Uses CD-RW (A feature only if this is what you''re looking for. I''d take a smartcard over this anyday. Smartmedia is sooooo much more responsive) Big, if not muddy LCD I''ll assume the lens is decent, cuz'' it''s a Zeiss, but it sure doesn''t show in the pictures.

Big and Bulky and Heavy for a consumer digital Grainy pictures Slow and sluggish and unresponsive Lame control layout Plastic everywhere No Viewfinder Battery is good for an hour . . . maybe. (Get 2 . . . or 3 or 4) Not very much fun to use. (Feels like work because it''s so sluggish) A really small quip: it''s ugly.

I work at my Uni''s computing center, and the center bought this dude for students to check out for their projects. It suits most student''s needs, because all most people want to do is press the button and get a photo to stab into their report. But I think it kinda sucks. The advantage of having this camera over others in it''s price range is that is uses CD-RW minis, which is great because you can put them in any modern CDROM drive and have your pictures without a problem. But by the same token, the CD-RW storage feature of this camera makes it big, sluggish, battery devouring, and a pain in the butt whenever you put a CD in or take one out because it has to finalize and unfinalize. And I don''t think it takes all that nice of pictures either. I don''t know where these other reviewers are coming from, but I put this thing onto ISO 100 and use the best quality setting, and the pictures are still quite grainy. I suppose I''m comparing this to what I''ve seen from the only other consumer digital I''ve spent a good amount of time with lately, the Canon S30. The Canon''s a cool $300 cheaper, takes better pictures, is smaller and more rugged, sports higher build quality (aluminum case vs plastic fantasticness for the Sony), responds faster, has more features and wider manual adjustability, and (and this is a small quip for most but a big one for me), it actually has a viewfinder just in case, for some crazy reason, you want to turn off the LCD and have your battery last more than an hour. The controls on the Sony don''t make a whole lot of sense either. I put the dude in shutter mode and even though it''s obvious that I now wish to adjust the shutter speed, you have to click and unclick the tiny, dorky thumbwheel to tell it to now be in shutter select mode, which doesn''t have distinct clicks so you can''t tell how many stops you''ve gone unless you''re looking at the muddy LCD. Manual focusing is an exercise in probability because it''s really easy to focus an image accurately with the tiny dorky thumbwheel when all you have to go by is the muddy LCD with no zooming. Even in fully manual mode, this camera will try to do stuff for you (ie use a flash) unless you specifically turn that stuff off. I feel like I''ll get some emails about this review from people that have attached their egos to this camera, but I''m telling you that this camera

*Excellent clarity in pictures. I have many framed pictures replacing scanned pictures from 35mm camera. *Movies are exceptional. Movie lengths could be longer but professionals don''t use this camera for winning Oscars. It works for me. *Pictures on CDRW versus a memory stick. 1000 pictures at 640x480 on a disk that can you can drop into any computer. *Myriad photo taking options. Plenty of fun to be had here. The B&W and sephia effects turn nice photos into great photos. *Ease of use. *Look in people''s faces when you pull out the 3" CDRW. It never gets old. LOL

*Sluggish operation in cold weather: I recently took the camera with me to Canada and realize how sluggished it operated. *Battery Life: this is not an issue for me but may be for others. Buy an extra battery. *Recording times can delay rapid repetitive shots. *Night shots are very difficult even with a camera stand. Takes a lot of practice but worth it.

Excellent Camera. Originally I was opting for the CD1000, but its bulk persuaded me to the CD300. Only main differences between the two are zoom and size. This camera was our first digital camera. I am very satisfied after months of researching for the right one.

Customer Service

Great: I registered my camera for the warranty over the phone. Friendly service and very helpful answering my questions.