I love my OlympusC5060. Although my Canon EOD400D (Digital Rebel XTi) is an SLR,I think the colors are more faithful and and vivid with the Olympus, which is a P&S. Plus, dowloading to the computer is a flash for Olympus and I think it takes more than 5 times as long for the same download with Canon. Admittedly the file sizes are bigger with Canon. Well, whatever makes you, tick, stick with it. You've been doing well so far.

I finally took the big bucks digital plunge and bought a Canon 30D. So far itÂs been a great camera. I especially like the larger LCD over the one that comes with the 20D. Got to say that if it werenÂt for that fact that I intend to use very large telephoto lenses (400mm and up), I would have bought one of the digital Rebel instead. The 350D has most of the same features as the 20/30D, but at about half the price. Though, you may want to spend a few extra bucks for the 400D that Tivoli Rose mentioned. It has a lot of nice features like the larger LCD and a 10M sensor. And I would be remiss if I didnÂt say that a good tripod is well spent money. You will get much much sharper pictures with a tripod than you will by hand holding. HereÂs a link to a photo taken with my 30D sitting on a Gitzo explorer tripod:

Thank you for the compliment loves2cook. I have 3 digital cameras, one of which is a Canon EOS SLR the other two are Olympus, one tiny and one middle-sized point & shoots. I use one or the other according to where I am. (The smallest pocket one is for dining out in restaurants.) I don't use fully automatic settings, but rather make my own combination of manual and "scene" settings. Natural light is all I use and since our meals are in the early afternoon I never need an electric light, unless sitting at a dark restaurant table, where the overhead lamp is sufficient. Never use flash for food photos. I'd be happy to write some tutorials starting this weekend over on the Conversations side to share any tips and knowledge I have. But don't forget there's a whole blog of free help at Digital Photography School I have Photoshop but never use it. I prefer simpler editing programs with minimal adjustments of light, contrast etc. Okay now it's Ann's turn and anyone else who can elaborate on how they do it. I will go over to Conversations before Monday and write something that could hopefully be of help. SharonCb

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.