I got this camera before going to Israel. It was a graduation gift to myself. I have been using it for nearly three years now (in 10 different countries and on 4 different continents.) I love this camera and highly recommend it to everyone. Not too long ago, my mother got one of these for her birthday, too. She loves it too. (If money is an issue, another teacher at the school where I was working in Israel got a Kodak DC-25 which is definitely a lesser camera, but delivers a lot of bang for the buck. My review of it is at: http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-F00-48CBDDE0-3A546959-prod3 )

Now, onto the real review....

I never seem to get film to the developer, so after trips I often found myself not with memories but with rolls of undeveloped film hanging around til I found time and money to get stuff together. A digital camera is ideal for me. No more trips to Target or Longs to get things developed only to find out that I missed some pics that were really important.

After a lot of research, I had decided that I needed a minimum 2X zoom, megapixel resolution, built in flash and the ability to download using serial connection or some method that mimicked a floppy disk. When I went to Circuit City, I found several items that fit my requirements and within my price range.

The pictures this camera takes are excellent. The ability to see the pictures with the LCD display means not that I take less bad pictures, but that I know the picture isn't what I wanted and I have a second chance to get it. For example, on a recent trip to Ksiak Castle, I got to use a crossbow. Of course, I wanted a picture of this. The first picture didn't come out. I knew this and got a second one. No problem. I knew this in advance so I didn't lose what was an important photo to me. I erased the bad picture right away and thus had room for more photos. I find myself taking most of my pictures in the HQ mode which allows me to take about 36 pictures on the memory card. These pictures are great for emailing and web pages. They come out with little or no distortion -- except when photographing very active, young children who won't sit still. The SHQ produces pictures that are worth printing (with the right printer and paper) but only allows 18 pictures per memory card. The one drawback with this camera is that it does not come with a USB connection, and the serial connection can take a long time to download pictures. This is especially noticeable if you have loaded the card with 36 pics. New memory card technology allows these cards to be inserted into a special "floppy" disc holder and downloaded directly. I have a friend who has this and used it once. Wow! Very fast. This is definitely my next accessory.


The one drawback with using the LCD to view pictures is that it eats batteries. Since I work in an elementary school, the children immediately want to see the pictures that are taken. To show them the pictures immediately means closing the lens and then turning on the LCD. This is time consuming. (A note, my sister took her camera to Fiji when she went on a scuba trip. The natives there didn't own shoes, but they knew all about digital cameras and being able to see their pictures.)

Another problem is that since I don't always carry my laptop, I can't immediately download. Do you really want to carry your laptop with you on vacation?

The lithium batteries that I originally had lasted through almost 200 pictures, even with the LCD use. Most regular batteries won't even make it through one "roll" (memory card) of 36 pictures if I'm using the LCD to show pictures to the kiddies. If I'm on vacation, the batteries last about 2 "rolls" worth (72 pictures) I recently invested in a battery recharger and some Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. These last a long time between charges. For day to day use, I use these. For trips, I don't bring the recharger. I will just buy fresh batteries for the camera.

The thing that made this piece of equipment most stand out for me was the user's manual. Many user manuals are unreadable. This one is comprehensible by an amateur such as myself. I have figured out how to set it for automatic, how to take panorama pictures, macro pictures and how to white-balance pictures (which means I'm now getting much better pictures.) I am still exploring the features on the camera. My favorite feature is the panorama option which keeps part of the last picture in the LCD so that I can line up the next shot. It is possible to do a panarama which includes up to ten shots. This is very nice when playing tourist and trying to get a picture of something long or tall.

The zoom feature is much nicer than I had anticipated. It allowed me to sit at greater distances from my subjects and be less intrusive when taking pictures. The red-eye reduction (a series of flashes to reduce pupil size before the final picture is taken) works very well, but is incredibly annoying. It also delays taking a picture so that if the moment passes quickly, you may lose a picture.

I wish this camera had an AC adapter. Other than that, I am very happy with it. I have had it since August 2000 and have taken over 3000 pictures now. Most recently, I took pictures of a trip to Gibraltar. The results were wonderful. I got 36 shots each half of my trip and downloaded the pictures between the halves. I am delighted with this camera, and can highly recommend it.

The biggest downside to this camera on vacation is that the memory card holds only 36 pictures (at my resolution choice.) Unless you have a way to download the pictures, you either need another memory card or you're stuck with just that many pics. Also, for big events with no breaks (like wedding receptions and such) the pictures can be slow to download through the cable and you'll lose picture taking time. There are means available now to insert the card into the computer to speed downloading. I recommend checking out the "smart card" technology that allows you to do this. Also, I have a lap top, but frankly, who wants to schlep a computer along on vacation? However, you need a way to download pictures before you delete what's on the card. If you can manage it, I'd recommend an additional memory card for big events or vacations.

At a friend's house, I was able to put the memory card directly into his printer(!) and it grabbed all the pictures I had taken of his daughter and printed them for him. This technology is getting easier to use so keep your eyes open.

I noted in a recent advertisement that this camera is now available for about $270 dollars - much less than I paid for mine. This camera is a great buy. You'll be very happy with it.

If you are interested in more of my reviews about cameras, here is what I've written so far and where you can find them:

Pentax 67 II (Camera)
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-3C14-1409BB85-3A0C753E-prod2

Polaroid One Step (Instant Camera)
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-4953-439761B4-3A47163E-prod3

Kodak DC-25 (Digital Camera)
http://www.epinions.com/elec_Cameras-Digital_KodakDCC-Kodak_DC-25


Olympus C-3030
http://www.epinions.com/content_89597644420


Recommended: Yes