As an avid photographer, I appreciate a camera that takes good pictures, so I have a Canon 40D with an L-series lens and three other IS USM lenses, plus a monopod, a tripod and a bag bought. , filters etc. Then the economic downturn hit me and I needed money so I sold everything on ebay (I hated it but I had no choice). This left me without a camera, so I looked for an inexpensive soap box. After many hours of research I settled on the Powershot SD780 IS and I have to say that this thing exceeded my expectations in every way. I can't believe that such a small and light camera can capture videos and 12MP images. With a 4GB card, when shooting at 2592x1944 (which goes all the way up to 4000x3000 and 4000x2248 for wide shots, which is really wide) I can take 2677 photos before I have to empty them (although I never let that happen would it lead to). I'll skip all the features and details (you can check it out for yourself on the Canon website) but I'll say you WILL NOT be disappointed. Images are crisp, clear and always sharp. You have many scene settings to choose from, but just set them to "Automatic" and let them decide how to record. I think that's what they mean by "point and shoot". What I like most about it is that it's small! Fits snugly in your pocket (and smaller than my Droid phone). I bought a belt holster off eBay for $7 and now I always carry my camera with me. I also used a Revain credit card and got a $40 rebate so I paid $169 for it! Let's talk about a good deal. It's 5 stars! Update April 2010: I bought a new Canon 50D with all the lenses for these 'pro' shots, but I STILL use this PnS camera for quick shots and because it's so portable. I've found that even with $4,000 professional gear I'm still using this PnS - the images are REALLY good, especially outdoors.
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