Wait for 50D: No Control in Basic Modes, but a Great Camera
929557
Prior to the 40D I was using top rated point and shoot (Nikon Coolpix 4500, Fujifilm Finpix F30) and the "bridge" camera (Panasonic DMC-FZ50). The program modes are great on these cameras and allow some creativity (metering, drive mode, ISO) and also have manual modes for full creativity (within limits of the camera). I shoot mostly men's softball (afternoon, twilight, and evening lighting).  The FZ50 met some of my needs but the images too soft and I couldn't get the large appeture nor the rapid burst speed associated with the 40D.

Right out of the box I wanted to see what the camera could do in the basic modes and found the images to be less impressive than my 4500, F30, and FZ50.  The reason is that the 40D does not allow for any changes to the pre-set programs.  It forced me to move right into the creative modes and use the features I paid for.

It's very easy to use and figure out -nothing surprising.  It feels great in my hand (except that I had to cut my fingernails, ugh!)and the buttons  and adjustment wheels well placed.

It's a great camera -I just think the lack of my photography skills prohibit me from working the camera to it's potential.  Since becaming familiar with the creative modes, I've been able to get the shots I want. The burst mode is amazing, light to the touch(beware...until I got use to it, I was getting a gazillion shots per burst. I had to spend too much time sorting and deleting).

No problems to date. Cannon customer support has been wonderful. I called late at night and got through quickly. My questions were about understanding the camera better -no question was too small. Extremely friendly service.

After all said and done, it's a Great Camera!

I'm editing this review because Canon just announced the 50D will be coming out in Oct. 2008. The early previews on the 50D lead me to believe that it's worth waiting for. It's about $400 more than the 40D, but it sounds like they made changes that are better for the action photographer.  Check out the reviews from [...] and sample photos for many camera and lenses at [...] Both websites were very helpful in making my decisions.
489746
I bought this camera on Black Friday because my Cannon Rebel was on the fritz.

I love that this camera can take wonderful video and pictures. We bought it to replace our handheld out of date digital flip camera.

I also bought it because it is the smallest camera on the market with an removable lens. I thought it would be perfect for the diaper bag- and it is, but it cannot replace my Cannon Rebel because:

1) No view finder, only a digital display.
Because you have to look at the digital display instead of holding the camera up to your check to steady it during shots, my hands can tremble and shake, which leads me to the next point.

2) Not having a view finder makes it hard to focus your shots.
I have an extremely hard time telling if my shots are in focus and my vision is 20/20. I feel like I need glasses or readers when I use this camera. I can tell when things are way off, but not slightly off focus. The quality of my shots with this camera in comparison to my Cannon Rebel are disappointing. I can take such focused clear shots of my children with the rebel, even when they move. With this camera, it's so hard to tell what your focus is on. Also, the camera won't take shots quickly, so my quick toddlers are running about. It's almost asif the camera is metering every time I press the button. I have adjusted the ISO, hopefully that will help. As you can tell, I'm just a mom with a camera (fauxtographer), and not a real photographer, but these are two points that really have affected my ability to take great focused pictures of my children. I'm sure a real photographer could take wonderful pictures with this camera, but for this novice. It's just not easy.

3) Small buttons (Just FYI, for my large fingered peeps out there).
If you have large fingers, this isn't the camera for you. This is not a reason for me to not buy it, but others out there might not be able to use it as easily because of large fingers, like some of my family members and friends have pointed out when I let them try out the camera.

These complaints aside, it's a great camera to keep in the abyss that I refer to as my diaper bag, but I require a better camera for those moments you want to cherish and not just have snapshots of.
3479628
First off, buy several rechargeable batteries when you get this camera! As  soon as I got mine, we played around with it off-n-on for no more than 3 or  4 hours before the brand-new alkaline batteries were useless. Flashes and  the built-in monitor really suck 'em dry.
Now, besides that, the Olympus  D-360L is my first digital camera. Now I'm not really great at taking  pictures, so I put most of the settings on "auto" and hope that I  can Photoshop them into looking better later on. The picture quality is  good overall, but if you want any sort of details captured, you'll have to  use the largest pixel size available, and zoom in, too. So forget about  trying to get those great concert shots from 25 rows back. Most of my work  is on the internet, so it's great for web publishing, but I doubt that  these pics would look that great if they were printed out -- but I haven't  really tried yet, either.
The compact design is quite good, so I can't  believe some other reviewer here said that his fell apart after a week. I  know I've carried mine around in my rough-n-tumble book bag for weeks on  end, and it hardly has a scratch on it. If you want to change the camera's  settings, there's a lot of button pushing to change the shutter,  white-balance, and image file size options. My friends have gotten quite  tired of posing and waiting for me to switch around to larger sizes, or to  zoom in, or to take the picture over again because I flashed when I didn't  want to. And there's a slight delay between when I've pushed the button and  when the camera takes the pic. "Capturing the moment" often takes  a couple mintues to prepare. Also, the pictures I've taken often look  fantastic on the LCD monitor, but are fuzzy when I download  them.
Downloading is a snap ... sort of. Just install the software once,  then hook the cable up to your serial port and ... wait. It takes several  minutes to download multiple pictures. Heck, it even takes a while just to  view all the thumbnails in the editor. The editing software included is  okay, but it's no Photoshop.
The very first weekend I had it, I went to a  crazy drunken club party and took lots of pictures of people dancing around  in an altered haze. Surprisingly, most of the photos came out great -- very  fun and colorful -- except when the flash goes off, people often have red  eye (which is fixable through adjustments) or if they are close to the  camera the flash washed them out like white ghosts. And if I didn't use the  flash, then they came out smeared because the shutter was open too long  since it was compensating for the missing light. It definitely takes some  learned skill to get great shots on the fly.
In comparison, though, for  the price you pay here, you are getting a really good deal with this handy  little device. The low-light photos are a bit grainy but quite bright  considering a normal camera would show the same situation as nothing but  black. I haven't yet figured out how to get it to take pictures so that it  looks darkly lit on purpose; it always seems to automatically compensate.  Also, the multi-photo "panoramic" option and the "action  sequence" modes are fun to play with, but not necessarily going to be  useful to me in the long run. On one 8mb card, you can fit about 16 big  files, but tons of little photos. And remember, rechargeables,  rechargeables, rechargeables!
1797820
A ton of features, including a massive optical zoom, and full manual to full auto functionality.
Here are the negatives to ponder when considering this camera:
It is VERY slow.  Plan to take pictures of stationary objects, or people posing.  No matter the shutter speed, the time between your press of the shutter button and the actual image capture is an eternity.  You will have to "lead" your subjects while holding the shutter button and waiting for the snap.
The internal viewfinder is a small LCD, which is slow and jumpy.  The benefit is that you are looking thru the lens.  Otherwise it is terrible.
Taking pictures in low light is a [gamble].  You cannot see a thing in either the internal or external LCD viewfinders.  You will have to guess what is in the frame, and snap a flash picture to find out what you've got.
The quality of indoor pictures in average lighting is questionable.  This camera will not simply make black look black.  Dark areas always have red "hot pixels", which makes the picture look very grainy, even with the flash.
Bottom line, I do not recommend this camera for a film replacement.  If you take landscape pictures in bright light, it's great.  Otherwise, try something else.
1221531
I purchased this camera and had it for a few days. The stabilization, particularly with suitable OIS capable Panasonic lenses is very good , approaching the landmark Olympus 5 axis stabilization efficiency on OMD M5 Mark II. The unique feature of this camera is that its stabilization also works well with 4K video and 4K video Photo modes, which is indeed great. The handling of this camera was also surprisingly good, comparable to Olympus M5 II. The picture quality is as good as you can expect from a 16MP m4/3 sensor. However, the viewfinder was a deal breaker for me, since in my photography I rely on it in 80% of the cases. This viewfinder uses the old  field sequential technology also found in GX7, instead of modern OLED panels. In many situations with high contrast (outside with lots of light or low light in the house) I observed very significant shimmering and "rainbow tear effect" making my eyes hurt and the composition difficult. The viewfinder also has 16:9 shape, which is not optimal for still 4:3 photos. There is no external mic input, CineLike profiles in video, and weather sealing. If you rely mostly on touch screen in your photography or not sensitive for rainbow tear effect of this viewfinder, this camera could be perfect for you and is probably the best deal in mirrorless cameras intended for casual use currently.
2631980
My test for this camera goes as follows:

In one arm I had a Canon T3i with a Canon 28mm f/2.8 lens, with Rode VideoMic Pro, on an Opteka CXS-400 Stabilizer.

In the other hand (or pocket) was the S100.

I set both cameras to manual, with autofocus, and shot back and forth between the 2. In post I threw in all the RAW files together, did quick adjustments in Lightroom, and exported them together. I was unable to distinguish many of my shots between the two cameras. The only way I could tell was my proximity to the subject, but sharpness and colors came out almost indistinguishable. I will say that the S100 tends to blow out whites in some scenarios. It's battery dies very fast, especially with video...

Video is 1080p, 24fps. You can set your own white balance, focal length, and manually lock in focus on a subject PRIOR to hitting REC. Once you do the camera shifts to AUTO ISO, so I find it best to set its WB, keep auto-focus, and let it do the rest. The front facing stereo mics are amazing for the size of that camera. The image-stabilization was very welcome (coming from a DSLR).

The biggest positives are that image and video quality are good enough, in comparison to a DSLR. There are plenty of full manual controls for stills (which don't carry over for video). The battery sucks (buy extras). I can live with these limitations because it fits in my coat pocket, or jeans back pocket. It gives me great stills and video, in a small, discreet package. So now I always a great camera on me. I used to stick to my iPhone for casual stills but battery and internal storage get chewed up like crazy. The best camera is the one that you have on you, unless the camera app crashes on you every now and again, iTunes Match eats up storage, and video recording causes the unit to shut off. Then no, I'd rather carry one more item on me (a real camera).
1787684
This was my first new digital camera in the last three years. In that time, the feature set and usability of a moderately-priced digital camera have improved dramatically.
Just take the issue of reviewing your photos. On my old Olympus 3040, you had to switch the camera dial to "Review Mode" to look at the pictures you just took. If you wanted to take a picture while reviewing, you had to switch it back quickly, hope you flipped it to the right shooting mode dial setting, and shoot. With the Canon, you enter review mode by flicking a spring-loaded switch. Review mode can always be instantly cancelled by pointing at a subject and pushing the shutter release halfway down. You're instantly back in the right shooting mode. It sounds like such a simple thing, but it makes the camera much easier to use.
That's just one of the nice things about the S50. It also has orientation detection (it knows if you held the camera vertically or horizontally when shooting), multiple focus points, and quick startup and shutdown (just open or close the front panel).
Since it's in a small body, there are some sacrifices. The lens is not very fast; expect to use the flash or a tripod when there's not a lot of light. The flash is also underpowered, having difficulty lighting a scene after about 12 feet. MacOS X's iPhoto doesn't seem to support the automatic image rotation or RAW files.
However, the image quality, convenience, and the many little features done right make this a great camera for casual use in many situations.
4609401
Many others have written and done video reviews about the 80D, so I'll try to keep it rather short. It's an excellent camera. The features I enjoy/make use of most include the following:

--updated focusing system, which are easily accessible via dedicated buttons
--the touch screen controls, for which a quick pinch to zoom is very helpful for checking focus quickly
--the 7 frames per second shutter speed coupled with a quick buffer makes shooting fast moving subjects a reality that wasn't capable on prior cameras I've owned; even at 5 frames per second my prior cameras couldn't buffer the data fast enough
--an extended/improved ISO range that is usable, which is also superior to prior versions
--and the articulating screen, which even though I shoot 90% stills has come in handy a number of times when shooting higher or lower.
--Oh, and having time lapse and wifi in the camera is pretty cool, too.

I went back and forth between Nikon and Canon in the lower-end spectrum (Canon SL1 & Nikon D3300) trying to see what family I would most like to stick with, and while both are fine cameras, at the end of the day the "color science" Canon has is more aesthetically appealing to me.  From what I have read, seen, and heard, it might not be worth it to move up from the 70D to this model, but if you are a couple models below like I was, it is a worth-while move to make. I'm an amateur who shoots a great deal right now, so if you are in a similar position and on the fence about stepping up with your camera gear, I think the 80D is a solid way to go.

Technical stuff concerning the photos I've included: This photographs were shot with a variety of Canon lenses (none of which are professional grade): 24mm, 40mm, 50mm, 55-250mm, and 100mm macro. Light editing was applied to the majority of them using Corel AfterShot Pro II, but that doesn't mean it isn't replicable or they are a dishonest representation of what the camera can do.  As an additional side note, these were all JPEG images when I edited them because AfterShot Pro 2 isn't updated to handle the latest version of RAW files the 80D uses. I read that AfterShot Pro3 can edit the RAW files, but being a budget minded guy, can't confirm this through actual use. Programs such as Adobe Lightroom, I have read, are capable of editing the RAW files.
4631736
I love this camera--most of the time.  Great features, damned good lens, good quality pictures, superb wide-angle views, compact size, strong battery, etc.  Yes, the lack of a viewfinder is sometimes a problem, but not that often.  Most problematic for me is the lack of close focus.  My defunct Nikon could capture the fur on a bee half an inch from the lens.  The LX2 won't even give a sharp self-portrait at arm's length unless you're in very strong light--but beyond that range it's great.  The menu layers require a little getting used to, and (unlike my last) battery needs to be poked in till it clicks.  The Silkypix .RAW image software might be useful if you've no other, but is far less intuitive & useful than say, using PaintShow to refine your images in .JPG mode.
4886551
We have this camera at our work site. It takes fairly good pictures/video. The biggest complaint I have is the same as others here: Finalizing a disc is very unclear, and the format used in VR mode is not very user friendly.
However, thanks to the interwebs, I will tell you how to do these; seeing as Canon can't.

To finalize a DVD, you need to be in "Play" mode and the Camera must be PLUGGED in to an electrical outlet. (Very lame IMHO)

If you want to be able to use your videos, shoot in video mode, not VR. Yes this limits your option to edit the video on your camera, but it makes the discs compatible and easily finalized into a format readable by your DVD player/computer.
2678780
The Fujifilm camera has an intelligent system that helps you take better pictures through the EXR sensor which balances the flash and switches the mode automatically. It is pretty good at recognizing the number of faces in a shot or from switching from landscape to portrait as soon as a person walks into the frame. I was most impressed by it's ability to recognize a backlit shot if someone stands in a darker room in front of a window. However, the results are a bit mixed. Some of the portraits I have taken so far are amazing, and showed extreme detail when I took closeups of faces by zooming in. There is absolutely no red eye as the intelligent system recognizes and eliminates it. But there are other portraits that turned out grainy despite decent lighting.

I have been a big fan of Canon point and shoot cameras so far, this camera was better than Canon when taking portraits on auto mode in good lighting. However, all the dim light and night shots came out really grainy when using the EXR function or night mode. I later realized that this is because this camera sets the ISO to 1600 in Auto or EXR mode. That is very disappointing rendering the EXR/Auto/Special modes useless in evening/indoor/night scenes. In less than perfect lighting situations on auto mode, I think Sony Cybershots have a slight edge, although they miss out in other situations. Canon cameras have been my best buddies for daylit landscapes and do reasonably well in evening/night shots. Fujifilm could not beat their performance, this camera is useless as a point and shoot for me. If you're prepared to tinker with your shots each time then it will work for you.

Nowadays all cameras come with dual image stabilization, so this was similar to other cameras, although Canon IS seems a shade better.

Here is the feature breakdown:
Modes:
The EXR mode - for as your eyes see it to intelligently auto set the right settings - I use this a lot as it is pretty good on the fly
SP Mode - which has all the different scene modes you would ever need- Snow, Beach, Underwater, Museum, Sunset, Fireworks, Night, Night with Tripod, Sport, Landscape, Portrait and Portrait Enhancer (smooths out skin), Party, Flower.
Natural Light mode - which takes great portraits with natural light
Natural Flash mode - which takes 2 continuous shots - one with natural light and one with flash which is great as you can use whichever version comes out best
Auto mode, Movie mode, Manual Mode, Programmable mode (which you can set to your liking) are some other modes

This camera gives you a full HD photo option and even comes with an HDMI cable so you can view pics on your HDTV which is great.

Overall, this camera is pretty good, but at this price range it's not spectacular. I really think there is no perfect camera, but this camera has a nice balance of 12 MPs, a big screen, great zoom, wide-angle, image stabilization. I recommend this camera if you're prepared to work with it a little, as it takes very good portraits on P mode, when you set the ISO and dynamic range. Fujifilm needs to fix the auto and EXR modes to make this camera a good point and shoot camera.
2245451
The good things about the D90 have been pointed out by many, so I am not going to repeat everything. Don't get me wrong, I love this camera, IQ, sensor, size, and handling are YAY! Commander mode is a nice extra, Auto WB is so good it's worth mentioning.

Here is what I don't like:
1. The matrix metering tends to blow out highlights, and I really wonder why they set it that way, because the metering per se works well and is consistent.
2. Flash sync speed of 1/200 is an outdated waste of photons. Seriously, didn't the D70 have 1/500?
3. Focus fine tuning is definitely missing.
4. More focus points would be nice.
5. The autofocus assist is not really intimate. It is technically good, but too bright for most subject's tastes. Maybe it could be pushed more towards the far reds?
6. Chromatic aberration correction works great - why not in RAW?
7. No flash sync port (PC or audio).
8. The sensor for the infrared shutter release is in a bad location, the shutter release mode should also not switch back to default automatically.
8. Video, LV, GPS port and all the dummy modes are a waste of weight and button space. This camera would be better if designed like a photographer's camera.
9. I believe if Nikon would build larger viewfinders for DX, fewer people would still carry full frame cameras. Please make it bigger! (I also miss split screen focussing screens from film SLRs. Can't they be included in DSLRs to allow precise manual focussing?)

The D300s has some of the things I am missing, but it in my opinion it is too big and too heavy considering it basically offers you the same images.
But in summary, you cannot really go wrong with the D90.

Update: KatzEye makes split prism focussing screens for DSLRs. Not quite cheap, but brilliant! Manual focussing is possible again!
1973162
I use several D-link cameras (DCS-930L) that were not pan and tilt and lacked infrared capabilities. My first foray into this type was the DCS-5010, which is all black and lacks the wi-fi-extender. When Amazon put these on sale in the fall, I bought three of them. I expected it to perform identical to the 5010, but find that the 5020 is more sensitive to light, meaning it goes into daytime mode at lower light levels. Maybe it's just the individual camera, but I set them both up side by side and the 5020 went to daytime much earlier in the day.

But this review is about the 5020, so let me get on with it. I am very impressed with the video quality of this camera. It is far superior to the 930's that I use. While the pan and tilt is nice, I find I don't use it much. I would use it more if the myDlink software allowed for pre-set camera shots. If you are doing remote viewing, it takes several seconds for the camera to act, and moving it one step at a time is tedious at best. When you go into the advanced settings, you can set multiple presets, but presets cannot be used with mydlink.

This camera really shines when use use the night mode. It has almost double the range of the 933 series fixed cameras, I can actually see out the window and into my yard with it at night. It has a manual focus adjustment on the lens so you can fine tune it for better clarity. But it is not autofocus, so if you plan to use a wide range of distances in your viewing, I suggest you set the focus for an intermediate distance.

Setup was simple. I use the myDlink software on my Macbook, and it took me about 10 minutes to have the camera running on wi-fi. A word about myDlink. The software for OS X is finicky at best and while good for setting up the camera, I prefer to view my cameras on my iPad and iPhone apps. I really like the ability to view four cameras at one time on the iPad.

I constantly get Java errors on the Mac, and if they do a firmware upgrade, you cannot view the camera until you do a hard-wired upgrade, which is impossible from 5000 miles away. D-link has the uncanny ability to know the day I am departing to announce the upgrade (it's happened twice now). But I am still able to view the cameras on my iOS devices. I would be interested in learning about other monitoring software, so if you use another package, please leave a comment.

Other features include motion and sound detection, and the camera can be set to send you an email when certain events are triggered. My experience with these is limited so I cannot comment on them. I do like that you can put a time/date stamp on the screen, which is helpful if you use the camera with a DVR.

Based on my experiences I would definitely go with the 5020 over the 5010, even if you don't need the wi-fi extender. I wish it were all white so that I would blend in better on a bookshelf, but that's a minor point ( I call them R2D2). What's not minor is that both the 5010 and 5020 come with a black power supply and cord. Why, I don't know, but the black cord is hard to disguise. On the positive side, they are much longer than  the 900 series, giving you more flexibility in placement.

If you want a boatload of features, good video, and don't mind the quirky myDlink software the DCS-5020 is a real bargain. I've see it offered for as little as $69.95, but most commonly it is $99.95 (retail is $119.95). If you find it for less that $100, I'd snap it up!
973146
When I finally decided on a megazoom, it came down to the Canon 20is (would have preferred the 10is, actually), and the FZ35.  I was able to have hands on time with the Canon first.  My top priority is picture quality, and it just didn't measure up.  Add to that its lack of filter threads (WHAT??!), no raw format, AA batteries (hate 'em), excessive size and weight, higher price, and past bad experience with a Canon, and I opted to buy the FZ35 sight unseen, risky as that was.  The reviews for this camera are really stellar, and well deserved.

Some have said the FZ35 is lightweight, and because of that, feels cheap.  Personally, I don't need for my camera to be heavy/bulky to prove it is quality made--I need it to perform, and this one does. All the extra weight of those cameras that feel more "quality" starts to hurt when you've got your arms over your head waiting for your shot.

Not many people have talked about the joystick.  I'm a big fan of joystick control, because it puts so many functions at the tip of your thumb, and accesses them quickly without having to move your hands around the camera.  Holding it in briefly gives you the Quick menu, where you can alter the stabilizer, metering mode, focus mode, white balance, ISO, intelligent exposure, file size, quality, and LCD options.  With the camera in Manual Mode, you can change the aperture and shutter speed in a split-second using the joystick.  (Those two parameters are displayed at the bottom of the screen, and I like that shutter speeds less than a second are displayed as a fraction, not as just the denominator of the fraction).  Half-press the shutter, and you get a meter showing over- or under-exposure.  This will slide as you alter your settings so you know where you stand.

The manual focus is also done with the joystick, which is unique.  I like that you don't have to remove either hand from the camera in order to focus.  If you need to autofocus for the moment while in manual focus, you just press a little button on top and it's instantly done for you, while still keeping you in manual focus mode.  Nice way to cheat when you're in a hurry.  

I find the LCD nicely accurate.  On my old Piece-O-Junk Canon, I had to run in and load the pics on the computer to know what they really looked like, and often it was an unpleasant surprise.  It took way too many shots to get a few good ones.  I've had no such experiences with this camera.

The battery pack is also a big PRO for me.  Regular AA batteries never quite pulled the weight of my Piece-O-Junk.  A lame camera became even lamer, and I hated dealing with all those AA's.  This nice little battery pack is wonderfully compact, easy to handle, and fits nicely into my camera case (Lowepro AW 160--holds my camcorder too), as does the included charger.

Best of all, the picture quality is excellent.  I've taken over 800 pictures with the FZ35, mostly in Manual Mode, and have been nothing short of thrilled with the results.  I've finally got a camera that is a joy to use in so many ways.  The macro mode is incredible, BTW.  I've also gotten good results indoors without flash, but in my dark house that requires manual control and sometimes a tripod (or skip all that and just use the flash).  What this not-so-little gem has accomplished is nothing short of incredible.

The FZ35 is so capable and gives you so much control, it's almost a bit of a waste to use it in Auto mode.  I would strongly encourage you to plug thru the manual, buy a book on digital photography if needed, and experiment.  This is a sophisticated camera with many options, some of which you just simply won't discover without reading the manual.

I haven't used the movie function at all, so can't comment on that.

Sample photos can be viewed at [...].  When viewing a shot, note the camera used in the right column, as my old junk cameras (Canon and Olympus) have shots up there too.  Also remember that I am totally an amateur attempting a little more serious photography.

Summed up in seven words, I LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!
4662372
I have a number of canon cameras [SD 550, SD 750, original Digital Rebel (300D), Rebel XSI] and purchased the D10 to take on vacations to beach, water parks etc. I received the camera in early November 2009 and pictures taken outdoors look great. The IS works well and I took a number of good pictures of our new puppy and my young kids (all of which have a tendency to move...darn it!) and pictures look good. Based on reviews here the camera went into the water in the sink almost right away to test the seals as others (from the number of postings this is rare) have had leaks that bricked their cameras. I had no problems there.

What I did / do have a problem with is that with some types of fluorescent lighting (that in my kitchen, as it turns out) the pictures have an extremely yellow cast. Selecting white balance for fluorescent lighting did help some but problem seemed to return after several shots even still in that mode. Selecting over to that mode was also quite cumbersome and not something I wanted to do every time I happened to take a picture in my kitchen (which is where our puppy spends quite a bit of time, of course). Oddly, my older cameras noted above all deal with this lighting with automatic settings without problems.

The issue was so severe that I actually returned the first camera I got in case it was an issue just with that unit. As it turns out, it appears to be design related. Oh well, I'll simply be sure to use a different camera in the kitchen - but if you intend to use this as not only an occasional camera but your primary camera you may wish to think twice or at least very carefully test it in all lighting conditions in and around your home. Incidentally, this was my first return to Amazon and true to their reputation it could not have been easier. I will keep the replacement camera as it should work well for outdoors / beach / water parks etc. I had hoped to use it as a extra fairly small camera for indoor shots but I no longer plan to use it that way.

As a side note, if you get this be sure to re-assign the "printer" button to switch to movie mode if you use it for video - the instructions for doing this are buried in the book but this is MUCH easier than selecting mode button, clicking right twice and hitting set.
3183582
If you're looking primarily for an outside-use camera, then this one is very good, but if you take a lot of indoor shots, then you may want to look elsewhere.  Not to be too negative, overall I'm pleased with the picture quality of the camera, but here are a few things I found to be both good, and not so good, about the A640.  Good-to-great is the high quality outdoor pictures it takes.  But the not so good is its built-in flash capability.  I've found the A640 flash to be hit or miss (on indoor shots) and very unreliable.  I recently took pictures during my daughter's (indoor) graduation ceremony and was highly disappointed with the results.  Most of the shots over 20 feet were dark and unusable.  I've since stopped using Auto mode indoors entirely and discovered I get better, (but still not consistent) results in the Program-mode.  In Auto-mode I've taken numerous shots inside 10 feet that have come out horribly overexposed and unsalvageable even with good photo editing software.  As an old SLR photographer (Nikon F4 w/speed flash) I became spoiled with fill-flash photography and used it even on the sunniest of days to remove shadows.  I've yet to figure out how to manually manipulate the flash outdoors to allow fill-flash.  I realize the A640 is a relatively inexpensive point and shoot camera and not a pro-SLR, but given the other hi-tech features Cannon built into this little box, it seems only natural that someone at product development would have thought to add a fill-flash feature as well. The lack of shot stabilization is also a negative feature that you may want to consider, especially in low-light conditions.  I'll finish with a positive. I've really enjoyed the movie-mode capability and find myself using this camera instead of my DVD mini-cam.
For the money, this is pretty good camera but I can't wait to compare it to the new Nikon 10MP that's coming out soon.  You may want to do the same!
4448911
Unlike other 5 megapixel SLRs, this one is reasonably priced, but still has every feature you could imagine. I discovered that standard resolution images, at about 1 MB each, are all you need to make 35mm quality 5x7 prints. I couldn't see any improvement at the fine resolution that requires twice as much memory, and superfine requires so much as to be impractical. The camera only comes with a 16 megabyte memory card, so you will want at least a 256 megabyte CompactFlash card which will store 150+ standard images. Advanced 35mm photographers will be pleased that this camera has all the features you expect on a quality SLR, such as shutter or aperture priority or manual exposure modes, spot metering, exposure and focus lock, auto/manual focus, etc. But on top of that you get the equivalent of a 28mm-200mm f2.8 macro zoom in an incredibly compact package, electronic versions of every color correction filter, a 2x digital zoom (on top of the 7x optical zoom; on my old 2 MP camera, digital zoom was worthless - on this camera I still got acceptable images with digital zoom) and the ability to change "film" speed (which affects the image noise level) from ISO 100 to ISO 800 whenever you want to get more sensitivity. There is also an adequate built in flash, or you can add an external flash. The lens is also threaded for external filters like a UV lens protector. Connection to my Windows XP PC was effortless.
Drawbacks: even with the best 1850 mAh NiMH batteries, this camera is very fast to warn you that your batteries are low, so be sure to get several sets of batteries and fast chargers (one set of batteries and a charger is included). And there are so many buttons and features, it takes a while to remember which feature or menu or option goes with which button; I think there's some logic to it, but I haven't figured it out yet. It does have a simple "put me back in dumb point-and-shoot mode" button, but a technophobe might not appreciate all the capabilities of this camera. Finally, the optional AC adapter is outrageously expensive, but generic ones are available for less than half the price.
Update: 1. If you have your heart set on using the "super-fine" mode, besides the fact that it uses a large amount of memory, be aware that the camera "goes dead" for about a minute while the image is written to the flash card. 2. At first I thought an optical SLR viewfinder would be better than electronic, but I really love this camera's EVF. It lets you see exactly how your shot will be exposed, which is really nice for critical high-contrast shots like landscapes. 3. Next, the camera seems to overexpose slightly outdoors, but this is readily apparent in the EVF and easily compensated for using the digital effects control. 4. Finally, if you want a Remote Cord, they are very expensive, as all the Minolta accessories seem to be.
Update 2: If you want more power than the built in flash, I've discovered that although this camera uses the same Minolta flashes as the Maxxums, generic dedicated flashes made for Maxxums WILL NOT work with this camera, so you have to buy a Minolta flash. The 3600HS(D) is the cheapest and a very nice flash, but still relatively very expensive if you just want a little more power than the built in flash.