The camera I mentioned takes video as well. A lot of video too. I take videos of my daughter all the time, and upload them onto private youtube for her great grandma to see. It has a ton of settings on this dial you turn. http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/W170/W170A.HTM# That link should show the photo of the back view of the camera where the dial is. My camera is red. They have an option for automatic shooting where you dont play with any settings besides zoom/flash. Then they have a setting one one up where you can change a few more settings. Then a more advanced setting where a lot of settings can be changed. The link says its $300, but it isnt. I bought mine through Wal Mart on sale in Feb. I dont see them there anymore though. You can buy them online though. The camera has a child or adult face detection mode, smile shutter (neat where it will automatically take photos everytime someone smiles). The smile shutter can also be adjusted for the level of smile needed to snap the shot. It also has Backlight, Backlight Portrait, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, and Twilight using a Tripod. Those are more of the settings on the camera. Either the twilight or the backlight option can make a photo taken in pure darkness, light like taken in the day. Standard Scene modes include Beach, High Sensitivity, Landscape, Snow, Soft Snap, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Fireworks, Smile Shutter, and Underwater. The Sony W170 Menu system gives you access to Twilight, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, and Underwater. The others are on the Mode dial. I laughed so hard using the creative effects to photos after you shoot using any of 10 editing functions, including: Trimming, Red-Eye adjustment, Soft Focus filter, Unsharp Mask, Cross filter, Partial Color filter, Fish-eye filter, Retro, Radial Blur and Happy Face (really funny). The Happy Face effect uses photo retouching to put a smile on faces, with smile levels adjustable from 1 to 5. Danielle

I read this thread with great interest. In the beginning of 2005 I decided that my 35mm camera was just not cutting it anymore and that I needed a digital camera. After much phoning and talking to people at different camera shops in our city with my long list of requirements that I needed in a camera to... -point and shoot...easy to use. -ability to take action pictures for insects moving (since our kids were basically gone from home already, so no sports to photograph). -clear closeups without having to bend down to take the picture...so I wanted the best zoom that they could offer for the best price. -great quality because I would be taking lots and lots of pictures of the flowers in my yard. -rechargeable batteries The winner... Canon Powershot S2 1S. Just new on the market in June 2005. It has 5mp and a 12 zoom. I use the foliage setting to take pictures of flowers...since it gives a richer truer picture. I got the first one that came into Brandon into Future Shop. BTW, Staples didn't carry high end cameras, just cheaper models. Individual camera stores were just getting one or two of these new Canon cameras in at a time on preorders. I have put 25,000 pictures through the camera since June 2005. (Not all saved, thank goodness). I love the camera. If I was to ever get another camera (and retire this one to my DH's business for him to use on construction sites or whereever) I would get the newest Canon, a 5S 1S or if a 6 is available that would be it. Met someone at some event somewhere and they had the same camera I had. Their son ran the Don's Photo in Saskatoon. When they wanted their first digital camera he recommended this one also for all the same reasons. They loved theirs and used it all the time. All the pictures in my photobucket album have been taken with my Canon S2 1S. Pictures I took this summer will not be inputted into each individual sub-album until this winter when it is less busy around here. http://www.valleyrimgirl.thenewtonfamily.ca/ By the way if anyone is browsing the albums and find something mislabelled, please let me know...which means it was sold to me incorrectly labelled. I hate that when that happens...another NOID in the yard. Brenda

I also just got a Casio EXILIM (14MP, which is kind of silly). I'm really happy with it, for what it is. It was $79.00 on WOOT, and takes nice pix and video. If you're not a purist, it has some built in image processing that can handle much more challenging lighting really well. But you have to realize what you're getting: these will have smaller apertures, noisier sensors, smaller zooms, won't deal well with low light, and have small flashes located right near the lens. But under the right conditions, they can do quite well. (One issue with the Casio: It takes a special Casio battery, rather than the AA or AAA batteries that I have all over the place. But their battery lasts a couple of days. ) By way of background: I'm a major (D)SLR guy, with a big canon rig and lots of Canon lenses. Our living room is decorated with lots of my landscape and wildlife (full disclosure: some from the zoo, of course) and other shots. I love photography. I got the Casio because I wanted something that I can always stick in my pocket. The best camera is the one that you have with you when you need to get the shot :) Remember: Subject, lighting, and technique beat out equipment every time. We also have a Canon S3-IS, which is a higher-quality point-and-shoot. Under the right conditions, it can take pix that are really close to anything I can shoot with the DSLR. It's newer siblings are great cameras too (like the SX30 IS). It's kinda big, though, for a point-and-shoot. I think of cameras in this class as "crossovers" -- big enough lenses and sensors for very good pictures, but small enough to not require a big dedicated bag. If you want the best P&S picture quality, lots of zoom range, and don't mind paying a bit more in $ and size, the Lumix or Canon "crossovers" always seem to be the best bets to me. If you want a simple hand-held P&S, there are lots of options, including Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, and Casio... and lots of sites with high-quality reviews: www.steves-digicams.com, www.dpreview.com/ are good.

Well, honestly, those are not ideal conditions...here we go... Open the lens all the way up(aperture). Shutter speed at 1/100, can try 1/80, but that can catch motion Macro mode; that means you need to be within 4ft of the subject. If your camera has presets then I would put it on the portrait mode. That usually has a wide open lens setting. If you're doing it manually, the lowest number for the f-stop. Lighting;I always see people using flash at aquariums, the bad thing is the glass reflects the light and you don't get the pic you hoped for ---turn the flash off. Do you have a polarizing filter? That will take away some glare/reflection, but you lose 1-step of light. My suggestion is to use the tripod with the above settings. Have the camera pre-focused for a specific, predetermined area. When the fish is in that specific space *snap* the shot. This will require patience. Good luck and post your success! Joe