Yes, I'm very happy with this Canon super zoom. You got that right. Because of very small sensor compared to APS C or full frame cameras, there is a lot more noise, less resolution, overall less Image quality. But the Image quality is still enough good for most purposes, the AF is enough fast and the hole package is very versatile and useful. If you don't want to take with you a big bag full of cameras, objectives etc. this little beauty will let you make good pictures in almost every situation. The only real limitation is sports photography in low light. Then the AF-system is not accurate and fast enough.
Noise is not too strong up to ISO 1600 for normal prints, higher ISO values have a lot of noise and noise reduction.
You can do JPG, RAW or both at once (but then camera gets slower).
Lenth of Video, I'm not sure here, I think it is only limited by size? You can even make slow motion videos up to 120 frames/second (at lower resolution, not HD).
This camera is what we call here in Switzerland the "Swiss Army knife" of the digital cams.
Thank you again micro...
GLTY and all, Claude Alain