Canon PowerShot A570 IS Digital Camera

I have been a Pentax user for years with my 35mm SLR, then came digital. I started out with a 3 megapixel and once I got the hang of digital vs. film I was hooked. As with any product they improve so quickly you keep wanting more. So on advice of a friend who is a photographer, I started looking at the Canon. Originally, I was going to get the Rebel XTi, but I also wanted something smaller that I could easily carry with me. Since I purchased this camera I have not looked back. It is easy to use, the pictures are super. There are still some features that I have not got to yet, because it gives you many extras. When I would crop my pictures prior and try to enlarge I would have to be very careful due to distortion of the picture when enlarging without higher megapixels. Now it is a breeze. The software from Canon also is a plus, it doesn't slow my laptop down like the other brand that I had originally. It is also very easy to use. The image stabilization has been a plus. It will zoom objects in much closer and clearer than I expected. I originally thought I would be disappointed getting this camera instead of the digital SLR, but I have been completely satisfied with this product. I will buy the digital SLR in order to be able to change lens and for increased megapixels. But I will keep this one around to grab for keeping up with my children's activities because it is just a great camera that is small and compact but takes pictures like the "big guys" when keeping it in perspective. I'm still a "newby" to digital cameras but I'm learning quicker than I thought (although the instructions could have been a little more simplified). However, I am not dissappointed that I purchased this one first. I was very impressed, when I took a picture of my daughter in a "low light" situation and with camera on auto it adjusted so the lighting in the print was perfect. I am definitely not a professional and you will never see me out of auto mode,(not anytime soon anyway) but those who would prefer that method would not be disappointed with this camera if they wanted to use something other than their slr cameras. For the price difference it was definitely the appropriate step for me. You will need to buy an additional SD card, it comes with a 16MB but you will want one much larger. The battery life isn't as great as I would have liked, but it uses "AA" batteries that are readily available.