In addition to taking great pictures - and having optical image stabilization, this camera has a lens which can shoot 28mm wide angle(in 35mm film terms)pictures plus it has an eye level optical finder which makes the camera easier to hold steady and easier to use in bright sunlight. - Canon still produces a camera in this series with similar wide angle capability, but the eye level finder has been eliminated on that model has been eliminated - More than 7.1 megapixels in a small sensor camera like this would not not significantly improve the picture quality - and may actually create more noise. Yet this camera is less expensive than the newest model. - Grab one before they are all gone.