Laura

I won't - I knew that when I entered this photo, it was a "best effort" that I knew would not win. I wish it would do a little better while losing but, having seen the other entries, can't say I think it really deserves to, either.

I use a Ricoh RDC-5300. Whether or not I recommend it depends on what you want from a camera. I adore it, but I know people who find it not sophisticated enough and others for whom it's more than they want (still usable, but there's no point paying for features you don't value).

Pros:

• Uses SmartMedia memory cards, one of the common standards and very easy to read into your computer (I got a USB device that reads them - you can hook the camera direct to your USB or serial port, either one, but I really prefer the reader which is faster and doesn't require me to power on the camera.)
• Capable of up to 3x optical zoom (digital zoom is not so good - you can always do THAT, or close, in your image programs later).
• Lightweight (most are, though).
• Capable of up to 1600x1200 in what they call "fine" resolution - it's a 2.3 megapixel camera, and this is in theory sufficient to produce a good 16x20 or 20x30 print. (I've only gone up to an 8x10, where it was freaking gorgeous.)
• Flash options. Flash off, auto-flash, flash on, or fill (slow exposure to get the background, flash to bring out the foreground more strongly).
• Slow exposure - automatic only.
• Macro mode, and autofocus in general - sometimes very impressive, sometimes focuses on the wrong thing.
• Manual focus mode, for when you get annoyed at the bad habit mentioned previously.
• White balance. Automatic, or you can switch it and tell it what the light is when you don't like how it's figuring it out.
• Optional remote control, which costs money and I don't have yet....
• LCD screen to see the shot you will take.
• Monochrome, sepia, and color modes. This can all be done later in image editing software, but doing it in the camera lets you see what you'll get (or have gotten) on the aforementioned LCD screen.
• Burst mode. Turn it to this, and as long as you hold down the shutter release, it keeps taking shots close together - at least till it runs out of memory and has to stop and record to the card.
• Timer! You can set it to take shots over long or short (no shorter than 30 seconds) intervals. Good for getting shots of yourself; also good for watching things unfold, but you better have it plugged in.
• Power is 4 AA batteries (nice if you use rechargables and much more convenient than the custom size batteries, since you can always grab 4 normal AA batteries at the store if you run short, unlike folks with weird batteries who are out of luck when they're out of juice) and can also run off of AC power if you're near an outlet. Can get 40+ photos on the best resolution on one set of batteries, depending on how much you use the optical zoom (motor), how many times you turn the camera off and back on during the shooting, whether or not flash is on, and whether the batteries hate your guts today or not.
• Auto-bracket mode, where it takes the shot it thinks is right as far as light-levels, then takes it one step lighter and one step darker. One of them may be right....
• Can be set to beep when it gets the shot. Can be set NOT to beep when it gets the shot.
• Can be set to automatically power off after 1, 3, or 5 minutes of no use to preserve battires - and can be set to never automatically power off.
• Saves settings between uses based on your decisions: you can choose individually which of the settings you almost always leave the same (that should be saved) and which ones you change each session/picture (that should not).
• View mode includes zoom to see the picture in more detail on the LCD screen.
• Vaguely cool things I don't think about or use: ability to set password, sequentially number files (I have this on and have no cause to turn it off), turn the LCD off (preserves power, but at such a loss of functionality - I love me my LCD screen!), flash a confirmation image of the pic just taken on the LCD screen for 0, 1, 2, or 3 seconds (doesn't work in burst mode, of course!), and video out.