Superb Value for Money

This little camera is fantastic value.

The optical zoom is easy to use and extremely good. In general it is a very simple to get to grips with and take great shots. My needs were simple I wanted a camera that I could take good quality pictures yet I could not justify spending a fortune on a true SLR camera. This little fuji ticks all the boxes.

You can use it in automatic mode or of course in manual as well as stages in between. It is less bulky than the SLR camera. I thought that I could always get a snap using my phone camera but wanted something that I could take out specifically to take quality shots. What I can say it is the best camera I have owned, even comparing it to my Nikon F50 35mm which I adore. The S5700 is worth every penny.

In general you do not need to spend a fortune on the SD card I bought a 1GB and download all my images after each excursion. I have never come close to filling the memory and I use it on its maximum setting for detail. I seem to singing this little fuji's praises. Well it is good.

In terms of the software it comes with it is OK but I tend not to use. I merely mention this and it does not detract from the camera or its usage in the field or in your home studio e.g. your PC.

Brilliant piece of kit !

Great quality feel about this camera, easy to use, takes great lookin pictures. The video mode really suprised me, took some video on holls in Turkey of the shows we watched in the evening, wasnt expecting the camera to pick up much. But the quality of the playback is excellent through my Lcd tv, considering it was taken in low light, i was very suprised, no need for me buying a seperate video camcorder now.

I highly recomend this camera, for this price there giving it away.

I like it anyway!

I brought this camera for myself a few weeks ago, (because nobody brought me one for Christmas :-p )mainly based upon the great price and the funky colour.

I'll admit that when I first received it I was a little disappointed as the screen was quite grainy as another customer pointed out, but this in no way affects the quality of the picture once taken. In fact once I uploaded the pictures to my PC most came out crystal clear (some were a little blurred, but that was more the result of my poor photography skills then fault of the camera)
I really couldn't see much picture quality difference between this camera and my brothers camera which was almost double the price.

It does what pretty much every other digital camera out there does; tons of different settings to play around with like night mode, beach mode, landscape mode etc; movie recording; sound recording; timer(which beeps before the picture is taken so you don't get taken unawares);anti-blur; and a small internal memory of about 30 pictures.(its probably best to get a memory card though, I got a Fuji 1GB XD Type H Card for £6, and it gives me something ridiculous like 600 pictures or 20mins movie memory, which seems like so much!)

The camera is so little and light that I just carry it around constantly in my bag, though I had to buy my own case to stop it getting scratched. Being so small can cause a bit of a problem with fingers slipping into shot, but its easily overcome with a bit of practice holding it.

I also agree that it has to be one of the easiest cameras to use, I haven't even had to open the manual yet. Installing the PC software was also easy as pie. Definitely one for the not so technologically minded.

So basically this camera is probably not best for the professional photographer, but is great for everyone else who just wants to take nice normal everyday pictures, holiday snaps, special occasions etc. Well, i like it anyway!

Immensely likeable

I owned one of these for a few months. I bought it here and then sold it on eBay for almost the same money, because it has a certain cult value. I miss it. On a photographic level it is nothing special, but it is an excellent"user camera". The lens is nice and sharp, but there are very few photographic controls; it doesn't even have a proper aperture, instead it applies a neutral density filter (with a little"click") when the scene is too bright for the top shutter speed to handle. High-ISO performance is unimpressive, and the zoom doesn't zoom very far at all. It goes from moderately wideangle to head-and-shoulders portrait. Exposures beyond a certain length have to be enabled with a special"night shoot" mode whereby you can select exposure times of up to 15 seconds; but you have to set this manually by guesswork, and you can only use one-second increments. The flash is unimpressive and takes a while to recharge. There was a noticeable shutter lag. No RAW. It has the inherently limited dynamic range and relatively high noise of all compact cameras.

BUT, on the other hand, I still enjoyed the camera because it gets everything else right. At low ISOs the noise reduction is unobtrusive. The screen is large and clear, the metal body feels tough - except for the battery/memory card flap, which was downright shoddy - and it is small enough to stick into a shirt pocket. It is a life companion-type camera, the kind of camera that you have no reason not to carry with you. I weep to think of all the things I could have photographed, but did not, because I could not be bothered to carry a bulky SLR with me all the time; not because I was lazy, but because it was a bind to carry an SLR in a bag, and take it out of the bag, and put it back into the bag, and keep the bag from bashing against things etc. With the Ixus 70 I could stick it into a jacket pocket and forget about it. I took hundreds of photographs that I would otherwise not have taken. I *used* the Ixus 70."The dead know one thing - it is better to be alive."

Also, it has a timelapse movie mode. I loved that. I had great fun gaffer-taping the camera to my bicycle, and making timelapse movies of bicycle rides. I loved resting the camera against something in the garden, and making timelapse movies of clouds going by. The body is flat, which means that it is easy to rest on and tape to things. If only more cameras were flat, instead of being gently curved. I could take long-duration exposures without a tripod in portrait mode by resting the camera on its side.

The big screen is worth a mention. As a means of taking notes, and quickly showing people the results, the camera is superb. It is easy to pocket, it flicks from image to image quickly, and you can rest it flat on a table. The Ixus 70 is excellent as a digital image memo-taking machine.

Overall therefore the Ixus 70 is a modest, keenly-priced digital camera with functionality that pales beside Canon's keenly-priced Powershot AXXX range. It doesn't have image stabilisation. In the future no-one will care about it or write about it. Back in the 1970s there was a camera called the Minox 35, a tiny 35mm camera that became famous in part because Andy Warhol used to carry one about. He carried it about because it suited him, not because he was copying someone; other people copied him. I think of the Ixus 70 in the same way. It is an extremely practical user camera that only really falls down in low light, either at night or in party-type situations, but then again almost all compact cameras fall down in low light, except the old Fuji F30, and that costs more than the Ixus 70!

What a little marvel and good looking!

I bought this camera 3 weeks ago and have taken about 500 images in all light conditions with very good results. I have owned a Fuji Finepix 410 for 4 years which still takes super quality pics, but when I saw this little beauty I just had to have it for the size alone! Smart, slim, easy to use and very elegant to look at, it's perfect for that night out with friends at a ball or dinner party. Software included is excellent and easy to set up complete with printing instructions. Images are v. good on the high quality settings and with a 512 MB picture card you get 250 plus images at 8M pixels. The usual great value too from Amazon.

Excelent value for money camera

I have had one of these for about a year now and have taken about 3000+ shots in all types of conditions and climates. Overall I am happy with it and think Sony offer good value for money here. Overall my ratings are this:

Picture Quality 7/10 good colours and tones but noticeable blurring at the edges of photos

Build Quality 7/10 good but not as good as my previous Sony DSC-P93

Battery Life 8/10 very good for the size of battery, Sony are leaders on battery life

Functionality 8/10 easy modes to take shots quickly without fuss, night shots without flash are a breeze but require ether a tripod or the use of the 2 or 10 second timer delay

Value for money 8/10 overall this is a great camera for £117 which is what I paid. If you want something a bit better I'd recommend a high end Sony or go for a Nikon, Cannon or Panasonic Lumix.

Fantastic!

I'm not a very technically minded person but I was after a camera with good quality to take some good pictures and found this one spectacular!

It has the right number of megapixels to produce a very clear picture even in dim light and the size of it is perfect to keep in your pocket or in your bag without it being too small.

Menus are easy to naviage and everything runs smoothly. To take a great picture all you have to do is click a button and it focuses and sorts out the lighting for you.

For someone like me who isn't very clever with technology or who isn't a great photographer this camera is perfect!

Brilliant all-rounder

I've just bought my third Optio WP. My original (5MP and good to 1.5m) got trashed following a very annoying shallow water mistake - opening the camera underwater is not a good thing to do.

The second (7MP and good for 3m) is still going strong despite being squashed between me and a very slippery rock as I fell unceremoniously into the sea. It's got some very deep scratches, but other than that is fine. It's been taken underwater on more than a hundred occasions and still remains watertight. It's definitely been taken deeper than 3m - albeit briefly - and has stayed in the water for stretches of over an hour.

The underwater mode for stills and vids are excellent producing nicely coloured pictures that are very representative of the real view. If you allow the autofocus to take effect, the majority of pictures are nice and sharp - it also seems to identify the item on which you want to focus very well which means you see what you want to see rather than having a nice, sharp background with totally out of focus subject - really annoying when you've spent the day looking for a particular fish/creature.

Simple things, like being able to take a picture of your chosen holiday location while standing in the sea looking back at the shore, and being able to take pictures in the swimming pool, make this a must-have for holidays - just get ready for helpful people shouting at you to tell you you've got you camera attached to your wrist - it looks like a very small digital camera and people don't expect it to be waterproof - they just think you're about to make an expensive mistake.

Out of the water, it's taken over as my number one camera. I always have a Sony DSC (my natural state is Sony devotee) of some description in my bag and have relied on it as my first choice, but the Optio has changed that. With an excellent choice of modes that all seem to produce very good results (read that bit of the manual-you'll get better photos and be pleased you did) and a truly excellent macro setting, the Optio is now my first choice. I take lots of pictures (more than 50-100 per week) and the Optio seems to give great results across the widest range of conditions and selection of subjects. I take lots of close-up pictures of engineering biased subjects for work, and bugs and plants for fun, and the macro mode is breath-taking. I even use it to read things that are too small for my natural eyesight (and I'm short-sighted) - one quick macro picture then zoom in on the image - tiny becomes clearly visible. I suppose it's what you get from Carl Zeiss optics. Anyway, I'm impressed.

There are also modes for self-portraits, pets, timer, low light and anything else you might expect (except panorama assist - on the first Optio WP, but absent on this one - why? it was really useful), but also a time-lapse mode that lets you automatically take a series of pictures that are then played as a video - please do check the manual - if you don't you'll miss out on a shed load of functionality that will really improve your photos and allow you to do lots of very nerdy stuff (if you want to.)

It's quick to start up and the"shutter" (I suppose it's now capture) response time is good - not so long that you notice it or miss your perfect picture. Pop out the SD card and cram it into your laptop or PC and you have immediate access to your photos - really convenient and very reliable. The cable that lets you connect your camera to any TV is also neat and means you can review the day's pics while everyone is still there to enjoy them (remember the spare battery!)

Equip it with a 1 or 2Gb SD memory card, invest in a spare battery (not that the life is short, it's just that you'll end up using the camera a lot) and buy a carry case for a GameBoy Micro (it fits the WP perfectly and is pocket money priced rather than camera accessory expensive) and you've got the perfect set up.

And why Optio WP number three? I can't bear the thought that this one might die (as a result of operator error - not again!) and having a nice new fresh one in the cupboard means that I can carry on using this one without worrying. Hopefully, when number three goes the way of all good things, Pentax will have added another compact, waterproof, digital camera to their range and it will be next-generation-better, but until that fateful day I'm more than happy with my W30.

Just buy it now...

I wanted to buy a camera, and as it was my first one, a friend of mine recommended 2 possible choices to me - this and a panasonic one...I went for this...
It is, so far, brilliant. Ive yet to use it extensivly, but by just shooting random objects it has proved itself greatly. The build quality and size strike you first as it seems very rugged but also in the same sense, stylish. It has many clever modes, and one thing that pleasnetly suprised me is hat when you put it up onto full zoom, not just 3x zoom, but passed that, the picure goes all hazy, but once you've taken the shot it is crystal clear, like you are standing right next to it...I'll have to upload some shots to prove my point...
I could go on and on for ages about this camera, but I'll stop here (as I have revison to do...) and just end with...just buy it now...:)

Fantastic

This camera is a fantastic present for someone the quality of the pictures is amazing and the battery lasts for a very long time.

not that great

I bought this camera after reading all the fantastic reviews here, and I have to say that after using it many times, i'm not that impressed. The main problem I find is that it is really light sensitive and on medium days with not much sun, and indoors.. images are bleached out as if my subjects are in direct sunlight. I've played around with the settings, but nothing has changed.

There are definetly some nice features with this camera, but if a basic photo in medium lighting conditions isn't good, then whats the point?

All right but...

I have two Canon digi cameras. Canon A 590 and A 560. 30 pound odd different buy A590 and you can not go wrong. A560 is OK but no good at all for close up and macro. This A560 has average image quality but A 590 has its own class ... clearly the winner is A590. A570 A580 and A590 all are better than A560. Last year I bought A570 and immage sharpness was the best. Not much price different among them ... then go for A590IS.(Battery life for 560 is A+ )

Useless customer service-standard Casio stuff really

I haven't got any issues with the camera itself. It does everything one expects from a compact. I use it on nights out, weekends away and on holidays-the usual stuff. I wouldn't use it on safari however! But for the amount it costs, it isn't that bad.

Saying that, I am very disappointed at the fact the charger failed after a couple of months of light use (and I mean light-maybe 400 pictures in total so not many charges) Anyway, I ordered a new charger (a uniross one) and tried to charge the old battery-no, that was dead too. So, I had to buy a new battery too-not impressed....

I don't know about the average Amazon user but I'm not really impressed when the battery AND the charger fail on a camera that is only a couple of months old. Of course, Casio aren't in the slightest bit interested when you contact them. It's no skin off my nose as I will NEVER buy a camera from Casio again.

frustrating problem

i am so glad i looked at the reviews about this camera as now i dont feel so mad. had the camera end of october and was so dissappointed with the photos it was taking,these were dark, problems with the flash, blurry, i tried all the settings and could not understand why. i had a cybershot for the previous 5 years, it was simple and took great photos. i have now sent it in for repair and hope this will resolve the problem.

Great value for money with this camera - amazing functionality for at pocket camera!

I had a Caplio R2 many years ago, and when I was to change my FujiFilm i naturally checked out the Ricoh range, which I think outbattles all competitors in small pocket cameras - especcially when it comes to objective zoom.

I am very pleased with the performance of this camera. It is a great point-and-shoot camera, but most suited for good lighted conditions. In bad lightning it usually is enough to do a little change to the exposure compensation to maintain good usable pictures. Here the great quick-access-joystick comes in handy. With this joystick, you can quickly access four of your favorite settings (you choose them yourself).

The battery life is great, I would estimate we do around 200-300 pictures, maybe half with falsh, on a battery.

The image quality is great to my oppinion. I am not though an expert, but for our personal purpose it is great. The 7x objective zoom is excellent, and combined with the small size of the camera (fits easily into your pocket) it is amazing.

So why not 5 stars? Well, om ISO's from 800 and up, the picture tends to be noisy and unsuable. Thats a pitty, though it probarbly is the same with many competitors. Also, the zoom is NOISY. Normally it is not a problem, but some weeks ago I was at a wedding, where is was kind of embarassing to zoom - so I didn't. When traveling and in other situations, it really isn't any problem.

So all in all I can only recomend this camera. If you are looking for a pocket sized point-and-shoot still with some advanced features and that offers value for money, this is a great option.

Battery fault & very grainy pictures in low light

I was very excited about buying this camera but was disappointed with the high levels of noise (grainyness) on the pictures. Then after a couple of months the battery failed. After that I got a replacement battery. Now a year after purchasing the camera it sits idle in a drawer. What a waste of money!

Little gem!

The Panasonic DMC-LZ7 is a fantastic little compact zoom digital camera!
Image quality is great, even in the dark with it's powerful flash (I thought the xenon flash on my mobile was bright, I was wrong!).
Pictures are clear and crisp with the x6 optical zoom, this gives the picture the best zoom before turning it into all of those bit's and bytes ready for the digital zoom...
It has a 7.2 mega pixel capture which is fine for all my hobby type photographs, I mean, I've taken photograph quality photo's on my 2 mega pixel camera phone before now... with an extra (almost) 5 mega pixels I find the digital (after) zoom is great... You can see the detail you never knew existed!
Great camera at great sub-one hundred pounds! (Although my purchase was at £71 (approx.) from ebuyer, I still can't find a better deal ~ sorry Amazon!)
Ryan

An Amazing Camera!

This camera is brillent, it is the best compact digital caera I have ever owned.

It is small and lightweight which is very handy for going on holiday or just generally taking pictures.

The screen is huge compared to other cameras and is brillent for viewing your pictures. The camera doesn't have a viewfinder but the big screen makes up for that and the screen is clearly visable in bright sunshine.

I think it is just a great looking camera, personally I think that the sliver version is much nicer looking than the black.

Athlough this camera is very good, the only thing I would point out is that it doesnt have anti-shake, like some of the more expensive models so it means that some night shots come out a little blury but for such a good price I think its worth it. Also you can buy a tripod for around £10 which helps alot.

I would definatly recommend this camera to anyone thinking of buying it as I have had mine for a while now and think its a brillent camera for both beginners and more experiened photographers!

great piece of technology!

bought it as a present its a pleasing purchase looks really good aswell and being able to listen to mp3s and videos is a bonus definitely one for those gadget heads.

great product!