If You Have Kids. . .

You'll love this if you have kids, and your kids will love being able to see their pictures instantly!

There are so many things about this camera that I just love, so I think I'll start with the few things I think could be improved. There is definitely a lag time when taking pictures. You will never be able to capture a series of events that happen very closely. Not only is there a pause after the picture is taken while it's being recorded, there is a slight pause between pressing the button and snapping the picture. This can be hard to get used to. You need to be ready for the picture just a second before the subject is ready. This is easy on a still photo, but harder in a situation where things are moving. The disks store few high quality pictures, but about 10 or 12, maybe even 15 of the smaller pictures. They also will hold roughly one 15 second video clip, or a couple smaller ones. Now on to the good stuff.

Instant gratification is absolutely the best thing about this camera! If a shot is not up to par, you can delete it and take another one, where as traditional camera's, after you've seen the pictures you may never have the chance to retake them. Things like difficult lighting can be hard to shoot, with a digital camera, your shots are instant and you can adjust your camera if you need to. Although I did mention the limited compacity for the disks, I would MUCH rather have disks than memory sticks that I have to download to my computer. I purchased an additional longer life battery for my camera as well, something I would recommend if you plan to take it on vacations or places where you may have it out and about for several hours at a time. The camera has several features, including a movie mode, which is really fun to use. It has several special effect options, including black and white, and sepia. It also has a macro mode for shooting close objects. The zoom is great and comes in very clear, even at full zoom. There is a timer for taking shots that include yourself, and unlike some camera's, that feature it's very easy to use. There are several disk options as well, like deleting all files and copying to a new disk, right there in the camera, that can be useful when other people want copies of your great shots. It's certainly cheaper than getting a second set of prints! If you're feeling daring, there is also a manual focus mode to give yourself a little more control over your pictures! What more could you ask for!

All in all, this is a great camera for someone wanting a solid, high quality digital camera! I have not seen one yet that I like more than this one!