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I bought this camera after reading lots praising reviews. I was expecting to get excellent pictures from it. However, it did not work as I expected. Let me explain.

I don't know really much about photography and my primary use for this camera is to take pictures of my children. First of all, almost all pictures I took were not sharp. Outdoors pictures, especially close-ups, turned out to be very good, but there are problems with most of the pictures I take indoors. Many of them have washed-out faces and a very dark background. Red-eye mode is practically useless when you take pictures of children: the camera sends a series of flashes before taking the picture. It scares children and make them close their eyes when the camera actually takes the picture. Also, on some outdoor pictures the camera selected very strange spots to focus on, making the main subject out of focus. This camera has no zoom, so one has to move a lot in order to compose a picture. Again, I find it very inconvenient when I take pictures of kids. Sometimes I just don't have time for this and I miss moments that I could capture with zoom.

This camera is very small which has one serious drawback: it's very hard to hold steady, so many pictures are blury.

As simple as this camera seems, it requires some skills and learning in order to get great pictures from it. I've noticed that people that like this camera are usually advanced photographers and use it in addition to their SLR cameras. After reading materials ..., I found out that you have to learn how to use autofocus and spot mode correctly, you have to be very careful and precise with focusing and learn some other tricks in order to get good pictures.

Yes, this camera has great lens, but you have to be sure that it suits your needs before you buy it. You may be better of with a different camera.

Finally, if you are looking for a new camera you should seriously consider switching to digital. I recently bought Canon G2 and what a difference! I really enjoy taking pictures now. Buy a nice midsize digital camera like Canon G3, for example. You will be suprised how much better your pictures turn out. Yes, it's expensive, but it's worth it.

I own a nice camera with zoom and auto focus. With a granchild on the way last year, I bought my wife this fixed focus Olympus point and shoot camera. She just has to click. Her pictures are so much better than mine because my camera has auto focus. Babies and small chilren change expressions far to quickly for auto focus to focus. Fixed focus with a really good lens, which this camera has, is this reviewers choice for family pictures. I am ordering another one for me today.

This is the perfect point-and-shoot camera. Very easy to use, small enought to fit anywhere, and weatherproof for those rainy days. A single focal length lens (i.e. no zoom) is the only way to go in a point&shoot. This makes it a much more durable camera than those with a zoom and it has a much faster lens. Meaning you will get a good exposure more often and have less dark & grainy pictures. Easier to operate, faster, and higher quality pictures than most digital cameras out there, and under $100! This camera is a steal!