The screen display when in the AUTO (point-n-shoot) mode. Minimal information is displayed and only a few parameters such as image size or recording mode can be changed. Upper left is the battery level that's constantly displayed. The image size is 8 "M"egapixels, the image folder is 101, there's 275 shots left and have the macro focus mode enabled.

Record options in Auto mode:

Image Size - 8M, 3:2, 5M, 3M, VGA, 16:9

Face Detection - On, Off

REC Mode - Normal, Burst, BRK (±0.3, ±0.7, ±1.0)

Color Mode - Normal, Vivid, Natural, Sepia or B&W

Exposure Compensation - ±2.0EV

Red Eye Reduction - Auto, On, Off

Setup - Enters the Setup menu

Program AE mode is also automatic but it offers the user a wealth of options, like white balance, ISO speed, metering, etc. All of this information can be cleared off the screen by pressing the Monitor button. Pressing the Monitor button will also enable the live histogram display (not shown.)

Half-pressing the shutter will activate the autofocus system, if successful it displays a green "OK" dot and the shutter speed and aperture values are shown at the bottom.

Home menu options:

Shooting - Choose the exposure mode (Auto, Scene, Program, Movie)

View Images - Single image, Index display, Slide show

Printing, Other - Print, Music tool

Manage Memory - Memory tool

Settings - Main settings, Shooting settings, Clock settings, Language setting

The special 16:9 HDTV mode is for display on a wide screen high-def set. The image will perfectly fill your home theater screen.

Record options (except in Auto mode):

Image Size - 8M, 3:2, 5M, 3M, VGA, 16:9

REC Mode - Normal, Burst, BRK (±0.3, ±0.7, ±1.0)

Color Mode - Normal, Vivid, Natural, Sepia or B&W

ISO - Auto or manually locked at 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200

Exposure Compensation - ±2.0EV in 1/3EV steps

Metering - Multi-pattern (default), center or Spot

Focus - Multi AF, Center AF, Spot AF, 1.0m, 3.0m, 7.0m, Infinity

White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Fluorescent (1, 2, 3), Incandescent, Flash

Flash Level - High, Normal or Low

Red Eye Reduction - Auto, On, Off

Steady Shot - Shooting, On, Off

Setup - Enters the Setup menu

Macro (close-up) focus mode allows you to shoot much closer than normal. The focus range in macro is from 3.1 inches to infinity.

Not close enough? Use the Magnifying Glass Mode to get as close as 0.4 inches (1 cm).

Record motion video with audio. The 640×480 "VX Fine" mode is 30fps and requires the use of Memory Stick Duo Pro media to insure that it can stream the data fast enough from the camera. The VX standard mode is also VGA resolution (640×480) but at a lesser 16fps frame rate and can be recorded on regular Memory Stick Duo media. The length of recording is limited only by the space available on the Memory Stick being used.

Movie clips can also be recorded in 320×240 resolution at 8.3fps, these movies will playback in a smaller window. The advantage is that the file sizes are smaller and more practical for e-mail purposes.

Movie mode options:

Image Size - 640(fine), 640(standard), 320

Color Mode - Normal, Sepia, Black and White

Exposure Compensation - Offset the exposure metering by ±2.0EV in 1/3EV steps

Metering - Multi-pattern (default), center

Focus - Multi AF, or fixed focus at 1m, 3m, 7m or infinity

White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Fluorescent (1, 2, 3), Incandescent

Steady Shot - On, Off

Setup - Enters the Setup menu