Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black) Decide Now

i bought this camera after seeing so many positive reviews from amazon. i didnot buy from amazon, but a different retailer since i wanted to evaluate it before a final buy. i didnot like the camera and here is why--

1. HD video - very grainy in low light. Video taken at home during evening hours with lights on appears very grainy. Camera is too small and too light to hold steady for 10-15 mins continously while taking video- stabilization doesnot seem to work. you will see small movements in the video which are irritating - reflects your hand moving during that time. No good surface to get a good grip and hold nicely.

2. Zoom - is useless in low light and at max zoom 3x images appear grainy. lot of fuzzy pictures at high zoom.
forget about digital zoom.

3. Pictures - quality of pictures (steady , no movement) is same as my old s410. Nature photos like trees,foilage are more clear with s410, appears fuzzy with sd780

4. File size - 12MP is useless, creates more grainy pictures and increases file size. A 8 or 10MP camera with better/bigger lens will take good pictures.

5. In good light - Nothing extra ordinary - any camera will take good pictures. dont see value in paying 225+$ for that.

6. Battery - Got very hot after about half an hour of charging. The battery charger and battery became very hot and i had to let it rest for a few minutes before inserting into camera.

7. LCD - very grainy. with a camera this expensive i want to enjoy taking pics. When i look at LCD, pictures appear grainy, so dont feel like taking a picture although i must say that the final pic is good. i can understand LCD resolution is less, but grainy LCD is definitely not appealing.

8. Sound- cannot use HD video so much, because microphone is too small and unable to capture sound clearly.

May be my expectations were too high after reading so many awesome reviews, or may be i like my s410, which is a canon too. May be other comparable cameras from sony, nikkon also suffer the same drawbacks - i dont know. Buy this camera if you want to take images in good sunlight at 3-4 feet away.Get more detail about Canon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black).