Point and shoot at it's best

Summary: The SD700 IS was a replacement for my Minolta Dimage XT. It's difficult to compare the two, because the Minolta was only a 3 Megapixel camera. That aside, I'll focus on the SD700 IS.

A week before a cruise I was going on I decided I wanted to upgrade my camera. I wanted something of quality, and most importantly a camera that takes good pictures. I wasn't just thinking about cruise pictures, but was looking for a camera that I could happily grab every day and take with me wherever I go. I did as much reviewing as I could, and even though the SD700 IS was relatively new, it seemed to get good enough initial comments to warrant spending the $$ on.

The first thing I noticed about this camera was the look and feel. It looks pretty cool, but obviously that isn't what a camera is about. It feels very sturdy and well-built. That's very important for a camera that I carry with me every day. The one thing I am fearful about is the retractable lens. I know it's just me, but my mind tells me that's just something that could break over time, moreso than a camera with a fixed lens.

As far as using it is concerned, I won't get into every detail of the camera - it's parts and menus. There are several well-written fully documented professional reviews on the net explaining each item this camera has to offer.

For an amateur such as myself, I want a camera that does what i expect it to do, and this camera has not failed any expectations of mine. It's actually exceeded my expectations.

Within a second of turning on the camera I can pop off a picture. I always take care to keep the wheel in auto mode when I put it away, for I know it will be set for most instances when I need it without thinking. I have found in auto mode the ISO High setting and auto flash generally cover my needs. It's fairly quick to change ISO and flash settings, so within a second or two I can change those if needed. I have the fine mode set, and use the M1 (2272x1704) setting.

In manual mode, I've used the long shutter mode for night pictures and sometimes keep it on. Usually, when I'm in manual mode, I am taking my time and care in setting up the picture, so I don't really care what the settings are when I leave that mode, such as flash, long shutter, white balance, etc. The next time I use manual mode I check the settings for my particular shooting case of the moment.

As far as the pictures I've taken to date, I can say the following:
The daytime pictures are as perfect as they can be. I find 6-megapixels is fine for my needs. They display very well on my 19" monitor based upon my settings once transferred to my computer, and I generally print 4x6 photos with photo paper on an HP photo printer and they look pretty darn good.

The low light pictures are noisy, but I expect that for what I purchased. I still get pictures in low light I've never been able to get before. Even in 4x6 printing, they capture the moment and I can look beyond the less than perfect quality just knowing I actually got the picture.

I haven't used the flash all that much. At the normal 5-7 foot distance the flash works fine. I find it a little bright when too close, and haven't really played with the settings enough to see how to balance out that problem.

I've had a few red-eye pictures, but I blame myself for not using the red-eye flash setting.

I've used the macro setting, and the close-ups of some plant and animal life I've taken have been beautiful.

I've played with the special color settings. I took a picture in the lobby of the ship of flowers with a piano player in the background. the only color I kept was the red in the flowers, and the rest was black and white. It was a very cool picture. I haven't tried the color swap yet.

The video setting is a nice feature too. I have a nice mini-DV camcorder, but when I want a clip on the fly, the 640x480 at 30fps does a nice job.

Reviewing the pictures on the fly are a breeze. It displays the picture I just took, and in a second I can delete it if I have the time. or, of course I can wait until I get home and delete the pictures I don't want. I purchased a Sandisk UltraII 2GB SD card for the camera, so I can hold a ton of pictures before the need to transfer.

I used the slide show feature and played back the photos on my TV with the supplied cable - it was easy. Also, reviewing the pictures on the SD card with the thumbnails is handy.

I find the 2.5" screen to be clear and adequate.

I use the supplied photo editing software, and I find transferring the pictures from the camera to my computer to be a breeze.