A point and shoot for $700? Why so expensive? With the square image format is it pretending to be a medium format camera?

$700? Jaysus. That's just shy of what I paid for my DSLR....

ugh. yea, what CF said. people (by that I mean the "average consumer" referenced up there) tend to waste far much time obsessing about how cool their gear is, and not nearly enough time actually involved in the process of shooting pictures and learning what makes a good vs. bad photo.

money tip: Unless you and/or your model(s) are learning to / trying to get paid for the shoot, DON'T fuck around attempting to 'pose' people for shots. This goes triple for children, because it frustrates them, wastes your time, and most importantly, ruins the moment. Trust me, 100% of people look 100% better when they're never allowed the chance to put those horrible, fakey 'camera faces' on that everyone short of a professional actor/model uses. Learn early on how to set your camera in an appropriate 'ready' mode, use that mode often, shoot fast and on the sly, use available light wherever possible, and learn how to focus/shoot without using the viewfinder (way easier than it sounds). The results will surprise you.

Also: most recreational shooters shoot crappy pictures not because they're crappy photographers, but because they never take anywhere near enough photos to gain familiarity and ease of use with their equipment. I personally know 2 people who are capable of shooting print-worthy pics with cell phones, mainly because they've taken the time to learn a thing or two about composition, light and how to use that particular equipment to its best advantage.

Regardless of what camera you own, what you paid for it, or how much you know about art or photography, I guarantee your photography will improve dramatically when you buy plenty of storage media (or film), shoot a shitload of photos, and (this is the important bit) take the time to ruthlessly cull the bad shots. This is what every single professional photog. that I know does. Most amateurs (myself included) don't take (or delete) near enough shots to improve their learning curve much.

never take anywhere near enough photos to gain familiarity and ease of use with their equipment.

So true. The camera I take good pictures with on almost every frame is my minnie, a minolta I've been dragging around since I was 15. We went to art classes together see, and Minnie is the camera I spent the most time with, thinking about how to do light/etc in every shot and every lens she has. Also, Minnie has a name, obviously. I never spent that much time with any other equipment and all my shots with my digicams and telephones and whatnot are the poorer for it. When I get sad about taking crap pictures, me and Minnie just take a walk with a fresh roll of film. ;)

[and yes, obviously I could get this familiar with any other equipment...But uh.. I kinda like Minnie).