Canon PowerShot SX260 HS (Black)

Pros: Very versatile lens, Decent flash, large screen, lots of options, manual modes,, EXCELLENT video quality, fast response

Cons: Fairly heavy, average battery life, Flash design and placement, slow response with flash, no raw, somewhat difficult to one hand with large hands.

Summary: I am not a brand snob. I own this camera as well as a Nikon D5000 SLR. I just like the layout and design of Nikon SLRs better. Likewise, this camera was better for the money than anything I saw from Nikon at the time. I hadn't used a point and shoot in a while. I just replaced an old Sony with this one. I had been using my SLR. There is a noticeable hit in quality when you drop from SLR to any point and shoot. That said, this camera does produce great, printable photos. It captures colors very well. This camera has a very amazing array of automatic to manual variety. I rarely use the auto modes. I find I mostly use Program, or one of the other manual modes. As far as overall design. I like the size for what it does. The profile is thick at the lens, which is to be expected. You need glass to do what this thing does. The screen is big and vivid. With very large hands, I cannot easily manage the buttons and its control pad with one hand. I always keep the lanyard on me when I use this. One other problem is the design of the flash. It is motorized and come up out of the top left corner. Being someone who is accustomed to holding a point and shoot camera with two hands, this can be a problem, as my fingers get in the way of the flash. So I had to work my way around that. It uses a green focus assist light, which is kind of strange, but it works fine. The menu system takes a little getting used to. I've had the camera for two months and I still find myself poking around to figure stuff out. Overall though, this is a great point and shoot. Definitely beats a smart phone camera, but will not beat a current SLR of even the entry level. The differences in sensor size and quality as well as the lens technology make this not even close to an SLR, but a great companion. It does fit well in most normal pockets. It IS fairly hefty, but if you want a camera with these capabilities, you can't do much better.