The Fujifilm FinePix Z3 has a review by ThinkCamera where they write, 'Be careful when you read this review - the Fujifilm Z3 is a fantastic camera for low light but it's also a “pretty good” camera for all round use. If you are looking for a camera that you will use for low light social pictures and you like the “girl friendly” styling then go and buy one. If you are looking for a general purpose camera then you may want to check some of the other options around. It's very possible you'll come back to the Z3 though because it doesn't really do anything badly and it does the hard stuff very well indeed.'

One photo tip to keep in mind if you're taking a picture of a subject smaller than an automobile, is to zoom in on your subject as close as possible.  We'll use photos taken by gabu-chan for this educational tip.
The characteristics of the thing you're photographing may have details that are missed by shooting it too far away. Some people have a tendency to try and fill the frame with the whole body of the subject, rather than take a portion of the subject to fill the frame.

Here are two photos of the same couple by Gabu-chan. Compare the first photo with the second. Both are fun pictures. Do you prefer the second photo though? The characteristics of these two come alive when they are a little closer. Imagine just two headshots in the frame. Even better?

Of course, you want to vary your photographs by not having every one look the same. Just don't forget to take those close-up shots.

Remember to get close to your subject. A tip is to get near enough as to not blur the subject of the photo. That's usually around 2 - 4 feet.

A review of the Panasonic-DMC-L1 has been done by Megapixel where they write, 'The DMC-L1 uses a sensor developed by Panasonic called Live MOS, the same sensor as is used in the Olympus E-330, a type of sensor that combines the advantages of a CCD with those of a CMOS. In addition, the DMC-L1 is equipped with Olympus' Supersonic Wave Filter, which vibrates off any dust that may have settled on the sensor each time the camera is turned on.'

'Specific to the DMC-L1, however, images are processed with the new Venus Engine III.'

A review of the Nikon Coolpix L4 has been done by Imaging Resource in which they state, 'The Nikon Coolpix L4's performance ranges from average to slightly slow, depending on what you're doing. Start-up time is a little sluggish at 2.7 seconds, and shutter lag at wide angle and telephoto is on the slow side of average. "Prefocus" times (half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure) are fast, though not as fast as I've seen, with a shutter delay of 0.219 second. Shot-to-shot cycle times are also sluggish, at about 2.91 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, and the camera captures frames continuously at this rate. The flash recycle time is about average at 7 seconds after a full-power shot, however. Connected to a computer, download speeds are fast enough, though definitely not the zippiest on the market. Bottom line, while the L4 is clearly not intended for sports photography or really anything that moves too fast, it should handle travel and most standard photo opportunities well.'

The Olympus FE-170 has been looked at by CNET where they state, ' The Olympus FE-170 ships in September, with a suggested retail price of $150.' 'The Olympus FE-170 is the chunkiest and simplest member of the current FE family, measuring 1.2 inches thick and bearing extremely standard snapshot features, such as a 3X optical zoom lens and a 2.5-inch LCD. As an unexpected bonus to an otherwise nondescript point-and-shoot, the FE-170 features digital image stabilization. This feature is standard on all Olympus cameras but is welcome in any sub-$200 camera.'

A new camera by Olympus, the Olympus FE-180 has been Previewed by CNET where they write, ' The Olympus FE-180 ships this September with a suggested retail price of $180.' 'The Olympus FE-180 is a step above entry level in the FE family. Almost identical to the bare-bones FE-170, the FE-180 adds a built-in microphone and speaker to record video with audio. As another bonus, the FE-180 comes with a set of rechargeable nickel-metal-hydride AA batteries, which Olympus claims can provide as many as 500 shots per charge. Besides these minor upgrades, the FE-180 shares the FE-170's standard 3X optical zoom lens, 2.5-inch LCD, and digital image stabilization.'

The Olympus FE-190 has been Previewed by CNET where they state, 'The Olympus FE-190 ships in September with a suggested retail price of $100.' 'The FE-190 is the ultracompact member of the FE family. At 0.7 inch thick and weighing less than four ounces, the FE-190 is one of the smallest budget point-and-shoot cameras yet.The camera shares many attributes with the lower-end FE-180. Like the FE-180, the FE-190 sports a 3X optical zoom lens, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and a microphone for shooting movies with audio. Because of its slim form, the FE-190 uses a proprietary lithium-ion rechargeable battery, compared to the nickel-metal-hydride AAs of the FE-180. Like the other FE-cameras, the olympus FE-190 includes digital image stabilization.'

The group at CNET takes a look at the Olympus FE-200 where they write, ' The Olympus FE-200 ships later this month with a suggested price of $250.' 'With a 5X optical zoom lens and the biggest price tag among the FE cameras, the Olympus FE-200 is the series' premium member. The FE-200's 28mm-to-140mm-equivalent lens offers a wider than usual wide-angle mode and a 5X telephoto mode for getting closer to your subject. Like the other higher-end models in this line, the FE-200 also sports digital image stabilization, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and a movie mode with audio. Of course, with its larger lens, the FE-200 is the largest member of the svelte FE family, measuring 1.1 inches across and weighing 5.4 ounces.'

A review of the Canon PowerShot SD630 has been done by Imaging Resource where they write, 'The Canon PowerShot SD630's performance is pretty good overall, starting with its fairly quick startup time of 1.3 seconds. Shutter lag is good at wide angle and telephoto, with a quick "prefocus" time of 0.074 second. ("Prefocus" means half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure.) Shot to shot cycle times are a little better than average, at about 1.62 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, averaged over about 20 shots. Continuous-mode speed is slightly slower, at a bit over two frames/second, for 20 shots or more. The flash takes about five seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, about average for this class of camera. Connected to a computer, download speeds are very fast. Bottom line, the SD630 is a good overall camera, with quick response under most normal conditions, despite a slightly limited continuous mode.'

A review has been done on the Pentax K110D by CNET where they write, 'While in most cases the Pentax K100D improves on the company's previously best-performing camera, the *ist DS2, the one place it loses ground is at start-up. It's still very impressive though, powering up and capturing its first JPEG or raw image in 1.2 seconds and subsequent images at 0.5-second intervals without flash, slowing noticeably to 1.7 seconds between shots with the pop-up flash turned on. Shutter lag measured 0.4 second in our high-contrast test and 1.3 seconds under low-contrast conditions.'