For beginners or anyone that just wants to "point-n-shoot" there's the Simple exposure mode (the red heart icon on mode dial.) The digital camera sets almost everything for you, the Simple menu options are shown in the next frame.

Simple menu options:

Pict. Mode - Enlarge, 4x6", E-mail (no image resolutions to confuse the user, just 3 choices: Enlarge for big prints, 4x6" for standard prints or E-mail for 640x480 images)

Battery Type - Select Alkaline/NiMH or Oxyride

Beep - Camera makes "beep" sounds, Off, Low, High

Clock Set - Set the time and date

Normal mode (the red camera icon on the mode dial) is also an automatic exposure mode but the user has a wide array of menu settings available (see below.) The screen here shows the flash is on auto, image size is 7M, image quality is Fine, the battery level is at 1/2 full, there's room on the SD card for another 557 shots, the image stabilizer is set to Mode 1 (shaking hand icon), and the live histogram is enabled.

When the shutter is half-pressed and the auto focus is achieved, the AF target brackets in the center turn green (red if AF fails) and a focus confirmation "green dot" is displayed. The shutter speed and aperture will also be displayed.

Normal menu options:

White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Shade, Halogen or Manual set
Sensitivity - Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1250 ISO equivalent
Aspect Ratio - Choose 4:3, 3:2, or 16:9
Pict. Size - 7M, 5M, 3M, 2M, 1M, 03.M
Quality - JPEG Fine or Standard
AF Mode - Select the desired AF-area sensor combination
Stabilizer - Select Mode 1 or 2
Burst - On or Off
AF Assist Lamp - On/Off
D. Zoom - Digital zoom option, On or Off
Color Mode - Standard, Natural, Vivid, B&W, Sepia
Clock Set - Set the internal Clock

The FUNCtion button pulls up this shortcut menu for making quick changes to Stabilizer, Burst, White balance, ISO, and size/quality settings.

Turn the mode dial to either the SCN position to access the scene mode presets. This 2-page menu is displayed, chose from: Portrait, Sports, Food, Scenery, Night Scenery, Night Portrait, Food, Fireworks, Party, Sunset, Snow, Baby, Soft Skin, Starry Sky, Candle Light, Soft Skin, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, High Sensitivity, Beach, Starry Sky, and Aerial Photo . An explanation of each Scene mode is displayed by depressing the DISPLAY button.

In Intelligent ISO mode, the camera detects the movement of the subject near the center of the screen and then sets the optimal ISO sensitivity and shutter speed according to the movement and the brightness of the subject. You set the Maximum ISO setting that can be used (400, 800, 1250) via the Record menu.

Press the 4-way controller "Down" to enable the Quick Review function to view or delete the last image taken.

Macro (close up) focus mode lets you get as close as 1.9 inches (5cm) in wide angle / 1.64 feet (50cm) in telephoto to your subject.

Movie mode captures QucikTime video at either 4:3 (640x480 or 320 x 240) or 16:9 (848x480) aspects with out audio (there is no built-in microphone. You can also choose a frame rate of 30 or 10 frames per second. The length of capture is limited only by the amount of available memory. Even though the LS70 does not record sound during movies, the optical zoom may not be used while recording. It can however, be preset before hand.

Movie Capture Capacities

Movie mode recording options:

White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Shade, Incandescent, or Manual set
Aspect Ratio - 4:3 or 16:9
Pict. Mode - 4:3 (640x480/320x240), 16:9 (848x480) 30fps or 10fps
AF Mode - Select the desired AF-area sensor combination desired
Stabilizer - Select Mode 1 or 2
AF Assist Lamp - On/Off
Digital Zoom - Digital zoom option, On or Off
Clock Set - Set the internal Clock