Used Canon PowerShot ELPH 170 IS Digital Camera, 20MP, 12x Optical Zoom, 720p HD Video, Smart Auto, Scene Modes, Blue

2020-05-20T20:00:00

Great little camera this my second one. Hold up to a lot of abuse from me. works great

Turkdeuce

Originally posted at

2018-05-13T20:00:00

I think this is a great little camera for the price. It takes nice photos and it is small enough to fit in my pocket when traveling or walking around during the day in my home city. At the same time, it is not so small that is is awkward to handle or hold. With regard to the negative reviews, I think it has more to do with the people taking the photo than the camera itself. If you take photos indoors with a flash, they will always come out terrible. I never use the flash on any camera ever. I also try to avoid taking photos indoors. If you want good indoor photos and don't have a naturally bright interior, then you are going to need a DSLR, a special flash attachment and possibly other equipment.

Anonymous1010

Originally posted at

2017-12-02T19:00:00

Super small and lightweight, it easily fits into my pocket and I always carry it with me when I'm out birdwatching. I've gotten some really great pictures of birds with this camera. I'm not sure why others are complaining about the quality. Perhaps they have not configured the settings to their situations? Some of the settings admittedly are a little confusing, such as AF-Point Zoom, Servo AF, and Continuous AF. I struggled a bit at first to understand them, but after some tinkering around I'm happy with all that just set to off. I usually leave the white balance to "cloudy" regardless of the weather and the colors turn out just fine, otherwise they do tend to err a little on the blue side. Graininess is an issue with any camera if you don't have adequate light, especially indoors. You can't expect professional level quality if you're only lighting your room with a single light bulb. Maybe the issue is they are using the digital zoom, which by its nature will artificially enlarge the pixels and make the image quality suffer, so turn that off too. All I can say is I love this camera and have recommended it to a co-worker who also in turn ended up loving it. I've taken it out in rain many times and as long as it's just a brief exposure the water doesn't harm it at all, which is a very nice bonus.

Jake G.

Originally posted at

2017-06-22T20:00:00

Handy to carry in a shirt pocket, even in a protective small case. I find the lens zoom range very useful, do not agree with comments with phones being better encept for rather close range shots.

ras

Originally posted at

2017-02-21T19:00:00

I trusted the Canon name, and purchased this camera for my daughter, last Easter. It takes lousy pictures half the time. Between the orange light, before the flash, that causes people and pets to look away, and the delay in time from when you click to shoot and it actually shoots, it's maddening for everyone involved. When using the auto flash setting, it often takes really dark photos. If the camera's not on flash, it won't take stop-action shots, and you wind up with blurred streaks. Not too many options to change the settings, including storage size, so every, single photo has to be resized, to get the perfect size to save on your computer, or external drive. You also have to purchase a photo chip separately, as they saw no need to furnish you with even a small one to start with.

Cherie A.

Originally posted at

2016-11-29T19:00:00

This camera takes absolutely awful indoor pictures. Additionally, it does not seem to want to let me turn the flash on permanently, it only has autoflash. I am so disappointed because my last Powershot was great. Will try another brand in the future.

tamu

Originally posted at

2016-10-30T12:51:35

This was a gift for my daughter in law so she could take pictures at the kids' activities. The zoom is great -- as is the whole camera. I have been with her the last two days while she took pictures -- she is Happy!!

Stephanie W.

2016-05-26T20:00:00

I bought this little camera over a month ago to take with me on a trip to Europe. I didn't want to lug my large Canon DSLR along. This little camera allowed me to grab absolutely beautiful images on the fly, even through the windows of a bus. I can't imagine what's going on with the one-star ratings here! I found the camera to be spectacular! Absolutely great resolution even when zoomed. Great color reproduction. Worked unbelievably well in situations with difficult lighting! I have made gorgeous slideshows with the images and they are still crisp and beautiful when shown on a large TV screen. Friends who have seen the results are amazed. I am thrilled with this purchase, and the price I paid for it was great! Could not be happier!

Ruthiem

Originally posted at

2016-04-26T04:35:14

We purchased these for work. They are compact cameras that are a great value for the money. I usually shoot with a DSLR and have been pleasantly surprised with the ease of use and quality of photos taken by this camera. It does a nice job of taking photos in low-light conditions as well. It has everything I could ask for in a point and shoot camera for around $100.

JEANINE A.

2016-04-25T20:00:00

My wife got this 170is camera for me as a birthday gift when my powershotSD1400is lens failed . We left for Washington state the day after I got it so I didn't have a lot of time to play with it. Wow was I upset to find that When i tried to take Photos and use any custom settings that there aren't any available? the menu allows only minor changes to brightness or contrast. and after about 40 or so pictures the battery (which I charged fully before using it, Died. Not a good thing when you're trying to capture the beauty of Mt.Rainier. Thank God for my Iphone and My wife's Canon 1400is . By the way the batteries for the 1400is and the 170is are the same voltage , the same amp. But the contacts are in different places so you cant use the same charger or swap batteries (which she carries a spare). So we get to the rental car and Plug in the USB chord we bought at the gift shop only to find that the camera wont charge thru the USB port. And the only Charger that will work is the one that came with the camera. This thing is going Back to the store.

CWGU3

Originally posted at

2016-04-21T05:42:52

Camera is light weight so great for carrying in purse. It has great zooming abilities. Features are harder to adjust then other camera I owned. Reasonable price I am sure I get my money worth of enjoyment out of it. If it last the 3-4 years like last small camera I am sure I will love using it.

Judy L.

2016-03-17T20:00:00

Like other reviewers I have found the picture quality to be very poor. I believe I have the camera set to the best quality but the photos I take are only 250kb and look grainy. My iphone and ipad take much better pictures with sizes of 1.5mb. Had it too long to return.

lynncon

Originally posted at

2016-03-05T19:00:00

This camera has a great zoom and ISO performance, its metering is very good, image quality is excellent for a compact camera, and as always Canons video is superb.

Mikey

Originally posted at

2016-02-06T19:00:00

I bought this camera two weeks ago for a great deal. Was worth every penny. All the features work fantastic with no problems anywhere. Would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an outstanding camera.

Pebbles

Originally posted at

2016-01-28T19:00:00

I got one a year ago and for some reason it won't take a pic at first it took amazing pics know won't take them sooo sad so don't waste your money I've had a Kodak work way longer and friend got same one and it doesn't take the pic right it is kind of pixilated

Horse

Originally posted at

2015-12-28T19:00:00

No usb cable to interface with computer.....no sd card included.....does not appear to be compatable with windows vista operating system for viewing and downloading, windows 7 and above only. Pictures taken in auto mode seem to be grainy in normal light conditions.

osanbat

Originally posted at

2015-12-27T19:00:00

This is the first Canon camera I ever bought, and my first personal camera. I've had some experience with an older digital compact before this, so I really didn't know what to expect with Canon. I was browsing around for a decent low priced camera to take photos of a trip I went on, and almost bought the predecessor to this, but the new improvements looked good enough to wait for. So I waited a few days to order this on the first day it was released, and I'm glad I waited. The image quality kept getting better and better the more I practiced taking photos with this. I was expecting it to perform worse because I was looking at photos that other people have taking with their older model ELPHs to judge how this might perform, but both the optical zoom and digital zoom can achieve some very sharp quality photos. The long shutter mode works great in low light settings, but you'll get some visual noise if there are no street lights around. Close up photos show up very sharp if you have your settings right. The photos captured true colors, and even the colors of some objects that many cameras can't seem to capture well, like rainbows. I now have a tiny tripod for it, which has allowed to work even better for certain things. This camera can capture distant objects, such as the moon at night, quite well. Sometimes moving objects can be captured very finely if the settings are right. The battery life is pretty good if flash is off, but bad if you're using the flash. So I would suggest getting a second battery. The biggest problem is that there are no full manual controls. The auto-focus may decide to back out a pinch too far, or the shutter speed just isn't fast enough when it easily could have been manually set. If there is a zoom dial, then there could have been a focus dial too, or a button to hold to let the zoom dial double as a focus dial. I don't use most of the settings and modes since I never need them, but it could've used a few modes more, like panoramic stitching. The flash is too close to the lens, which can produce a shadow when trying to take photos of objects close-up. Horizon photos taken can appear not as large looking, so it would of been nice if there was a wide-angle cap that just slides on the front of the lens, but that isn't such a big deal. I can't say how well the Image Stabilizer works since I have nothing to compare it to, but it seems okay. Really windy locations may cause some blurring if you're just holding the camera. In the time I've had this camera, I've really enjoyed it. You must practice using it to understand how the settings decide to capture photos, but after that, you can get some great photos with this. I would rate it somewhere between 4/5 and 5/5. I haven't used many cameras, but if the photos look great, then the photos look great. I can't say anything less, but they truly need a full manual mode since it could make a huge difference.

Alvar

Originally posted at

2015-12-27T08:05:29

Good value camera

LEE D.

2015-12-19T15:48:01

Excellent value. Shipped fast. Highly recommend.

ROGER N.

2015-12-17T19:00:00

if you aim this camera at a bright light you will get a streak of light going up and down from the point of light. this looks like they are using an old chip design from many years ago. my older ELPH 100 HS does not do this.

JJW

Originally posted at

2015-12-13T19:00:00

Got this camera to replace my Canon A3000, but was disappointing to find that movies won't work on my PC. I have yet to figure out how to set the timer.

Paul42

Originally posted at

2015-08-05T21:00:00

Use it mostly for snapshots at family gatherings. Although small, it packs a 20 MP sensor, which yields some good results. Also like the 25-to-300mm (equivalent) zoom lens, which is plenty sharp except when zoomed all the way out to 300mm. The LCD display isn't really bright, especially in broad daylight, and the image the display shows after you shoot a scene is not nearly indicative of the quality of the photo you get once it's downloaded and/or printed.

WILLIAM B.

2015-08-03T21:00:00

I mostly use it to shoot family outings and such - anytime I don't want to carry the big guys and I'm just taking shapshots. It's small, has a very nice zoom range - 25 to 300mm equivalent - and has built-in anti-shake. When zoomed out all the way, the lens is not as sharp as I would like; however, I mostly use it when it's zoomed wide or normal, where sharpness is fine. One thing to be aware of is that what you see in the LCD display is a poor represention of the quality of the image you're going to get when its downloaded and/or printed. In other words, what doesn't look very good in the display from the standpoint of color and contrast, usually comes out much better. Finally, I wish it had a viewfinder because the LCD display is difficult to use in bright light.

WILLIAM B.

2015-08-02T21:00:00

I wanted a pocketable, reasonably good quality camera I could easily carry use for family outings and other events where I want to take quick snapshots. Moreover, I wanted the lens to zoom in to around 24mm equivalent; this camera's lens zooms in to 25mm (equivalent), which is close enough. It zooms out to 300mm equivalent, which is plenty long enough, although the sharpness of the lens at this focal length leaves something to be desired. On the wide and middle focal lengths of the zoom range, the lens performs just fine. The built in anti-shake feature helps keep the images sharp, although, as when the lens is zoomed all the way out, the user really needs to give the camera a little support to keep the telephoto image as sharp as possible. Even so, the sharpness at 300mm is not very good. Also, I've found that the image the LCD screen displays is not a good representation of what the actual shot will look like when ultimately downloaded and/or printed. Fortunately,picture quality is much, much better than it looks in the display. I also wish that it had a viewfinder so that in bright daylight I could better see what I was shooting. Overall, however, I feel a four-star rating is about right for this little guy.

WILLIAM B.

2015-07-05T20:00:00

I found the operating instructions in the camera are difficult to follow and the downloaded (pdf file version of the operating manual to my computer has several blank pages. The bottom line is, I've had the camera for 2 days and am still trying to figure out how to use it.

Ronny

Originally posted at

2015-06-23T20:00:00

Bought this as a replacement for an SD960 that broke. I use this as a pocket camera that can do a lot of things while I'm traveling around. It's small enough to put in a front pocket (or cargo pocket) but has enough ooomph to take a decent picture or video. I can also shoot it with one hand if I need a grab shot somewhere. Everything I've shot so far, from lower light to downpour days to sunny conditions have been pretty good. It takes a good, useable image even without a flash. Haven't had an image published from this camera yet (haven't had it long enough), but I've not seen anything that would preclude publishing a suitable image from this camera. Some people wonder why there are still point-and-shoots when you can use your smart phone. But when you're doing something else with your smart phone, you're going to miss that one shot. Plus, phone batteries are limited, while a dedicated camera is nearly always available. And you can swap out SD cards for even more data.

Anon

Originally posted at

2015-06-22T20:00:00

Bought this camera because we were unable to bring our usual hardware along on our trip, and we were going to be traveling through some nice scenery that we wanted to capture. Once purchased, we were disappointed to find that the only battery this camera uses is a special rechargeable, and that the charger is 120v. only. As a result, we had to purchase an additional power converter just to charge the battery while we drove. Have not found that Canon supplies a 12v. charger as an accessory, and It doesn't appear to charge via the usb cable, either. Furthermore, there is no dry cell that will work if the battery dies, so we have to purchase additional rechargeables just to make sure we don't run out of battery during a shoot. We liked the ease of operation, and the zoom is real nice. It seems to take decent pictures and neither i nor my wife have any difficulty operating it or figuring out how to adjust the settings for our personal preferences...even without the full manual. The manual included will help you get started if all you are going to do is point-and-shoot, but, like most companies, they are trying to save the consumer money by having the full manual available as a .pdf on the internet. I would have liked to have the option of purchasing the full manual rather than either printing out the 150+ pages and trying to bind them in the correct sequence or reading them on a computer screen. My wife read through some of the manual on my cell phone while I drove. Overall, the product is compact, easy to operate, takes nice pictures and has a nice list of features. I just wish I had taken a closer look at a few of the drawbacks...we might have made a different choice.

aardvark

Originally posted at

2015-06-18T20:00:00

Surprised SD card and USB cable not included. Disappointed that instructions not included. Camera works fine. Taking a while to learn all the features.

Lee

Originally posted at