GOOD CAMERA, BUT.....

I use this camera professionally. I shoot mostly cars for auto dealerships and this camera gives pretty good performance overall. It's manual mode and metering capability make it especially useful. The wide angle lens works very well when I am shoot the interior of cars. As with all small cameras, the flash is weak and there is no allowance for a hot shoe of any kind that I can find. I shoot off of a tripod often, but like some others, I don't like the way the battery compartment works. There are times when I am shooting an action sequence, or must reach for a certain shot and the battery compartment door tries to open, shutting the camera down right in the middle of it all. Dang I hate that. Also, this camera takes WAY to long to put into action.

As an aside, this camera takes REAL good pictures. Some of my work shot with this camera has made it into my portfolio, which is usually reserved for my SLR stuff. This is a rugged camera and I have not had any problems with it. Be sure and get a 1 gig mem card and an extra battery or two because the supplied card is a joke and this camera likes to eat the juice! Out of all the compacts on the market, I could have bought any camera, but this is the one I chose and I am glad that I did.