Do you normally wear glass? If so, could it be that the dioptric on the camera is set incorrectly? If you look through the viewfinder, on the right, there's a little + and - sign with a small rotating button, try turning that while looking through the viewfinder and see if it gets less blurry one way or the other. For me, it needs to be turned all the way to the " - " side. I'm even thinking I might need to replace the dioptric because I'm so blind :P You can order them at the Canon site under Accessories, though probably somewhere online has them cheaper :) I hope this info helps :) -A P.S. Now, if I could just figure out how to set the 9 dot thing properly when working with depth of field, I might get some photos that don't need to be "Sharpened" in PhotoShop! Here is a link that might be useful: Dioptric

You'll get better, and more informed, answers on a dedicated camera forum. Here is a link that might be useful: dpreview forums

One of the best digital camera sites around is dpreview.com. You can spend forever reading their reviews and forums. The canons are indeed highly regarded, but there are also many nikon and sony fans as well. Personally I'm a canon guy, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're hands-down the best in all areas. There are digital cameras available in all price and quality ranges. It really depends on what you want to spend. I love the elphs like lowspark has, but you do pay extra for the small form factor. Canon has a range that's cheaper but larger, with similar quality in terms of lens and imaging. You should generally plan on buying a separate memory card as the ones that come with the camera are pretty lame. Figure on getting a 512MB or 1GB card. The higher the resolution of the camera the better, in general, however there are some technical issues as resolution gets above 5 megapixel. So a camera with 7 megapixel isn't necessarily always better than a 5 megapixel camera. I'd generally look for a camera with 5 megapixel or higher, and a 3x or better lens in the range of 35-135 or thereabouts. Image stabilization is very nice to have; canon has optical IS, which is generally considered better than electronic IS. Also important is speed in several areas. How long does the camera take to turn on? How quickly does it take the image once you push the shutter button? How quickly can you take multiple photos in sequence? How quickly does it focus? Those are things you can get a feel for by playing with the cameras in a local store. In general, you can't go wrong with canon, sony, or nikon.

In America it's known as the Olympus SP-550 UZ - price $500 (US):- - 4.68 84.24mm (28  504mm equivalent in 35mm photography) - Dual Image Stabilization eliminates blur (so you can photograph even when panicing) - The world's most powerful ultra zoom (at present) - 7.1 megapixel (so your UFO pix will make the FULL front page) - high-speed sequential shooting (get those shots of everybody running from the UFO) - shoot in low light without a flash (UFOs usually appear at night) And further propaganda:- - FULL MANUAL EXPOSURE CONTROL - ISO 5000 - "The SP-550 UZ offers the highest ISO sensitivity of any ultra zoom for superior low-light and fast-action photography" - With a burst rate of up to 15fps, you can freeze moments in time to get the shot you want. - macro (as close as 1cm) - wow!! gotta have one. -30 Shooting Modes including Movie with sound (HEAR the panicked screams) -Maximum Aperture f2.8  f4.5 - Shutter Speed 1/2000 sec.  15 sec., Bulb -ISO Auto, High ISO Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200*, 5000* (*approx. 3MP) - now you can photograph the famous "black cat in a coal mine". - Adjustment Resolutions 3,072 x 2,304, RAW / SHQ / HQ 3,072 x 2,048, 3:2 / SHQ / HQ 2,560 x 1,920, SQ1 High, Normal 2,304 x 1,728, SQ1 High, Normal 2,048 x 1,536, SQ1 High, Normal 1,600 x 1,200, SQ2 High, Normal 1,280 x 960, SQ2 High, Normal 1,024 x 768, SQ2 High, Normal 640 x 480, SQ2 High, Normal - 30 Shooting Modes: Auto, Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, My Modes, GUIDE, Scene Presets (Portrait, Landscape, Landscape & Portrait, Night Scene, Night & Portrait, Sport, Indoor, Candle, Self-Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Cuisine, Documents, Auction, Shoot & Select1, Shoot & Select2, Beach, Snow, Underwater Wide1, Underwater Wide2, Underwater Macro), Movie - Panorama Modes Up to 10 frames automatically stitchable with OLYMPUS Master Software when using Olympus brand xD-Picture Card - Sequential Shooting Hi-Speed2: 15 frames per second for 20 frames (1.2MP) Hi-Speed1: 7 frames per second for 15 frames (3MP) Normal Speed: 1.2 frames per second for 7 frames (7MP) - Bracket: Exposure bracketing up to 5 frames - Interval Shooting - Shooting Assist Functions - Histogram, Frame Assist - Noise Reduction - Set automatically at shutter speeds of 0.5 second or longer - Flash Working Range Wide: 14.8 ft. (4.5m), Tele: 9.2 ft. (2.8m) at ISO 200 Wide: 42.3 ft. (12.9m), Tele: 26.2 ft. (8.0m) at ISO 1600 - Date/Time Calendar Automatically recorded with each image (up to 2099) (after 2099 it goes into "Millenium melt-down" - remember that contrived scare-?) - Removable Media Card xD-Picture Card (16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512MB, 1GB or 2GB) - Operating Environment Operation: 32°  104°F (0°  40°C), (Oh bother - that means no more desert trips, then); - 30%  90% humidity - So, why wouldn't you want one? Now I can get rid of my 35mm (Canon) and medium format film cameras, and give my back a rest - and even though the Panasonic (with Leica lens) has served me well, it's showing it's age.