Sidebyte,
Thanks for your comments. I actually had the privilege years ago of using a Gowlandflex. I wonder whether we have made much progress since those days
??
Here is my detailed experience with the S70. As I think I said, I owned two which I sold about a month ago. In the entire time that I owned these, which was probably two years, I only had one problem. One of the cameras had a zoom rocker switch stick and I had to replace this. Otherwise, performance was perfect. The clamshell design of this camera is great as it eliminates carrying lots of extras and it keeps the lens relatively clean. I also feel that the size of this camera makes it much more functional than its terrible replacement, the S80. The S80 is just too small for adult fingers to work manual settings if one is really using the camera features.
I would never have sold my S70s if I was using these. I also would have never guessed that Canon would become so fashion-conscious and photographer-stupid. They have ruined their point-and-shoot line and turned this into toys, IMHO. As I wrote earlier, I am hoping that Panasonic/Leica release their new upgraded camera with a bit better noise-free characteristics and I will be a customer. I am a firm believer that any functional camera that claims to shoot wide angle must have a minimum focal length that intercepts approximately a 75 degree angle, i.e. a 28mm lens in 35mm film equivalents. I also believe that if the images are to be decent, the zoom ration needs to be very close to 3:1. This makes the lens versatile for travel and for family shots, etI will be interested in what you decide.
Tom
P.S. KEH, from my experience is totally reputable. if I buy major equipment via mail order, I use B & H or KEH.