This was a quality purchase and I did a huge amount of research as well as visiting and speaking with reps at both Best Buy and Frys. And I would've actually bought on Amazon had I had more time before going on vacation but I bought it at Frys Electronics.
First off, I did many comparisons to other Canons recently released. This camera has all of the features of the 320HS except for the WiFi and the touch screen. This camera is identical except for those two features. And at the time of this purchase, those features were $30 more on that camera. But I also considered that the possibility of hardware failures increases the more features you add. Also, I didn't want to "miss a moment" waiting for the lag of a touch screen. I wanted to be able to push a button and have the picture snap. I also hate giving the camera to someone to snap a group photo and them not knowing where to touch on the screen. The traditional shutter button was a plus in my book.
As for other features, I did a side by side comparison of the 520HS, 320HS, 310HS and 530HS. I opted for a higher resolution and a lower optical zoom because but with the Digic5 processor because, for casual photos, 5x optical should be sufficient. If I want to get a higher resolution with a greater optical zoom, I will just upgrade to a DSLR camera.
I've also owned Canon's for many years and I was happy with previous versions. With the 110HS I took a couple hundred shots on a recent vacation and several videos in HD. The videos came out great with good sound quality for a point and shoot. And the photos were exceptional for the price point.
Personally I also like the auto focus features and the fact that it seems to calculate exposures and makes adjustments when I don't have the flash on. I did find that turning the flash off gives a much more natural look and with it on my photo subjects seemed to run "hot" so I opted to have it off except in low light situations. The button configuration to toggle the flash on and off is both ergonomic and intuitive.
Additionally, the menus are standard Canon-type, so if you are used to them, you will enjoy a familiar interface. If you are not used to Canon cameras, it won't take long to learn.
Also, the quality of the hardware is good overall, but it does have a sort of plastic-ish feel. Not bad, as it keeps it lightweight, but be aware that some may find it chintzy feeling. I, personally, think it feels light and nice. The battery lasted for about 2 days taking a combination of videos and pictures but I always kept it off and in the storage case (for power conservation) when not in use.
Finally, I do have to admit again that I bought the camera at Fry's Electronics in Burbank due to the fact that I was going on vacation the very next day. I bought the SquareTrade warranty direct from SquareTrade, which I felt was a great deal for about $50 bucks for 3 years. It's the same on Amazon's site or going through them but you cannot get the 2 year warranty if you go through SquareTrade directly and it seems you can get 2 years full coverage on Amazon, which I would have preferred.
All in all, this is a quality camera with a reasonable battery life, good quality pictures and videos with an intuitive interface. I give it 5-stars and am very happy with my purchase.
PS: I also got a SDHC 16 gig card, class 10 and it seems to be pretty speedy. I'd recommend getting one of those or larger as this camera does not include storage. Also look at picking up some sort of a case. I bought a CaseLogic case with a plush interior (from K-Mart for $10) and am happy with that as well.
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