I bought this camera as my old and trusty Kodak died on me shortly after my daughters wedding and just before I was due to go on holiday to Greece. I looked around as I always do and had originally settled for a Pentax but when I tried it in the shop it was so small I felt I would drop it too easily so turned to a larger camera. I am delighted with the grip on this camera as it feels really secure and is easy to hold steady. I really wish I'd bought it before my daughters wedding as the photos taken with my old Kodak look very sad compared to the quality I am getting with this one. I found it at a good price from Pixmania as this was over a year ago and paid £280 for it though it is cheaper now. I do think the instructions could have been clearer as I took some time to work out the functions even with the handbook. Once mastered though this camera takes some beating in the 4 MP range as it has the ability to use other lenses which is not common in point and shoot digitals. I have even used it to transfer slides to jpgs and thence into prints. I never use the USB transfer cable to my PC as I much prefer my card reader for all my cameras. The transfer cable is easy to use though but runs the battery down fast so use the mains adaptor to power the camera if you're going to use the cable. As usual the digital zoom is a waste of time but the optical zoom is more than enough for a snapshot camera. I did invest in lenses including macro and zooms but the macro funstion is really very good on it's own. Other reviewers have stated how they feel the battery cover and on/off switch are flimsy and would appear to have a short life but mine is now 18 months old and despite use round horses and in all kinds of weather it is still just fine and looks almost as new. I've found this camera to be very robust and along with it's superb picture quality I am sooo glad I bought it. I can share the compact flash cards with my Canon 300D which also helps save me carrying extra supplies around when I'm on a 'shoot'. I have no need of the movie function in this camera and feel it's a waste of time for stills cameras to have them along with the digital zoom. I seldom use the flash as this camera operates in quite low light indoors so there's another saving in battery life. The delay on the shutter time makes this a bad camera for action shots hence my purchase of the Canon but none of the compact digis have a fast enough shutter release so you'll need an SLR for those fast reaction shots. Photo duties are shared between my Canon and this wonderful little 4300 and I feel that I now have the best of both worlds in digital stills photography.
More details
Durability
Excellent
Reliability
Excellent
Size
Small
Weight
Average
Instruction Manual
Satisfactory
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