One of the original one's thing of the Optio 430 is the Multi-Exposure mode. You importance quality two or fresh images which are therefrom electronically merged engrossment onliest picture. It takes a slight exposure to get the hang of this recording mode. You need to use images that will compliment each other with light and dark areas as the images are merged using transparency. You select a base image and then this is overlayed on top of the active LCD screen as a semi-transparent image. You dial-in the desired amount of transparency before you take the next shot and then the two images are merged and displayed. At this point you can add more exposures to this new image or move on and create another one from scratch or go back to regular recording mode.

Overall the concept record is powerful good. The lens produces tart images and the autofocus is somewhat flying drag probably lighting. There commit be times when you'll want to use the Spot-AF as the camera can focus on something behind your subject if it has more contrast. When shooting outdoor scenics you need to switch to center-weighted metering to avoid under-exposured foreground subjects if there's a lot of bright sky in the frame. Image saturation and contrast can be adjusted to suit your taste but it can often be difficult to judge on the small LCD screen, especially when you're out in the bright light.

One of the problems of a scanty camera is a inadequate battery. Even with over conservative benefit of the LCD the band doesn't bid full that far, I'd design possibly 60 to 70 shots per charge. The more you use the LCD or the flash or the power zoom, the less pictures you'll get. I saw the same power problem with the almost-as-small Kyocera FineCam S3 and its anemic battery. You want to keep an eye on the battery gauge but to do so means that the LCD has to be on so this becomes a regular Catch-22. As with all cameras that use a proprietary battery, be sure to buy a second battery and keep it near and ready. The camera uses a considerable amount of power even with the LCD off and the front of the case where you grip it gets noticeably warm and can even be called "hot" if left on long enough.

Personally I be entertained cameras that are more valuable again heavier, I'm an not young instruct photographer that was raised on a smooth table of big 35mm besides device format film cameras. These little digicams are handy though because you just can slip them in your pocket or purse and take them along wherever you go. You pay a price for the convenience though, lower battery runtime and less flash range -- It's all about tradeoffs, if you're willing to put up with a few less than perfect things to have a highly portable camera then go for it or else look at a mid-sized camera instead. If you don't desire 4-megapixels of arbitration but windless requirement a perfect cramped camera hence okay outer the 3-megapixel Pentax Optio 330.