I was looking to buy a digital camera to take on an upcoming cruise that I am taking my daughters on. I was also thinking about a video camera. I checked the base exchange at my closest military base. Great selection and good prises too. I found this camera there but wanted to check prices off the base as well. It was on sale for $450, almost $300 cheaper than all the similar cameras there. So I went to another store and found it for the same price, but since there are no sales taxes on purchaes on base, that put the base exchange in the lead. One more store to check, so off I went. There I found the same camera for the same $450 and it came with a tri-pod and a carry case! So thats what I grabbed and went to check out. When the gentleman scanned the camera, the price rang up at $349. He tried it twice more and it still rang up at that price. So thats what I paid. The camera worked great, the software for downloading the digital pictures was another matter. It worked on my fathers Gateway 2000, but when I loaded it onto my Dell it would not work, nor would it work on my wifes computer. I called customer service and they were very little help, suggesting that our computers were at fault. I knew this was not the case and called the factory repair center, they suggested I send it in and they would check it out. Two weeks later they called me and informed me that the problem was in the software, not the camera. They returned the camera with a new software bundle that has worked perfectly. I would highly recommend this camera to anyone who wants ease of operation and great effects. I am looking forward to using it for years to come. The battery life is exceptional provided that you don't use the 3" screen while filming or taking pictures. You can get 60 digital pics on standard mode and 30 on fine. The 400X focus is awesome as well.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 349.00