Great camera for the price

I am no camera expert -- I will be the FIRST to admit it. I thought I wanted an SLR - until I saw the price tag and realized I do not know enough about photography to even use the options available. that said ... here is my "lay-man terms" review.

OUT OF THE BOX- you have everything you need - except the memory card. I bought extra cards online for my storage.

MANUAL- Very easy to read. Like one of the other posters had mentioned, the pictures and symbols are easy to understand. The flow of the manual progresses with the features of the product, so you can easily stop, play with the camera, and then move on to the next level.

I chose not to read the entire manual for over a year, which was my mistake. Yes, you can deploy the simple " point and shoot" right out of the box - and will get GREAT pictures. However, there are a few simple steps even for the lay person, that you can learn and deploy if you simply read the manual.

BATTERY - i chose to purchase a second battery so I could simply trade them out on the charger. I have not thought twice about that decision.

ZOOM - i was very impressed with the zoon on this camera. 12X optical zoom - i dont think you could ask for more.

DOWNFALLS: Ok, so besides the fact that I am not a photography or camera expert.... I only wish the camera could have more stability and be a bit faster on some of the pictures I take.

I bought this originally for a trip to Mexico. Since then, I have had twins. My boys are now 6 months old, and sometimes I cannot get a good shot. It seems that at times, I end up missing the "perfect shot" and it ends up blurry.