It's a great sensor in an average camera body. You'll get great results with that camera and decent technique, but don't expect the body to stand up to a lot of abuse, because it's not a pro-quality body.
Canon Digital Camera PowerShot A70 can show menus without any problem but cant shoot any video or pictures. The LCD it self can not show pictures on it, please help.
I agree that this sounds like a problem with the CCD. This problem was acknowledged by Canon a couple of years ago. The other answer discussing this provided a link to Canon Europe. In case you are in the US, I will provide a link to the US site for getting your camera repaired.
The A70 is an excellent camera for its specs and has better image quality than my father's 6-month-old Kodak. Fortunately I have not had any problems with my A70.
I use a Canon Powershot S2 IS and has been able to work pretty well for me. I only have a few problems with it. The focus is out sometimes and it is starting to become a bit more sensitive depending on the amount of light available. Also, I have noticed photographers works they are very crisp in color and detail. Is this due to megapixels or camera brands? I am still trying to remain digital. So if anyone has any advice or suggestions to something I can upgrade to, let me know.
The site referenced by #1, dpreview.com, is indeed one of the best. Definately follow those links and explore the site.
As for focus, I'm sure your camera isn't getting worse, you're just getting better at noticing a slightly out of focus shot. That comes with experience. Your camera uses contrast-detection for autofocus, which is cheap to make but not as precise as what you can do with a true autofocus lens. It's especially off in low light and at the long end of the zoom. You're going to need to upgrade to an SLR for better autofocus. Again, see dpreview.com for that.
Do you do any post-processing with a program like Photoshop? If so, I'd reccomend you turn down the saturation, contrast and sharpness settings in your camera, and add them to your taste in Photoshop. That way you will retain the most detail you can, and you can adjust the feel of the picture later. If not, simply crank those settings up in-camera for a more "punchy" look. If that's still not enough, save and invest in an SLR with a quality lens.
Looking to buy it…tell me more
It's a fantastic camera, I love mine. I researched the "cons" before I bought. There's only two things you may not like. No video recording, and you must view the shots through the viewfinder (can't set up a shot through lcd, though you can look at results in lcd). Some with very large hands complained about the size, but it's perfect for my hands. I didn't care about either of the "cons", so I went for it. I've had this camera for about 9 months and just got a new uber lens. Great battery time, even with an IS lens. Clear crisp photos. Complete manual control for any lighting or action scene you could imagine. I haven't regretted the decision for a second, it does everything I would want or need it to do!
Canon s2 12x optical zoom
Maybe I'M missing something with the different ans you're getting.
According to CameraWorld.com a digital image calculator shows if you shoot at your best setting of 5 megapixels you should get about 409 shots on a 1 GB card. If you use a less quality setting (and I wouldn't-you have a real fine camera) say 3MP, you should get about 853 shots.
I want to upgrade to a lense that has a better zoom yet can still offer wide format shots. Does anyone suggest a lense that will be a good upgrade yet still cost effective?
Also, I need to upgrade the flash, does anyone know a good cheap flash that iwll work well with this camera? I'm a NEWB when it comes to photography and such, thanks in advance.
I'm guessing that 18mm at the wide end is sufficient and that you only need more zoom range at the tele side. I'm also guessing that you're on a bit of a budget.
Canon has a nice 28-200mm zoom, but you'd effectively loose wide angle coverage. They also have a great 17-85mm zoom. This is a fantastic walk round lens but is costs $500. So you could look into the Sigma 18-125mm zoom for $280 or the Sigma / Tamron 18-200mm lenses for around $385. These are upgrades in terms of zoom range but not in terms of image quality. You could also hold on to the 18-55mm kit lens and add a Canon 55-200mm zoom for just $200.
With regard to the flash, any external unit would be an improvement if you currently rely on the pop-up flash. Here I would stick with Canon. Have a look at their 220EX Speedlite for $115.
