The V570's wide-angle lens creates interesting effects. (See larger image.)

And then there are the pictures. We love that the wide-angle setting allows us to fit so much into the picture. It also creates some interesting stretching effects in close-ups, as with the photo of cakes at left. In addition, color reproduction is stunning: blue skies are faithfully rendered, bright colors remain bright even in low-light settings or flash photos, and contrast and tonal range are almost always as perfect as we could hope.

Panoramic mode is easy to use and works beautifully. (Click images for larger views.)

Some of our favorite photos taken with the V570. (Click images for larger views.)

This is not to say that the camera doesn't have a few imperfections. It must be docked for charging the battery or downloading images. In photos, bright lights are occasionally surrounded by a purple fringe. The power and scene mode buttons are on the small side, and there's no way to prevent the camera from displaying just-taken images for five seconds after the shot (though you can take another photo immediately by pressing the shutter-release button twice).

These are small gripes about an otherwise stellar camera, though. We've found the V570 to be the best combination of unique features, impressive styling, and overall user-friendliness of any cameras currently available, and we cannot recommend it enough.--Sarah Sternau

Pros

• Wide-angle lens produces beautiful photos
• Color reproduction is amazing
• In-camera panoramic stitch works wonderfully

• 5-second post-capture review can't be turned off
• Occasional purple fringe
• Limited settings options in panoramic mode