Thanks crunchpa, I thought so, too. I know it's not going to do the job as one of the more expensive cameras twice the price. My bird feeder is only about 15 yards from my kitchen window and my little Kodak 3X zoom lens doesn't take a clear picture. If I could get within, say 5 feet of the feeder, it would take a great picture. But there's no way to get that close to birds without scaring them off. I'm wondering if this Canon camera is worth buying.

Thanks! I wanted the blue one, but Wal-Mart ($90 - $25 gift card = $65 out of pocket!!) was out! Phooie. I ordered the silver. I have started using the batteries for digital devices in my Kodak at work and they really are worth the extra money! I had regular rechargeable ones and I could only take 10-20 pictures before they were dead. I used 2 of the digital ones for about 5 months (200+ pics)! I was very surprised as I figured they were just a 'marketing scheme' to get people to buy more batteries. I don't want to have to worry about running out of battery life on vacation. With the AA size, I can pick them up anywhere! Deanna

There are several good telephoto lenses (the kind you want to buy) available for your cameras. Since your current lens can cover distances to 80mm, you should look for one with a focal length of at least that. Bigger numbers indicate the ability to handle longer distances. A 160mm lens will focus to twice the distance your current lens will. A 240mm lens will focus to three times the distance. However, as this focal length increases, three things will happen to the lens: it will get more expensive; generally larger and heavier; and less able to handle lower levels of light. Expensive is expensive; there is not much you can do with that besides buy a used lens or a third-party lens (in your case, a lens by anyone other than Canon). The inability to handle lower levels of light can be compensated for several ways. You could keep the camera lens open longer to admit more light -- but that can cause blurring if you're shooting a moving subject or holding the camera without a tripod. You could use flash, though the flash that comes on the camera likely won't have enough power to light something far away, so you might have to buy a flash unit. You could spend more money :-) and get a telephoto lens that has a wider maximum aperture. These are sometimes dramatically bigger and heavier than less-capable lenses. Or you could buy an "IS" (Image Stabilization) lens; the lens largely eliminating blur caused by handholding. Neat feature; not cheap. If you choose to buy a used lens, it's best to buy one in person at a place that sells used photographic equipment and will give you at least a little warranty. Bring your digital so you can see some results right away. Since Canon is a popular brand, if you live near an urban area you shouldn't have trouble finding a good lens. If you buy a third-party lens, stick with better-known brands (Tamron and Tokina come to mind, but try to avoid their very cheapest lenses). A good third-party lens will have a metal lens mount and operate smoothly and quietly. You also will have to make sure it works with your particular Canon camera model. Sometimes third-party lenses don't work well with a given manufacturer's camera, so you may lose some automatic features or exposure information. That's a lot to digest at once, I'm sure. There also are several Web sites which discuss lenses for Canons -- but be warned that there is just a firehose of information out there because Canon is such a popular brand.

I was Searching for info on the same problem. My little Nikon digital won't open the lens COVER all the way. So it shuts down in a few seconds. Did not drop it, but the one year warranty expired almost a year ago. Had a similar problem with a older Nikon I did drop a few feet (not on the lens) and the lens cover did not always open up, but this newer Nikon (6100?) displays lens error 100% of the time. I tried charging the battery all the way, spraying compressed air gently into the area, and using a vacuum for suction. Nothing improved it. My opinion of extended warranties is that they are a money maker for the vendor, and often not a good buy. But in small cameras with a longer lens (7x digital on up, maybe) they might be worth the money. Not sure that sending it off for repair would be worth the money. Camera was only $170 back then, maybe $100 today with the same features. Open to suggestions