The Easyshare Z8612 IS offers a 12X optically stabilized zoom, a fair degree of manual control and an 8.1 megapixel sensor all wrapped up in a fairly compact body at a very attractive price point. The design is a bit 'love it or hate it', but for a budget model it's surprisingly well put together, handling is pretty good and the user interface is actually very nice. Unfortunately image quality problems and sluggish performance mean that it's hard to give it an unreserved recommendation.