, this PowerShot SD960IS seemed like a good choice. I ordered mine from BigVALUE Inc here at Amazon (but forgot to leave feedback for them until it was too late, oops!). I ordered the camera about 2 weeks before the picnic, and happily it arrived in just a few days.

Admittedly I still haven’t read the instruction manual for most of the features, but I was able to take plenty of pictures at the picnic, and they came out excellent. I was truly impressed at how nice some of them came out. I also skimmed through the instructions long enough to figure out how to make a film, and took a film of some fireworks that we had. That also came out amazingly well, particularly since it’s a film of fireworks taken late at night, and I didn’t do anything to customize the camera settings. All the video and sound came through great.

At one point in the middle of the picnic I did manage to put the camera into some kind of quirky mode by mistake. There were icons on the viewer which were trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t figure out what. Needless to say, I didn’t waste any time reading the instruction book, but instead just turned the camera off and on to reset all the settings. I did lose a dozen or so photos that I thought I had taken while the camera was in that quirky mode, but didn’t lose the pictures before or after it was in that mode. Moral of the story: Read the instructions!

In my case, I plugged the camera into a MacOS machine, and that worked fine. iPhoto had no trouble pulling in the pictures and the movie. I actually filmed the fireworks as a bunch of short clips because I didn’t know how long the fireworks would be, or how much I could fit on the flash card that I bought. I moved all these clips into iMovie, and had no trouble with that step either. I had bought a Transcend 16-GB class-6 flash card, and it turns out that was PLENTY of room for what I wanted to capture. With more experience, I wouldn’t have been so paranoid about running out of room!

In addition to the flash card, I bought a spare battery, and that worked out well. Much easier to switch batteries in the middle of a picnic, and then let the first one re-charge while taking pictures with the second one.

I think the 12.1 megapixels are plenty, although I wish the camera had more than a 4x optical zoom. The image-stabilization feature must have helped a lot, because I had very few blurred pictures, and the few I did have were pictures of busy situations, with several people moving around in different directions.

I am very happy with this camera.

Pink Canon
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this camera for my girlfriend. I have many Canon products and stand behind them. It takes very nice and crisp pictures. A great point-and-shoot camera. Will be very impressed with the image quality.

Neat Camera
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Was very excited to purchase a 12.1 megapixel camera at this price. Used the camera three days. Accidently erased 200 pictures on the second day and on the third day of my cruise the camera was stolen out of my stateroom on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Jewel ship. They were going to investigate and let us know what they found or didn’t find on the video tapes they were supposed to review of the hallway to our room. They promised they would thoroughly investigate and report back to us. They never did and didn’t seem to care that on our final day on the ship we had to leave without ever knowing what happened to our camera. Needless to say, I’ll never take an NCL cruise again, and suggest anyone concerned about the safety of their belongings do not use NCL either. I am considering re-purchasing this camera if and when I ever get the money again.

powershot sd960is
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I am very happy with this camera. It fits perfect in your palm & is very light. The still pictures are excellent quality. I am always amazed when I can point & shoot and the picture looks perfect. I have a SLR as well but found it too cumbersome to carry with young kids. SLR is still the best for still shots but for having a camera that is on you at all times this is the best. The video quality is also very good. It is better than some camcorders I have tried. The only thing this camera is not very good with is zooming…lots of noise. If you use the macro for closeups and flowers it does a incredible job. I have been searching for over two years for this camera. The price, size, quality & HD movie’s are all in this camera.

Great photos, but FRAGILE and forget that warranty!
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I was very happy with my new SD960is and enjoying the improvement in image quality compared to one of my older non-Canon cameras. I guess I will always be partial to “That Canon Color…” I don’t think it is accurate color, but it sure is attractive!

All was well until I was on vacation and hiking with the camera in a warm tropical environment. A day later the screen quit, and hours after that the lens quit retracting. It had been a sunny day – no rain.

Canon warranty service informed me that the camera has water damage and I must pay for the repairs. The camera was in the same bag as the rest of my electronics – including a Canon s3is. All of the other electronic devices continue to function properly, but the sd960 is dead.

Guess the only conclusion I can draw is that the sd960 is extra sensitive…. so… it’s a great camera if you never go anywhere hot or humid. Otherwise it’s a good paperweight.

Wanted to upgrade, instead I got great HD video with blurry/purple fringed AUTO mode pictures.
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
Unfortunately after 30 days of review and over 1000 pictures later I am returning this camera.

As an avid Canon user (Canon AE-1, S500, and S550), I decided it was finally worth the effort to upgrade out of the world of slow compact flash and go with the latest and greatest. What I found was a major disappointment.

PROS:

-Size of the camera is great for your pocket. It slips neatly away and is easy to retrieve.

-When pictures are clear, they look great for a point and shoot.

-I enjoyed using the wheel interface along with the actual UI that is on the camera.

-The HD movies were great both on the computer and played directly to my 46″ Samsung LCD

-Transfer speed to the computer was very fast, especially since I am comparing it to my last camera that was the S550.

-Battery life was great as well as compared to my S550. At least twice as much use from the 960.

-The HD video constantly adjusted the white balance during capture which was very nice.

-Screen was clear and well integrated into the body of the unit.

NOTE: I didn’t hear any strange sounds when zooming in/out using the movie mode (during playback).

CONS:

-Bright daylight images would show purple fringing around diffuse edges such as hair, trees, water, etc… Was made even worse if zoomed.

-In AUTO mode the camera constantly thought it should go into MACRO mode and pictures consistently were blurry. This was even worse at night, and absolutely HORRID if you gave the camera to a 3rd party to take a picture. 3rd parties usually don’t use the method where you hold the button halfway so the camera can figure out what’s going on. So feel free to instruct that 3rd party if you like and then you *MIGHT* get a clear picture half the time… and at night you might get 1 out of 10 that are clear. Even some of the daytime pictures that did not display the MACRO mode in AUTO came out blurry.

I’m so disappointed in this camera since I had such high hopes for it. I researched for at least 8 hours over a period of 4 weeks before I made my purchase. The Canon SD960IS suffers from great ideas implemented without the final touch that would make it worthwhile.

Take my review with a grain of salt; however, I would steer clear of this one until they fix the CCD so it doesn’t have nasty purple fringing (which my s500 and s550 never had) and when they fix the firmware in AUTO to go back to manual macro mode.

About me: I am not a professional photographer; however, I would consider myself very capable. I have developed my own pictures, when I was shooting black and white, in my own darkroom. Also, I am the person that is always called by friends and family when they have a technical question. If I wanted to take slow pictures where I have to think about shutter speeds, exposures, f stops, etc.. I’ll gladly go by the Canon Digital SLR and take the time. This purchase was not for that. I want a camera that I or anyone in my family can take halfway decent pictures without thinking too much about it. At this point my S550 did a much better job.

It’s kinda slippery
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I’m not a camera expert. This camera works great. It’s just a little hard to hold on to.

Best Vacation Camera EVER
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I brought the Canon 960is on a Mediterranean cruise this summer and there is no other camera, video or still, that I would have rather had. For my money this is simply a terrific little camera that will give you terrific stills and better video than you ever thought possible with a great-looking, no-hassle Point ‘n Shoot. The stills were very sharp (the image stabilization is very good) and the colors were accurate and vivid. I sometimes choose the Vivid Colors or Positive Film setting for more color ‘punch’ and it never looked overly saturated or grainy. The Canon 960SI feels well balanced and yet solid in your hand, and is light enough to not make you feel weighed down when you easily slip it into your pocket. I also often choose to use the Wide Angle (16:9) format rather than the normal picture format because I shot a lot of vistas, and this worked out quite well.

OUTSTANDING VIDEO, BETTER THAN ‘FLIP’

For me the true revelation of this camera though was the video. It shoots in 720p HD, no that’s not ‘true’ HD and a 1080p camcorder will certainly shoot better video, but the video is still quite stunning, it will look wonderful on your large HD TV, and outshines the standard 480i DV camcorders of just a few short years ago. When I got back home I edited the movie clips to really sweet results that got lots of compliments. The biggest drawback over a dedicated camcorder is that the sound, while acceptable, is not outstanding and not stereo. However, if you are considering the very popular FLIP MinoHD or FLIP UltraHD this camera is by far the better choice. I bought the Flip Ultra and played with it for awhile but the lack of Image Stabilization made it nearly impossible to shoot any type of video without it being quite jittery-looking unless you used a tripod. The fact that the Canon 960is is a better choice for video and just happens to shoot outstanding stills makes this a no-brainer over any FLIP camera.

NICE TOUCHES

In the menu you’ll find a setting called ‘i-Contrast’ which will give you good detail on faces even if they’re strongly backlit. I found this very useful and hardly ever used fill flash. I kept it on i-Contrast and found the results on all photos pleasing, though if you’re going for a dramatic contrast effect you’ll want to turn i-Contrast off.

This is the 1st Point ‘n Shoot I ever used where ISO 1600 produced viewable photos. Off course there’s some grain and some artifacts, but much less than other cameras I’ve used and in extreme low light you’ll get usable stills and movie footage.

I generally used P (program) mode as I like to tweak, but the 960 will do quite well left to it’s own devices on Auto Mode, which is very good if you DON’T like to tweak. Auto Mode also automatically knew if I wanted to shoot a close-up and switched to Close Up Mode automatically.

The Canon 960 will go from Turned Off to Ready To Shoot in a little under a second. This was true for Movie Mode as well. Nice.

Battery Life was outstanding. I would generally take over a hundred pictures a day and shoot several minutes of video and I never felt the need to carry an extra battery. The battery also charges pretty fast, in a little over an hour.

If you explore Program Mode you’ll find Long Shutter Mode which was especially good for taking dramatic night vistas. You’ll need to have a small tripod though (like the Flip tripod) as the shutter will remain open for about a second. However you’ll have wonderfully detailed night shots as your ISO can be as low as 80.

NO BIG COMPLAINTS

Continuous Shooting Mode was just OK, shooting about two frames a second. After all, it does have 12.1 megapixels to write. Still, this is the one thing that could stand improvement.

Some early reviews complained of the 960is’s new menu as difficult to master, but this is no serious drawback. It did take perhaps an extra day for me to get comfortable enough with the menus to quickly adjust a setting, but now it’s second nature.

I also had read about “purple fringing” — again not a major issue for me as when I compared the pictures to those I shot with my Canon SD1000, the fringing on the SD1000 was far more noticeable and that camera was a former PC Magazine Editor’s Choice. As of now, I consider it the Canon SD960is the ultimate Point ‘n Shooter.

As advertised, a good point and shoot
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Got this camera a month ago just before the Coachella festival, where I shot ~4GB worth of jpgs and ~2GB of video. I used max resolution for both and did not use the fully automatic modes and other gimmicks. Being an all day festival in the desert, I had plenty of opportunity to test the camera under harsh light, shadow, twilight and artificial lighting at night.

Video wise no complains; this is not a video camera and whatever you get out of it is a plus IMHO. I got usable footage of bands at night, with reasonable sound quality, and I suspect the image stabilization improved the shots, since I don’t have very steady hands.

Still photography is another matter. I got plenty of purple fringes under sunlight and way too much noise under low light. Going beyond ISO 400 is reckless, and the lens stops down too much as you start zooming, making matters worse. 12MP is a marketing gimmick; you’ll seldom get good enough quality shots that you can enlarge where such resolution would be needed; half the pixel density and much lower noise would yield plenty more enlargement worthy pics.

Controls are limited, you can tweak exposure compensation and sensitivity and that’s about it. The flash is best for harsh sunlight situations. Having said that, this is a very compact point and shoot, with a very nice LCD and good focusing; a good camera for snap shots and 4×6 prints.

A Great canon camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I got this camera as a gift and I must said it is one of the best camera’s I ever own. works great takes great pictures and video.

12.1MP is also a plus and the HD video is great to.

The canon power shot sd950IS is my number one camera and this one is pretty close to being my new number one camera.

Testing a lot of cameras this ones ok
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I like the wide angle on this camera. The one I recieved had a white pixel in the middle of the screen so I returned it. I also found most of the pics werent’t as sharp as I would like. For the money I would expect a little better quality.

Terrible face recognition = useless camera
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Had an SD880IS for a year and was really happy with it, unfortunately I lost it in a trip. Canon released the SD960IS in the meantime so I bought it thinking HD video will be an added plus. BIG MISTAKE! This camera has a major flaw: face recognition does not work well in 80% of pictures. It only works on less than 6ft if sun hits directly on the face and if the subject does not wear glasses, sunglasses or a hat. If face recognition does not detect the face, it will not meter the exposure correctly thus it will not trigger the flash when needed and/or not focus on the subject and you will end up with dark faces, overexposed pictures and out of focus subjects. Now, I did try to overcome this by using the few manual controls available with not much luck. My 5 yr old Canon S70 is much much better in this respect. It is very interesting that face recognition on a $150 Sony DSC-W220 my girlfriend has performs flawlessly and not just with one subject in the picture but even with 5-6. Now, I would not recommend the Sony for other reasons (no wide angle, very noisy, etc) but come on Canon, you cannot release a $330 (at the time of purchase) camera with such poor facial recognition in 2009. SD880IS wasn’t perfect when it comes to facial recognition but unlike the SD960 it worked really well in 90% of cases and that’s good enough for me. There are other things that I don’t like about the SD960 such as the cumbersome menu (worse than the 880), a tendency to use macro mode in Auto mode when shooting scenery, unable to use the flash in auto mode, etc, but no camera is perfect and I wouldn’t consider them a big issue. This camera is going to craigslist or ebay soon at a $150 loss after only 4 months.

Canon powershot SD 960 IS
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
At first I was extremely happy with my purchase. But soon after 2 months of my purchase i started to get numerousss problems.. The most common problem that canon has is definately gotta be LENS ERROR.. My prior canon camera was ruined because of lens error so I bought this camera.. and again I had lens error again. But luckily the lens error dissapeared all of a sudden but after that I again started having new problem. Then suddenly what i notice is that.. whenever I turned on the FLASH feature… and clicked the photograph with flash on..I noticed Fumes/smokes came out of the camera.. Since then I have stopped using the flash feature because I am scared that my canon camera will blast if i use that.

Then I noticed that I still had my warranty so I thought that if i contacted the seller and canon then they would be able to help me… But i am likeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee so osso so dissapointed with the seller as well as the canon company. When I asked for the help, the seller replied by saying contact canon and directed me to the canon website. Then I got lost and didnt knew what to do. But I figured out the thing and placed a work order.. But to my dissapointment.. WHAT THE HECK????.. Its been 2 weeks I havent heard anything back from CANON …

THEN i again tried contacting the seller.. but WHAT? HE/SHE now doesnt seem to care to respond either.. OH MY GOD !!!!!!!!! Now i dont know what to do… ??

SELLER.. IF U actually read this comment.. or if u dont then i would highly suggest you to read it and start valuing customer satisfaction and customer needs… JUST directing them to canon website expecting them to figure out everything by their own is not enough !!!!!!!!!!!!

DONT BE MONEY MINDED>>> just think about it.. ALL of us work our ass off to earn $ 300… which is not an easy money.. and IF all the sellers begin to think about only marketing strategy.. and become profit minded… then I dont know what will happen to all the innocent customers like Us ???

DONT make FALSE PROMISES about your products if you are NOT ABLE TO FULFILL IT AND LIVE UP TO IT..

IF YOU ARE ACTUALLY READING THIS COMMENT THEN PLEASE CONTACT ME AND DIRECT MY PROBLEM TO CANON AND HAVE MY PRODUCT EITHER REPLACED OR FIXED…

IF YOU WONT RESPOND THEN I WOULD THINK THAT WHATEVER I HAD ASSUMED AND WRITTEN ABOUT YOU IS ALL TRUE…..

ALL THE OTHER CUSUMERS… I REQUEST ALL OF YOU TO THINK TWICE BEFORE PURCHASING THIS CAMERA…

I DONT RECOOMMEND ANYONE TO PURCHASE A POWERSHOT CANON CAMERA OR ANY CANON CAMERA…

1. THE SELLERS DOESNT CARE IF YOUR CAMERA FACES TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES AND EXPECTS YOU TO DEAL THOSE STUFFS BY YOURSELF WITH CANON COMPANY

2. THEN THE CANON COMPANY DOESNT CARE OR GIVES A DAMN ABOUT YOUR WORK REQUEST EITHER.. EVEN IF YOU STILL HAS A WARRANTY…….

dAMN,… I M REALLY DISSAPOINTED WITH YOU SELLERS AND CANON

Great Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I received this camera as a gift after I graduated from college. I absolutely love it! The wide-angle lens is great for capturing landscapes, and is by far my favorite part of this camera. The picture quality is superb, the button placement is great and the different camera functions are easy to access and use. The color accent is another of my favorite features of this camera. At first I didn’t think it would be something I would use often, but I find myself using it quite frequently. The kids-and-pets mode is wonderful for capturing my cat, who likes to move when I try to snap a picture of him The battery life is good, not great but I can’t expect much with that. I don’t think any camera’s battery life is great these days.

Overall, this is just a really great camera. The price was a bit scary at first, but I believe it’s expensive because of the wide-angle lens which is DEFINITELY worth the price! And it’s a Canon, so you know you’re getting a great product!

Wonderful compact wide-angle camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Takes great pictures in low light situations, though with a bit of grain. Easy new navigation system (I”ve owned other Canon Digital Elph cameras before.) Excellent video capture. Wide angle means you can fit more people or other objects in one shot.

Excellent Point/Shoot HD camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I work in a graphics shop with professionals who deal with high res 1TB files. They have keen eyes. Everyone who saw the HD footage video from this camera was impressed.

I already have a Canon DSLR but this is a great pocketable device that takes excellent P&S photos. It doesn’t compare to my DSLR but that is not the point, it gives you fabulous images for anything under $500 in the size of a cellphone.

In fact, the price of the camera is about the same price of a decent wide angle lens for my DSLR. Hence, the price of this camera was a no-brainer. 2.8 arpeture, 28mm wide angle lens. Enough said.

The HD video worked great with my Mac workflow. Final Cut Pro handled the files with no problems. Again, I showed the footage to my friends in the professional broadcast industry and everyone was impressed.

I second the recommendation that you should search Vimeo for some HD examples. Better yet, search for Cabel’s review on the internet and download his original 720P Quicktime file.

I only stumbled over this camera after watching 4-5 hour footage of Sonny Webby, VADO hd, Flip HD and Mino examples. I was not impressed with any of them except for the Vado. A single purpose HD camera or a HD/12 megapixel point-n-shoot?

The other alternative is the Canon SD780IS bit for a little more money, you get a wide angle lens.

You may want to get the SD980 instead
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this from Amazon. The day after I ordered it, Amazon sent me an email about the SD980, which was just about to come out. I would have rather had the SD980. It is the same size, but it has a 5X zoom, a bigger LCD and a touch screen. You can see the reviews. Some people love, but others say there are problems with it.

ABOUT THE SD960:

I bought it because it has a wide angle lens (28 mm equivelant). It is great for the pictures I take. I don’t know why everyone is wrapped up in zooms. Most of the pictures I take are either sight seeing pictures or group pictures. You need a wide angle lens for that.

It also has a panoramic or wide screen mode. The standard picture aspect ratio is 4:3. You can put this camera in wide screen mode and get a 9:16 aspect ratio, similar to a wide screen TV.

But, the wide screen picture is not 12 MP. It is something like 10 MP. To get widescreen, the camera just cuts off the top and bottom of the picture and then widens it. It is similar to digital zoom, in that you can basically do the same thing with your computer. But, it is convenient to have the camera do it for you.

This camera has a ton of features. The menus are a little different than older Canon models, so that takes getting used to. I don’t like how difficult it is to change between the wide screen and normal aspect ratio modes. It would be nice if you could do that in one click.

I like the picture quality. I think it is as good or better than any other the other compact Canon cameras I have had. It takes fairly good pictures at night, unless it is really dark and the object is far away.

The LCD is 2.8″, but that is misleading. Since it is a wide screen, if you are viewing pictures of a normal aspect ratio, the viewable area is only about 2.4″ or less.

The only other problem is that in video mode, the zoom doesn’t work. This is an issue with a number of Canon cameras. I don’t know why.

Best Compromise for digital photos
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I researched the camera wanting a point and shoot after watching friends lug around huge SLR digital cameras. I knew I would use a point and shoot more often. This is one electronics I have purchased that actually went up in price after I owned it (about 9 months now). The research I found showed off an example portrait shot done under a bridge: bright back-light, yet the peole had great lighting (without flash). Remarkable shot with a compact camera and I would say the computer is compositing the shot. In bright light, this camera’s photos are remarkable with auto mode. Shoot indoors with relective light, we have to start fiddling with the options.

The camera has 3 modes: video, presets, auto. The presets enhance color or camera speed. I find I had to familiarize myself with the 15 modes. Portrait mode softens the subject’s features. I was trying to enhance the reds of my subject, make the shot warmer. Using Sunset mode gave me the results I wanted, but this mode also slows the shutter speed way down. I have to hold the camera super steady. There are other, custom settings but they are buried in the sub-menus. Getting familiar with the camera does take some small effort.

I never used any manufacturer’s software to download from any of my cameras. I find a USB flashcard convertor to be more versatile on any computer platform. Just connect and I get the image files like having an extra hard drive. The movies are in .mov format (QuickTime) with a mono audio sound track. Windows users will have problems with that and want some kind of convertor software to make .avi. The HD video picture quality is great.

For a point and shoot I would rate this camera as a smart choice from the huge selection of cameras to choose from — modern enough that you won’t need to upgrade for a long time. The sole feature I miss is not having extended-zoom long-shot photo capabilities.

Excellent Pocket Camera
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Pros: Excellent picture quality. Easy to use and set-up. Small and lightweight (About the same size as a Razr phone). 720p video.

Cons: No viewfinder. Can only digital zoom while taking video.

I bought this camera for my wife because she wanted a smaller camera to use then the current one we already own. I’ve always owned Canon cameras and love them for their picture quality. For a point and shoot camera, the SD960IS is great. The pictures this camera can take when it’s set up in auto mode are better than any other camera I’ve had. Take an hour to read the user’s manual and you’ll know how to use every function of this camera. The manual is straight-forward and is well written. Once you read the manual, advanced options and manual settings are easy to set. Video quality is good for a camera this size, recording at up to 720p 30fps. Since my wife and I got this camera, she has taken it with her everywhere, and is taking loads of pictures. That’s what this camera was designed for, and it does a fantastic job. Highly recommend.

Canon Power Shot SD960IS
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
We love this product. It is very light weight but takes beautiful pictures! For all your quick picture needs and also still life I recommend this product. We investigated it before purchase and it is used as a 2nd camera by a famous photo professional that says he would not be without it for his casual day to day pictures and people pictures. Best point and shoot!!!

Didn’t live up to Expectations – Returned it
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I have an older Canon Powershot 7mp and I was expecting that the pictures off of this model would be better. I took it on vacation (Disney) and on the little screen, everything looked great. Once I got home and downloaded onto my big LCD screen, I was so sad to see what I thought had been great shots (hundreds of them) were mostly grainy and not nearly as clear and sharp as my old 7mp. Thinking I had done something wrong, I verfied with Canon support that my settings were right for the highest resolution. I returned it to the retailer and took the ‘restocking’ fee hit. The postiive aspect is the video on this model – very nice compared to my old 7 mp camera. I’m still looking for a replacement.

HD Video Great, Pictures not better than my SD550
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
8-4-09 Update: I think it’s time to update my review. I really do love the video this camera shoots. If that’s all I wanted it for, this would be a 5-star product. But over time I am getting more and more disappointed with the quality of the photos. Maybe my unit is a dud, but the noise seems to be getting worse. I just think that an outdoor photo, taken in full daylight, should NOT be a noisy as the pix from this camera are. I miss my SD550. I may have to just suck it up an switch back, or look for something else to use as a point and shoot for when I don’t want to carry my XTi around with me.

==================================

I finally upgraded my SD550, which was getting pretty beat up and tired. I was really looking for a >3x optical zoom (4x isn’t a huge improvement, but it’s enough for a 12.1mp camera) I actually really like the layout on this one, the huge screen (I never used the viewfinder on the 550) and the playback button at the top right.

The HD video quality seems good to me (I have a more expensive HD videocamera, so this for me is not going to be used when I know I want to shoot a lot of video), but I found the controls for playback confusing (it’s not clear at ALL just looking at the camera that you have to press up on the control wheel and THEN press the set button. The 550 used Set/Set to playback. I have to be careful not to use Set/Set because the first Set launches the delete function (!)

I also found the purple lines caused by bright lights to be much more harsh on the 960 than they ever were on the 550. In fact, I had to go back to the 550 to see if it even did that (It did). It’s just more noticable on the 960 but that could be because it’s filming in HD. There are no purple lines when I am taking still photos (even if you see it on the viewfinder) so you just have to be extra careful about pointing the camera toward the sun if the sun is fairly low in the sky.

I’ll update this review as I have more feedback.

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Update to review on 4/15: I still like the camera, the HD video quality is AMAZING, but as a pixel peeper, indoor shots tend to be REALLY noisy. Now maybe I shouldn’t be zooming that far in on a 12 megapixel image shot indoors, but it is something I want to warn people about. I’m going to try printing one of the noisy shots to see what it looks like when compressed down into a 4×6 size. I also find some of the shots blurrier than I’d like. Like the other reviewer, this was a move from an sd550, and maybe that is just the greatest pocket camera ever, because both of us are a little disappointed with the quality when you compare the two. If the video wasn’t so much better, I may have exchanged this one. As of this moment, I’m at about a 3.5. Will be taking it on vacation next week. More feedback to come.

Don’t upgrade to this camera
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I was upgrading from a Canon SD550 to this camera. After a quick vacation, I am returning this camera. I am an amateur(at best) photographer.

I was able to take some pretty decent pictures, but the majority of the pictures had an issue.

Wide Angle – Very nice feature. I’ll be getting the SD880 to replace this camera.

Red Eye Correction – My wife has blue eyes and always got red eye with our old camera. This is a great feature.

Widescreen – Neat at first, until I realized that it was just cropping the max resolution. You could recreate the widescreen effect on the computer by taking pictures at the max resolution and chopping off the bottom 25% of the picture.

HD Video – It seemed like it would be great, but I wasn’t really impressed. The video on the SD550 was about as good. This seems like a case of the Emperor’s new clothes. Knowing that the new camera was supposed to HD, I felt like I needed to say it was much better quality than my old, but I couldn’t notice much of a difference. I watched on my new laptop and it played smoothly, but when I tried to watch on my netbook, the video wouldn’t play.

Shake to change picture – This is a worthless feature. Doesn’t work reliably and works when you don’t want it to, like when you hand the camera over the camera to show a picture. The scroll wheel was nice in that when you scrolled quickly, the image size reduced and rolled through the pictures very quickly.

Auto white balance on face – I would rather not have this feature. It made the skin tones appear all wrong. This is one of the major reasons I am returning. There were many pictures when the camera seemed to get confused and the faces tones were made to be a similar color to the background. For instance, standing in front of a plant made the face look green. Outdoor photos seemed to make the faces bluish. This all occurred with the faces being recognized by the autofocus.

Facial Recognition – It was easy to trick the facial recognition. Glasses and hats would easily confuse this feature.

Auto ISO setting – It seemed like the camera consistently used a lower ISO setting than was probably necessary. This is likely to introduce a little extra noise in the images.

Many blurry pictures – This happened in full day light, low day light, indoor lighting, and with the flash. Most of my SD550′s pictures came out less blurry than this camera.

Night Scene mode – This is one of the most commonly used Scene modes for us. We used to be able to take photos with us in the foreground and lighted signs in the background and the signs would show up clearly. With the 960, the signs ended up looking like a large blob of light.

Flash Settings – It would be nice to force the flash on in the Auto mode. To do this, I had to go to the P scene mode and then I had the option to turn on the flash.

I hope that I just had a bad product because I have been a fan of the Powershots for many years and always recommend them. I would rather not have to find a new manufacturer.