Top notch photos

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great features, great lense and zoom, dual memory media

Cons: Pictures needs post-processing, expensive, heavy

The Bottom Line: 
This is the best option for just-below DSLR quality (Digital Rebel)... Don't pay more than $800 for the camera.

Author's Review
This camera is definitely not for the 'average user' as it is much heavier and more expensive than other 5MP or greater cameras.

The manual zoom lens is a GREAT feature and the focusing is ultra-fast.

I've already taken about 50 photos with this and am learning all the features (exposure bracketing, color saturation adjustments). In order to take the best photos, you should know how to operate an SLR camera (if you don't understand F-stops, using the apeture to get the correct depth of field, and using /- EV adjustments to correct the exposures (to catch just the scnene you are looking for), then I'd suggest a smaller 5MP camera.

The downsides to this camera are the post-processing requirements to get the absolute best images necessary. I suggest using Neat-Image (free download) to remove some of the digital noise that is apparent in the pictures. I've not had good luck in finding an easy way to remove the purple fringes (chromatic aberration) that is present is many of the typical pictures you would take. To be honest, this problem exists in most digital cameras - but when you blow up the picture to FULL SIZE (huge), it does become apparent. In 4x6 or 8x10 pictures, it is hardly noticable. You can also make adjustments to the picture settings (F-stop, exposure compensation, color saturation) that minimize the effect.

I suggest bying this camera on-line (such as E-Bay where you can get it for must less than the $1000 retail price. I paid just over $700 for the camera and it works GREAT.

Get a UV filter to protect the lense (why scratch a $800 camera when you can use a $8 filter to protect it.

The camera is heavy, but it is solidly build and rugged. The tiling body is a nice feature.

The real pros to the camera are: high picture resoltion, great color accurary, ultra fast focus, lots of adjustments/features you can make to get the best picture.

I suggest reading the review of this camera on dpreview.com (it is probably the best review site I've found). You can make your own opinion about the pros/cons.

Good luck