THIS IS A EXCELLENT CAMERA FOR PHOTOGRAPHY.ONCE U R EXPERT IN HANDILING THIS CAMERA U CAN EASILY HANDLE A SLR CAMERA.BELIEVE ME ITS A VERY GOOD CAMERA.ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT ITS ZOOM IS LESS BUT STILL IT WILL NOT EFFECT SO MUCH ON THE IMAGE.THERE ARE DIFFERENT MODES.ONCE FULLY CHARGED IT CAN GIVE ABOUT 250-300 SHOTS. ALL TOTAL ITS A VERY GOOD CAMERA.
I have owned this camera for 9 months now. One of my photographer friend suggested it. Pros: This is a seriously good compact camera, if that's what are you looking for. It comprises of various features and gives you a lot of features to practice before buying a DSLR. I am still practicing. If you don't get the photographic jargon f/1.8 would help you focus nearer objects, which you won't find in this range (trust me I searched thoroughly, though 9 months ago) and its optical and digital zoom are really good (I have umpteen pictures to prove). Charging is also easy (you don't have to take out the battery). The panoramic feature is very good, also you can choose the colour to focus on, try it on its various modes and you'll know. Cons: It doesn't really de-focuses the background much or I'm yet to figure out how to do that. Best to buy at this price. Go for it :)