getting tiny - help please

I currently have an Olympus 720SW that I love the form factor of but think the focus is not good (it misses a good percentage of the time) and the image quality is really good in great light but sub par in anything but. The upside is that it is so slim it can go in any pocket and it's water & shock proof so the beach where we spend a lot of time is no worries.

I also have a Canon A570 which I adore. Image quality as long as you stay under ISO 400 is great. But it's clunky and too big to really be a go anywhere camera and I find myself reaching for the Oly instead of the Canon even though I know that the images won't be as good.

This is starting to annoy me.

So I'm on the hunt for the smallest possible solution.

My wish list - great image quality to at least ISO 400, 28mm at the wide end

My sacrificial lambs - water & shock proof

My don't care list - more MPs (I'm not blowing these up), long range zoom, IS, ISO 3200 lol

My must haves - accurate focus, great image quality, as small as possible

This is the camera I want to grab all the time for happy snaps of the dogs, my friends & family, while we're on the ferry going across the Bay...any time I don't want to deal with the 40D for whatever reason. I'm guessing one of the Elph's might work (we bought the awesome 400 for my mom a few years ago) but which one?

The only Canon PowerShot models to have wide are the SD800 and SD870. The problem with your wish list is that the smaller the camera, in general, the smaller the sensor; smaller sensors are noisier, so you don't get the best quality.

I offer 2 things.
1. Your better off looking at dive cameras. Some very portable, quality and beach-proof digital cameras are available in this market. ISO is only 200 (sorry) BUT a close match is Sealife's Ecoshot. http://underwaterdigit​alcamera.blogspot.com/

2. You may want to investigate a recently announced ( Feb08 ) sensor redesign by Kodak called truesense. It achieves high ISO quality pictures by sensing emptiness in reverse to current sensors sensing presence. Basically what it means is a new offer in the cell phone camera and pocket camera markets that may be worth waiting for products to hit the shelf. reference: http://www.dpreview.co​m …8020602kodaktru​esense.asp

I can't beat Old Man Don's advice. Seems worthwhile chasing both points.

But, I would say that Olympus makes a nice waterproof cam that Canon doesn't have an answer for (without a waterproof housing). And, I don't think the SD line will get you much better IQ. Maybe slightly better, but not tremendously better.

That said, the 850IS (or is it 870) is really the one to look at if you need 28mm.

870; 850's 35 mm e.f.l. at the widest.

I'd be willing to sacrifice the wider end for better image quality.

The underwater cameras are a non-starter for me - their quality is not good among other problems depending on model. I get to lay hands on these things quite often and there's not one out there that interests me. They also tend to be clunky.

I'll check out the Kodak suggestion.

I already have the Oly 720 water/shock proof camera and my walking bud has the 790. Neither are good at focusing and image quality is really not very good. My mom's well older Elph does a better job in the image department.

Another pro shooter has recommended the Optio W30 so I'll have a look at that, too.

I guess I'll just figure out which of the Elphs is smallest and start from there.

Thanks so much!

I love the ELPHs. Just went on vacation with my (much more expensive) G9 and SD800IS. I got tired of porting the G9, and the SD shot great! The G9 I used indoors with a little better effect than the SD800, but I've learned a little trick - I set the SD800 on burst mode, and have a big SD card. I take burst on just about everything now, and I am bound to get a good shot in there somewhere. The only issue for you is the water and sand proofing...