The V570's LCD presents a wealth of exposure and operating information.

Here's a live screen in the AUTO mode. Icons across the top indicate Macro mode is off, the flash is in Auto mode, 5.0MP image size, 474 pictures remaining (there's a 1GB SD card in our camera), upper right icon indicates we are using an optional SD memory card, the "0.0" on the bottom is the exposure compensation value. On the left is the zoom lens gauge that displays for a few moments whenever you change the focal length; the red zone on the bottom indicates that the 23mm ultra wide fixed focal length lens is being used, and the yellow zone above represents the 39-117mm zoom lens.

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 the ready lamp on the camera's back will glow green, if not it will blink yellow and a red "AF" indicator will be displayed on the LCD.

Press the Auto/SCN or Video mode buttons on top of the camera to select from: Automatic, Scene or Video.

Scene mode lets you select from 21 different pre-programmed modes (Portrait, Panorama Left-Right, Panorama Right-Left, Sport, Landscape, Close Up, 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.

Pushing the 4-way joystick up in record mode toggles the LCD viewfinder between showing information, no information, grid, or grid with realtime histogram.

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 64, 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 V570 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 12 -- 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 V570 features digital image stabilization to help avoid camera shake.

Video Storage Capacity

Video Record menu options:

Self-Timer - On or Off

Video Size - 640x480, 640x480(long) or 320x240

Set Album - Select an image folder

AF Control - Continuous AF or Single AF

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