Is this camera a competitor to a big-sensor SLR? No, not by a long shot.

But you can get great results from this camera. 8 Megapixels is all you need, really, for snapshots. And if you've got a little bit of photography training, you can wring some good results out of it.

Here's what I like:

- Takes AA batteries. I use rechargeables, but it's nice to know that you can always get more anywhere on planet Earth.

- Huge amount of control. The green mode (all auto) works just fine, but it has wide apeture settings (F2.6 or so to F 8.0) and shutter settings. The controls work well given how small the thing is.

- Someone at Canon really knows photographers. This seems small, but it was huge to me. If you use the green mode, the default mode is face recognition (works well, BTW). But if you switch over to a program mode, it defaults to center-point focus. The jist of it is that it thinks like a photographer.

What I don't like:

- It's ugly like all the other A series were.

- Fit and finish not great. I have a gap between the battery door and the body that won't go away. But so what? It cost me $150 a year ago and now sells for $100.