Hewlett Packard PhotoSmart C315xi 2MP Digital Camera

I found the camera I was looking for at a great price and according to the Amazon comments, it could reach me in 14 days which fit my vacation schedule - close, but a fit. When I got Amazon's confirming e-mail the 14 days had turned into 21 days.
This leaves me on Waikiki with no camera. I contacted ahauction about upgrading the shipment to some faster method. At no additional charge, the camera arrived (PA to CA) before the e-mail with the tracking number got to me. That is CUSTOMER SERVICE

I would never hesitate to purchase from ahauction. P.S. I knew what I was getting in the camera. Everything was there, in a HP factory box and it works just as it is supposed to.

I have owned this camera for over a year. The quality of the images is great. I bought it as a gift for my wife and needed it to be easy to operate. This camera is basically point and shoot!
The menu is easy to operate and the included software is user friendly. A great deal for the price I paid. I especially like the fact that it uses "AA" batteries. We do a lot of international travel and being able to replace the batteries with ordinary "AA" batteries is a definate plus in remote areas.
The flash illuminates well, even at distance.

I bought this camera several months ago based on online reviews and recommendations and based in no small part on the fact that this was one of only a handful that had published support for Windows 2000.

The camera is easy to use both when shooting pictures and when uploading those pictures to your computer via its USB interface.

The camera has three basic settings for picture quality (size). Like all digital cameras, it uses a lossy compression to save stored photos and the smallest ones cannot be blown up without significant pixelation. The medium sized ones are better for snapshots or web-ready pics and the large ones are quite large and would need to be edited or scaled before viewing over a slow connection. Larger pictures require more storage so the larger your chosen size the lower your capacity. At the camera's highest quality (largest size) setting this camera will store 8 photos. The camera uses standard memory sticks so this may not be an issue for you if you have more than one memory stick.

In my experience toting the camera around to take snapshots it has two significant drawbacks.

1. It is a battery hog - forcing you to take your picture and then turn the camera off quickly (close the lens cover). It will automatically turn off after a period of inactivity but not before significantly draining the battery. Turning off the LCD display vastly improves performance but of course instant results is one of the great things about having a digital camera in the first place.

2. Don't expect to be able to take very quick snapshots. I took this camera on a tour bus once and tried to take a couple of shots but to take a picture you must first aim, frame, depress the shutter button halfway, (to get a focus lock), and then depress the shutter button the entire way to save the picture. Even with practice it's very hard to get off a quick shot especially if you're moving. Many of my attempts resulted in no picture at all. I might have preferred an off-center photo but that's not an option.

If your photography consists of taking pictures of still subjects or does not require you to aim and shoot quickly this may be a good camera for you at a reasonable price.

This is my second digital camera. My first was the Kodak 3200 which was great to start with. I wanted to get something with a little better resolution and for the price this camera is a steal. Other cameras with the same resolution are more to dramatically more in price. The pictures are excellent. I can't see any downside to this camera. If you want more features or better resolution then you'll have to pay up for them. This is an excellent mid-range camera at an entry-range price.

Good camera for the price. Major drawback is the lack of an optical zoom. The concept of a digital zoom is worthless and doesn't really provide any advantages I can think of. Of note, this camera also chews up batteries so I would recommend rechargeables.