Great for the enthusiast, easy enough for the novice

When I first switched to digital back in 2001 I was overwhelmed with the frustration of shutter-lag. Yes, the images were available instantly, but what was the point if I had missed the shot.
So, my first generation digital was soon replaced by a Canon S45, which still had some shutter lag but it wasn’t as bad. Over the years I learned to pre-focus and try and anticipate the shot. My missed shots were reduced considerably, but not entirely.
I have been on the lookout for a reasonably priced digital SLR for a few years. By reasonable, I mean reasonable for an enthusiastic amateur, with a limited budget who will use it mostly for family and travel shots.
During my research, I found the Kodak Easyshare P880. Although it isn’t a true DSLR, it comes very close. It has autofocus as well as manual mode, portrait, landscape, flower (which is macro, for taking pictures of very small objects), custom, which allows you to save settings like white balance. It also has scene mode, which allows you to take great pictures in a number of different conditions. The options are;
Sport, for fast moving subjects. This is great for photographing children playing since responds almost instantly (very little shutter lag). It works best outdoors though, where the lighting conditions are perfect for rapid-fire shooting.
Sunset, which works with the fantastic lighting conditions of sunrise and sunset to give incredible results.
Backlight, compensates for light behind the subject, which can cause you to lose the details of your subject.
Candlelight, works with very low lighting conditions to give great shots without the pictures coming out too dark and shadowy. This mode does have a long shutter lag though, but that is a small price to pay for clear low light shots. (they are usually grainy)
Text, for taking pictures of documents.
Manner, Museum, disables the flash as well as the sound effects so you can photograph weddings, lectures, museums and such without becoming a distraction.
Snow, which compensates for bright white snow or sand and doesn’t give glaring results.
Beach, for beach or other bright outdoor scenes.
It also offers a video mode, but I haven’t used it yet.

About a month ago I found the camera on sale for $400 with a free Easyshare photo printer included. After reading as many reviews as I could find (mostly good) I took a chance, convince the husband that it wasn’t an impulse purchase and bought it.
Since I am military stationed overseas, I didn’t have the option of checking it out in the store first, so when it arrived, it was the first time I had seen it other than in a picture.
I was surprised by how small and light it is. Although it is bigger than my Canon, it is lighter by half and even though it doesn’t fit into a pocket, it does fit into my purse, so I don’t need to lug the camera bag around for quick trips to the zoo or park.
Since I had become used to point and shoot, I had to re-learn ISO, spot metering and manual focusing. But the controls are easy to use and each one has its own button. This does make for a lot of buttons on the camera body, but it eliminates searching through a loads of menus to find the setting you need and losing the shot.
I am especially impressed with the manual mode. Unlike my last two digitals, it is nearly effortless to use and you actually have complete manual control of the camera. I can once again focus past a chain-link fence and get a clear picture. (Yay!)
I also love the exposure metering. I would get so frustrated with my other cameras because they wouldn’t meter what I wanted them to meter. I ended up with a lot of shadowy, gray and over or under exposed pictures that were difficult to fix with photo software.
There is still some shutter lag though and its write time is slow, but it can be sped up by lowering the resolution or getting a high speed memory card.
As for the photos themselves, all I can say it WOW! As I have already mentioned, I had to get use to the camera and did have some out of focus shots in the beginning, but as I learn the camera, I am getting fabulous, clear, crisp, vivid shots. The best part is the 8 Megapixel resolution. There was a large group shot where my daughter was looking particularly cute. I was able to zoom in on her, which reduced the size of the picture to 2x3 inches, but I was then able to blow it up to fit a 5x7 format and it was still crisp and clear. WOW!
I highly recommend this camera for those who are fed up with the limitations of a point and shoot, but aren’t willing or able to shell out the big buck for a digital SLR.