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 12 "M"egapixels, the image folder is 101, and there's 153 shots left.

Record options in Auto mode:

Image Size - 12M, 3:2, 8M, 5M, 3M, VGA, 16:9

Face Detection - On, Off

REC Mode - Normal or Burst

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 the AF marks turn "green" and a green dot s also displayed. You can also see the shutter speed and aperture values.

Here you can see "M"anual mode. More for the advanced user, in this mode you choose the shutter speed and aperture values. At the bottom right is an EV (exposure) gauge, you want to be as close to 0.0 as possible. Press the Set button to change values. Here we have ISO set to 100, High Contrast, and High Sharpening enabled.

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 - 12M, 3:2, 8M, 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 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, 0.5m, 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

Contrast - Normal, Low, High or D-R (Auto)

Sharpness - Normal, Low or High

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 0.74-inches (2cm) to infinity.

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 8fps, 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