I attempted to submit a review for the Canon Powershot SX280 at the Canon website. Here is the review:
Pros:
1. Camera and controls are very easy to use, but my opinion may be influenced by the fact that I have owned two previous Canon Powershot cameras.
2. Camera takes adequate-good still shots in auto mode. The camera, however, takes much better pictures in manual mode and was a little surprised by how much difference there often is in quality.
3. Short videos are good quality recorded at 1920x1080 60p…more below.
4. Image Stabilization is surprisingly good at this price point both for stills and video.
Cons:
1. Camera ergonomics are not so good. The natural position for the left hand tends to block the pop-up flash when needed and often the camera has to be turned off and restarted to get the flash to extend to its normal position. I have found an alternate position for my left hand which isn’t as natural to me, but don’t always remember to use it. It is very difficult to remove the battery/memory card cover without activating the on-off button. I can place my index finger behind the on/off button toward the back and slide the cover, but the pressure points are not aligned vertically and the camera tends to want to rotate while applying pressure.
2. Battery level indicator indicates movie mode saps the battery very quickly. I have started with a fully charged battery, shot 3-5 minutes of video, and the red flashing low battery level indicator appears. If the camera is turned off and back on again, then one of the still mode options are chosen, the battery level indicator indicates a full charge. If you switch to movie mode, low battery level indicator is flashing. Much more video can be shot with the low level indicator flashing but it is very distracting to try to frame videos with the red flashing indicator for the next 15-20 minutes. If you use the zoom a lot during video, recording times are much less. It is not clear whether the issue is the camera misinterpreting battery level, the battery actually being depleted quickly by heavy demand, or a combination of the two.
3. Lens zoom is not exactly quiet. You can hear the lens moving while recording video if you use the zoom feature.
I contacted Canon Customer Service by email and finally by phone as soon as the battery/video issue appeared. My first contact was one day after the camera arrived. The technical support person I finally called claimed to have a 280SX which he tested while I waited on the phone and did not see the issue. I was offered the option to submit the camera under warranty for repair but would have to pay for shipping. I did not think I wanted to pay to have a camera shipped back for warranty repair that was defective right out of the box. I heard subsequently that other consumers had sent the camera back to Canon only to be returned saying the camera was working properly. The internet vendor from whom I purchased the camera has a 30-day return policy with free return shipping. My choice was to return to the vendor for a full refund.
Tonight I received the following rejection:
Your opinion is very important to us and the Canon community. We appreciate you taking the time to write a review on PowerShot SX280 HS. Unfortunately your review did not meet our guidelines for posting on our site.
We encourage you to review our guidelines and resubmit your review on PowerShot SX280 HS.
Here are the guidelines:
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Enjoy writing your review!
In the terms of use, there is this statement:
• engaging in conduct affecting Canon USA adversely or reflecting negatively on Canon USA, the Site, Canon USA’s goodwill, name or reputation or causing duress, distress or discomfort to Canon USA or anyone else, or discouraging any person or entity from doing business with Canon USA; or
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If that is what is keeping the review from being published, then I guess Canon can reject any negative review or put a cap on how many they will allow for a product. Since Canon has provided no explanation of the specifics with regard to reasons the review was rejected nor did they send a copy of my review in return, this is all very disturbing. I wonder if any others have posted reviews of Canon products that have been rejected....
