Outshines even the newest Digicams!

I bought this camera in 2005 for about $600 (thanks to an educational grant) when it was brand new. Mainly, I just wanted something that I could take everyday photos with and also for when I take my students abroad every year. This past year, on our trip to Costa Rica, my students kept oohing and ahhing over this camera - even though many have the brand new models!

Specs
It has 7.1 megapixels which works perfectly for me. If you zoom too close it gets a bit fuzzy, but this camera can zoom like no other so it's really not a problem unless you're a mile away. It has 5x optical zoom which, as I mentioned, is crazy good. We were on a boat in the far side of the river and I was the only one of my 34 students who could capture a good picture of the monkies in the trees on the other side. And this was a big river!

Features
It comes with standard programmes which allow you to film at night, fireworks, behind glass, portraits, etc. It also has a great little video recorder which can take up to about 15 minutes of video depending on how full your memory card is. The video comes out nice and clear - I used it primarily to film us going down the zipline and also to film skits in class. My favourite feature is the one to steeady your shot. I have really shaky hands and so I usually just leave it on this setting and my shots come out clear! When you look at the photos on the camera you can also zoom in, which is nice.

Appearance
I have the basic silver model which makes it look shiek and classy. The screen is pretty big, so you can see a lot of detail. I use a screen protector just in case. It's very small - it fits in my jeans pocket - and not heavy at all. Because you use a rechargable camera battery, there isn't that obnoxious bulky AAA battery weight. Plus, you buy one battery and you're set!

Extras
It comes with a USB cable to attach to the computer for super easy file transfer. You also get the battery charger which is only slightly bigger than a cell phone charger, so it's easy to carry around. The memory card doesn't hold much, so you will want to buy your own memory cards. Unless you're going on a long trip somewhere, I'd say a 1GB is just fine.

Use
This thing is durable. It's survived long drops, being in my purse with my keys, etc. It is so user friendly that even my incredibly technologically disinclined mother can figure it out without reading the directions. The flash and timer features are super easy to access and require little effort on the part of the photog.

All in all, this is by far the best camera I (or anyone I know) has used and I still get jealous looks from my students. :)