Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this camera to replace my Nikon S8000 which I guess sounds strange but that has more to do with the way Nikon names their cameras than anything else. The appealing features of the S7000 for me are it's compact size, light weight, 20x optical zoom, time lapse capabilities and the fact that they dispensed with the pop-up flash which I always thought was kind of silly since it seemed that my finger was always in the way when it wanted to pop up and you had to keep pushing it back down. I've had the camera for about three weeks during which time I was travelling and used it extensively. It takes very good pictures and video with high quality audio and excellent image stabilization. These types of cameras are aptly called "point and shoot" you're not necessarily going to take much time composing the shot, I often don't even look at the screen. This camera is extremely fast on the draw for such use and can be comfortably carried in your pocket so you can easily catch shots that otherwise would have been missed completely.The time lapse feature has a number of modes spanning from 10 to 150 minutes and works well. There are a couple of issues however, I wouldn't call them deal breakers but I can't figure out how they ended up in a final production product. The first is the mode dial. It's a nice feature, better than the S8000 where you have to go into the menu to change modes but the detents are way too soft so if you are using the camera for a quick point and shoot there's a good chance the mode dial isn't going to be where you left it or wanted it to be so you need to check it often. The second thing is that the flash is on the same side as the shutter button so, depending on how you hold the camera, there's a good chance your finger is going to be over it when you snap your shot. Overall though I like the camera. It feels much lighter than the S8000 and that might be interpreted as "cheaper" but it's actually an asset when carrying it in a shirt pocket. Both models of course are made in China but honestly if you are going to try and maintain a personal boycott of products made in China good luck, you're going to seriously constrict your options. For what this camera is designed for it does well and I have many excellent photos that would not exist simply because I would not have been lugging an enormous digital SLR around with me at the time.