I wanted a professional quality custom camera and almost got it. Sure, there are settings on the DSLR that this camera doesn't have, but it's point and shoot. For someone like me with no photographic experience who just wants great photos of kids, this camera is perfect. easy to set up, easy to use. I love Smart Auto, I just leave it and take pictures. I love the Baby Chase Burst mode (literally LOL) and overall I'm very happy with this purchase. UPDATE 4-10-11 took this camera to New York for the weekend and got some incredible shots. It started to stutter here and there and lagged transitioning to zoom as well as transitioning from capture mode to playback mode, but other than that it was great. Battery life is good to near excellent, with me shooting most of the first day with a partially charged battery and the second with a full battery. (I had 2) only about 500 photos. The burst mode came in handy for Times Square and the cockpit video was great. (demonstrating frantic movement) in Battery Park, I zoomed in close to Lady Liberty. just unbelievable. (for you non-New Yorkers, that's another matter) still in love with this camera. UPDATE 5-11-13. I still love this camera. I don't just shoot kids, I do product shots for my etsy shop, and while it's still not a DSLR, I can get pretty good results with a lightbox and minimal photo editing (color grading, etc.) in macro mode, which is good for showing the details of my crochet stick with it, and overall I'm still very happy with it. since i've had it it's been a bit slower to take pictures and i'll have to see what i can do to fix it (perhaps reformat the sd card?) if i trade it (probably next year) i'll pass it on to my eldest daughter .
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