Canon PowerShot SD700 IS

Pros: Finally true Optical Image Stabalization on an Elf as well as a 4X optical zoom!

Cons: Apertrue and Shutter priority would have been nice but there are so many automatic modes all you really need to do is select an appropriate mode for your situation and you'll be right there!

Summary: This clearly is the best diminutive little Elf camera yet. It has "true" OPTICAL Image Stabilization where the lens elements actually move to compensate for slight movement thus giving you a critical edge of up to 3 to 4 stops for lower light shooting. Unlike the fake and phony "anti-shake" system of the Casio Z850, which merely gives you an undesirable ISO bump, the Canon Optical Image Stabilization is a genuine system!

Yes, aperture/shutter priority would have been nice but since there are so many shooting modes you are bound to find a mode that well suits your shooting situation. Noise is quite low at ISO's 80 & 100 (where most people will want to be anyway). Naturally, it begins to rise at 200 and ISO's go all the way up to 800 now!

Speaking of aperture/shutter priority . . . the Casio Z850 only gives you two (2) choices of aperture . . . thus they can legally claim you have an aperture priority camera. But who's kidding who here? At least Canon didn't play that cheap game of fooling people.

The proof is in the final images. The stabilization eliminates those often blurry/fuzzy results we all used to get! Some have said their images are a tad soft, but trust me folks . . . just a few seconds of adjusting the settings properly and your images will be very sharp! Purple fringing is very low. Some slight distortions at the lens extremes just like any other small camera (no biggie there). The video modes are great with none of the major video distortions plaguing the Casio Z850 right now.

The new improved "MY Colors" feature set now allows you to experiment with those options both before and now AFTER you have taken the shot! So you can now select those looks without loosing the original image! This is a new improved feature. The LCD gains up nicely and can be seen in most situations. Just in case there's a small but true optical viewfinder. Rare on cameras of this size. This camera is a tad pricey but it is absolutely the best of the little cameras to date folks and you definitely get what you pay for with this one!

Finally, you can't take a picture unless you have a camera. Having a true little shirt pocket fine camera like this with you all the time enables you to capture images that would otherwise be missed because of a larger camera sitting at home in a drawer or closet. Think about that folks!