Rated 
Great Everyday Camera
10x zoom, 28mm wide angle lens, high quality optics, large bright screen with high-angle mode, high resolution (848x480) widescreen movie mode, image stabilization, small, and lightweight
Overeager noise reduction, images very noisy at ISO 400 and above, no zooming during movies, mediocre macro mode, no manual shutter control, proprietary battery
Posted Oct 12, 2007 - I have been extremely happy with this camera so far. My previous camera was also a mega-zoom with image stabilization (a Konica-Minolta DiMage Z3), but it was very bulky. However, this camera has the same image stabilization and wide zoom range, but is small enough to easily fit in my pocket. It also has a very good lens and doesn't exhibit the same color smearing that most compact cameras do (especially the small Sony and Canon cameras). While it lacks manual shutter and aperture control, it has many scene modes which do a very good job at adjusting for various environments. It has a large 3" screen which can get very bright when it needs to and has a "high-angle" mode which makes it more visible when you are holding the camera over your head. My only real image quality complaint is that images taken in low light appear smeared when viewed at full resolution due to the overeager noise reduction algorithm. However, because it is a 7.2 mega-pixel camera, prints look just fine. One of the nice features of this camera is that it actually has an 8.5 mega-pixel sensor, and so it allows you to take pictures at a 4:3, 3:2, or 16:9 aspect ratio while still maintaining a full 7.2 mega-pixels (most cameras that offer multiple aspect ratios have a lower resolution at 3:2 or 16:9 mode). It also can film movies in HDTV-style widescreen at 848x480 resolution, which is higher than most cameras. There are a bunch of other interesting features, such as the ability to record which day of your vacation pictures were taken, or the age of a baby in baby pictures. It automatically rotates pictures that were taken in a portrait orientation thanks to a tilt sensor. It has a clipboard mode for quick reference pictures of maps or schedules. It can produce a slideshow with nice transitions and recorded audio. I'm not sure how useful any of these features are, but it's nice to have them if I need them. The one drawback of this being a small and light camera is that, unlike my larger Konica-Minolta, it cannot take regular AA batteries in an emergency (or extended vacation). Official replacement batteries are $50, but 3rd party batteries are available in a higher capacity than the OEMs for under $10 shipped. So far, I think this camera is the best I've owned. It's not as small and light as my old Canon SD-100, but the optics are much much better. It has less manual control than my Konica-Minolta DiMage Z3, but the fact that I can slip it in my pocket makes is much more useful.
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Comment about this review
Great zoom, but so-so picturies
