Reviews show that you can't take photos with this camcorder. Although it's not listed in the manual, you can actually find this feature by using the switch. It goes to HD first, then to D1, then to CIF, and lastly to Space. This is where you can capture your still images. I didn't expect this camera to be as good as most camcorders given the price, but it takes good photos and videos. The only issue is the audio quality, but overall it was a good buy for a quick video.