Strengths:Image quality, fast shutter response, excelent focus, small size
Posted Mar 29, 2007 - For years I have tried several small (pocket sized) cameras and I have been very dissatisfied with their response time, that is the time from when you push the shutter release to when the picture is taken. I am spoiled by a great film camera and a very good, very expensive digital camera (Canon 1DMKII) that is to big and heavy for everyday vacationing.
Just before a trip where I wanted to photograph my nieces and nephew I found this gem. It focused pretty fast in the store and the image quality looked great. I bought it on the spot (it's cheap also) and took it out west. To my delight the camera worked great, the focus is fast and accurate. The face identification algorithms works terrificly and gives excellent results. The shots of the kids capture the moment that I wanted and are clear and crisp. The movies are even great. Not as good as with a "real" videocam but far more than usable. The stills and video clips of the kids are better than those my sister (with a Canon 20D) caught since this one was always ready, hers was generally in its case.
There is a lot in this camera, in terms of image processing (it can remove red-eye before printing for example), film speed for low light pictures, and help with shooting (the face recognition software gets the focus in the right target quickly), and with its small size it fits into my pocket and is ready to shoot in seconds. I probably got more and b etter shots that I would have managed with my big camera and certainly much better results that I could have gotten with my old S500 or A3. I heartily recommend this model to anyone short of a pro on a big money job (where it could be a second line backup).
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