Yeah, its almost a month. Since it's my first camera, all my views/comments are based on this camera alone.
Performance and ease of use:
You should have read many cons about this camera. I feel these two are the cons after using this camera.
*Slow flash recycle (I don't use flash much, so it's not a big issue for me)
*Noticeable chromatic aberration at telephoto (Noticeable in my moon shots)
There are few things I like but some don't think so.
*It's little bulkier.
*It uses AA size batteries.
*Manually operated flash.
Other things I like. Better I keep it short else I have to list out most of the features.
*Full manual controls
*ISO boost up to 6400
*Longer shutter
*IQ
*Price
*Vivid, Sepia among others... (shooting modes)
I have posted around 50 photographs in this thread. You can check the quality of the image.
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/cameras-camcorders/118227-photography-thread.html
There are 8 buttons, 2 dial wheel and a zoom lever. All of them are on the right hand side. I think it's common for a camera with manual controls and I don't feel uncomfortable using it. Hmmm... Buttons could have been a little better.
In the bundle I received,
-SX130 IS
-Camelion mini charger with 2xAA NiMH (2100mAH) batteries
-2xAA Panasonic - Alkaline batteries
-4 GB San disk memory card (Class 4)
-USB Cable
-AV Cable
-Warranty card
-Pouch
-User Manual
-CD
*img853.imageshack.us/img853/860/imagevga.jpg
Later I bought,
Envie Speedster quick charger
4xAA NiMH Sanyo Eneloop batteries (2000mAH)
*img213.imageshack.us/img213/1373/img0806q.jpg
Battery life:
I keep close track of battery performance. So far I have shot with 12 pairs of batteries (Including fresh (used right out of the pack) and recharged) at an average of 167 snaps per pair of batteries (least 57 snaps from Panasonic (Alkaline) and best 262 from Sanyo Eneloop (NiMH).
These are batteries I used,
1 Pair of Panasonic - Alkaline
1 Pair of Camelion - NiMH (2100mAH)
2 Pairs of Sanyo Eneloop - NiMH (2000mAH)
Note: For calculation purpose I converted 15sec of video is equal to 4 snaps.
I used Standard mini charger for the first 2 recharge. Then I bought Envie Speedster, since then I am using Envie to recharge batteries.
Suggestion:
Are you a newbie interested in photography? and/or
Wishing to buy SLR but the budget is tight? and/or
Wishing to learn with compact before buying SLR? and/or
You want a compact camera with full manual control?
If yes, SX130 won't disappoint you. It has satisfied most of the consumer and I am one among them. In this price tag, this camera has filled with lot of good features and it produces excellent images in this category of cameras.
My quote about this cam
Compact camera with full manual controls and excellent image quality at affordable price