• 35mm autofocus camera
• Built-in retractable flash with red-eye reduction
• Powerful 38-120mm zoom lens
• 7-mode dial for simplified operation and automatic settings
• Self-timer with 10 second delay

The photo quality is excellent, particularly for portraits (this camera takes especially nice photos of the 'I've got my arm around my friend and am holding the camera to take a picture of the two of us' variety). Although the zoom is long, there is very little distortion, and photos are always crisp.

Unlike one of the other reviewers, I have found quity a bit of red-eye when I use the flash, and it sometimes take the camera a second to 'auto-focus.' But those are my only complaints.

Like other cameras, it has imperfections. Here's what I found:

*Although I had no trouble with red-eye WHATSOEVER, a few of the pictures I took indoors had glare over some peoples' eyes.

* Flash is only good for images up to about 7 feet away in the dark( i.e. darkest night time).

*what I saw was not always what i got: when i looked through the lens I saw a big, beautiful christmas tree. When I looked at the photograph, I daw the bottom of it. Maybe I need to read the manual some more to learn how to avoid this.

The good outweighs the bad by so much, the bad is insignificant unless compared to an SLR.

* no redeye
*In half-descent lighting, photos turned out with quality of perfect potraits- no kidding. The images appear literally as I saw them through my own eyes

* the camera adjusts to new lighting in an instant
*the camera has an all-metal shell- very durable
* the battery has almost full life although I have shot 5 rolls of film and took my sweet time making each photo, leaving the camera on for a significant amount of time often
* it looks very cool and unique, and has caption and date-printing options and more altogether than I am familiar with, not to mention a nice display screen that reveals battery power, number of photos taken with the present roll of film and the mode it is in
* the zoom is FABULOUS ( not slow or noisy)
* This camera is uncomplicated to use and this is an extroardinary price. No doubt this is the best camera for this price.
* takes fantastic pictures of moving objects. WOW!
* for people who, like me, don't like manuals, you can switch it on automode and and use the camera without ever peeping at the manual( as i did the first few months i had the camera). All you have to do is zoom for desired view, press shutter button down halfway first to adjust the camera to the lighting. Then, CLICK! Beautiful..............

This is the best Christmas present I have ever gotten. NO matter how high your expectations from this camera are, I think it will at least meet them.

Pros>
1. Solid styling, feel and "retro" Look. Correct size for a point and shoot.
2. 7 Preset modes (macro, portrait, action, spot, night, auto and personal) with a big and easy dial to choose between them - No more fiddling with small buttons.
3. Small buttons for people who like to fiddle with small buttons - you can personalize your picture taking and make the camera "remember" it.
4. Active as well as passive autofocus (active autofocus doesnt work on subjects more than 20 feet away. Passive autofocus doesnt work well in low light and low contrast. Together they must make a difference). Timer so you too can be in the picture.
5. Portrait and macro modes are simply amazing! If you are thinking of a camera just for portraits and closeup shots, forget other cameras. Buy this.
6. Focussing is the fastest among the cameras I have handled. Its almost instant.

This beauty however has its cons too
Cons>
1. Night mode *NEEDS* a tripod. However with a tripod results are breathtaking.
2. The pop out flash needs some getting used to. I found myself obstructing it many times.
3. The battery cover is weird. you have to be careful with it.
4. The lens protection (though it has not caused problems for me) could have been a bit better.
5. The zoom buttons are okay - but can be better designed.


The reason working against Olympus were - Olympus has flaky zoom mechanism. Canon's zoom motor and mechanism are solid - the telescoping portion is made of metal. Olympus has slow focussing when compared to Canon. The Viewfinder in olympus is dim and tiny - though subsequent models have improved it.


The pros of Olympus are - better placed flash. Solid clamshell design that protects the lens as well as makes the camera splashproof. Canon's lens cover though adequate is not as good as the clamshell.


To sum up - if you need zoom, active as well as passive autofocus, preset modes for the beginner, good viewfinder, self timer, fast focusing, good feel, styling and size for *THIS* price - you cannot go wrong with this camera.