This is my first digital camera, so I can't compare it to others. However, as a "newbie" to digital photography, I found this an excellent starter camera.
The on-screen menus are fairly simple to follow. I managed to work out what I was doing without much reference to the manual.
The resolution is very good - even linked up to my 28" television, the pictures look perfect. The optical zoom is a bonus - it gives much better results than a digital zoom, where you loose resolution.
The enclosed 16Mb memory card soon gets full - I'd recommend buying at least 64Mb.
I'd have preferred it to be able to record sound as well, but hey, this is a camera, not a camcorder!
A warning - buy some rechargeable batteries!! It may be this camera, it may be all digitals, I don't know, but it EATS batteries!
Otherwise, a feature packed camera, for a really good price! I'd recommend it! As a bonus, Olympus enclosed a free 2 year subscription to "yellowtag" which offers the finder of a lost camera a reward if they return the camera to you! Can't be bad!