Canon PowerShot S80

Pros: Great Reviews, Impressive Capabilities, Nice Looking,

Cons: Poor Reliability,

Summary: I had this camera for a little over a month used it 3 times and was impressed. Then one day the lens made a grinding noise, failed to extend upon power up and I got an "E18 error.(Note: I have babied this thing, never dropped, exposed to contamination or moisture - barely used). Upon further investigation online there are a large number of E18 issues being reported with the Canon Powershot camera series going back quite some time. Apparently, Canon has taken little action. There is even a legal site for a class action law suit. In my case Canon will warranty repair the product, but I will be out the Camera for over a month and missed photo ops during the x-mas holidays due to the failure. And the real question is how long with the repaired unit last once outside of the 1 year warranty the repair cost is around $200. A number of people have experienced the failure outside of the warranty period. Maybe a extended warranty is appropriate in this case. Caveat Emptor - Let the buyer beware.