I've been looking atthis camera. It's cheaper at Newegg with code CAMERA118 and 1% FatCash.

How's the battery life and the flash responsiveness? I had a Cannon that came with an included rechargeable battery (not AA) that was very lightweight and responsive. The battery charge lasted a looooong time and I didn't have to buy separate batteries.

nikhil238 said:Camera's with batteries like AA or AAA do not last long in terms of power compared to nikel or cadmium batteries.

Do some research before buying !

There is an upside to AA's, several actually:
They are cheap and easy to find - try finding a special l-ion battery pack in a national park.
You can still use nimh rechargeables, and decent ones should last.
It is more economical to carry spares than to carry several fully charged l-ion packs.

I am not saying AA's are better than a l-ion pack, just that they each have their pluses.

nikhil238 said:Camera's with batteries like AA or AAA do not last long in terms of power compared to nikel or cadmium batteries.

Do some research before buying !

Yea yea, nimh AAs don't have the same energy density as lthium ion but they are often smaller sized and end up being similar in capacity. I have a pentax DSLR (an old model, *istDS) which uses 4 AAs and it can take over 1000 shots without problem with good batteries.

In a camera where space isn't a concern (like this big canon P/S), AAs work just fine. Get some eneloops and don't worry so much.

I just received this camera today from Amazon and so far I'm impressed with the size and the quality of the photos that I took right out of the box.

For the price it has some great features and it was incredibly easy to use without grabbing the manual. I even showed my six year old how to use it.

I even took a little move with the camera, and although it's not HD, it was honestly good enough. My 6 year old was jumping around and being silly and it did a fine job keeping up with him.

I did buy some Sony AA rechargeable batteries, and honestly I just came off a camera that had a lithium ion battery and although it recharged fairly quick, it was a pain because I only had the one (I know I could have bought another), and when it died, I was SOL. I previously had a camera that used AA and I did miss the convenience.

how suitable is this camera for an older person? I am don't own this camera yet, but am considering it as a gift for an older family member. Anyone give this to or use this as a complete novice/technophobe?

Thanks,
Glen