Wow!

I love this camera. After having the same digital camera for 6 years that sported one mega pixel, it was time for an upgrade. I shopped around and settled on this camera. It was actually smaller than my previous camera but has 10 megapixels. This is a bit more resolution than what we actually need but comes in handy for cropping and editing when more resolution is needed for a quality image.

I was intimidated at first by all the features but quickly learned how to use them. The user guide is actually two. One is for consumers who want to just learn the basics of point and shoot. The advanced users guide is for those who want to learn the more advanced features of the camera. It was nice to ease myself into the features of the camera while still being able to take pictures.

You can also manually focus which is a huge plus for me. We have lots of children and they sometimes get themselves into picture opportunities that are hard to use the autofocus on.

The one drawback to this camera is that there is no image stabilization. So if you are shooting in dim light and don't want to use a flash, you may wind up with a jittery image unless you use a tripod. That wasn't a huge issue for us because we do typically use a tripod for low light and no flash pictures.

The camera is a little larger than other one out there but the resoluation and manual focus make up for it. You can still slip it into a larger purse or diaper bag. It won't fit in your pants pocket or a small purse.

The one feature that we found indispensable was the turn around screen. When we take family shots and use the auto timer, it is handy to turn the screen around so that we can frame the shot and then see the picture instantly.

The auto timer also beeps and flashes which is really great because anyone can figure out when to smile.

I've heard that there is an issue with some people about battery life. However, we've always used rechargable AA batteries with our digital cameras. I think we are actually recharging the batteries less often than with our previous camera.

I definitely love this camera and would recommend it to anyone.