Need new Ultra-Compact - Loved my canon

[gruve]

So I managed to lose my old S300 about a month ago. I loved that camera. I had it for over 4 years and it was an indestructible superstar. Dropped in the snow, showered with beer, used for four wildland firefighting seasons, dragged through europe, and it just kept on ticking. Of course, by the end it's once eye catching design and "small" size were no longer eye catching or small.

But now it's gone, and I need to buy something to replace it. As it was a canon, I definitely have a bit of brand loyalty, and first looked at the SD400/450 and the SD500/550. Though some people are in love with these little cameras, it seems that an alarming number are experiencing problems with the (ridiculously oversized) LCD's, which canon often does not cover. I don't know if the people complaining about this problem are telling the truth when they say that they did nothing to cause the lcd to break, but I would guess that a large percentage of them are.

Side note: Do we really need a 2.5" lcd, especially if it's made of porcelain? How bad are our eyes? You don't need to see the individual blades of grass in the lcd to frame the shot.

The point is, I loved my canon, and would love to buy another, but I'm not sure if these are really what I'm looking for. I need something to fit in my pocket, take decent pictures, and not break through REGULAR use. In addition to the canons I have been looking at some others. The casio exilim and the sony DSC-P200 seem to be the competition. They really don't appeal to me though. The sony looks like a spaceship...and it's a sony. And the casio, well.....casio makes cameras?

Believe me, I'm not one of those people that thinks I can get everything I want in a tiny camera with no compromises. I just want a solid performer, and am willing to spend the $$ to get one.

If anybody has any advice to offer, or even if they want to inform me that I know nothing about what I'm talking about (always a possibility), please reply.

[stupot]

i have an ixus 40, only 4mp but it takes great pictures, and i dont need the extre resolution, would rather go for the quality of a known brand:)

i put it in my pocket all the time without a case, its a pretty tough little thing with a 2" screen. i also find it so much easier to use than my friends cameras (olympus mju 800 and a pentax something or other) maybe its just because im used to canon but all the functions you need are easy to access, no silly menus.

so, i'd recommend the latest ixus model, cant imagine you can go wrong with that:)

[james12345]

Ive got a SD450 and simply find in an awesome camera. I dont baby it, but dont bash it around, and just carry it in my pocket in an oakley sunglass microfiber bag. Like the camera but wish the batt life was better. Oh yeah and I did end up getting a db? screen protector for the lcd. Eventhough some state that the new lcds are reinforced from behind, I didnt want to take the chance especially since I am not planning on buying a conventional case for it. Especially like the size but wish it had better low light performance, but oh well, can get it all.

[panzer948]

Hi James,

I see that you also have a G2. I do as well and am looking at replacing it with one of the Elph line models, hopefully the new 700IS. You mentioned the low light performance. Is your model at least better than the G2. I always found it had trouble focusing in low light and anything above ISO 100 was to noisy.

Thanks

[jiggling_john]

had an ixus 500 since the day it came out and it's still going strong. The ixus 800 looks like a smart piece of kit - if you want ultra compact with just enough features then buy that. Personally though, the ultimate compact for me is the powershot s80, they're really, really good and have all the settings you'll need

[spencer87]

i considered getting my very minimalist boyfriend a digital camera for his birthday last summer and looked at the smallest models i could find, like the sony's and the casio. the kicker for me though when i read reviews was the image quality- just not up to par with the fatter cameras, and there were some reliability issues with the sony if i remember correctly. Not sure if they've improved them at all though.

btw, my best friend has an sd450 as well and loves it. no problems with the lcd whatsoever.

[gruve]

Hmmm, yeah the ixus 800 / SD700 does look good. I'll have to wait to see how it gets reviewed though. Anybody know exactly when it's coming?