This is the second Ixus in our household and we are firm advocates of these excellent cameras. I had a Sony Cybershot before my Canon Ixus and whilst it was good, as my first digital camera, the Canon Ixus far exceeds it. In fact I would say the Ixus far exceeds a lot of the digital camera's I have seen of late. They are robust, light, very easy to use, take really great pictures - and are great for all ages. The kids can use it very easily and my Mother-in-law bought one too. This really is a shoot and go camera if that is what you want, OR, if like me you like to have a bit more option with your pictures you can manually choose a lot of settings. I have taken some stunning pictures (both night and day) with this camera. Worth every penny. Can really recommend these cameras.