I've been using this camera for about 3 weeks, but have been using digital cameras for 4 years. This camera has all the right features for a point-and-shoot: several flash modes, good zoom, several ISO settings, even a black-and-white option. The menus are easy to navigate and intuitive. The LCD screen is easy to see under most lighting conditions. I love the size of the Smart Media cards! Who wants to go back to 35mm film?
Drawbacks: the focus is slow. The proper way to take a picture is to compose it in the viewfinder, press the trigger half way down and wait for the auto-focus to do its thing. This takes 1-2 seconds. Then a small light in the viewfinder lets you know you can go ahead and shoot your picture. In normal 35mm cameras, this takes a fraction of a second. I don't understand why it has to be so slow on this camera. You do get used to this, but it's still an annoyance to have to explain it to someone who is going to take your picture in front of the Eiffel Tower, and who only speaks French. Better bring a tripod!
The zoom is jerky, not continuous. This was a little irritating at first, but I got used to it in no time. The camera only comes with an 8 MB memory card, which is way too small to be useful. The battery door is somewhat difficult to open and close. The included software is below average.
These inconveniences are relatively small, compared with the resulting images: the clarity is beautiful, the colors saturated, and objects are in sharp focus, at all levels of resolution. There are some manual modes to play with, which yield good results, like the Bulb setting and the Multi Shot.
Recommendation: buy rechargeable NiMH or Lithium Ion batteries, or you'll go through a couple of sets of alkalines before you fill up your memory card.
Overall, this is a fun camera, which offers a lot of features and quality for the money.