Akward controls on Canon S200 Elph

I had to go visit a work site yesterday.Since I did not have my regular camera with me, I grabbed the departments Canon PowerShot S200 Digital Elph.Boy was I disappointed.

Now I understand that digital cameras have come a long long way, buy my main complaints were in design.The controls especially for zooming and switching between camera, view, and movie were just bad.

Now the Elph series by Canon is the subcompact line.I had the original Canon Elph & loved it - that one was the APS film version.The size on this camera is not bad, but if you want a compact camera you will want to find one that is lighter and thinner.

Positive:
- Elph series size (this was outstanding when it was new)
- Picture quality is clear and sharp - up to the limits of the resolution specifications
- Wrist strap helps secure the camera - this was important yesterday when I almost dropped it over the side of a wall
- Solid Solid Solid construction - the metal body is strong
- Tripod mount - metal threads uncommon on many digital cameras

Negative:
- Uses the compact flash format - SD is lighter and smaller
- 2.0 Mega pixels - needs at least 4.0
- Akward zoom controls - especially when shooting portrait oriented shots
- Small screen
- View site is not through the lense

Overall, the controls are what ruined my experience.I think the basic camera functions should be effortless.Canon missed that mark on this model.I think they have improved on later versions.