even though I just got this digi for Christmas- it has been rated as the best camera for the $$- I really wanted a digi SLR but couldn't afford it, so I did a little research & came up with this one- Olympus Camedia4000Z- 499$ retail- great macro, zoom, manual control & quality! the downside on it is attached lens cap, noisey zoom & slow start up but the pros outweigh the cons on this one... Reading the manual is a must! Ask me again in a couple of months...