The V550's LCD presents a wealth of exposure and operating information.

Here's a live screen in the AUTO mode. Icons across the top indicate the flash is in Auto mode, 5.0MP image size, 626 pictures remaining (there's a 1GB SD card in our camera), upper right icon indicates we are using an optional SD memory card, halfway down the right side is an icon that indicates we have selected Multi-zone focus mode, on the left is the zoom lens gauge that displays for a few moments whenever you change the focal length, the "0.0" on the bottom is the exposure compensation value.

When you half-press the shutter to achieve the focus and exposure lock, the AF target marks will turn green and show what area it is focusing on. If the focus is locked there will be a "green dot" displayed, if not it will be red and will indicate either focus or exposure failure.

Press one of the four Mode buttons on top of the camera to select from: Automatic, Portrait, Scene or Video.

Scene mode lets you select from 18 different pre-programmed modes (Sports, Landscape, Macro, Night Portrait, Night Landscape, Snow, Beach, Text, Fireworks, Flower, Manner/Museum, Self Portrait, Party, Children, Backlight, Panning Shot, Candle, Sunset) or Custom. As you navigate the scene mode menu, a description of each mode and hints for using it are presented.

The V550 has a realtime histogram that can be displayed when desired.

Still Record menu options:

Self-Timer - On or Off

Burst - Burst Mode; On or Off

Picture Size - 5.0 MP, 4.4 MP (3:2 aspect ratio), 4.0 MP, 3.1 MP, 1.8 MP

White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Tungsten, Fluorescent or Open Shade

ISO Speed - Auto or 80, 100, 200, 400, 800 (only in 1.8MP mode)

Color Mode - High Color, Natural Color, Low Color, B&W or Sepia

Sharpness - High, Normal or Low

Exposure Metering - Multi-Pattern, Center-weighted, Center Spot

AF Control - Continuous AF, Single AF

Focus Zone - Multi-zone, Center-zone

Long Time Exposure - 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0 sec.

Set Album - Select an image folder

Image Storage - Auto (select card if used or internal) or Internal

Reset - Reset to default

Setup Menu - Enter SETUP menu

The V550 has a very respectable macro (close-up) focusing mode with coverage from 2 -- 28 in. (0.05 -- 0.7 m) in wide angle and from 16 -- 28 in. (0.4 -- 0.7 m) in telephoto.

You can record VGA 640 x 480 or QVGA 320 x 240 motion video with audio. The length of the movies is dependent on available space on your memory card. You can select a maximum clip length of 5, 15 or 30 seconds if desired. The optical zoom can be used during recording and the V550 features digital image stabilization to help avoid camera shake.

Video Record menu options:

Self-Timer - On or Off

Video Size - 640x480 or 320x240

Set Album - Select an image folder

Continuous AF - On or Off

Video Length - Unlimited, 5, 15, 30 seconds

Image Stabilizer - On or Off

Image Storage - Auto (select card if used or internal) or Internal

Setup Menu - Enter SETUP menu