Comments about Norcent Norcent XIAS DCS-860 8.0MP Point & Shoot Digital Camera, 3x Optical Zoom, 4x Digital Zoom & 2.5" LCD:

This is a camera you want to love. The styling is fantastic and the price is right. I've had this camera for about a day now, and can honestly say that if you simply use the Program (standard) mode for taking outdoor shots, this camera is for you! Pictures are sharp, saturated, and well balanced.However, once you deviate from the point-and-shoot mode to use its other features (macro mode, Aperture and Shutter Priority, face tracking, etc.), you're going to be disappointed. The camera's firmware in these areas feels like "beta".Pros:- Beautiful styling and graphite finish- Cheap..., er, inexpensive!- Pentax lens (e.g. it is a brand-named lens!)- Big 2.5" LCD- Excellent saturated photos in "point and shoot" mode- Settings and modes easy to understand and set up (for the most part)- Mounts as an external hard disk while plugged into your computer (with the provided USB cable)Cons:- Quirky (buggy?) exposure in Aperture- and Shutter-priority modes- "Face tracking" feature only worked sporadically -- don't bother- Inconsistent results with the image stabilization as well -- don't bother- Mysterious back panel LED -- it's red, it's green, it's flashing, and no where in the User's Manual are the states of this LED described- Poor Macro functionality -- sometimes works, but many instances where the camera says it's locked the focus, the resulting photos were blurry. Moral: don't get too close to your subject, even if the camera thinks it has the subject in focus.- Inconsistent flash coverage- Back panel buttons hard to press -- found myself using my fingernail a lotBottom line: if you're looking for a good 8MP camera for under [$]for simple outdoor point-and-shoot photographs, this is a great camera to consider. But if you want to unleash your creative genius and experiment with manual exposure settings, macro photography, and the like, spend more money and buy yourself a Canon.